Found: Correspondence with Baroness Merron and the Chief Scientific Adviser, re FGM, dated 15.07.2026 and 3.09.2026

Found: session Correspondence from the Department- CQC Chair Preferred Candidate Correspondence from Baroness Merron

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 28 August (HL2592), what assessment they have made of the reliability of mortality data for individuals with learning disabilities in the light of reports by Mencap that around three-quarters of people with a learning disability are not on general practice learning disability registers.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28 August in response to Question HL2592, in which I set out that we will share next steps in due course regarding the new patient level data set.

In the meantime, work is ongoing to improve identification of people with a learning disability within General Practice (GP) Learning Disability Registers. New guidance was published on 1 September to support the development and maintenance of those registers, enabling patients to access support and services, and improve data on learning disability.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 28 August (HL2592), what steps they will take to identify deaths of individuals with a learning disability which are not correctly flagged on primary care records; and whether they will be included in future early mortality statistics.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28 August in response to Question HL2592, in which I set out that we will share next steps in due course regarding the new patient level data set.

In the meantime, work is ongoing to improve identification of people with a learning disability within General Practice (GP) Learning Disability Registers. New guidance was published on 1 September to support the development and maintenance of those registers, enabling patients to access support and services, and improve data on learning disability.

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 September (HL2165), at what administrative level data on Accessible Information Standard compliance in pharmacies is collected; which local bodies, including Integrated Care Boards and NHS trusts, hold records on compliance; and whether the Department of Health and Social Care plan to request these local records to evaluate national compliance with this statutory obligation.

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

Data on compliance with the Accessible Information Standard is held locally by healthcare providers, whilst responsibility for monitoring compliance rests with the commissioner of the service such as integrated care boards and NHS England.

The Department does not currently hold these records centrally and has no immediate plans to request them for a national evaluation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL894), what discussions have taken place between (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) the Department for Work and Pensions, and (3) HM Treasury, on addressing the £4.9 billion annual loss in workplace productivity associated with obesity-related absence.

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

The Government remains committed to delivering the moonshot to end the obesity epidemic. I refer the Noble Baroness to the prevention chapter of the 10-Year Health Plan that sets out our package of policies to improve the healthiness of the food environment and reduce obesity rates.

I also refer the Noble Baroness to Sir Charlie Mayfield’s independent Keep Britain Working review report. The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Work and Pension and the Department of Business and Trade on the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase, focused on tackling health-related economic inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces. No discussions have taken place between the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and HM Treasury on addressing the £4.9 billion annual loss in workplace productivity associated with obesity-related absence.

After the initial wave of modern service frameworks (MSFs) is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

Proposals for new MSFs will be assessed by the National Quality Board against a clear set of criteria, including: the strength of the case for change; the presence of consensus around a genuinely ambitious, long term outcome goal; the existence of a strong coalition of cross-system partners; and the potential for digital by default models and service transformation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 16 July (HL1674), what estimate have they made of public expenditure on glioblastoma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma between 2015–16 and 2024–25, identifying separately NIHR, UKRI, MRC, attributed infrastructure expenditure and other public funding; stating what proportion of each figure derives from attributed infrastructure expenditure; and what proportion of total public expenditure each tumour type represents.

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

I refer the Noble Lord Hunt to the answers provided on 15 July in response to Question HL1677 and 16 July in response to Question HL1674.

Further to the answer provided on 15 July in response to Question HL1677, over eight years, from 2018/19 to 2025/26, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) committed £66.3 million to brain tumour research. UKRI also supported 93 studentships over this period. All associated work packages for the National Institute for Health and Care Research Brain Tumour Research Consortium have now been fully executed.

The information requested is not held by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Information on trials supported through the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) can be found on their website. The platform is designed to be company and clinical trial agnostic so any company can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research.

Other information is not available as it is not held in the format requested or is not held centrally.

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), whether a reconfigured integrated care board group may be classified as having completed rollout of Fracture Liaison Services solely because it contains a service that pre-dated the reconfiguration; and, if so, how that classification is consistent with their commitment to national rollout by 2030.

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 of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb col 1), which two newly reconfigured Integrated Care Board (ICB) areas do not currently have a Fracture Liaison Service (FLS); whether the statement that 23 of the 25 newly reconfigured ICB areas have at least one FLS now represents the Government’s measure of progress towards national rollout by 2030; if so, when that measure was adopted; if not, by what metric the Government measures progress towards delivering FLS "across every part of the country"; and whether the Government would regard their commitment to universal coverage as fulfilled if every newly reconfigured ICB area had at least one FLS.

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

I refer the Noble Lord 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 of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 June (HL570), whether all the guidance referred to has now been published by NHS England; and whether that published guidance covers accesses for which NHS England, general practices, or pharmacies are the responsible employers.

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

Stopping unlawful access to records - Guidance for health and care professionals has now been published on the NHS England website in an online-only format. It applies to any patient data, and to anyone working in the National Health Service, or under contract to the NHS, with the potential to access patient records.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 16 February (HL14539), what steps they are taking to refurbish the water fluoridation scheme in Bedfordshire.

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

The Government is working with Anglian Water to construct a new fluoride dosing plant to reinstate water fluoridation across Bedfordshire. The project is currently in a detailed design phase, with fluoridation expected to re-commence from June 2027.

Found: Baroness Merron stated from the dispatch box: “I can say, as I have said before, that it is absolutely