Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for financial support for patients required to travel very long distances to access (a) stem cell transplants, (b) CAR-T immunotherapy and (c) other specialist treatments; what recent assessment he has made of the financial impact on such patients of claiming reimbursement of substantial travel costs retrospectively under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme; and if he will make it his policy to amend that scheme to allow payment in advance to patients having to undertake expensive journeys to and from treatment centres.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made, and there are no current plans to amend the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS).
It is already the case that where required and appropriate, advance payments may be made to patients on low incomes to allow them to attend their appointments. Further information can be found on the HTCS webpage, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the recent review by the UK National Screening Committee of evidence on prostate cancer screening considered the potential value for money of adopting (a) shorter and (b) simplified MRI protocols, including biparametric MRI, to reduce unit costs of prostate cancer screening in NHS settings.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average national unit cost is to the NHS for a local anaesthetic transperineal prostate biopsy, used in prostate cancer detection; and how that cost is calculated.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Diego Garcia military base, whether an exemption will exist from the Africa Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone provisions of the Pelindaba Treaty after sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is transferred from the United Kingdom to Mauritius.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 January to Question 103253.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) she and (b) her immediate predecessor had discussions with their United States counterparts on the opt-out provisions applying to (i) Diego Garcia and (ii) the Chagos Islands as a whole as set out in (A) Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, (B) Article 48 of the Constitution of the International Telecommunication Union and (C) the Commonwealth Reservation to the International Court of Justice.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's legal position regarding the British Indian Ocean Territory has been published and discussed at length in both Houses of Parliament. Our international partners are fully aware of our position and the security and operational implications. The agreement between the UK and Mauritius secures the US-UK base and operations on Diego Garcia.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she has had discussions with her United States counterpart the potential security implications of the existence of opt-outs in respect of (a) Diego Garcia and (b) the Chagos Islands under (i) Article 298 of UNCLOS, (ii) Article 428 of the International Telecommunication Union and (iii) the Commonwealth Reservation to the International Court of Justice on the future security of the Diego Garcia military base.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's legal position regarding the British Indian Ocean Territory has been published and discussed at length in both Houses of Parliament. Our international partners are fully aware of our position and the security and operational implications. The agreement between the UK and Mauritius secures the US-UK base and operations on Diego Garcia.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Pelindaba Treaty, what discussions she has with the Secretary of State for Defence on the long-term potential capability of storing nuclear weapons on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided by the Ministry of Defence on 14 January in response to Question 103951, and on 5 December 2024 in response to Question 16455.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
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 with the Secretary of State for Defence to ensure that NHS practitioners are informed of the vulnerability to suicidal ideation of veterans impacted by Lariam; and what steps veterans can take with his Department to help improve awareness within the NHS of the nature and effects of mefloquine toxicity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has updated its safety advice on mefloquine to reflect the risk of neuropsychiatric side effects, advising that it should not be used for chemoprophylaxis in individuals with a history of psychiatric disturbance.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance states that mefloquine should not be prescribed to people with current or past psychiatric disorders, suicidal ideation or behaviour, or with epilepsy or any form of convulsion.
The clinical management of suspected mefloquine intoxication has recently been reviewed with the NHS England Armed Forces Clinical Reference Group. This review advised that clinicians should assess patients individually and are expected to take a full drug and alcohol history, including any previous mefloquine use.
NHS England is considering adding screening for prior mefloquine use and any associated adverse events to initial Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE assessments. Additional clinical guidance on mefloquine and its potential adverse effects is being developed and through the Five Eyes partnership discussions are being arranged with the United States to support continuous learning and best practice in the management of suspected mefloquine intoxication.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Adviser (a) has briefed and (b) will brief the Intelligence and Security Committee on the sensitive security implications of the proposed new Chinese super-embassy in London.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government and the National Security Adviser maintain a regular and constructive dialogue with the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) across the full range of national security and intelligence matters
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the Westminster Hall debate on Parkinson's disease on 17 November 2025, col. 230WH, what steps he will take to encourage medical researchers to propose more projects for National Institute for Health and Care Research funding to help cure that disease.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the 2024/25 financial year, the NIHR committed £6 million to Parkinson’s disease research through its research programmes and capacity building schemes.
As well as funding research itself, the NIHR invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England. Collectively this forms NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure enables the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research into Parkinson’s disease.
In order to inform priorities and guide future research commissioning by funders of Parkinson’s research, the NIHR Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit at Exeter has undertaken a mapping exercise of the current evidence landscape.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Welcoming applications on Parkinson's disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.