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 NHS neonatal units have parental accommodation available.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Not all maternity hospitals are currently able to offer adequate accommodation for families. This is due to the historic undercapitalisation across the National Health Service, as highlighted by the Darzi Report.

All trust boards should review their estate data and seek assurance that all healthcare premises from which they are delivering maternity services are of appropriate standard. This should include a review of community-based maternity services, which were not in the scope of the estate survey. In instances where the estate is not of appropriate standard, trust boards should ensure mitigating action is being taken accordingly.

As a first step towards improving our maternity and neonatal estate, we are investing over £100 million through the 2025/26 estates safety fund to address critical safety risks on the maternity estate, enabling better care for mothers and their newborns.

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 people with Huntington's disease have equitable access to mental health services.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Access to mental health services is based on clinical need, including for people with Huntington’s disease.

We know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need and waiting times to access mental health services are too long. We are determined to change that. Backed by an extra £688 million in Government funding this year, we are transforming mental health services – hiring more staff, delivering more talking therapies sessions, and getting waiting lists down through our 10-Year Health Plan.

National Health Service Talking Therapies - Long Term Conditions services have been established across the country to support integrated pathways between Talking Therapies services and physical health pathways for people with long term conditions, including neurological conditions. All integrated care boards are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.

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 (a) identify and (b) allocate capital funding to bring neonatal accommodation for parents in line with the standards outlined in the Health Building Note 09-03: Neonatal Units, published 20 March 2013.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Repairing and rebuilding our healthcare estate is a vital part of the Government's ambition to create a National Health Service that is fit for the future.

The Government is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26, enabling systems to allocate funding to maternity and neonatal services, where this is a local priority. This is delivering improvements, as our enquiries suggest that current NHS capital programmes progressing maternity new builds will be Health Building Note compliant.

In addition, the Government is investing £131 million through the 2025/26 Estates Safety Fund into the maternity and neonatal estate. This funding will address critical safety risks on the maternity estate, enabling better care for mothers and their newborns.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has had to ensure the neonatal services are fully incorporated into the scope of the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Both maternity and neonatal services are fully encompassed within the remit of the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. The terms of reference state that the investigation will examine the quality and safety of the care provided across the entire maternal and neonatal pathway. This includes the care provided to mothers before and throughout pregnancy, labour and delivery, as well as the care and support offered to newborns within neonatal services. The terms of reference can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-maternity-and-neonatal-investigation-terms-of-reference/national-maternity-and-neonatal-investigation-terms-of-reference

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's response to recommendation 6 included in the Government response to the House of Lords inquiry into preterm birth: reducing risks and improving lives, published on 14 January 2025, what his Department's timetable is for publishing the findings of the NHS maternity and neonatal estates survey on the requirements of neonatal parental accommodation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The findings from the Maternity and Neonatal Infrastructure Review were published on 11 September 2025. The full report is available to read at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/maternity-and-neonatal-infrastructure-review-findings/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects to receive a formal recommendation from the UK national screening committee on newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A recommendation by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) on newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is expected following the conclusion of an in-service evaluation (ISE), which is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a screening programme for SMA.

The UK NSC recommended an ISE of newborn blood spot screening for SMA in National Health Services in 2023. Since then, the SMA Newborn Screening ISE Partnership Board was set up to plan and develop work to shape the ISE. The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Health Technology Assessment Programme is running a tender process to appoint researchers for this work.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish the new health strategy in this calendar year.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The strategy will be informed by the Call for Evidence which closed on 17 July 2025. We aim to launch the Men’s Health Strategy later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to reduce premature deaths in men.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The strategy will be informed by the Call for Evidence which closed on 17 July 2025. We aim to launch the Men’s Health Strategy later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what forecast he has made of the cost to the public purse of the planned strike of resident doctors from 14 to 19 November 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The five-day resident doctor strike in July 2025 had an estimated cost to the National Health Service of approximately £240 million, and this is a starting estimate for the planned November strike. The costs were lower than in July 2024 as a result of lower turnout. We continue to update estimates as new data becomes available, in line with receiving business as usual financial data from NHS systems.

The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise the disruption and will work with partners to ensure safe care for patients continues to be available, and emergency services continue to operate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Government has delayed publication of the cancer plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan is due to be published in the new year. The decision to publish the plan in the new year was taken in consultation with key stakeholders and patient groups. We have received more than 11,000 responses to our Call for Evidence and have had significant ongoing engagement with patients, clinicians, and charities. It is right to take time to ensure it is ambitious, strategic, and sustainable, setting the direction for the next 10 years. This is essential in achieving the Prime Minister's Health Mission goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer and to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future.

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 with the Secretary of State for Education of the potential merits of using geofence technology to tackle the use of vaping devices by children in schools.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is concerning that youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years and that one in four children aged between 11 and 15 years old tried vaping in 2023. That is why we are committed to bringing about definitive and positive change to stop future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine. To do this, we are acting to reduce the appeal, availability, and accessibility of these products to children whilst not impacting on their use as a quit aid for adult smokers.

The Government’s policy, as set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, is that all products are age verified at the point of sale rather than the point of use.

We are examining the role of certain technology in vapes as part of our secondary legislation programme, and we are currently running a call for evidence on vapes which explores this area, and which we would encourage stakeholders to respond to. In addition, next year we will run a consultation on introducing smoke-free and vape-free places, restrictions on vape packaging, and on changing how and where vapes are displayed in shops.

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 merits of using technology within vapes to verify the age of vape users.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is concerning that youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years and that one in four children aged between 11 and 15 years old tried vaping in 2023. That is why we are committed to bringing about definitive and positive change to stop future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine. To do this, we are acting to reduce the appeal, availability, and accessibility of these products to children whilst not impacting on their use as a quit aid for adult smokers.

The Government’s policy, as set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, is that all products are age verified at the point of sale rather than the point of use.

We are examining the role of certain technology in vapes as part of our secondary legislation programme, and we are currently running a call for evidence on vapes which explores this area, and which we would encourage stakeholders to respond to. In addition, next year we will run a consultation on introducing smoke-free and vape-free places, restrictions on vape packaging, and on changing how and where vapes are displayed in shops.

Submit Evidence (by 9 Jan 2026)

Reading brings a range of benefits to children, young people and their families, but the number of children reading for pleasure is declining rapidly.