Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department made an assessment of trends in the levels of current waiting times for cancer treatment in NHS Humber and North Yorkshire and NHS West Yorkshire sub-ICBs prior to funding decisions for the forthcoming National Cancer Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment on the National Health Service, including in Humber and North Yorkshire and NHS West Yorkshire. The Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS and opening up community diagnostic centres at evening and weekends, to help diagnose cancer earlier.
We have also invested £70 million of funding into new radiotherapy treatment machines to replace older, less efficient machines. These new machines are currently being rolled out to trusts throughout the country. These newer machines will reduce treatment times, boost productivity, and allow more patients to be seen over the same period.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish (a) the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation and (b) the selection criteria used by the Investigation team to assess those trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 14 NHS trusts to be looked at as part of the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation were announced on 15 September 2025. There are no plans to publish the long list of NHS trusts considered by the chair for inclusion in the investigation.
The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s Maternity Patient Survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s perinatal mortality rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback.
Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations or reviews, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who has been selected to represent (a) midwifery, (b) obstetrics and (c) neonatal care for his Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The list of Expert Advisers supporting Baroness Amos is published in the terms of reference. They include:
a) Professor Julia Sanders and Lesley Sharkey, both midwives.
b) Professor Alex Heazell and Dr Christine Ekechi, both obstetricians.
c) Dr Edile Murdoch and Dr Alison Bedford-Russell, both neonatologists.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
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 (a) awareness of, (b) diagnosis of and (c) access to effective treatment within the NHS for those affected by Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service. We recognise that Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a serious condition which can be both distressing and disabling for those that experience PMDD symptoms.
The Department and the NHS have created a women’s health area on the NHS website, which brings together over 100 health topics including periods, gynaecological conditions, fertility, pregnancy, heart health and cancers, and is designed to be a first port of call for women seeking health information. The page on premenstrual syndrome contains information and advice on PMDD.
Women’s health hubs have a key role in shifting care out of hospitals and improving care for women’s health conditions. As of December 2024, 39 out of 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) reported to NHS England that they had at least one operational women’s health hub. We continue to engage with and encourage ICBs to use the learning from the women’s health hubs pilots to improve local delivery of services to women.
Psychological support is also available to women experiencing premenstrual dysphoric disorder through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide evidence-based treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, for common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies services or be referred by their general practitioner.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
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 access to Dienogest for people with endometriosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service in England on best practice. In its guideline on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis, last updated in November 2024, NICE recommends that hormonal treatment such as Dienogest should be offered to women with suspected, confirmed or recurrent endometriosis.
It is the clinician’s responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian. Prescribers must always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and ensure that they take account of NICE guidelines, as well as the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support GP practices with the costs of recycling medical packaging.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Premises Costs Directions 2013 set out the reimbursement of certain costs, incurred by General Medical Services contractors, that can be claimed relating to their practice premises. This includes being able to claim reimbursement for clinical waste disposal. The costs of all other waste services are a general practice (GP) expense, covered by the payments GPs receive for delivery of services under their contracts. The Premises Costs Directions 2013 is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-general-medical-services-premises-costs-directions
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental practices in the Elmet and Rothwell constituency have (a) become wholly private and (b) reduced their NHS commitment since March 2020; and what urgent steps his Department is taking to ensure that residents living in the Elmet and Rothwell constituency have access to an NHS dentist.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
We do not hold data at the requested level or on private dental practices.
In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care. This plan will help increase access to NHS dentistry whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices, including in Elmet and Rothwell. We have taken action to implement these changes, including through regulations that came into effect on 25th November 2022.
In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance. Further reforms are planned for this year.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled Our plan for patients, published on 22 September 2022, what steps his Department is taking to require dentists to update their NHS website profiles more frequently.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care.
We have taken action to implement these changes, including through amendments to the National Health Service dental contract introduced on 25 November 2022. It became a contractual responsibility for NHS dentists to keep their NHS.UK profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. Practices are required to update their NHS.UK profiles at least once every 90 days, including information on whether they are accepting new patients.
Commissioners will have access to a report showing which practices are non-compliant, with monitoring due to come into effect from end of March 2023.