Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when newborn screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy will be available to families in Oxfordshire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the announcement made on the evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy by the Department on 16 July, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/every-baby-in-england-to-get-life-saving-genetic-test-from-birth
In addition, the newborn heel prick test is routinely carried out by health visitors or community midwives on day five after birth.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will direct NHS England and the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) to permit NHS Trusts to appoint provisionally registered doctors who are currently without an NHS Foundation Year doctor post to any such posts that become available after the closure of the allocation process by UKFPO.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested for Question 29058 is not held centrally in the format requested.
Recruitment to the 2026 UK Foundation Programme has now concluded. Total numbers of Foundation Programme places in the United Kingdom are agreed through a four-nation workforce planning process and take into account the fact that a proportion of applicants withdraw from the Foundation Programme each year. The Government therefore has no plans to backfill any vacant posts that may arise for 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many foundation year doctor posts were unavailable to newly appointed foundation doctors this year because they were occupied by doctors granted extensions to complete training competencies; and how many such posts are scheduled to become vacant from 1 December 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested for Question 29058 is not held centrally in the format requested.
Recruitment to the 2026 UK Foundation Programme has now concluded. Total numbers of Foundation Programme places in the United Kingdom are agreed through a four-nation workforce planning process and take into account the fact that a proportion of applicants withdraw from the Foundation Programme each year. The Government therefore has no plans to backfill any vacant posts that may arise for 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 improve the availability of local in-person support services for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, particularly within the Henley and Thame constituency.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government is committed to ensuring that people experiencing a mental health crisis can access timely, high-quality support close to home.
Significant progress has also been made in strengthening the mental health crisis care pathway. This includes the NHS 111 mental health option, the expansion of crisis cafés, sanctuaries and crisis houses, the rollout of crisis text services across England, the delivery of 88 Mental Health Response Vehicles across local systems, and full national coverage of 24/7 liaison mental health teams in acute hospitals.
In addition, £473 million of capital funding over four years is supporting the development of new models of care, including community-based mental health centres and mental health emergency departments, helping to shift care closer to home and improve access to timely support.
Decisions about the configuration and delivery of local mental health services, including crisis support available to people in the Henley and Thame constituency, are the responsibility of the local integrated care board, which is best placed to assess the needs of its local population and commission services accordingly.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 of 28 May 2026 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame on the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 28 May 2026 and will reply in due course.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 of 2nd June 2026 from the Hon. Member for Henley and Thame.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 2 June about the NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board on 9 July 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of newly qualified midwives in England in 2026 unable to secure employment within NHS maternity services; and whether he plans to introduce a nationally funded employment pathway, including guaranteed entry-level posts, to ensure adequate recruitment to meet workforce demand.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the difficulties newly qualified midwives are experiencing in securing employment in the National Health Service. NHS England actively monitors future nursing and midwifery student numbers, current vacancies, and staff turnover and is taking action to support newly qualified midwives into NHS employment.
We are investing £10.6 million to fund an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The new roles for graduates will help build on the success of the 2025 Graduate Guarantee that means every newly qualified midwife in England will have the opportunity to apply to join the NHS.
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee the development of a new national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This will include how to support the maternity and neonatal workforce. This is in addition to a new 10 Year Workforce Plan, due to be published soon, to ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with the rights skills to deliver care to patients when they need it.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 potential impact of maternity services not recruiting newly qualified midwives on patient safety, continuity of care and overall costs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the difficulties newly qualified midwives are experiencing in securing employment in the National Health Service. NHS England actively monitors future nursing and midwifery student numbers, current vacancies, and staff turnover and is taking action to support newly qualified midwives into NHS employment.
We are investing £10.6 million to fund an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The new roles for graduates will help build on the success of the 2025 Graduate Guarantee that means every newly qualified midwife in England will have the opportunity to apply to join the NHS.
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee the development of a new national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This will include how to support the maternity and neonatal workforce. This is in addition to a new 10 Year Workforce Plan, due to be published soon, to ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with the rights skills to deliver care to patients when they need it.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 whether funding provided to local authorities for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) is adequate for them to meet the cost of adaptations, in the context of increases in construction and labour costs; and what estimate he has made of the aggregate funding required by local authorities for delivering DFGs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
In England, we continue to fund the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is delivered by local authorities. This grant helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs.
We have confirmed £723 million of funding for the DFG in 2026/27. We continue to keep funding levels under review to ensure the DFG supports those who can benefit most. Following consultation, we introduced a new approach to allocating DFG funding to local authorities in England from 2026/27 to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. Transitional protection means no local authority received less than they did in June 2025. The response to the consultation can be found at the following link:
The upper limit for DFG awards is currently set at £30,000, however, local authorities have a high degree of flexibility to fund adaptations above this amount where they judge it is appropriate.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the UK National Screening Committee is scheduled to review the evidence from the GBS3 trial, to consider whether screening for Group B Streptococcus should be routinely offered during pregnancy.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The UK National Screening Committee is in close contact with the GBS3 trial researchers and stands ready to commence a review of the evidence for antenatal screening for Group B Streptococcus as soon as the trial reports.