Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cataract operations were carried out (a) by and (b) on behalf of the NHS in England in 2025; how many of those were by (i) NHS providers directly and (ii) private sector providers; and what the comparative costs and productivity rates were.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
In April 2026, for ophthalmology, performance against the standard for 92% of patients to start first treatment within 18 weeks of referral was 73.1%, 5.3% higher than a year earlier.
In most cases, contracts will have to comply with National Health Service unit prices, a set of prices and rules used by providers of NHS care and commissioners to deliver the most efficient, cost-effective care to patients. These unit prices are consistent across independent sector providers and NHS providers. Productivity rate information is not held centrally by the Department. Integrated care boards are the primary bodies responsible for commissioning care from healthcare providers and ensuring value for money is achieved.
The Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity dataset, published by NHS England, can be used to identify procedure types, including those undertaken as part of cataract operations. Data for the 2025/26 financial year is not yet currently published. This is currently due for publication in September 2026.
The following table shows a count of cataract operations in 2025, both those in an admitted setting, or Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs), and outpatient settings, split by NHS and non-NHS providers where there was any cataract procedure:
Provider type | Admitted (FCE) | Outpatient | Total |
Independent | 379,023 | 132,310 | 511,333 |
NHS | 278,478 | 4,700 | 283,178 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.
A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are typically counted against the year in which they end, which is the approach we have taken here. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Admitted outpatient appointments include first and follow-up attendances and telephone consultations, and excludes did not attends and cancellations. The below procedure codes are those which are considered under cataract operations:
C71: Extracapsular extraction of lens;
C72: Intracapsular extraction of lens;
C73: Incision of capsule of lens;
C74: Other extraction of lens;
C75: Prosthesis of lens; and
C77: Other operations on lens.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff are engaged in processing Access to Work claims; by what number has that changed in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of staff numbers on the time scales in which applications under the Access to Work scheme are processed.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
As at 19 May 2026, there were 658 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff engaged in delivering the Access to Work scheme. This represents an increase of 32.29 FTE compared with 625.71 FTE staff at the end of May 2025.
The Department keeps staffing levels under review and recognises that resourcing levels can affect processing times. To address this, recruitment is underway to increase capacity, which will support the clearance of outstanding applications, and improve processing times.
Huge recruitment boost to tackle backlog in vital disability work scheme - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June to Question 6319 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, how much were the (a) assessment, (b) staff and (c) non-staff costs in each of those years.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
A Bill to create offences in respect of persons who have entered the UK illegally or who have remained in the UK without legal authority; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require public authorities to exercise their statutory powers to investigate and take enforcement action for breaches of the law; to make provision for sanctions for failing to take such action; and for connected purposes.