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 information the UK National Screening Committee has provided on the (a) format, (b) scale and (c) duration of the upcoming in-service evaluation of newborn screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy in the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is working with the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) partnership board to scope out the potential shape of the in-service evaluation into SMA. The partnership board includes clinicians, academics, patient representatives, the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR), NHS England, and the UK NSC. The final decision on the exact format, scale, and duration will be determined following a successful NIHR tendering process. The timescale for the implementation of the SMA in-service evaluation will not be confirmed until after the 2025 Spending Review.
The UK NSC is aware that screening for SMA and severe combined immunodeficiency uses the same test, and as such there may be saving opportunities through economies of scale, if the two conditions are determined to be suitable for a screening programme. This is still under consideration by the committee.
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 recent discussions he has had with the UK National Screening Committee on timelines for implementing in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is working with the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) partnership board to scope out the potential shape of the in-service evaluation into SMA. The partnership board includes clinicians, academics, patient representatives, the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR), NHS England, and the UK NSC. The final decision on the exact format, scale, and duration will be determined following a successful NIHR tendering process. The timescale for the implementation of the SMA in-service evaluation will not be confirmed until after the 2025 Spending Review.
The UK NSC is aware that screening for SMA and severe combined immunodeficiency uses the same test, and as such there may be saving opportunities through economies of scale, if the two conditions are determined to be suitable for a screening programme. This is still under consideration by the committee.
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 proportion of the ringfenced £340 million budget for the Innovative Medicines Fund has been spent in each year since its launch in June 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was established to provide a funding mechanism for promising non-cancer medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a period of managed access to address uncertainties in the evidence base. Up to £340 million has been available each financial year to support funding of medicines through the IMF. Expenditure in 2023/24 was £2 million.
The relatively low level of expenditure within the IMF for 2023/24 reflects the high proportion of topics assessed by NICE as having potential for managed access which have gone on to secure a positive recommendation for routine commissioning, therefore bypassing the need for further data collection and reappraisal through the IMF.
The remainder of the IMF budget is used to support pressures in the overall specialised commissioning budget and is reported as part of the overall financial position.
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 much funding was allocated to dementia research by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Research, (b) UK Research and Innovation and (c) other public bodies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The following table shows NIHR and UKRI spend data for dementia research across five financial years, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:
Year | NIHR | UKRI | Total |
2019/20 | £29,000,000 | £56,600,000 | £85,600,000 |
2020/21 | £21,900,000 | £63,700,000 | £85,600,000 |
2021/22 | £30,300,000 | £56,000,000 | £86,300,000 |
2022/23 | £35,100,000 | £64,800,000 | £99,900,000 |
2023/24 | £42,800,000 | £96,300,000 | £139,000,000 |
Total | £159,100,000 | £337,400,000 | £496,400,000 |
Spend for dementia research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, therefore 2023/24 is the most recent year for which we have data. The Department does not centrally hold data on dementia research funding from other public bodies.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. All NIHR programmes welcoming applications on dementia enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
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 phase (a) one, (b) two and (c) three dementia clinical trials there have been in the UK in each of the last ten years; and how many participants were recruited for each of those trials.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department does not hold information centrally on clinical trials hosted in Wales and Scotland. The Department is therefore unable to provide how many phase one, phase two, and phase three clinical trials for dementia have taken place in Wales and Scotland in each of the last 10 years.
The following table shows the number of phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 |
2014/15 | - | 12 | 17 |
2015/16 | 1 | 15 | 18 |
2016/17 | - | 12 | 24 |
2017/18 | 1 | 14 | 26 |
2018/19 | 1 | 12 | 18 |
2019/20 | 2 | 13 | 6 |
2020/21 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
2021/22 | 2 | 13 | 11 |
2022/23 | 4 | 11 | 11 |
2023/24 | 4 | 13 | 9 |
In addition, the following table shows the number of participants recruited into phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:
Year | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 |
2014/15 | - | 755 | 663 |
2015/16 | 10 | 843 | 1,165 |
2016/17 | - | 464 | 625 |
2017/18 | 3 | 415 | 471 |
2018/19 | 12 | 577 | 7,473 |
2019/20 | 4 | 600 | 440 |
2020/21 | 2 | 48 | 46 |
2021/22 | 6 | 35 | 61 |
2022/23 | 4 | 68 | 75 |
2023/24 | 15 | 123 | 190 |
Note: studies are sometimes conducted across multiple phases, for example a study may cross phase one/two or phase two/three. Therefore, figures cannot be totalled.
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 he will consider the final costs and benefits statement for programmes delivered under the National Programme of Technology, published on 6 June 2013, in his plans for (a) an NHS Federated Data Platform and (b) a single patient record.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are keen to draw on the lessons from the National Programme for IT in delivering the Federated Data Platform and the single patient record.
NHS England publishes information each quarter on the benefits being realised by the Federated Data Platform, with further information available at the following link:
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 he will make an assessment of the potential impact of closing NHS England on the (a) timeline for the production of the NHS 10-year plan and (b) publication date of that plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not envisage that the changes set out by the Prime Minister on 13 March 2025 will affect the publication of the 10 Year Plan. We still intend to publish the plan later in the spring.
The changes will set the National Health Service up to deliver on the three big shifts needed to make the service fit for the future, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
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 he will made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the length of funding periods of pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.
Government spending is normally agreed through spending reviews, and we are currently planning the Spending Review which will cover budgets beyond 2025/26.
We agree that funding agreements that cover multiple years can bring certainty for contractors and support investment decisions, but it is also difficult to flex such agreements to take into account unforeseen events, as demonstrated in the last five-year deal for pharmacy.
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, whether his Department has plans to link pharmacy funding to inflation and National Living Wage increases.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have taken the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.
The Department has considered the increases in the National Living Wage when consulting on the funding arrangements for community pharmacy. We have now agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion from April 2025. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.
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 discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the suitability of the EQ-5D questionnaire as tool for measuring caregiver quality of life improvements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I regularly meet with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to discuss a range of issues. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in its health technology evaluations. The NICE’s health technology evaluations manual, which was last updated in 2022 following extensive stakeholder engagement, states that its preferred measure for capturing health-related quality of life data in its health technology evaluations, whether for patients or caregivers, is the EQ-5D. The NICE can accept data using other measures, if evidence is provided that the EQ-5D is inappropriate. The NICE is aware of external work exploring how to better account for caregiver effects in health economic evaluations, for example through the work of the SHEER Task Force, and will continue to monitor and actively encourage further work in this area to potentially inform its methods in the future.