Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to HCWS1271 on Improving Cancer Care and Early Diagnosis, which early cancer detection technologies NICE is currently assessing; what timelines apply to NICE's decisions to approve those technologies; whether funding has been allocated to adoption of approved early cancer detection technologies; what steps he is taking to help ensure that there is equitable access to early cancer detection technologies across the regions; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that innovation in early cancer detection technologies does not widen health inequalities.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently assessing a number of technologies relevant to earlier cancer detection. These include capsule sponge tests to support detection of oesophageal cancer in primary care settings, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist clinicians in identifying prostate and breast cancers from imaging. NICE is also considering potential evaluations, subject to evidence readiness and prioritisation, for technologies aimed at improving detection of endometrial cancer, and for AI-derived software to analyse chest x-rays for suspected lung cancer.
Timelines vary depending on the NICE programme through which a technology is assessed. For technologies evaluated through the Technology Appraisal programme, a positive recommendation creates a statutory funding requirement for National Health Service commissioners to make the treatment available within 90 days of final guidance publication.
NHS England is working closely with NICE and the Department to support the prioritisation for the Technology Appraisal programme. Should NICE recommend use after a Technology Appraisal, NHS England will support adoption and implementation through funding allocated across the multi-year Spending Review.
The Government is clear that innovation must narrow, not widen, health inequalities. Access to NICE-recommended technologies is a national entitlement, and where the statutory funding requirement applies it operates consistently across England, regardless of geography or care setting. NICE’s methods require consideration of equality impacts, and implementation support is designed to ensure that new detection technologies reach underserved groups and do not exacerbate existing disparities.
More broadly, the Government is taking a range of steps to ensure equitable access to earlier diagnosis. Our National Cancer Plan will drive up standards across England and tackle health inequalities head on. New cancer manuals will set out what good care looks like, with regional partnerships of health leaders and clinicians using data to drive improvements where services are falling short. The plan will also see new national standards, designed by clinicians, and better data, to inform and drive changes where they are most needed.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 align NICE appraisal timelines, MHRA regulatory pathways and NHS commissioning decisions to support the delivery of personalised cancer medicines.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) aims to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing to ensure that patients benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost effective new medicines. The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of final guidance, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation, bringing forward patient access by up to five months.
Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we are improving alignment between Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licensing and NICE guidance, helping medicines reach patients three to six months faster. This includes a coordinated pathway and integrated advice service for developers, launching in March 2026, to streamline regulatory and Health Technology Assessment processes and support timely patient access. The Life Sciences Sector Plan is published and available at the following link:
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department plans to issue guidance on the potential risks of genetic defects in children born from consanguineous relationships.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published training modules about close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors. The training modules have been published for health professionals to access and there are no plans to publish them more widely. There are no plans to issue public facing guidance.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is working with NHS England and other relevant bodies in the development and implementation of Modern Service Frameworks.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is supporting the development of the modern service frameworks. NICE is also represented on the National Quality Board, along with other arm’s length bodies, that oversees the development of the modern service frameworks.
Asked by: Peter Fortune (Conservative - Bromley and Biggin Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their department spent on X and xAI since July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of January 2026, total expenditure by the Department since July 2024 has been £69,384.94, inclusive of VAT, on X and zero on xAI.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 reduce diagnostic waiting times for endometriosis in (a) England and (b) Twickenham constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients waiting for an endometriosis diagnosis may receive diagnostic tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound, though the only definitive way to diagnose endometriosis is by a laparoscopic procedure. A laparoscopy is also used to treat endometriosis.
To improve diagnosis times, we are transforming diagnostic services and taking steps to increase diagnostic capacity. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs), building up to five new ones as part of the £600 million of capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26 and opening more CDCs 12 hours per day, seven days a week.
The NHS South West London Integrated Care Board (ICB), in which the Twickenham constituency sits, is commissioning additional diagnostic activity over the next three years, with an estimated 17% growth by 2028/29. This will be supported through the well-established CDC programme developed by the ICB. Four CDCs operate across south west London, including the Kingston CDC. These CDCs are delivering key diagnostic tests, including MRI and ultrasound.
The ICB has also prioritised the development of women’s health hubs across south west London, based on a pilot in Kingston and Richmond Borough to improve use of community gynaecology services. This will reduce demand on acute hospital services and improve waiting times for those patients requiring access to specialists, including for endometriosis diagnostics and management.
The Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust plans to carry out additional treatments in February and March for endometriosis, delivering 600 additional ultrasounds to reduce the waiting time for patients waiting for gynaecology services.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 retain healthcare professionals specialising in Parkinson’s disease.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for doctors is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC). The curricula for postgraduate specialty training are set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for foundation training, and by individual royal colleges and faculties for specialty training. The GMC approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme.
The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including specialists across the full scope of National Health Service care. It will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, when they need it. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.
We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, twice-yearly meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations and health services, and the Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. The forum has identified areas for initial focus, including workforce, which featured as a key item on the agenda at the second meeting of the forum in September 2025.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help support the training and operation of Parkinson's specialist health workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for doctors is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC). The curricula for postgraduate specialty training are set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for foundation training, and by individual royal colleges and faculties for specialty training. The GMC approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme.
The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including specialists across the full scope of National Health Service care. It will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, when they need it. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.
We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, twice-yearly meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations and health services, and the Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. The forum has identified areas for initial focus, including workforce, which featured as a key item on the agenda at the second meeting of the forum in September 2025.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of NHS patients in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands were referred to private health providers for treatment in the last twelve months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent sector providers have a role to play in supporting the National Health Service as trusted partners to recover elective services by using additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst delivering value for money.
Data for NHS referrals into the independent sector is broken down by NHS commissioning regions. We are therefore unable to reliably calculate the percentage of NHS referrals into the independent sector at the levels requested.
Between January 2025 and December 2025, latest available data, there were a total of 3,637,634 new patient pathways for elective care in the Midlands region. Of these, 5.70%, or 207,268, were at independent sector providers.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on community pharmacies of (a) business rates revaluation from April 2026 and (b) their exclusion from RHL reliefs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.
In 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Additional funding is also available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Department will shortly consult with Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27. As part of this we will consider financial pressures on the sector.