Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the British Medical Association on medical students receiving less than two hours of teaching on eating disorders throughout their undergraduate training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not had conversations with the British Medical Association about the amount of teaching on eating disorders in undergraduate medical training. The standard of training for doctors is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC sets the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approves courses and medical schools to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the GMC’s outcome standards.
Since the 2024/25 academic year, medical students graduating from UK universities have been required to pass the Medical Licensing Assessment, for which the GMC has published a content map documenting the conditions which students are expected to have knowledge. This is available at the following link: https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/mla-content-map-_pdf-85707770.pdf. Eating disorders are included in the content map.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 with devolved Administrations to help reduce waiting times from GP referral to first routine dermatology appointments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that patients across the United Kingdom continue to wait lengthy periods for treatment. Although health is a devolved matter, bringing down the elective waiting lists, including for dermatology, is a top priority across the four nations of the UK. We are working collaboratively with the devolved administrations to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer.
This includes special cross-border arrangements for patients who live on the English and Welsh border to make sure they receive healthcare without confusion or delay, and that patient data can be accessed by relevant professionals. We will continue to ensure these arrangements support high-quality care for patients in both England and Wales.
We continue to work with colleagues across all the devolved administrations to share knowledge and insights into National Health Service data and performance across all specialities, including dermatology.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 calorie labelling system in restaurants on people with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Legislation requiring large businesses in England, with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks came into force in 2022.
The Department continues to evaluate the impact of the Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) Regulations and have commissioned studies through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which includes an evaluation to understand the impact of the rules, including on people living with eating disorders.
We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness and impact of the policy, including on people living with eating disorders.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 calorie labelling system in restaurants on people with other specified feeding and eating disorder.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Legislation requiring large businesses in England, with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks came into force in 2022.
The Department continues to evaluate the impact of the Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) Regulations and have commissioned studies through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which includes an evaluation to understand the impact of the rules, including on people living with eating disorders.
We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness and impact of the policy, including on people living with eating disorders.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 calorie labelling system in restaurants on people with bulimia.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Legislation requiring large businesses in England, with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks came into force in 2022.
The Department continues to evaluate the impact of the Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) Regulations and have commissioned studies through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which includes an evaluation to understand the impact of the rules, including on people living with eating disorders.
We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness and impact of the policy, including on people living with eating disorders.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 calorie labelling system in restaurants on people with anorexia.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Legislation requiring large businesses in England, with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks came into force in 2022.
The Department continues to evaluate the impact of the Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) Regulations and have commissioned studies through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which includes an evaluation to understand the impact of the rules, including on people living with eating disorders.
We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness and impact of the policy, including on people living with eating disorders.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Health Minister on the importance of early detection of testicular cancer in young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Policy for cancer care is a devolved matter in Scotland, and is therefore the responsibility of the Scottish administration.
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier in England so that more patients survive, including young people. To achieve this, the NHS in England has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
To support timely and effective referrals, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has set out detailed guidance for general practitioners in England on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people aged zero to 24 years old, which recommends referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms. Since its relaunch on 4 February 2025, the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce for England has worked to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people aged zero to 24 years old with cancer in England. The taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis. Although the taskforce is England-only, and no formal discussions have taken place with Scotland or other countries, once the taskforce finalises its work, any recommendations for cross-border collaboration will be considered where appropriate.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Health Minister on the importance of early detection of breast cancer in young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Policy for cancer care is a devolved matter in Scotland, and is therefore the responsibility of the Scottish administration.
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier in England so that more patients survive, including young people. To achieve this, the NHS in England has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
To support timely and effective referrals, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has set out detailed guidance for general practitioners in England on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people aged zero to 24 years old, which recommends referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms. Since its relaunch on 4 February 2025, the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce for England has worked to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people aged zero to 24 years old with cancer in England. The taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis. Although the taskforce is England-only, and no formal discussions have taken place with Scotland or other countries, once the taskforce finalises its work, any recommendations for cross-border collaboration will be considered where appropriate.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to p.16 of the document entitled Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, published on 3 July 2025, what progress his Department has made on the development of the business case for the proposed use of Public-Private Partnerships in Neighbourhood Health Centres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority are working on a business case for a public-private partnerships model around Neighbourhood Health Centres that sets out the potential and an assessment of the value for money so that a final decision on the approach can be taken by the time of the 2025 Budget.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 ensure that the public are (a) consulted and (b) involved in decisions on the use of public-private partnerships in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The business case to assess the feasibility of using a public-private partnership (PPP) model for Neighbourhood Health Centres is being co-developed by the Department of Health and Social Care and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.
The business case will set out the potential for a PPP model and an assessment of the value for money so that a final decision on the approach can be taken by the time of the 2025 Budget in the autumn. If a decision is taken to proceed, then further market engagement will take place on the model and approach. The location of, and services provided through, Neighbourhood Health Centres will be decided at a local level by the NHS and other stakeholders, based on the local needs of patients.