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 impact of the severity modifier on recent NICE recommendations on blood cancer treatments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since the introduction of the severity modifier, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has approved 27 out of 28 blood cancer medicines it evaluated, reflecting an approval rate of 96%. Of these topics, a severity weighting was applied in nine topics.
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 ensure access to CAR-T therapy for mantle cell lymphoma patients who previously have been ineligible under the cancer drugs fund following NICE's most recent decision.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England are made by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the basis of an evaluation of their costs and benefits. NICE is currently re-evaluating brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus) to determine whether it can be recommended for routine NHS use, taking into account real-world evidence generated through its use in the Cancer Drugs Fund.
NICE has been unable to recommend the treatment in the final draft guidance, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11545/documents
This is because the available evidence does not suggest that brexucabtagene autoleucel is value for money in this population. Final guidance has not yet been published and the period to appeal NICE’s final draft recommendations closed on 19 January.
In line with an arrangement between NHS England and the company, if NICE’s final guidance does not recommend use, patients who started treatment during the managed access period can continue their treatment.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 78391 on Dentistry: Recruitment, whether he plans to publish in 2026 or 2027.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Golden Hello data will be published in 2026 and will consist of data showing the regional distribution of the original allocation of posts and the number of posts recruited to at both a national and regional level.
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 has taken to mandate the release of data for the data linkage study.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to delivering the data linkage study, as part of a wider programme of research that will ensure research is embedded at the heart of the new children and young people’s gender services.
The study was planned to take place during the lifespan of the Independent Cass Review, and a statutory instrument was brought forward in 2022 aiming to protect those disclosing protected information. It is well documented that some NHS adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics did not send data to allow the study to commence and the study was not completed.
After the Cass Review concluded, NHS England took on responsibility for delivering the data linkage study. Following a further period of engagement with study data contributors, including adult gender clinics, the Department and NHS England are now ensuring all necessary requirements are in place to allow the study to successfully progress.
As a publicly funded study, the updated protocol is subject to refreshed research approvals from the Health Research Authority, before the study can begin.
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, whether he has decided who the members of the maternity and neonatal taskforce will be.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are now finalising taskforce membership based on valuable feedback from some families and those who work in the maternity and neonatal sector. The members of the taskforce will be announced in due course.
The taskforce will include family representatives, those with clinical and international perspectives, workforce representatives, charities, and campaigners, including those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health.
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 discussions he has had with the Leader of the House on the timing of the introduction of legislation on the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working with the Leader of the House and business managers on the introduction of the primary legislation required to abolish NHS England. This will ensure an appropriate timetable that enables us to work towards the two-year delivery schedule announced by the Prime Minister.
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, whether he has made an estimate of the number of hospitals admissions which could be avoided per year among over 80 years olds through use of the RSV vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes advice on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation programmes from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). At its main committee meeting of 4 June 2025, the JCVI considered the potential extension of the older adults RSV catch-up programme to include those aged 80 years old and older.
Data on hospitalisations formed part of the evidence which informed the discussions at JCVI and the subsequent advice provided. The minutes of the meeting can be found on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation
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, when he plans to respond to the Question 84255 from the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2026 to Question 84255.
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, when he intends to answer WPQ 84255 tabled on 22 October 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2026 to Question 84255.
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, whether he plans to add additional Trusts to the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation following the removal of (a) Shropshire and (b) Leeds.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Amos does not intend to select other trusts for local review to replace either Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust or Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in her National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was removed from the list of local trusts following the decision of my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care, to commission a separate independent inquiry. Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was removed following recent discussions with West Mercia Police about the details and schedule of their ongoing investigation.
The remaining 12 trusts that are in the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation still includes a variation in case mix, trust type, geographic and demographic coverage and views expressed by families. By taking this approach, the investigation can capture learning from a wide range of provision and experiences, ensuring the findings are relevant across the system.