Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 address the shortage of clinicians working in the prison system; and what impact the shortage of clinicians has on whether inmates receive timely medical attention.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Both the Department and NHS England recognise the impact that clinical staff shortages can have on the timeliness of prisoners receiving medical attention.
NHS England’s national health and justice inclusive workforce programme was created to improve the recruitment and retention of a larger, more diverse, inclusive, and representative workforce for all health and justice services and programmes. It provides a wide range of resources to support the regions and providers to increase recruitment and improve retention, as well as various initiatives to address some of the barriers to employment in prison healthcare. Further information is available at the following link:
NHS England’s nursing directorate is also undertaking work around nurse perceptions, which is targeted at the future workforce, 11 to 18 year olds, and which includes prison nurses.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 (a) stop and (b) reverse the decline in the numbers of district nurses in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the essential role of district nurses and wider community nursing teams in delivering high-quality care closer to home, preventing avoidable hospital admissions, and supporting people to live well in their communities. We are committed to strengthening the community nursing workforce and ensuring services are equipped to meet rising demand and increasing clinical complexity.
NHS England supports the development of future district nurses by funding the Specialist Practitioner Qualification either as an apprenticeship or as a full-time course at a higher education institution. The Level 7 District Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification, including the apprenticeship route, provides a sustainable and nationally consistent route into district nursing roles.
Alongside this, NHS England has continued to modernise career pathways within community nursing, supporting clear progression from healthcare support worker roles through to advanced and consultant practice. This is helping to retain experienced staff and create attractive, long-term careers in community settings.
We are also improving workforce planning through the Community Nursing Safer Staffing Tool. This evidence-based tool supports providers to assess and plan safe and responsive staffing levels, ensuring district nursing teams are resourced appropriately for the needs of their local population.
The Government is working with NHS England and professional organisations, including the Queen’s Nursing Institute of Community Nursing and the Royal College of Nursing, as we implement the ambition of the 10-Year Health plan to deliver more care outside hospital and build Neighbourhood Teams.
This includes developing principles to help organisations identify, record, and address care and population needs. We are also supporting systems to expand multidisciplinary neighbourhood teams, recognising that contemporary care is delivered by a blend of registered nurses, specialist district nurses, healthcare support workers, allied health professionals, and advanced practitioners. This approach helps manage demand, improves continuity of care, and ensures that people receive the right expertise at the right time.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 address the shortage of community nursing services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the essential role of district nurses and wider community nursing teams in delivering high-quality care closer to home, preventing avoidable hospital admissions, and supporting people to live well in their communities. We are committed to strengthening the community nursing workforce and ensuring services are equipped to meet rising demand and increasing clinical complexity.
NHS England supports the development of future district nurses by funding the Specialist Practitioner Qualification either as an apprenticeship or as a full-time course at a higher education institution. The Level 7 District Nursing Specialist Practice Qualification, including the apprenticeship route, provides a sustainable and nationally consistent route into district nursing roles.
Alongside this, NHS England has continued to modernise career pathways within community nursing, supporting clear progression from healthcare support worker roles through to advanced and consultant practice. This is helping to retain experienced staff and create attractive, long-term careers in community settings.
We are also improving workforce planning through the Community Nursing Safer Staffing Tool. This evidence-based tool supports providers to assess and plan safe and responsive staffing levels, ensuring district nursing teams are resourced appropriately for the needs of their local population.
The Government is working with NHS England and professional organisations, including the Queen’s Nursing Institute of Community Nursing and the Royal College of Nursing, as we implement the ambition of the 10-Year Health plan to deliver more care outside hospital and build Neighbourhood Teams.
This includes developing principles to help organisations identify, record, and address care and population needs. We are also supporting systems to expand multidisciplinary neighbourhood teams, recognising that contemporary care is delivered by a blend of registered nurses, specialist district nurses, healthcare support workers, allied health professionals, and advanced practitioners. This approach helps manage demand, improves continuity of care, and ensures that people receive the right expertise at the right time.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of his Department's funding for cancer research has been allocated to (a) brain, (b) liver, (c) lung, (d) oesophageal, (e) pancreatic and (f) stomach cancer research since 2022.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invested over £133 million on cancer research for 2023/24, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), reflecting cancer’s high priority.
The following table shows NIHR funding programme awards allocated for cancer research between April 2022 and March 2025:
Cancer type | Total Funding |
Bladder | £3.0 million |
Brain Other CNS & Intracranial Tumours | £0.6 million |
Liver | £2.6 million |
Lung | £16 million |
Oesophagus | £9.4 million |
Pancreas | £0.9 million |
Stomach | £3.3 million |
Source: NIHR
Notes: This table includes new research programme funding awards made during this period. It does not include additional studies that have had funding approved but remain in the contracting process. It does not include NIHR infrastructure support for research given this information is not currently available for all tumour types included, or ongoing spending on existing research.
The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer and remain committed to the role of research to improve outcomes for patients. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including cancer.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Research on how much of the £40 million funding for brain tumour research has been spent.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between 2018/19 and 2022/23 DHSC directly invested £11.3 million in brain tumour research projects through the NIHR, plus an estimated £31.5 million in infrastructure enabling 8,500 patients to participate in wider brain cancer research.Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 adequacy of provision of specialist care for people with Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis for people in West Oxfordshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of interstitial lung disease (ILD) services and funds the anti-fibrotic treatments that are part of the treatment pathway for ILD.
