Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the levels of in HPV vaccine uptake among adolescent boys over the last three years; and what steps she is taking to address regional variations in coverage.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to vaccination coverage statistics for human papillomavirus (HPV) for males and females, available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake
Alongside NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency and the Department for Education, we are working to improve HPV vaccination rates for both males and females, including making it easier for parents to consent for school vaccinations; revising health education guidance in school to improve awareness of vaccination amongst both male and female students; and expanding our national vaccination communications campaign specifically to target young adults who missed routine adolescent vaccinations at school.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of HPV vaccination eligibility among young men who missed the school-based vaccination programme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to vaccination coverage statistics for human papillomavirus (HPV) for males and females, available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake
Alongside NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency and the Department for Education, we are working to improve HPV vaccination rates for both males and females, including making it easier for parents to consent for school vaccinations; revising health education guidance in school to improve awareness of vaccination amongst both male and female students; and expanding our national vaccination communications campaign specifically to target young adults who missed routine adolescent vaccinations at school.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether additional allocation priority should be available where there is clear medical evidence that kidney-failure-related valvular disease could cause a patient to lose their opportunity for transplantation in their waiting period.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national Kidney Advisory Group, made up of clinicians and patients, advises on the allocation process to ensure it is equitable for all United Kingdom patients. There are no current plans to prioritise patients with valvular disease, although the group regularly reviews the available evidence and adjusts its recommendations accordingly. Further information is available at the following links:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/39493/pol186.pdf
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the kidney allocation system takes into account the risk of kidney-failure-related valvular heart disease progressing during the waiting period to the point of making a patient unsuitable for transplantation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national Kidney Advisory Group, made up of clinicians and patients, advises on the allocation process to ensure it is equitable for all United Kingdom patients. There are no current plans to prioritise patients with valvular disease, although the group regularly reviews the available evidence and adjusts its recommendations accordingly. Further information is available at the following links:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/39493/pol186.pdf
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on how many kidney patients were removed from the transplant waiting list because valvular heart disease had worsened while they were waiting.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national Kidney Advisory Group, made up of clinicians and patients, advises on the allocation process to ensure it is equitable for all United Kingdom patients. There are no current plans to prioritise patients with valvular disease, although the group regularly reviews the available evidence and adjusts its recommendations accordingly. Further information is available at the following links:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/39493/pol186.pdf
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of increased investment in smoking cessation services ahead of the next Spending Review, including the impact on (a) NHS and social care expenditure, and (b) employment and economic productivity.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government has made record investment in stop smoking services, with an additional £260 million provided from 2026/27 to 2028/29, and at least £153 million per year protected for these services in the public health grant. These services have consistently proven to be cost-effective, with 37% more people supported to quit in 2025/26 compared to the period before this increased investment.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that decisions on the recent consultation on tobacco and vapes packaging, appearance, and retail display are informed by robust public health evidence and expertise; and protected from any attempts that were made to use technology in consultation responses to aid commercial interests.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the statement issued by the Department on 26 October in respect of the attempted interference in the consultation process, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below:
"We always have robust controls in place to prevent the manipulation of our public consultations, and those controls worked effectively in this case. As a result, the fake responses were removed, and the consultation helped inform the landmark action we are taking to create a smoke-free generation."
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has allocated to national mass media campaigns encouraging adults to stop smoking in each of the financial years (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The media budget for smoking cessation activity for 2026/27 is £2.7 million. Planning for public health prevention campaigns for 2027/28 is currently underway, therefore we don’t have figures for the periods 2027/28 and 2028/29.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of GP practices refusing shared care agreements on patients facing long waiting times for specialist care, including for ADHD and gender identity services; and what guidance her Department issues to Integrated Care Boards to ensure consistent access to shared care prescribing across primary care.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October 2026, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area, including in relation to shared care agreements.
The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication but we will set out the full action that we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, including in relation to the issues raised by the Hon. Member. This response is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises
Separately, in his Review of adult gender dysphoria services published on 18 December 2025, Dr David Levy recommended that NHS England and integrated care boards should work with adult gender dysphoria services and general practitioner (GP) representative bodies to establish sustainable local arrangements for hormone prescribing and access to longer-term health monitoring. NHS England and the Department are leading the system-wide response to the review.
The General Medical Council has published guidance which supports integrated care boards and National Health Service organisations in developing and using shared care agreements, and helps GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of variation between Integrated Care Boards in the commissioning of long-term stoma care services and access to specialist stoma nursing for adults.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government is committed to supporting people living with a stoma to access high quality, safe, and personalised care. Living with a stoma can have a profound impact on an individual’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that people receive the products, clinical support, and advice that best meet their needs.
Through the National Health Service, stoma appliances continue to be available on prescription, supported by specialist clinicians who play a vital role in helping people to manage their condition and live independently. The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up.
However, the Department is aware that patient experience varies. Patient choice can be impacted by the prescribing and dispensing models in place, and this has an impact on patient experience and quality of life.
Through NHS England, the Department is currently reviewing the provision of stoma and continence products and services. The aim is to improve patient outcomes, support informed choice, and ensure people are receiving the most appropriate products and care throughout their lives.
The review has so far focussed on understanding the current arrangements from a system, supplier, and patient perspective. The review is in progress, and the next step is to engage stakeholders on what could or should change and therefore potential solutions. It is therefore too early to determine the recommendations resulting from the review.
A completion date has not yet been set, however the Department will comply with any requirements to publish the outcome of any consultation undertaken as part of the review.