Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 ensure that community-based ear wax removal services are made available to patients in (a) Harrow East constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local populations. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal. When ICBs exercise their functions, including commissioning healthcare services such as ear wax removal, they have a duty to reduce inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access health services, and to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services.
Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.
However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many human embryos were discarded in each of the last ten years for which information is available; and what uses discarded embryos are put to.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table, provided by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), shows the number of human embryos discarded in each of the last ten years for which information is available:
Year | Embryos discarded |
2022 | 160,285 |
2021 | 172,665 |
2020 | 137,296 |
2019 | 173,130 |
2018 | 177,765 |
2017 | 175,616 |
2016 | 174,327 |
2015 | 175,478 |
2014 | 176,661 |
2013 | 170,654 |
Source: HFEA.
Notes:
There is no further information collected by the HFEA after an embryo is discarded.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 success rate of IVF is in each of the last ten years for which information is available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) publishes annual reports on their website which include success rates of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). The following table shows the success rate of IVF in each of the last ten years for which information is available:
Year of treatment | Birth rate per embryo transferred |
2022 | 23% |
2021 | 23% |
2020 | 24% |
2019 | 24% |
2018 | 23% |
2017 | 23% |
2016 | 22% |
2015 | 21% |
2014 | 20% |
2013 | 19% |
Source: HFEA annual report on fertility treatment and the HFEA dashboard.
Notes:
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 health outcomes for children born by IVF.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that its expert Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee monitors new studies relating to health outcomes in children conceived by IVF. They last discussed this topic in February 2025, and the associated paper and minutes can be found on the HFEA website, at the following link:
HFEA Register data is used in research studies which look at the effects of IVF on the health of children born, with further information about these studies, including details of current and previous projects, available on the HFEA website at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/data-research/
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 support the move toward patient self-referral for community audiology services as a default pathway in (a) Harrow East constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current community audiology service in Harrow East requires a referral from a healthcare professional to access the service. The North West London Integrated Care Board is examining how this service could be developed, in the light of recent guidance around increasing self-referral to services such as audiology, in a manner that meets the needs of the population and which fits sustainably within the funding available for this service.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 tackle tobacco bundle packs; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting the promotion of these bundles.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment on the potential merits of prohibiting the sale of bundles, consisting of hand rolling tobacco, cigarette papers, and filters, being sold together at a discount.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill gives my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care powers to regulate the features of all tobacco products, including their size and shape, as well as the number of individual products contained in an individual packet. The bill also widens this power to cover tobacco related devices, herbal smoking products, and cigarette papers. The bill gives my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care the power to make, via regulations, prohibitions, requirements, and limitations on the supply of these products. This power would cover bundles of products that are sold in a package together.
Tobacco taxation is a matter for HM Treasury. As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, duty rates on all tobacco products were increased, in line with the tobacco duty escalator, by 2% above Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation. The duty rate on hand-rolling tobacco was increased by a further 10% to 12% above RPI inflation, to reduce the gap with duty on cigarettes. These changes came into effect on 30 October 2024. High and increasing rates of tobacco duty are proven to incentivise those who currently smoke either to quit or to smoke less, and support public finances.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the National Prostate Cancer Audit's report entitled NPCA State of the Nation Report 2024, published in January 2025, if he will take steps to tackle inequalities in accessing NICE-recommended treatments following advanced prostate cancer diagnosis for (a) black men and (b) men from areas of socio-economic deprivation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Making improvements across different cancer types, including prostate cancer, is critical to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.
To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer earlier, we have invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms. This research will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis by targeting black men in trial recruitment, ensuring that one in ten participants are black men.
We have also asked the National Screening Committee to review the evidence for prostate cancer screening, including for high-risk groups like black men.
As part of our wider strategy on early diagnosis, we are directly targeting our activity at areas we know will make a difference. This includes awareness raising campaigns such as the NHS Help Us, Help You campaign, to increase awareness of cancer symptoms and encourage people to get checked.
The NHS England Cancer Programme also commissions clinical cancer audits, which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients, including those with prostate cancer.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve access to treatments and outcomes for all tumour types, including prostate cancer. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be. We will provide updates on this in due course.
We need to tackle the inequalities that people from different groups face, which will be part of the National Cancer Plan as we look at addressing all barriers to providing cancer care across prevention, diagnosis, screening and treatment.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 inequalities in prostate cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Making improvements across different cancer types, including prostate cancer, is critical to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.
To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer earlier, we have invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms. This research will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis by targeting black men in trial recruitment, ensuring that one in ten participants are black men.
We have also asked the National Screening Committee to review the evidence for prostate cancer screening, including for high-risk groups like black men.
As part of our wider strategy on early diagnosis, we are directly targeting our activity at areas we know will make a difference. This includes awareness raising campaigns such as the NHS Help Us, Help You campaign, to increase awareness of cancer symptoms and encourage people to get checked.
The NHS England Cancer Programme also commissions clinical cancer audits, which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients, including those with prostate cancer.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve access to treatments and outcomes for all tumour types, including prostate cancer. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be. We will provide updates on this in due course.
We need to tackle the inequalities that people from different groups face, which will be part of the National Cancer Plan as we look at addressing all barriers to providing cancer care across prevention, diagnosis, screening and treatment.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press article entitled Mind the gap: supporting prison leavers with mental illness from the University of Manchester, published on 27 March 2024, what steps he is taking to ensure that prison leavers with severe mental health issues receive the necessary support with (a) housing, (b) access to services, and (c) community reintegration.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s RECONNECT care after custody service supports prison leavers with an identified health need, including severe mental illness, to transition to community-based services, and starts working with them before they leave prison.
NHS England is piloting Enhanced RECONNECT in four areas to support people leaving prison who are identified as being of high risk of harm to the public and who have complex health needs to access appropriate community services.
NHS England is also piloting new models of care in the community for those with severe mental illness in six neighbourhood areas from this spring. These will provide people and their families with 24/7 support if they are in crisis without needing to book an appointment, as well as provide housing or employment advice to support them to stay well.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department is providing to support the implementation of ongoing and holistic post-release support for prison leavers with severe mental health issues.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS RECONNECT service supports people leaving prison with identified health needs to make the transition to community-based services, including mental health services, which are funded by local health and care systems.