No assessment of the West Oxfordshire service has been made. However, the national service specification describes the standards required of clinical teams to support patients physically and emotionally with the diagnosis and management of people with ILD. Information on the specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/interstitial-lung-disease-adults-service-specification/
NHS England is also supporting systems to improve outcomes for people with a range of respiratory conditions, for example through enabling access to pulmonary rehabilitation through the publication of commissioning standards together with the provision of funding. It has also extended the scope of the National Respiratory Audit Programme’s pulmonary rehabilitation audit so that all patients who participate in pulmonary rehabilitation are captured in the audit, irrespective of their condition. Along with providing a more complete picture of participation, the decision to extend was made to recognise and reinforce the value of pulmonary rehabilitation to all who are eligible with chronic respiratory conditions other than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including interstitial lung disease.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 (a) the efficacity of the Asthma Friendly Schools initiative and (b) the potential merits of (i) supporting and (ii) promoting the scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To reduce avoidable deaths, improve the quality of life for children and young people with asthma, and to raise the profile of this work, NHS England published the first National Bundle of Care for Children and Young People with Asthma in September 2021. Through this workstream, asthma care has received higher prioritisation within systems, regional leadership, system led governance, and increased accountability, to improve outcomes for children and young people in England. Further information on the National Bundle of Care for Children and Young People with Asthma is available at the following link:
The Asthma Friendly Schools Programme has been very successful in embedding asthma knowledge and management within teaching and non-teaching professionals in schools. Initially developed by a team in London, the approach has been shared through networks and nationally led meetings. NHS England has encouraged integrated care systems to develop similar approaches or programmes to ensure representation of their local requirements and to build synergy between healthcare, education, and local authority teams.
As part of the National Bundle of Care, specially designed courses have been developed to educate all professionals, healthcare and non-healthcare, on children and young people with asthma, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/children-and-young-peoples-asthma/
These courses have been extremely popular, and over two years there were over 80,000 first tier completions. 74% of these completions have been by teaching or school staff. Further data can be found at the children and young people’s asthma dashboard and the dashboard for asthma metrics and dispensing.
The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) published a report in December 2024, reviewing the deaths of children and young people with asthma in England between April 2019 and March 2023. Between this period, there were 54 deaths due to asthma. For the second iteration of the National Bundle of Care, NHS England is adapting the structure to include recommendations from the NCMD and develop a more systems first approach with additional resources for ongoing support. Further information on the NCMD’s report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 prevent asthma deaths in school children in England and Wales.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To reduce avoidable deaths, improve the quality of life for children and young people with asthma, and to raise the profile of this work, NHS England published the first National Bundle of Care for Children and Young People with Asthma in September 2021. Through this workstream, asthma care has received higher prioritisation within systems, regional leadership, system led governance, and increased accountability, to improve outcomes for children and young people in England. Further information on the National Bundle of Care for Children and Young People with Asthma is available at the following link:
The Asthma Friendly Schools Programme has been very successful in embedding asthma knowledge and management within teaching and non-teaching professionals in schools. Initially developed by a team in London, the approach has been shared through networks and nationally led meetings. NHS England has encouraged integrated care systems to develop similar approaches or programmes to ensure representation of their local requirements and to build synergy between healthcare, education, and local authority teams.
As part of the National Bundle of Care, specially designed courses have been developed to educate all professionals, healthcare and non-healthcare, on children and young people with asthma, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/children-and-young-peoples-asthma/
These courses have been extremely popular, and over two years there were over 80,000 first tier completions. 74% of these completions have been by teaching or school staff. Further data can be found at the children and young people’s asthma dashboard and the dashboard for asthma metrics and dispensing.
The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) published a report in December 2024, reviewing the deaths of children and young people with asthma in England between April 2019 and March 2023. Between this period, there were 54 deaths due to asthma. For the second iteration of the National Bundle of Care, NHS England is adapting the structure to include recommendations from the NCMD and develop a more systems first approach with additional resources for ongoing support. Further information on the NCMD’s report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish monthly statistics on (a) the number of brain tumour patients who have received whole genome sequencing of their tumour and (b) the number of people diagnosed with brain tumours in the UK, by (i) NHS trust, (ii) histological tumour type and (ii) whether it is an adult or paediatric patient.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold publishable data to identify where whole genome sequencing has taken place and cannot identify tumours by histological type. NHS England holds data that provides a count of hospital activity only, not by the number of patients. This means that a patient may have had more than one admission within this requested timeframe and may therefore be counted multiple times. This data is held for England only and may not reflect when a patient was initially diagnosed.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many school age children die each year from Asthma in England and Wales.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To reduce avoidable deaths, improve the quality of life for children and young people with asthma, and to raise the profile of this work, NHS England published the first National Bundle of Care for Children and Young People with Asthma in September 2021. Through this workstream, asthma care has received higher prioritisation within systems, regional leadership, system led governance, and increased accountability, to improve outcomes for children and young people in England. Further information on the National Bundle of Care for Children and Young People with Asthma is available at the following link:
The Asthma Friendly Schools Programme has been very successful in embedding asthma knowledge and management within teaching and non-teaching professionals in schools. Initially developed by a team in London, the approach has been shared through networks and nationally led meetings. NHS England has encouraged integrated care systems to develop similar approaches or programmes to ensure representation of their local requirements and to build synergy between healthcare, education, and local authority teams.
As part of the National Bundle of Care, specially designed courses have been developed to educate all professionals, healthcare and non-healthcare, on children and young people with asthma, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/children-and-young-peoples-asthma/
These courses have been extremely popular, and over two years there were over 80,000 first tier completions. 74% of these completions have been by teaching or school staff. Further data can be found at the children and young people’s asthma dashboard and the dashboard for asthma metrics and dispensing.
The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) published a report in December 2024, reviewing the deaths of children and young people with asthma in England between April 2019 and March 2023. Between this period, there were 54 deaths due to asthma. For the second iteration of the National Bundle of Care, NHS England is adapting the structure to include recommendations from the NCMD and develop a more systems first approach with additional resources for ongoing support. Further information on the NCMD’s report is available at the following link: