Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 (a) increase the number of specialist training posts for UK doctors and (b) remove barriers to practice for UK-trained doctors returning from overseas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, set out that over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. The plan also sets out that we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out next steps in due course.
All medical practitioners wishing to practise in the UK must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and must hold a licence to practise. The GMC is statutorily independent of the Government and sets the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to its register. This ensures that registrants are safe to practise and that patients receive a high standard of care. Information on the process for joining the GMC’s register and tailored support for international applicants can be found on its website.
In 2023, the Department worked with the GMC to amend its legislation, including an updated standard for specialist registration, which has enabled improvements to expedite the process for specialist registration.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 (a) improve access to migraine (i) diagnoses and (ii) treatment, (b) increase the availability of long-term specialist care for migraine patients and (c) raise awareness of migraine amongst primary care clinicians.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management, sets out best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people who suffer from headaches, including migraine. It aims to improve the recognition and management of headaches and migraine.
NICE updated its guideline in June 2025. Updates included a change to the strength of recommendations on treatments for migraine prevention to better reflect the balance between their benefits and harms, and incorporation of relevant technology appraisal guidance for treating and preventing migraine with or without aura.
At the national level, there are several initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with migraine, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit. The GIRFT programme published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to improving recognition and diagnosis of migraine by general practitioners. Additionally, the RightCare Toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraine, which includes correct identification and diagnosis of headache disorders.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed two e-learning modules about migraine and cluster headaches, which aim to raise awareness amongst primary care clinicians about the different types of migraine and their associated symptoms, and how to differentiate.
Over the last four years, a new class of drugs, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors, has been made available on the National Health Service for the prevention and treatment of episodic and chronic migraines. On 15 May 2024, Atogepant became the latest CGRP inhibitor recommended by NICE for use as a preventive medication for the treatment of migraine.
A key priority for the Government is to cut waiting lists, including for patients with migraine. We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, including in neurology services. We have reduced the elective waiting list by over 206,000 since July 2024. Between July 2024 and June 2025, we have delivered 5.2 million additional appointments, many of which will have been for patients with migraine.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) update NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have asked my officials to work with partners including NHS England to review how National Health Service Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is being implemented and explore how this could be improved.
The Department continues to work with our partners to deliver CHC policy effectively and to ensure that people who are eligible receive it in a timely manner. Integrated care boards, who are responsible for the implementation of CHC with oversight from NHS England, must continue to have regard to our statutory guidance, the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care. This is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential benefits of creating NHS-approved meal planning kits.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, alongside other Government departments, are funding research on recipe boxes through the SALIENT food systems trials. The trial is partnering with a commercial recipe box company to understand whether recipe box subscriptions can lead to healthier dietary quality, are feasible and acceptable across the population, and can improve users’ capabilities to prepare food that they value. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.salientfoodtrials.uk/
Government dietary advice is encapsulated in the UK national food guide, the Eatwell Guide, which shows how to construct a healthy balanced diet and guides food and drink choices. The guide is aimed at the general population and can be used flexibly regardless of budget or personal dietary requirements. The Department promotes the guide’s principles through platforms such as the NHS.UK website and social marketing campaigns, including Healthier Families and Better Health. Further information about the respective campaigns is available at the following links:
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/
The Healthier Families website also contains a selection of healthy recipes for those who are looking for further support in planning healthier meals.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 reduce delays in NHS ophthalmology services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to ensuring that 92% of all patients, across specialties, wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) by March 2029. As a first step, we have delivered a reduction in the waiting list by over 206,000, having now delivered 5.2 million additional appointments, compared to the previous year. This is more than double our pledge of 2 million extra appointments.
In ophthalmology, the current national waiting list stands at 593,646 pathways, with 69.8% of those having waited 18 weeks or less. This marks a 16,630 reduction in the ophthalmology waiting list, and a 3.7 percentage point improvement in patients waiting 18 weeks or less than in June 2024. In June 2024, the ophthalmology waiting list stood at 610,276 pathways, with 66.1% of patients waiting 18 weeks or less.
Ophthalmology is the largest outpatient speciality, with over 9.7 million outpatient attendances across 2024/25. Reforms to outpatient care outlined in our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, are already reducing delays in National Health Service ophthalmology services. We are reducing missed appointments through enhanced two-way communication between hospitals and patients. We are using AI prediction to reduce missed appointments and increasing the use of remote monitoring and patient-initiated follow up where appropriate, to offer patients more flexibility over their care.
We will improve the IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services, to improve the referral and triage of patients and enable a more integrated approach to delivering eye care. The 10-Year Health Plan will also support more eye care services being delivered in the community, to help create capacity in secondary care by shifting care away from hospitals.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 (a) increase NHS winter capacity in Chichester constituency for the 2025-26 winter period and (b) enhance public awareness of winter illness prevention.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is already preparing for winter this year with the development and better testing of winter plans. This includes the surge capacity and escalation plans in place across all NHS and urgent care services including Chichester.
The UK Health Security Agency publishes the Adverse Weather and Health Plan for England, which sets out a framework for action to protect the population from harm to their health from adverse weather including excess cold.
On 20 October 2025, the Department will launch a multimedia campaign encouraging flu vaccination among people with long-term health conditions. This follows September 2025 campaigns promoting vaccination for pregnant women and children of pre-school and school age.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the NHS Car Parking Guidance.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no plans to review National Health Service car parking guidance. Free hospital car parking is available to groups that are most in-need, including disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, the parents of sick children staying overnight, and staff working night shifts.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 provide clearer support pathways for women experiencing surgical menopause.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that women suffering from symptoms of menopause have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact it has on women’s lives, relationships, and participation in the workplace.
Surgical menopause can have significant consequences both in the short and long term. Menopausal symptoms can be particularly severe due to the sudden loss of ovarian function in both pre/post-menopausal women. Experiences vary, but this can be very debilitating.
Women should be counselled prior to surgery about what to expect and offered hormone replacement therapy if appropriate and desirable in managing symptoms. They should have a full discussion about implications of removal of ovaries and treatment options.
We have supported the system to improve access to more specialised and multidisciplinary teams in the community through the introduction of women’s health hubs. The hubs provide better communication and integrated care for women with a range of different needs, including menopause symptoms.
NHS England has supported a range of tools and interventions that will help to upskill more general practitioners in menopause care and will improve access to treatments that can be helpful, including a Menopause Optimal Pathway Toolkit (OPT). The OPT is an online resource that was developed in collaboration with partners including the British Menopause Society, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of General Practitioners, and the Royal College of Physicians. It is designed to be used in real-time, alongside the consultation, to guide health professionals through a menopause consultation. The information within the OPT is intended to be comprehensive, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, easy-to-use and locate, and should provide up-to-date information.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 17 June 2025 to Question 59607 on Infant Foods, when he plans to respond to the recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority's report entitled Infant formula and follow-on formula market study, published on 14 February 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government remains committed to giving every child the best start in life. Whilst breastfeeding has significant health benefits, we recognise that for those families that cannot or choose not to breastfeed, it is vital that they have access to infant formula that is affordable and high quality. Infant formula regulations ensure that all infant formula is suitable for meeting the nutritional needs of babies, regardless of the price or brand.
The Government welcomes the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into the United Kingdom’s infant formula and follow-on formula market. We have been working closely with the devolved administrations to consider its recommendations. We will respond in due course.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications for hormone replacement therapy implant licenses were received by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the last six months; and what steps he is taking to help ensure an ongoing supply of hormone replacement therapy implant products.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring that medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.
The MHRA has not received any licence applications in the last six months for a new hormone replacement therapy (HRT) implant product. The MHRA has been working closely with the current importers of the product and is also looking to encourage other applications for a licenced medicinal product. The importer Smartway has assured that there are over 13 months of product in the UK based on the currently available stocks and usage rates.
Oestrogen and testosterone HRT implants are not licenced in the UK. The Department is working closely with the MHRA to ensure safe access to these products. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who can source unlicensed medicines in order to find alternative sources of both HRT implants for UK patients. The Department will continue to work closely with the MHRA and the National Health Service to ensure suitable alternatives are available for patients.