Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on adapting their support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.
At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.
We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to establish a centralised dataset on localised ADHD assessment waiting times.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.
For the first time, NHS England published management information on ADHD assessment waiting times at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan. Data is now released each quarter with the latest release in August 2025.
Data on ADHD waiting times at an integrated care board (ICB) level is not currently held centrally. NHS England has released technical guidance to ICBs to improve the recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving data quality and publishing more localised data. NHS England intends to publish data at an ICB level in 2026/27.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD, and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Welsh Government counterparts about sharing best practice around increasing screening uptake for breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service in the four nations of the United Kingdom about all aspects of screening. The implementation of any UK NSC screening recommendation is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the public health risks posed by illegal online sales of optical appliances, particularly for children and other vulnerable groups.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the regulation of medicines for human use, medical devices, and blood products for transfusion in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
Sourcing medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not authorised for use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict quality and safety standards and could expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.
Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. It works closely with other health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners, including e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove, and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.
The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Last year, the MHRA and its partners seized more than 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines, including those usually issued on prescription. Additionally, the MHRA has also disrupted thousands of links to websites and social media pages selling medical products to the public illegally.
The MHRA’s FakeMeds campaign provides advice to people in the UK who are considering buying medication online, outlining how products can be accessed from safe and legitimate source.
Anyone who believes they’ve had a side effect from a medicine, or who believes they’ve received falsified stock, can report it to the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to update medical device regulations to bring UK-based online contact lens retailers under a clear regulatory framework; and whether they plan to introduce measures including (1) a recognised compliance mark, (2) stronger border controls, and (3) oversight to ensure customers identify lawful suppliers and reduce the risk of eye infections.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusions on the market in the United Kingdom are safe, effective, and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002) establish the statutory framework that medical devices must meet in order to comply with these standards.
Opthalmic medical devices must comply with the MDR 2002, which include bearing the UKCA or CE marking on the packaging or labelling of the device. Manufacturers or their UK representatives must also monitor use of these devices when used in the UK. Allegations of deficiencies that do not meet these standards must be reported to the MHRA through the Yellow card scheme or informed though published guidance, with further information available on the GOV.UK website.
The MHRA is not responsible for the movement of medical devices across borders.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many clinical trials offering CAR-T therapy for low-grade lymphoma have closed in the last three years, and what the reasons were in each case.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Answering this question would require Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency staff to go through a vast volume of protocol documents manually. This is because the information is not held in such a way to be able to filter electronically by the requested category.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work is published online and is available on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 December (HL12450), what timetable has been set for the completion of the review by NHS England of the issues raised by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body regarding electronic patient records, and the implementation of the safety standards and best practices that arise from that review.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is not currently doing a review of the issues raised by Health Services Safety Investigations Body regarding electronic patient records. NHS England will not manage the timetable for implementation of safety standards and best practices, as this falls to trusts, each of whom have their own statutory duty to deliver safe care.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent sudden cardiac deaths in people aged 35 and under.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To reduce the risks of sudden cardiac death, NHS England has published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions which includes services for young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease.
NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification and is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which (a) individuals and (b) organisations have been appointed to governance structures responsible for developing the Modern Service Frameworks for Dementia and Frailty.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We intend to engage with a range of partners over the coming months to enable us to build a modern service framework which is both ambitious and practical, to ensure we can improve system performance for people with dementia and frailty both now and in the future.
No specific individuals or organisations have been appointed at this time. However, we intend to formalise a governance structure for the development of the modern service framework shortly which we will share with partners in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand (a) early intervention and (b) targeted mental health support for women at risk of suicide in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including in Surrey and the Surrey Heath constituency, for both men and women. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups, including middle-aged men and pregnant women and new mothers, for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across the Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.
We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.