Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to put transitional arrangements in place before the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill comes into force.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not plan to introduce transitional arrangements ahead of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill coming into force.
It is the intention of the Department to commence the bill as soon as we are able, subject to passage through Parliament.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on International Medical Graduates already working in NHS, particularly those in non-training and service roles.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.
Subject to the parliamentary passage of the bill, for 2026, international medical graduates with specific immigration statuses will be prioritised when making offers for specialty training. These statuses, such as Indefinite Leave to Remain, are being used as a proxy for NHS experience because individuals who hold them and are eligible for specialty training are likely to have already worked in the NHS for a substantial period.
From 2027 onwards, these immigration categories will no longer apply automatically. Instead, the Government will set out in future regulations additional persons who will be prioritised based on criteria indicating they are likely to have significant NHS experience, or based on their immigration status.
International medical graduates who are not prioritised will still be able to apply and will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. In particular, there are likely to be opportunities in specialties such as general practice, core psychiatry, and internal medicine. Historically, these attract fewer applicants from the groups we are prioritising for 2026.
International medical graduates will also continue to have opportunities in locally employed doctor roles, which could lead to NHS experience that might count towards future prioritisation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will be prioritised for medical training places in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training
Under the bill, British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will not be prioritised for foundation training places, and a graduate from a medical school in the UK or Ireland will not be prioritised if they spent the majority of their time studying outside the British Islands.
For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status, as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. The effect of this is that British citizens and those with certain other immigration status will be prioritised. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Physicians' report entitled A breath of fresh air: Responding to the health challenges of modern air pollution, published on 11 June 2025, what steps he is taking to support public awareness of ways to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the Royal College of Physicians' report outlines, indoor air quality remains an important public health consideration.
Our 10-Year Health plan sets out Government actions to improve the quality of the air we breathe, with commitments to increase understanding of indoor and outdoor air pollution and improve communication of air quality information to the public.
We will continue to work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on commitments in the Government’s the Environmental Improvement Plan to help make air quality part of everyday conversations.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle health inequalities experienced by people affected by homelessness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including those experiencing homelessness. We are working with integrated care systems, local authorities, and directors of public health to embed regional and local solutions to reducing inequalities, ensuring communities have the power and resources to improve health outcomes.
NICE guideline 214, Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, sets out clear expectations for services to be accessible and tailored to individual needs. This guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214/chapter/Recommendations#intermediate-care
We are exploring how best to encourage integrated care boards to adopt and embed this guidance within their commissioning processes.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that respiratory research challenges funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research will help tackle respiratory disease in adults.
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 the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the last five financial years it has invested £152 million directly into research funding on respiratory health conditions in adults. In addition, investment through NIHR infrastructure also supports the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality early translational, clinical, and applied health research across a range of research areas. The NIHR Respiratory Translational Research Collaboration is a network of leading universities, National Health Service trusts, and research centres in the United Kingdom who carry out early translational respiratory research. It works with life sciences companies, charities, and other funders to design and deliver complex, multicentre studies that accelerate research to benefit patients. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve public confidence in performing CPR on women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England runs training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme. This training should help to increase confidence in performing CPR on women. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation in the last 13 years, and 2,134 this year so far. NHS England delivers the sessions via their resuscitation team and via their community first responders.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the lack of female-form CPR mannequins on survival rates for women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is continuing to take action to increase cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) awareness and training, including NHS England leading sessions on first aid, CPR, and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme. This training should help to increase confidence in performing CPR on women.
NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation in the last 13 years, and 2,134 this year so far. NHS England delivers the sessions via their resuscitation team and via their community first responders.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national strategy for palliative and end-of-life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the challenges the palliative care and end of life care sector faces. The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) levels of access to and (b) the quality of palliative and end of life care across England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations
NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is investing £3 million in a Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit, launched in January 2024, is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part charitable hospices play as well. This is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the next three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.