Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of retail sold magnets on the safety of cerebrospinal fluid shunts programmable externally by magnets.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusions on the market in the United Kingdom are safe, effective, and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002) establish the statutory framework that medical devices must meet in order to comply with these standards.
All medical devices, including cerebrospinal fluid shunts programmable externally by magnets, must comply with the MDR 2002, which include bearing the UKCA or CE marking on the packaging or labelling of the device. Manufacturers or their UK representatives must monitor use of these devices when used in the UK. The manufacturer holds the legal responsibility for obtaining the necessary certification and registering their medical devices with the MHRA, the UK Competent Authority. Higher risk medical devices are assessed and approved by Approved Bodies in the UK or Notified Bodies in the European Union.
As part of meeting the requirements of the regulations, manufacturers have to provide instructions which would include any special operating instructions, any warnings and/or precautions to take, and precautions to be taken as regards exposure, in reasonably foreseeable environmental conditions, to magnetic fields. In addition, some manufacturers provide further standalone information on this topic, an example of which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the average length of time for a GP's surgery to negotiate a lease for (a) new and (b) extended premises in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The lease for a general practice (GP) surgery is negotiated between the GP and the landlord, with the agreement of the local integrated care board.
The Department does not hold information regarding the average length of time taken for GP surgeries in both new and extended premises to negotiate a lease.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides on the minimum training and professional standards required for healthcare professionals undertaking child protection medicals for safeguarding assessments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Standards of proficiency, conduct, and performance of registered professionals are the statutory responsibility of healthcare regulators, such as the General Medical Council for doctors and the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives, which are independent of the Government. Approved Education Institutions and practice partners develop the specific content and design of training programmes to meet these standards. Training programmes are then approved and monitored by the relevant regulator. Practice partners provide practice placements for healthcare students and can include National Health Service trusts, social care, voluntary organisations, and general practices.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99953 on Hospitals: Construction, with what regularity are the multi-criteria decision analysis inputs updated to inform New Hospital Programme decision making.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our published New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation sets out a credible plan for delivery, and we continue to make progress against this. The multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool represented only one input to support scheme prioritisation and the development of funding options, which also included funding constraints and consultation and review with colleagues across the Department, NHP, and NHS England.
As set out in our Plan for Implementation, the programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future. The tool remains available to support any decision-making as the programme progresses, with consideration of the inputs reflecting the decision context at the time.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to improve the care system for cardiology patients in the UK; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s by Professor Religa.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.
No assessment has been made of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s for heart transplant surgery. The National Health Service’s heart transplant programme provides life-saving heart transplants for adults, those 16 years old or older, with end-stage heart failure, involving assessment, surgery, and lifelong care.
NHS England has been undertaking a review of heart and lung transplantation services, building on a report commissioned by the Department, named Honouring the gift of organ donation, published in 2023 and avaiable at the following link:
The goals of the review are to increase the number of transplants, improve patient outcomes, reduce inequalities in access to transplants, and improve patient experience.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include information in the Green Book on the HPV vaccine that includes reference to its role in reducing the risk of oral cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Green Book is written for healthcare professionals. The chapter on human papillomavirus (HPV) does highlight the causal link between infection with this virus, cervical cancer, and some non-cervical cancer including those of the head and neck. The HPV chapter 18a from the Green Book is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-papillomavirus-hpv-the-green-book-chapter-18a
Broader UK Health Security Agency guidance on HPV also highlights the protection the vaccine provides against HPV infection and related conditions. This public‑facing information also explains that the vaccine helps protect against cancers of the mouth and is available at the following link:
It also highlights that the greatest risk comes from infection with high-risk types of HPV. There is very good evidence that the vaccine in use in the United Kingdom offers excellent protection against these high-risk types.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 the internal NHS complaints procedures.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service organisations must handle complaints in accordance with the standards and processes set out in the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009.
To support good complaint handling, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s NHS Complaint Standards set out how organisations providing NHS services in the NHS should approach complaint handling. The standards place a strong focus on several key aspects of complaint handling, including early resolution and giving fair and accountable responses. They set out practical advice and good practice to help NHS organisations improve.
Through implementation of Fit for the Future: The 10-Year Health Plan for England, we will improve transparency, deliver high-quality care for all, and strengthen patient and staff voice. This includes reform of the NHS complaints process, setting clear standards for both the timeliness and the quality of responses to complaints, as well as ensuring the NHS listens carefully and compassionately, taking forward learning to ensure high quality care. We will also increase the use of artificial intelligence tools to ensure complaints data is collected, and responded to, far more quickly.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Government taking to ensure that there are adequate Blue Badge parking spaces at NHS facilities in Hampshire and Surrey.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service organisations decide how they provide parking locally, including whether it is charged for, based on the needs of patients, visitors, and staff, as well as environmental factors. The NHS car parking guidance requires free parking to be provided for four groups: disabled people; frequent outpatient attenders; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working night shifts. Further information is available at the following link:
These local decisions include the number of Blue Badge parking spaces.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 help ensure that hospital parking is affordable and inclusive for staff and patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service organisations decide how they provide parking locally, including whether it is charged for, based on the needs of patients, visitors, and staff, as well as environmental factors. The NHS car parking guidance requires free parking to be provided for four groups: disabled people; frequent outpatient attenders; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working night shifts. Further information is available at the following link:
These local decisions include the number of Blue Badge parking spaces.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to update the multi-criteria decision support analysis to ensure that hospital wave allocations within the New Hospital Programme reflect estate conditions and patient environment standards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the New Hospital Programme’s Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool was used to help prioritise schemes to support the development of funding options. Criteria included deliverability, estate condition, clinical outcomes and patient assessment of care environment for each of the hospitals falling within the scope of the review. The input data and scoring mechanism within the MCDA was reviewed with NHS England and Departmental colleagues to validate its appropriateness. The Programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future.
The plan is available at the following link: