Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government regarding the availability and UK-wide supply of flu and RSV vaccines this winter; and what steps are being taken at a UK level to support devolved administrations in managing winter pressures related to respiratory illness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with flu vaccine manufacturers and suppliers to maintain high level oversight of the overall United Kingdom supply of flu vaccine for adults. This enables early identification and mitigation of potential risks to programme delivery, such as constraints in dose availability or delays to deliveries.
The UKHSA procures the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), which is the primary vaccine used in the children’s flu programme, on a UK wide basis. As such, the UKHSA liaises regularly with all devolved nations, including the Scottish administration, on procurement activities and supply arrangements for these vaccines.
Both the RSV vaccine and LAIV are available for Scottish Health Boards to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform, ImmForm, ensuring consistent access across the UK.
Ensuring timely and reliable access to flu and RSV vaccines is a key part of reducing the burden of respiratory illness over the winter period, helping to limit avoidable hospital admissions and support health systems, including those in devolved administrations, in managing winter pressures.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the rollout of universal thrombectomy services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department ministers regularly have discussions with colleagues across Government on issues of cross-border interest. There have been no specific meetings held recently on thrombectomy services.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
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 potential merits of allowing Band 3 vaccinators to continue in vaccination roles after April 2026.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2020, amendments were made to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to provide a mechanism that enabled an expanded workforce to legally and safely administer COVID-19 and influenza vaccines without the input of a prescriber, using an approved protocol. This temporary amendment is due to lapse on 1 April 2026.
Recognising the important role the expanded vaccinator workforce has played in safely and effectively delivering COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, the Department is proposing to establish a new permanent provision to support the continued use of an extended workforce to supply and administer vaccinations from 1 April 2026. These proposals are subject to public consultation, which went live on 5 September 2025 and closes on 28 November 2025. The consultation is available at the following link:
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when details of the trial on GnRH analogue puberty blockers will be submitted to the research ethics committee.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The PATHWAYS study proposal, including the clinical trial of puberty-suppressing hormones, is going through all the usual review and approval stages. These include independent academic peer review and National Institute for Health and Care Research funding committee consideration, and it will need to secure full ethical approval ahead of set up and opening to recruitment. The researchers will submit study documents to the Health Research Authority, which will allocate a Research Ethics Committee to consider the application. As an independent study, it is for the research team to decide when the study documents are ready and they will choose when to submit the application, bearing in mind the trial is aiming to begin recruiting participants later in spring 2025.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
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 clinical pathways for people diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, it is the responsibility of local integrated care boards to work with clinicians, service users and patient groups, to develop services and care pathways that are convenient and meet the needs of patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
NICE has published a clinical knowledge summary on the clinical management of blackouts and syncope, that provides advice for clinicians in the UK on best practice in the assessment and diagnosis of postural tachycardia syndrome.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
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 help improve the mental health of young people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know children and young people often face long waits for mental health support and too many are not receiving the care they need. That is why we are providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 early support hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community.
We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England and roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.