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 (a) positive and (b) negative (i) HIV, (ii) hepatitis B and (iii) hepatitis C tests were performed in emergency departments as part of the opt-out blood-borne virus testing scheme in each month since January 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not available as the data is currently unvalidated.
Over the first 24 months of the opt-out bloodborne virus testing in emergency departments programme, 1,981,590 HIV tests, 1,502,799 hepatitis C virus tests and 1,185,678 hepatitis B virus tests have been completed.
An interim report on the programme 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, which NHS accident and emergency departments (a) offer and (b) do not offer an (i) HIV, (ii) hepatitis B and (iii) hepatitis C test to all patients requiring a blood test.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Emergency Department (ED) opt-out testing is currently being offered to all extremely high and high HIV prevalence areas in England until the end of March 2026. A detailed list of specific sites offering opt-out HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing is contained in the attached table.
The Department, together with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England, are working together in the development of a new HIV Action Plan which we aim to publish later in 2025. The plan will include a focus on scaling up HIV testing, including an assessment of the future of opt out testing based on the programme’s progress and available data in line with our 2030 ambition.
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 abolition of NHS England on the NHS Business Services Authority.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the announcement that NHS England will be abolished as an arm’s length body, a transformation programme has been launched within the Department.
It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.
Discussions between officials within NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the Department, and NHS England are ongoing concerning NHSBSA’s role and services for the health and social care system in light of the abolition of NHS England.
The Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes.
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 confirm the cost of the redundancy package for staff being made redundant from (a) NHS England and (b) his Department.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate cost reductions to reduce waste and bureaucracy.
Good progress is being made, with the Department and NHS England having announced voluntary exit and expressions of interest schemes respectively.
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 abolition of NHS England on (a) NHS Digital Services and (b) the (i) storage and (ii) retention of patient data.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The merger of NHS England into the Department will not prevent us continuing to deliver the digital services on which the National Health Service relies, maintaining the highest standards of cyber security and ensuring patient data continues to be appropriately and safely stored. Legislation will make provision as necessary, with Parliament’s approval, to transfer the statutory responsibilities of NHS England to the Department.
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 abolition of NHS England on patient safety.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The changes that the Government is making, alongside the wider commitments set out in the 10 Year Health Plan, will positively impact on patient care and safety by driving quality of care, productivity and innovation in the National Health Service.
NHS England will continue to undertake its statutory functions while working with the new executive during the transition, until parliamentary time allows for changes to be made in primary legislation.
Patient safety will remain paramount over this transformation period. We will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.
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 his Department has made an estimate of the value for money of paying NHS trusts to validate the data on their waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the return on investment on the validation sprint.
Waiting list validation is a well-established component for effective management of waiting lists, with detailed guidance available for Trusts, including safeguards to ensure patients are not incorrectly removed from waiting lists.
The Department publishes the Referral to Treatment Rules Suite and NHS England has published two key guidance documents to support the recording and reporting patient pathways, including a set of FAQs. NHS England published an updated version of the guidance documents in February 2025. The guidance states there “must be agreement from a clinician before any patient is returned to the referrer.” Any patient removed should receive a letter that would also be sent to their GP.
Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 set the requirement for trusts to validate patients on a referral to treatment (RTT) waiting list after 12 weeks and then every 12 weeks in line with good practice and published guidance, maximising the use of digital tools for both patient contact and data quality.
Effective waiting list validation ensures trusts have an accurate understanding of the true size of their waiting list, which in turn helps them to reduce missed or cancelled appointments, make the most effective use of clinicians’ time and reduce overall waiting times.
The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of incomplete pathways removed as a result of data validation on a monthly basis. As part of the validation sprint over the period from week ending 13 April 2025 to week ending 22 June 2025, waiting list management information across all acute providers estimates there were around 250,000 additional removals from waiting lists compared to the same period last year.
Routinely validated, accurate waiting lists are a necessary part of delivering on our commitment to return to the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, and to help to improve experience for patients, so that clinical time can be focused on the patients who need it.
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 incomplete pathways have been removed as a result of data validation in each month since July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the return on investment on the validation sprint.
Waiting list validation is a well-established component for effective management of waiting lists, with detailed guidance available for Trusts, including safeguards to ensure patients are not incorrectly removed from waiting lists.
