Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with relevant stakeholders to discuss the potential risks to public health posed by uncollected rubbish in Birmingham.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that biological women can access single-sex healthcare provision in NHS hospital wards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex. The Supreme Court ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Acy 2010 case has provided much needed confidence and clarity to service providers.
The National Health Service is reviewing its ‘delivering same-sex accommodation’ guidance and will ensure it reflects the Supreme Court ruling. Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by the Government.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had with the doctors and dentists review body since July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I along with my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Care, both met with the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration at the scheduled oral evidence sessions in February 2025, one focussing on secondary care doctors, and the other on general practitioners and dentists.
Oral evidence sessions are a regular feature of the annual pay review process and enable the pay review body to ask questions directly of ministers or to clarify points from the Department’s written evidence. Officials accompany ministers to these meetings. All parties to the pay review process, including the British Medical Association, are invited to give oral evidence.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of salmonella infections have been reported in Birmingham in each of the last six months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested. Weekly reports with figures for food poisoning by region are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-diseases-weekly-reports-for-2025.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
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 increase the uptake of measles vaccination.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working alongside its partners to increase vaccine uptake and coverage across all childhood vaccination programmes, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) programme.
The National Health Service and general practices (GPs) have been sending reminders to the families of children who are not fully vaccinated, with GPs providing catch-up doses for any missed vaccinations.
NHS England works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and local health partners and communities to understand the needs of their populations, and to tailor immunisation programmes to meet the needs of under-vaccinated communities.
Regional outbreaks of measles and overall increases in cases since autumn 2023 led to a renewed focus on MMR coverage and targeted catch-up activity, including an NHS campaign which ran from November 2023 until April 2024 and resulted in over 180,000 additional doses given. The UKHSA and NHS England ran a second wave of England-wide childhood immunisation campaigns targeted towards parents and carers of children in autumn 2024. The campaign reminded parents of the risks to their children due to missing out on protection against the serious diseases that are re-emerging in the country, with an urgent call to action to catch up on missed vaccinations.
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations they are entitled to, for themselves, their families, and wider society. The MMR vaccine is highly effective, safe, and is the best way to prevent measles.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of tuberculosis cases show evidence of (a) multi drug resistance and (b) rifampicin resistance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Detailed analysis on drug resistance is published in the annual Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Microbiology England reports, with the most recent being from 2023. Rifampicin-resistant (RR) and multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) is reported in a single category, in line with World Health Organization’s categorisation. The full report is available at the following link:
Definitive diagnosis of RR or MDR TB requires the TB bacteria to be isolated from culture. 71 people, or 2.4% of the 2,973 individuals with positive cultures, were diagnosed with RR or MDR TB in 2023. An additional 37 individuals were treated for RR or MDR TB in England in 2023 in the absence of a positive culture. Overall, 108 out of 4,855 people, or 2.2%, were treated for RR or MDR TB in 2023.
The UK Health Security Agency routinely undertakes whole genome sequencing of all TB strains through the National Mycobacterial Reference Service, to support treatment decisions based on resistance profiles.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) relevant stakeholders on measles.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following a resurgence of measles in late 2023 and 2024, there has been a decline in the number of cases from mid-July 2024, but small, localised outbreaks of measles are still affecting some regions of the United Kingdom. These ongoing outbreaks are largely due to a gradual decline in the uptake of childhood vaccines over the last decade, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which offers protection against measles.
As part of ongoing efforts to reduce outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, and improve uptake across childhood immunisation programmes, the Department is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England. The UKHSA and NHS England are supporting the National Health Service and local authorities to take steps to promote uptake by providing diverse delivery methods, to make getting vaccinated easier. This includes increasing outreach efforts to under-served groups and raising awareness of the dangers of vaccine preventable diseases, such as measles. Paid for marketing campaigns to support uptake of childhood immunisations, including MMR, have been run over the past year, with evaluation showing positive results.
In addition to this, the Department regularly meets with the UKHSA, national and regional NHS colleagues, and devolved administrations, to discuss efforts to reduce measles case numbers. The Department also stays well informed on measles trends, with the UKHSA continuing to closely monitor cases across the UK.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
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 the meet the World Health Organisation's target to end tuberculosis by 2035.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In September 2023, the United Kingdom reconfirmed its commitment to the fight against tuberculosis (TB), including to World Health Organization’s (WHO) elimination targets, at the United Nations high-level meeting on TB.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s joint Tuberculosis (TB): action plan for England, 2021 to 2026 outlines outcomes and indicators to achieve a 90% reduction in people with TB by 2035, aligned with the WHO’s elimination targets.
The action plan includes measures to address TB prevention, detection, and control, as well as supporting the TB workforce. Measures include actions targeted at improving tracing of contacts of people with TB, treatment completion, and ensuring effective management of drug-resistant TB. Further information is available at the following link:
A pre-entry screening programme to detect active pulmonary TB has been in place since 2012. All migrants from high TB incidence countries arriving on visas for over six months are required to complete TB testing and, if necessary, treatment, before UK entry.
There is also NHS England’s national Latent Tuberculosis Infection Testing and Treatment programme, for recent migrants from high incidence countries. Detection and treatment of latent infection prevents people from developing active TB.
The UKHSA routinely undertakes whole genome sequencing of all TB strains through the National Mycobacterial Reference Service, to support treatment decisions based on resistance profiles and public health action with high resolution typing.
Work has been initiated, including a call for evidence, to develop a joint UKHSA and NHS England action plan for 2026 to 2031.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent meetings (a) he has had and (b) Ministers in his Department have had on the prevention of tuberculosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) met with the previous Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention in February 2025 to discuss tuberculosis (TB).
UKHSA and NHS England’s joint plan, Tuberculosis action plan for England, 2021 to 2026, details actions to achieve a 90% reduction in people with TB by 2035. This is aligned with the World Health Organization’s elimination targets. Work to review and update the National Action Plan, including a call for evidence, is underway.
The action plan is available at the following link:
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
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 correlation between (a) age, (b) sex, (c) vaccine status, (d) ethnicity and (e) upper tier local authority area and trends in the level of (i) all people, (ii) children and (iii) adults with measles.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors trends in measles epidemiology and publishes a monthly report of laboratory confirmed cases of measles by age, region, and upper-tier local authority, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-epidemiology-2023
The UKHSA also publishes a quarterly report of laboratory confirmed cases of measles by age, region, vaccination status, and imported vs community acquired cases, available at the following link:
Between 1 January and 10 April 2025, there have been 213 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England. The number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by month of symptom onset in 2025 to date are: 89 in January; 67 in February; 54 in March; and three so far in April.
The majority, 128 of 213, or 60%, of these cases were in children aged 10 years old and under, and 34%, or 72 of 213, were in young people and adults aged 15 years old and over. 24%, or 52, of these cases have been in London, 21%, or 44 cases, in the South West, and 17%, or 37 cases, in Yorkshire and Humber. 57 out of the 152 upper-tier local authorities have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2025, with the highest numbers reported in Bristol, at 34 of 213, or 16%, Leeds, at 29 of 213, or 14%, and Hertfordshire at 13 of 213, or 6%.
Data on measles cases by ethnicity is monitored but is not routinely published.