Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the five-year survival rates for brain cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving outcomes and survival rates remain a firm priority for the Government across all cancer types. However, we recognise that for rarer cancers, such as brain cancers, which are harder to diagnose and treat, survival rates are too low, and this needs to drastically change.
Research is vital in improving survival rates, which is why in December 2025 the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer. The NIHR is investing an initial £13.7 million, with significant further funding due to be awarded early in the new year.
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer will be a key aim of the National Cancer Plan for England, which is due to be published shortly. The plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including brain cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Closing the Gap: A roadmap for equitable access to genomic testing and precision medical trials for all patients with a brain tumour in the UK published by the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in September 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the National Cancer Plan, officials have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including brain cancer clinical experts and charities, as well as receiving this report. The Department received over 11,000 responses to the Call for Evidence, which have been analysed to support the development the plan.
On 24 October 2025, NHS England published the Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29. This sets out that all National Health Service providers must support embedding research as part of everyday care, meet the site-specific timeframes of the Government’s 150-day clinical trial set-up target, and for research activity and income to be reported to boards on a six-monthly basis.
We are also embedding genomic testing as routine practice within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and its workforce. This includes seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs delivering comprehensive genomic testing and analysis, such as whole genome sequencing, as part of routine care. The Genomics Education Programme is responsible for upskilling the entire multi-professional, multi-specialty NHS workforce in genomics.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand brain cancer trials in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with brain cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for brain cancer.
In December 2025, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. Significant further funding is due to be awarded shortly. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which organisations with instances and tenancies are included in the NHS England Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 13 January 2026, the NHS England Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) includes live instances and tenancies across 149 National Health Service organisations. The following table shows these organisations sorted by organisation type:
Organisation type | Number of live organisations |
Acute trusts | 96 |
Mental health trusts | 9 |
Community trusts | 1 |
Ambulance trusts | 2 |
Integrated care boards (ICBs) | 41 |
Total | 149 |
The organisations listed in the document attached have an active NHS FDP instance or tenancy and are operating within the platform in line with their respective data controller responsibilities and the NHS FDP governance framework.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which use cases or purposes are currently active in the national instances of the NHS England Federated Data Platform; and what is the number of users currently able to access each purpose, as defined by Palantir on 4 December 2020, Purpose-based Access Controls at Palantir.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Federated Data Platform, including the national instance, provides trusts and integrated care boards with a set of core capabilities and nationally commissioned locally developed products to support five key National Health Service priorities:
- Population Health and Person Insight;
- Care Coordination;
- Supply Chain;
- Vaccination and Immunisation; and
- Elective Recovery.
There are currently 28,732 active accounts on the Federated Data Platform's National tenant, and access to data is managed by dataset and product-specific access controls. This figure does not include the number of accounts across local tenants.
The information on the number of users currently able to access each purpose is not routinely collected, as user stats are aligned to products.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - 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 18 December 2025 (HL12801), when they will publish the advice to ministers by David Lock KC on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office report.
The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of regional variation in breast cancer screening uptake, particularly in areas where uptake is significantly below the national average.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government is committed to improving the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) and addressing regional variation in uptake.
To improve uptake and address inequalities, this year, NHS England is planning to publish a Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Review.
This will include a review of actions taken at a national level by the NHS BSP so far, as well as setting out where the focus will be going forward, to support local services to drive uptake even further.
The review supports breast screening service providers with national solutions such as:
In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the forthcoming national cancer plan for England will consider expanding access to non-genomic biomarker testing, in addition to genomic testing, to determine eligibility for cancer precision medicines.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently developing the National Cancer Plan for England, which will be published shortly. The plan will build on the commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to provide comprehensive molecular profiling of all cancers. Genomic testing is a key element of molecular profiling.
We also recognise the important role that nongenomic biomarkers play in identifying the most effective treatments for individual patients. The plan will consider how to ensure access to high-quality treatment, including access to testing that determines eligibility for precision testing.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered permitting the term probiotic to be used in mandatory food labelling.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under existing legislation, the Department considers the term ‘probiotic’ to constitute a health claim as it implies that consuming a food or food supplement containing these bacteria may provide a health benefit. Health claims may only be used if they have been scientifically substantiated and authorised in accordance with nutrition and health claims legislation.
There is an established process for authorising health claims, which requires industry to submit detailed scientific evidence for assessment. Since the exit of the European Union, the Department has not received any applications for new health claims relating to probiotics or specific bacterial strains. As no claims are authorised, ‘probiotics’ should not be used as a claim on food labels.
The term ‘probiotic’ could only be used on food labels if a specific authorised health claim existed for the particular strain of live bacteria used. The authorisation process remains available to industry, and any future applications would be considered in line with the requirements to ensure that health claims used on food are accurate, evidence‑based, and not misleading for consumers.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether nicotine-containing vaping liquids imported into the United Kingdom in pre-filled pods or cartridges are subject to the same testing, notification, and compliance requirements under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 as those manufactured domestically; and what testing or evidence of conformity producers or importers are required to hold prior to placing such products on the UK market.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All businesses placing nicotine vaping products on the United Kingdom market are required to notify the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA’s notification scheme for nicotine-containing vaping products, including pre-filled pods or cartridges, helps ensure that products are in line with the requirements set out by the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016. Businesses are required to provide key product information before these products can be sold, including toxicology data, nicotine dose, and the name and contact details of the manufacturer, so the MHRA can review the data for compliance with the notification requirements. Where products fail to align with the notification data, Trading Standards have powers to remove the products from UK supply chains.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides the Government with regulation making powers to develop a new registration system for tobacco, vape and nicotine products that are sold on the UK market. Under this registration system, all producers and manufacturers will be required to provide relevant information before their product can be sold in the UK. Additionally, we are taking powers to establish a new testing regime for these products.