Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb cols 2–3), what integrated care board groups do not have at least one fracture liaison service.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 1 September in response to Question HL2030, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

Our 10-Year Health Plan is clear that the future National Health Service must be more preventative, more integrated, and deliver more care closer to home, including for people with osteoporosis.

The Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030, and we are clear that everyone at risk of fragility fractures should be able to benefit from high-quality, timely care that supports prevention, early intervention, and effective management. We are pursuing those goals across the whole pathway of fracture prevention, including improving access to diagnosis, supporting the adoption of effective treatments, and encouraging local systems to develop services that identify people at the highest risk of future fractures and intervene early.

Earlier this year, the Government announced £2.6 million of funding for 20 new DEXA bone density scanners across England. Tens of thousands of patients will benefit from faster access to bone scans as a result, helping to ensure that people with bone conditions, such as osteoporosis, get diagnosed earlier. This builds on the first wave of 13 DEXA scanners announced last year. In 2025, over 21,000 extra DEXA scans were delivered in England compared with 2024.

We continue to work closely with NHS England to improve access to fracture prevention services and to explore the best ways of supporting local systems to deliver high-quality care which meets the needs of their populations. The Government has been clear that integrated care boards are best placed to shape services for their localities and we have set expectations, through the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, that they should prioritise community-based models when commissioning new services.

Progress in this area can be monitored through activity and outcomes reported through the Fracture Liaison Service Database.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold on the number of years on the National Insurance records of all UK residents and citizens and what assessment they have made of the potential cost savings that would be incurred by increasing the number of qualifying years for a full state pension from 35 to 48.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department holds information on individuals' National Insurance contribution records, including qualifying years relevant to State Pension entitlement. DWP has made no assessment of the savings arising from increasing the number of qualifying years required for a full State Pension from 35 to 48.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment it has made of the savings to the Treasury over the next 10 years of (1) dropping the 2.5 per cent element of the triple lock on pensions, and (2) only uprating the equivalent of the basic state pension's value by the triple lock each year, with the remaining state pension payments uprated by prices.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

An assessment of dropping the 2.5% element of the Triple lock on pensions and only uprating the equivalent of the basic state pension's value by the triple lock each year, with the remaining state pension payments uprated by prices, would incur disproportionate cost.

The Office for Budget Responsibility assume long-term annual growth rates for the following economic determinants: Consumer Price Index (2.0%), Average Earnings (3.75%) and ‘Triple Lock’ (4.31%).

Source: OBR Long-term economic determinants - March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook