Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 help improve the provision of mental health services in the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving access to Mental Health Support Teams, expanding talking therapies and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the National Health Service App.
Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services.
We are also delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament. We are more than halfway towards this target, which will help to ease pressure on busy mental health services.
Responsibility for commissioning of mental health services sits with integrated care boards (ICBs). It is the role of local ICBs to consider what mental health services are needed for their populations and include the perspectives of healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups and local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 help reduce infant mortality rates at Queen’s Hospital in Romford.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has taken a number of steps to improve their maternity services and help reduce infant mortality rates. This includes:
- implementing pre-term screening for pre-eclampsia;
- recruiting 164 more midwives since 2021, with seven more due to join soon, reducing the vacancy rate to 3.64% compared to 16% in January 2023;
- investing in additional clinical posts, including the recruitment of 12 additional obstetrics and gynaecology consultants since 2022, with two more joining soon, and increasing resident doctor numbers;
- introducing bilingual volunteers to support women throughout pregnancy, including attending appointments with them, and during labour;
- offering enhanced ‘continuity of carer’ in areas where health inequalities have been identified;
- increasing triage space and staffing to speed up initial assessment and creating a new discharge lounge to improve flow through the unit;
- increasing obstetric theatre capacity and staffing; and
- launching a new diabetes pre-conception clinic this year for women who are trying to conceive, and a new hybrid closed-loop insulin pump service for type 1 diabetics who are pregnant or trying to conceive.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 take steps to promote the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of UK medical graduates over international applicants.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
British doctors who obtained their medical degree abroad need to meet the requirements of the General Medical Council, the independent regulator of the medical profession, to practise medicine in the United Kingdom. These doctors are then able to apply for jobs in the National Health Service on the same basis as UK medical graduates.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, we will work across the Government to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the NHS for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 help tackle health tourism.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In relation to United Kingdom nationals travelling abroad for treatment, the Department has recently updated guidance that advises anyone considering a procedure abroad to carefully research the treatment in question, the qualifications of their clinician, and the regulations that apply in any specific country.
We also recently launched a communications campaign, in collaboration with TikTok, to encourage people to review the Government’s travel advice alongside relevant guidance from the National Health Service and other relevant professional bodies. By taking such steps before treatment, patients make are able to make more informed decisions about treatments abroad, to help protect themselves and the NHS from any potential negative consequences of medical tourism.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 adequacy of existing enforcement (a) powers and (b) resources available to (i) Trading Standards and (ii) local authorities to tackle the sale of illegal tobacco by businesses.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are a range of tools available to enforce the sale of illicit tobacco, which reflect the severity of the offence committed. Trading Standards can seize illicit goods and refer cases to HM Revenue and Customs to make decisions about penalties, which can include fines of up to £10,000 and deactivation of a business's economic operator ID, restricting or removing their ability to purchase or sell tobacco in the United Kingdom. Further details are set out in HM Revenue and Customs’ Illicit Tobacco Strategy, at the following link:
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement and crack down on rogue retailers selling illegal and unregulated tobacco and vape products to children and young people. The Bill introduces new £200 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales for certain tobacco and vape offences, including underage sales, and enables the introduction of a retail licensing scheme in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and a new registration scheme for tobacco, vape, and nicotine products sold on the UK market.
Alongside the bill, we are investing £30 million of new funding for enforcement agencies in 2025/26, including Trading Standards, HM Revenue and Customs, and Border Force. This funding is being used to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales in England, and the implementation of the measures in the bill, including a boost to the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting approximately 80 new apprentices.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 to reduce the number of allergy-related deaths.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 July 2025 to Question 64001.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 to help improve the post-treatment recovery of NHS cancer patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including a holistic needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. This includes the provision of information, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and their treatment. Personalised care ensures that each person’s care is planned holistically, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns.
Moreover, the NHS Cancer Programme, through local Cancer Alliances, is working to ensure that physical activity is fully integrated across the whole cancer pathway, which includes opportunities within rehabilitation for people who have undergone treatment.
The National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will set out plans to improve the experiences and outcomes for people at every stage of the cancer pathway, including post-treatment.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 to help reduce levels of (a) violent and (b) sexual crime against NHS staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work.
All NHS organisations should have robust policies and procedures in place to manage sexual misconduct in the workplace. In September 2023, NHS England launched the healthcare system’s first organisational Sexual Safety Charter. There are over 400 signatories to the charter across the health system who have committed to taking and enforcing a zero-tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate, or harmful sexual behaviours in the workplace.
In April 2025, the Government announced that the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, as part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal, have been accepted. These include significant commitments to tackle violence and aggression against NHS staff, including improving data and the reporting of incidences, and ensuring strengthened risk assessment, training, and support for victims. This will be strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan, which will cover issues including tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 to improve the mental well-being of NHS staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Looking after the mental health of our hardworking National Health Service staff is a priority for the Government.
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to roll out staff treatment hubs. These hubs will provide a high-quality occupational health service for all NHS staff, including support for mental health issues. It will build on work that NHS England has led to strengthen occupational health in the NHS and on existing mental health provision such as the Practitioner Health service.
We will also work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 to improve incontinence care provided by the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Millions of men, women, young people, and children of all ages are living with bowel and bladder problems. All continence problems can be debilitating and life changing. They affect a wide range of care groups and can be a particular concern for the ageing population.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published five guidelines on the management of urinary and faecal incontinence to date. These guidelines cover the management of urinary incontinence in people with neurological disease, the prevention and management of pelvic floor dysfunction, and pelvic organ prolapse in women. NICE has also published a further 14 products in relation to urinary incontinence and 12 in relation to faecal incontinence.
The Department has also commissioned NICE to produce late-stage assessment guidance on one-piece closed bags for colostomies and intermittent urethral catheters for chronic incomplete bladder emptying in adults. These late-stage assessments gather the views of clinical experts and patients to help NICE assess and compare the value of products in widespread use across the National Health Service.
The NHS must also have regard to the Excellence in Continence Care guidance, published in 2018. This provides advice for commissioners, providers, and healthcare staff on understanding and addressing continence needs within their local population. This guidance is supported by British Society of Urogynaecology. Further information on the Excellence in Continence Care guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/excellence-in-continence-care/
NHS England has also produced Safer Bowel Care for Patients at Risk of Autonomic Dysreflexia, a serious medical emergency that can occur in people with spinal cord injuries, which offers resources to support safer bowel care practice and highlights the importance of implementing the Excellence in Continence Care framework.
In addition to national guidance, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has professional standards relating to bladder and bowel nursing care. The NMC Code places strong emphasis on the principle of “Prioritising People”, which sets out the expectation that registrants should always respond to individual patient needs.
NHS England is also developing a best practice catheter care pathway across all settings to be completed by the end of this year.
Our focus on the shift from hospital to community will help to drive more joint working in neighborhoods between primary care, pharmacies, community health care, and social care, to help people to manage incontinence at home, by giving them access to the right self-care, the right professional support, so they aren’t passed from service to service, and reducing their need for emergency admissions to hospital.