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 implications for his policies of the effectiveness of mandatory health warning labels in tackling alcohol harms in (a) South Korea and (b) other countries.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthen and expand existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. The plan can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
Department officials are working to progress this policy by reviewing all available evidence from a broad range of countries and engaging with a wide range of national and international stakeholders. This will inform the policy development to ensure the effectiveness of the final outcome.
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 help increase uptake of the HPV vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Uptake rates in England remain high by international standards but adolescent vaccine coverage for human papillomavirus (HPV) has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic, although evidence suggests coverage trends have stabilised more recently. National Health Service commissioned School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent vaccination programme. There are established approaches to offering catch-up vaccination, and further work is underway to explore options for strengthening the catch-up offer. Currently, those who miss out on vaccination via the school-based offer can catch-up via the general practice (GP) HPV campaign, which went live from July 2025. GPs have been asked to invite unvaccinated individuals aged 16 to 24 years old for their HPV vaccine as a requirement of the GP Contract. The campaign runs until 31 March 2026, with girls remaining eligible until they are 25 years old, as do boys born after 1 September 2006.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes and provides a range of supporting materials to health professionals on both the 12- and 13-year-old HPV offer and the vaccine programme for those at higher risk. For example, further information on the HPV vaccination programme over all and the HPV vaccination programme for men who have sex with men is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hpv-vaccination-programme
The UKHSA also works closely with charities and academics to develop resources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV and the importance of vaccination, including for boys.
NHS England, in conjunction with regional colleagues, has produced an HPV vaccination school-aged immunisation improvement and uptake plan for internal operational NHS use, as part of their commitment to improving vaccine coverage.
In addition, NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS App, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.
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 1 December 2025 to Question 93572, what steps he is taking to protect NHS staff from second hand vape.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service trusts have a duty of care to both staff and patients, as outlined in the NHS constitution, to ensure a safe working and care environment.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will also give the Government powers to make public places and workplaces that are smoke-free also vape-free. This includes National Health Service settings. Many places already have voluntary vape-free restrictions in place. Exactly which settings should become vape-free, along with the scope and detail of the regulations, will be a matter for secondary legislation and will be subject to a consultation.
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 to Question 85849 on Mechanical Thrombectomy: Health Services, what estimate he has made of the time taken for a patient to be transferred from the referring centre to a hospital offering thrombectomy services after the decision to accept the patient for care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service set out an evidenced based pathway for joined-up stroke care throughout the patient journey. The service model sets out that all acute stroke patients should have rapid access to a stroke unit within four hours and receive an early multidisciplinary assessment.
The Department does not hold information on transfer times to thrombectomy units in the format requested. The proportion of patients that had access to a stroke unit within four hours has risen to 51.3%, from 47.7% in 2024.
Presently there are 24 Comprehensive Stroke Centres offering mechanical thrombectomy services in the NHS in England, covering six out of the seven NHS regions. NHS England has committed that all NHS regions in England will have access to 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy by April 2026.
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 to Question 85849 on Mechanical Thrombectomy: Health Services, when he expects people to be able to access thrombectomy services within four hours when needed.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service set out an evidenced based pathway for joined-up stroke care throughout the patient journey. The service model sets out that all acute stroke patients should have rapid access to a stroke unit within four hours and receive an early multidisciplinary assessment.
The Department does not hold information on transfer times to thrombectomy units in the format requested. The proportion of patients that had access to a stroke unit within four hours has risen to 51.3%, from 47.7% in 2024.
Presently there are 24 Comprehensive Stroke Centres offering mechanical thrombectomy services in the NHS in England, covering six out of the seven NHS regions. NHS England has committed that all NHS regions in England will have access to 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy by April 2026.
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 to Question 85849 on Mechanical Thrombectomy: Health Services, how many and what proportion of stroke units are in trusts which offer mechanical thrombectomy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service set out an evidenced based pathway for joined-up stroke care throughout the patient journey. The service model sets out that all acute stroke patients should have rapid access to a stroke unit within four hours and receive an early multidisciplinary assessment.
The Department does not hold information on transfer times to thrombectomy units in the format requested. The proportion of patients that had access to a stroke unit within four hours has risen to 51.3%, from 47.7% in 2024.
Presently there are 24 Comprehensive Stroke Centres offering mechanical thrombectomy services in the NHS in England, covering six out of the seven NHS regions. NHS England has committed that all NHS regions in England will have access to 24/7 mechanical thrombectomy by April 2026.
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 3 December 2025 to Question 94188, what steps has he put in place to improve the speed of answering written parliamentary questions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Slough on 1 December 2025 to Question 92737.
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, with reference to the final report of the Cass Review, published in April 2024, what steps he is taking to help ensure the data linkage study is completed.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A children and young people’s gender research programme, jointly led by NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is in place to underpin the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service specialist gender care in England.
NHS England is responsible for delivery of the Data Linkage Study. It is a retrospective study based on an analysis of data collected historically for a cohort of adults who, as children, were cared for under a former model of NHS gender care, the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS). This study requires no active patient participation and instead relies on an analysis of the available digital information held within health records and other nationally held databases. The analysis will look for potential linkages or associations that do not prove ‘cause and effect’ but nonetheless may provide useful insights on the experience and outcomes of former GIDS patients.
NHS England has taken time to undertake due diligence work on the data sources critical to the study, and to work with organisations to refine the planned approach to data sharing. Study approvals are currently in progress. As with usual research practice, the data linkage study protocol will be made available in the public domain once independent research and ethical approvals have been appropriately secured, at which point the analytical work 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, how many consultations his Department has launched since 4 July 2024; and if he will list them.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the election, the Government outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones, across the missions, for this Parliament.
As the House of Commons would expect, the Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer. Public consultations will be available on the GOV.UK website as they are published, 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 reasons for increases in levels of lead poisoning in children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency coordinates the Lead in Children Exposure Surveillance System, a passive surveillance system covering England, which aims to identify elevated blood lead concentrations, greater than 0.24µmol/L, the equivalent to ≥5μg/dL, in children under 15 years old.
Between 2016 to 2020, the annual number of cases ranged between 33 and 49. From 2021 there was a marked increase in the number of cases. The steep rise in reported cases from 2021 onwards is due to a change in the case definition in our surveillance system. Following a review of the evidence of the harm of lead exposure in children, the public health intervention concentration was lowered from 0.48μmol/L, the equivalent to ≥10μg/dL, to 0.24μmol/L, the equivalent to ≥5μg/dL.