Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports were submitted by members of the public through the Yellow Card scheme, in each of the past five years, in relation to the sale of (a) counterfeit medicines, (b) unapproved medicines in the UK, and (c) medicines which are authorised for supply in the UK but supplied through unregulated channels.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Answering the question raised by the Hon. Member would require the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency staff to go through a large volume of data manually. This is because the information is not held in such a way to be able to filter by the requested categories.
The sections (a) and (b) would require a data extraction to identify all reports received from members of the public over the last five years. Following this, a manual review would need to be undertaken of every report to cross reference the suspect drug against all active licenses at the time of reporting for each individual case and would thereby incur disproportionate cost. Section (c) is information which is not held in the Yellow Card database.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work sets here out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The Guide to Parliamentary Work is published online and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports submitted by members of the public through the Yellow Card scheme resulted in enforcement action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, in each of the past five years, in relation to the sale of (a) counterfeit medicines, (b) unapproved medicines in the UK and (c) medicines which are authorised for supply in the UK but supplied through unregulated channels.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 March 2026 to Question 122732.
The Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected adverse drug reactions, medical device incidents, and concerns about the safety and quality of medicines. Where appropriate, reports raising potential counterfeit, compliance, or safety issues may be referred to relevant teams within the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for consideration of regulatory or enforcement action.
However, this information is not held in a format that readily allows the MHRA to identify how many reports submitted by members of the public resulted in enforcement action in relation to counterfeit medicines, unapproved medicines in the UK, and medicines which are authorised for supply in the United Kingdom but supplied through unregulated channels. Extracting this information from Yellow Card reports would require a manual review of individual records and would incur disproportionate cost. The MHRA is therefore unable to provide the requested figures for each of the past five years.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of whether the current resourcing level in the Criminal Enforcement Unit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is sufficient to progress enforcement action in all cases where warranted.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Resourcing levels and operational demand are kept under ongoing review to ensure the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s Criminal Enforcement Unit remains able to respond effectively to evolving criminal threats. While additional capacity could facilitate additional activity, the unit delivers an effective enforcement response within the resources allocated, applying risk-based prioritisation to ensure the most serious threats to public health are addressed.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve support and services for patients with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continues to work with eating disorder services and local commissioners to improve access to assessment and treatment for people with a suspected eating disorder, including those presenting with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Lessons from previous pilots commissioned to improve access to support and develop training on ARFID has contributed to this work.
Community children and young people’s eating disorder services across England provide assessment and treatment for eating disorders, including ARFID, and local areas are able to commission training and adapt care pathways to ensure services meet the needs of patients with this condition.
In January 2026, NHS England also updated guidance on children and young people's eating disorders, including ARFID, that seeks to strengthen early identification and intervention of eating disorders, whilst ensuring swift access to specialist community eating disorder services as soon as an eating disorder is suspected.
Whilst the guidance focuses on improving community pathways for children and young people, the national specialised adult service model continues to provide access to highly specialist inpatient treatment for adults with complex eating disorders, through the Specialised Adult Eating Disorder Units network. These units deliver multidisciplinary care that typically includes psychiatric assessment and treatment, psychological therapies, medical monitoring, dietetic support and structured rehabilitation, and can provide inpatient care for adults with severe and enduring eating disorders where required.
Integrated care boards are responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of their local populations.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to work with UKHSA to issue specific guidance for (a) health professionals and (b) the public, regarding the health risks to pregnant people during periods of extreme heat.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognises that there are risks caused by exposure to extreme high temperatures which are set out in the Adverse Weather and Health Plan Equity Review and Impact Assessment 2024. This includes an assessment on stillbirth, pre-term birth, and maternal health complications.
UKHSA provides a weather-health alerting system for England, which alerts the public, including specific vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, and public sector organisations to prepare for impacts of adverse weather, including high temperatures. Risks to health are communicated via heat-health alerts.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department plans to update NHS antenatal and maternity guidance, in the context of emerging evidence that extreme heat exposure can elevate risks to pregnant people and unborn children.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognises that there are risks caused by exposure to extreme high temperatures which are set out in the Adverse Weather and Health Plan Equity Review and Impact Assessment 2024. This includes an assessment on stillbirth, pre-term birth, and maternal health complications.
UKHSA provides a weather-health alerting system for England, which alerts the public, including specific vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, and public sector organisations to prepare for impacts of adverse weather, including high temperatures. Risks to health are communicated via heat-health alerts.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of potential new treatments for glioblastoma.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department of Health and Social Care enables research via its research arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and is committed to furthering our investment and driving scientific advancements in research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, the NIHR directly invested £11.8 million in research projects and programmes focused on brain tumours. During the same period, the NIHR’s wider investments include around £37.5 million in research infrastructure and the research workforce. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, invested £46.8 million in brain tumour research.
Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.
NICE has issued guidance for the NHS on several treatments for glioma and glioblastoma and has a number of other topics in active development.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of different funding mechanisms that could be applied to new obesity treatments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance.
NICE has recommended several weight loss medicines as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources that are now being made available to NHS patients. The NHS is currently rolling out tirzepatide for obesity in primary care, using a phased approach based on clinical need to manage NHS resources. Around 220,000 individuals are expected to be eligible over the next three years. NHS England worked with clinical experts, integrated care boards, patient and public representatives, healthcare professionals, charities and royal colleges on its prioritisation approach, which it set out in its interim commissioning guidance, available at the following link:
Through the Obesity Healthcare Goals programme, launched in 2022, we are working with industry and research partners to develop and test new delivery and funding models. This includes the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme (OPIP), which is piloting community-based and pharmacy-led provision of weight management services, alongside pharmaceutical and digital interventions. The programme is supported by up to £85 million in joint funding from Government and Eli Lilly, with a portion ring-fenced for devolved administrations. These pilots will generate evidence on clinical outcomes, patient experience, and economic sustainability to inform future commissioning decisions.
The Government remains firmly committed to tackling obesity as a major public health challenge, improving access to effective interventions, and reducing health inequalities across the country.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
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 delivering weight management services as part of the neighbourhood health model.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, closer to people’s homes, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations and so could include weight management services. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, this will mean services will look different, for example in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities are responsible for commissioning weight management services. We would expect them to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines and the move to a Neighbourhood Health Service.
We are intending to publish a National Framework for Neighbourhood Health Plans in the autumn. This will set out how areas should design neighbourhood health services around local needs and different population cohorts.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to recognise obesity as a disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department does not recognise obesity as a disease.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which the Government accepts and works to, focus on obesity as a complex but preventable public health issue. NICE does not classify obesity as a disease but recognises that it increases the risks of a range of adverse health outcomes including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. NICE provides robust, evidence-based guidance on the identification, prevention and treatment of obesity. NICE guidelines stress the importance of clinical judgement, including considering whether someone is living with another health condition alongside obesity that may be relevant.