Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of rates of sexual assault incidents at inpatient mental health hospitals.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is wholly unacceptable for any patient or member of staff to experience violence or harassment of any kind in National Health Service settings, and all organisations must take robust and compassionate action to prevent it. The Government is committed to supporting and challenging the system to ensure a safe environment for our staff and patients.
Although no direct assessment of policy implications on rates of sexual assaults has been made, in September 2023, the Sexual Safety Charter was launched by NHS England with the aim of promoting a zero-tolerance approach towards sexual misconduct in the workplace. Every NHS trust and integrated care board (ICB) have since signed up to the Charter and are actively working to implement its ten principles to tackle unwanted, inappropriate or harmful sexual behaviour in the workplace.
In October 2024, NHS England launched a new national sexual misconduct people policy framework and training to help staff right across the NHS to ensure they are taking the right steps in recognising, reporting and acting on sexual misconduct at work. The new framework outlines how those working in the health service should recognise, report and act on sexual misconduct in the workplace, against staff or patients. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-people-sexual-misconduct-policy-framework/
NHS England is currently measuring the uptake of framework across all trusts and ICBs, including gathering key feedback about its impact and effectiveness so far. Feedback will be used to identify areas where organisations need support in implementing to achieve a sexual safety culture.
Several tools and resources have been developed by NHS England for trusts and ICBs to adopt and take further actions on sexual misconduct. This includes the first-ever NHS-wide training on sexual misconduct awareness, now available to the entire workforce, including mental health staff conducting Mental Health Act Section 17 escort duties.
NHS England has recently written to providers and asked them to take further steps to identify potential perpetrators of sexual misconduct and to redouble efforts to protect staff and patients.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of recent incidents involving known risk items being accessed by mental health patients with the knowledge of NHS staff.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 4 April 2025, NHS England published its ‘Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Management'. This promotes a shift towards a more holistic, person-centred approach rather than relying on risk prediction, which is unreliable because suicidal thoughts can change quickly. Instead, it recommends using a method based on understanding each person’s situation and managing their safety.
The purpose of this guidance is to enable mental health practitioners to adopt best practice principles in working with people of all ages to stay safe from suicide. This guidance also has a section covering confidentiality and the law and refers to the consensus statement for information sharing and suicide prevention. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/staying-safe-from-suicide/
Work is also underway to make training available to all mental health practitioners to incorporate the principles of this guidance into their practice. This training was recently launched and is available via an e-learning module. This complements existing local training on suicide prevention, and a number of other national e-learning products that are already available.
The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health has been commissioned through the NHS England Culture of Care programme to support every provider of National Health Service commissioned inpatient services to move to personalised safety planning in line with evidence.
In addition to this, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s (HSSIB) investigation into mental health inpatient settings identified important concerns and safety recommendations that can help us to improve mental health care, protect patients and the public and create a safe working environment for staff. We are in the process of formally responding to all the recommendations for the Department made within these reports. NHS England will be publishing guidance in response to the HSSIB’s recommendations defining the therapeutic relationship and guidance on responding to the use of non-anchored ligature points.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 ensure that elderly people have reliable access to dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. This includes considering the needs of elderly populations. The ICB for the Tewkesbury constituency is Gloucestershire ICB.
We know that as people age, they tend to move to rural and coastal areas where the challenges in accessing NHS dentistry are exacerbated. We have introduced the Golden Hellos scheme which will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
ICBs may commission specialised dental services including domiciliary care for elderly people living in care homes. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on oral health in care homes sets out several recommendations for care homes to help maintain and improve oral health and ensure timely access to dental treatment for their residents. The Government expects care homes to be following NICE guidance and recommendations in this area.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 expand dental services in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural areas.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.
ICBs are recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. The Government’s ambition is to deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Online Safety Act on the level of risk that private bodies could harvest sensitive data on UK citizens who seek out VPN services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Organisations that process personal data, which could include VPN providers, are subject to requirements of the data protection legislation. This includes obligations to process people’s data fairly and lawfully and to ensure that any data collected is held securely. Organisations that fail to comply may face enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between UK and OpenAI on AI opportunities, published on 21 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure safeguards are in place to protect public data when working alongside a commercial company.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to transparency, security, and the responsible use of emerging technologies. The Memorandum of Understanding with OpenAI is voluntary and non-binding. It does not grant access to public data or commit the Government to any expenditure.
The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, and all organisations are required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data.
The Information Commissioner’s Office retains powers to investigate and enforce action where necessary, and individuals maintain legal recourse if their data is misused.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on the risks artificial intelligence poses to children; and what steps he is taking to mitigate those risks.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of this issue. We engage with a range of stakeholders on the impact of AI, including child safety experts.
As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Alongside this, the strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children, requiring in-scope services to protect all users from illegal content and children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.