The Department publishes the Referral to Treatment Rules Suite and NHS England has published two key guidance documents to support the recording and reporting patient pathways, including a set of FAQs. NHS England published an updated version of the guidance documents in February 2025. The guidance states there “must be agreement from a clinician before any patient is returned to the referrer.” Any patient removed should receive a letter that would also be sent to their GP.
Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 set the requirement for trusts to validate patients on a referral to treatment (RTT) waiting list after 12 weeks and then every 12 weeks in line with good practice and published guidance, maximising the use of digital tools for both patient contact and data quality.
Effective waiting list validation ensures trusts have an accurate understanding of the true size of their waiting list, which in turn helps them to reduce missed or cancelled appointments, make the most effective use of clinicians’ time and reduce overall waiting times.
The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of incomplete pathways removed as a result of data validation on a monthly basis. As part of the validation sprint over the period from week ending 13 April 2025 to week ending 22 June 2025, waiting list management information across all acute providers estimates there were around 250,000 additional removals from waiting lists compared to the same period last year.
Routinely validated, accurate waiting lists are a necessary part of delivering on our commitment to return to the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, and to help to improve experience for patients, so that clinical time can be focused on the patients who need it.
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 incomplete pathways have been removed as a result of data validation sprint in each month since April 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the return on investment on the validation sprint.
Waiting list validation is a well-established component for effective management of waiting lists, with detailed guidance available for Trusts, including safeguards to ensure patients are not incorrectly removed from waiting lists.
The Department publishes the Referral to Treatment Rules Suite and NHS England has published two key guidance documents to support the recording and reporting patient pathways, including a set of FAQs. NHS England published an updated version of the guidance documents in February 2025. The guidance states there “must be agreement from a clinician before any patient is returned to the referrer.” Any patient removed should receive a letter that would also be sent to their GP.
Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 set the requirement for trusts to validate patients on a referral to treatment (RTT) waiting list after 12 weeks and then every 12 weeks in line with good practice and published guidance, maximising the use of digital tools for both patient contact and data quality.
Effective waiting list validation ensures trusts have an accurate understanding of the true size of their waiting list, which in turn helps them to reduce missed or cancelled appointments, make the most effective use of clinicians’ time and reduce overall waiting times.
The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of incomplete pathways removed as a result of data validation on a monthly basis. As part of the validation sprint over the period from week ending 13 April 2025 to week ending 22 June 2025, waiting list management information across all acute providers estimates there were around 250,000 additional removals from waiting lists compared to the same period last year.
Routinely validated, accurate waiting lists are a necessary part of delivering on our commitment to return to the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, and to help to improve experience for patients, so that clinical time can be focused on the patients who need it.
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 guidance he has issued to (a) NHS England and (b) NHS Trusts to validate their waiting list data.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the return on investment on the validation sprint.
Waiting list validation is a well-established component for effective management of waiting lists, with detailed guidance available for Trusts, including safeguards to ensure patients are not incorrectly removed from waiting lists.
The Department publishes the Referral to Treatment Rules Suite and NHS England has published two key guidance documents to support the recording and reporting patient pathways, including a set of FAQs. NHS England published an updated version of the guidance documents in February 2025. The guidance states there “must be agreement from a clinician before any patient is returned to the referrer.” Any patient removed should receive a letter that would also be sent to their GP.
Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 set the requirement for trusts to validate patients on a referral to treatment (RTT) waiting list after 12 weeks and then every 12 weeks in line with good practice and published guidance, maximising the use of digital tools for both patient contact and data quality.
Effective waiting list validation ensures trusts have an accurate understanding of the true size of their waiting list, which in turn helps them to reduce missed or cancelled appointments, make the most effective use of clinicians’ time and reduce overall waiting times.
The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of incomplete pathways removed as a result of data validation on a monthly basis. As part of the validation sprint over the period from week ending 13 April 2025 to week ending 22 June 2025, waiting list management information across all acute providers estimates there were around 250,000 additional removals from waiting lists compared to the same period last year.
Routinely validated, accurate waiting lists are a necessary part of delivering on our commitment to return to the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, and to help to improve experience for patients, so that clinical time can be focused on the patients who need it.