Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of children who have (a) been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy and (b) received a diagnosis of Foetal Valproate Spectrum.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information regarding the number of children that have been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy, or those who have received a diagnosis of foetal valproate spectrum.
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England collects and quality assures data about people with congenital conditions and rare conditions across the whole of England.
In the most recent official statistics on congenital conditions in England, the 2022 Congenital Condition Official Statistics Report, which contains information on congenital conditions detected in babies delivered in England between 1 January and 31 December 2022, as well as in previous publications of this series back to its inception in 2018, there were no foetus' or babies reported to have a diagnosis of fetal sodium valproate syndrome.
It is likely that while some of the individual conditions, for instance neural tube defects, cardiac, oro-facial clefts, and/or limb difference, that can be associated with this condition are recorded on the register, the overarching diagnosis of fetal sodium valproate syndrome may not yet be registered because fetal sodium valproate syndrome may take more than a year after birth to be confirmed as a diagnosis, so the number reported in any year is the minimum level in the population.
The National Disease Registration Service is assessing the feasibility and reliability of better ascertainment of fetal sodium valproate syndrome by linking the congenital condition register to primary care prescription data.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a timetable for implementing redress recommendations from the Cumberlege Review and the Hughes Report.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to take forward work to explore redress for those affected by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate, which includes recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in the Hughes Report. We recognise the importance of these issues for all those affected. This remains a cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations, and given the complexity of the issues involved, it is important we get this right. A timetable for a response has not yet been finalised.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and have made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what dates his Department has met with patient groups representing families affected by sodium valproate since January 2024.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women's Health and Mental Health, Baroness Merron, the previous minister with responsibility for sodium valproate and pelvic mesh redress policy, held a roundtable with representatives of the sodium valproate patient groups in December 2024.
Since then, I met with relevant stakeholders at various parliamentary events. I also met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and have made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason recommendations for a sodium valproate redress scheme have not been implemented.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to take forward work to explore redress for those affected by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate, which includes recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in the Hughes Report. We recognise the importance of these issues for all those affected. This remains a cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations, and given the complexity of the issues involved, it is important we get this right.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and have made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders. I have also written to the Patient Safety Commissioner regarding further steps to be taken to improve the lives of those affected by valproate and mesh. A copy of that letter is attached.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 publish updated guidance on managing conflicts of interest between civil servants and Ministers in relation to unhealthy commodity industries.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department already has established arrangements in place to manage conflicts of interest for both ministers and civil servants, including where these relate to engagement with representatives of unhealthy commodity industries.
Ministerial conduct is governed by the Ministerial Code, which sets out requirements on the declaration and handling of ministers’ interests. Civil servants are bound by the Civil Service Code, and by departmental policies that set out how actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest must be identified, declared, and managed.
The Department keeps its internal guidance under regular review to ensure it remains aligned with cross-Government standards and supports transparent and accountable decision-making.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 introduce mandatory alcohol labelling requirements.
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 strengthening and expanding on 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 online at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
My officials have recently completed a round of stakeholder engagement regarding the policy. We are working at pace to review all available and emerging data and evidence. This work will inform the development assessment of policy options that will be set out in formal consultation in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions were issued for each drug categorised under the (a) (i) clonazepam and (ii) other benzodiazepines, (b) z-drugs, (c) antidepressants, (d) opioids, (e) pregabalin and (f) gabapentin drug groups in the last 12 months and the total number of unique identified patients for each drug.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHSBSA holds patient identifiable information for the number of items dispensed and claimed for reimbursement. The following table shows the total number of prescription items for clonazepam and other benzodiazepines, z-drugs, antidepressants, opioids, pregabalin, and gabapentin drug groups, as well as the percentage and number of unique identified patients for those drug groups for 2024/25:
Drug Group | Total number of prescription items | Total number of unique identified patients | Percentage of items where the patient has been identified |
Clonazepam | 1,073,708 | 84,379 | 98.19% |
Other benzodiazepines | 6,560,170 | 1,122,860 | 97.01% |
Clonazepam and other benzodiazepines | 7,633,878 | 1,193,477 | 97.17% |
Z-drugs | 4,888,101 | 721,641 | 98.20% |
Antidepressants | 92,642,110 | 8,888,229 | 99.25 |
Opioids | 39,015,440 | 5,559,691 | 98.99 |
Pregabalin | 9,607,609 | 851,696 | 99.44** |
Gabapentin | 7,413,842 | 783,591 | 99.44** |
Notes:
Patient count totals included in the table should not be aggregated.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 letter dated 21 July 2025 and re-sent on 7 October 2025 from the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre and nine other hon. Members on Sodium Valproate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 21 July 2025 and responded on 20 November 2025.