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 proposals to repeal section 4(2) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948, and whether they plan to review how courts should take account of NHS-provided care when awarding damages in clinical negligence cases.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, 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’s (NAO) report, The costs of clinical negligence, which was published on 17 October 2025.
The NAO found that in 2024/25, there was a 3.7 to one ratio of legal costs to damages payable for low-value claims, those of £25,000 or less. The report can be viewed on the NAO’s website.
We welcome the report by the NAO. 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 plans they have to change their genomic testing strategy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service’s (NHS GMS) service specification, published in July 2025, sets out future testing strategy, including focus on improved turnaround times and requirements to deliver the Genomic Population Health Service, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. The final service specification was published in Autumn 2025 following stakeholder feedback. The new NHS GMS will be operational from April 2026 and will set out the new model up to 2036.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the draft service specification for the Genomic Medicine Service, and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Genomic Medicine Service’s (NHS GMS) service specification, published in July 2025, sets out future testing strategy, including focus on improved turnaround times and requirements to deliver the Genomic Population Health Service, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. The final service specification was published in Autumn 2025 following stakeholder feedback. The new NHS GMS will be operational from April 2026 and will set out the new model up to 2036.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide NHS email accounts to NHS contractors, including optometrists.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service contractors, in the form of independent sector organisations, who provide health and social care services nationally, can be eligible for NHS.net accounts, formerly NHSmail, subject to acceptance criteria. Organisations that qualify will be permitted to create accounts for staff delivering patient-facing services.
Where an independent sector organisation has been commissioned locally and the commissioning body requires NHS.net, the local NHS organisation may provide sponsor email accounts for the duration of the contract. This is at the discretion of the local NHS organisation, as they are responsible for managing their own accounts.
NHS.net provides licences for optometry practices in England, specifically for General Ophthalmic Services contractors with 10 or fewer sites. Eligible practices can receive one shared mailbox and up to three individual NHS.net accounts per site, enabling secure communication of patient data.
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 potential benefits of expanding primary eye care services through high street optometry practices to support the early detection of eye conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the health needs of their population and commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet them.
ICBs already commission National Health Service sight testing services through high street optical practices. Regular sight tests, whether provided by the NHS or privately, play a vital role in the early detection of sight threatening eye conditions.
ICBs can also commission enhanced eye care services from high street optical practices, including minor and urgent eye care services and glaucoma referral refinement services. These services further support the identification and management of eye conditions to prevent avoidable sight loss.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve digital connectivity between high street optometrists and secondary eye care services through the NHS Innovation Accelerator.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s digital accelerators pilots have provided the evidence to demonstrate the value of digital integration of primary and secondary care through a refined single point of access model. The digitally enabled single point of access uses IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services to improve the referral and triage of patients, with patient data and images being assessed by clinicians to determine if patients need an appointment in secondary care. This was found to reduce unnecessary hospital appointments, time from referral to treatment, and supports more patients being managed in the community. The learnings from the pilots have been shared with integrated care boards.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the NHS Federated Data Platform uptake and benefits, updated on 30 October, how many of the 563,239 people removed from the waiting list were removed for the reason of (1) receiving treatment, (2) improved conditions, (3) opting for alternative care, (4) returning to general practice for primary care, (5) returning to optometry for primary care, (6) returning to pharmacy for primary care, (7) returning to primary care not otherwise specified, and (8) other reasons not otherwise specified.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Federated Data Platform’s referral to treatment validation tool supports National Health Service staff to better manage the waiting lists of patients who have been referred for non-urgent elective care.
The Department does not hold the data required to detail the breakdown of reasons patients were removed from the waiting lists as this is patient-level data which is held by trusts themselves in their electronic patient records.
Waiting list validation is a core part of providers’ management of waiting lists which involves ensuring patients’ records are accurate and up to date, that patients still want their treatment, and that they have opportunities to update their clinical team about changes in their condition or relevant circumstances.
This ensures providers have an accurate understanding of the true size of their waiting list, whilst helping minimise missed or cancelled appointments and ensuring the most effective use of clinicians’ time.
Waiting list validation is a well-established component for the effective management of waiting lists, with detailed guidance available for trusts, including safeguards to ensure patients are not incorrectly removed from waiting lists. NHS guidance states there “must be agreement from a clinician before any patient is returned to the referrer”. Any patient removed should receive a letter that would also be sent to their general practitioner.