Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mental capacity assessments have been carried out on patients in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect and empower people who lack the mental capacity to make a decision themselves. It says that every person must be presumed to have capacity to make the decision in question unless it is established otherwise, and sets out a two-stage test to establish if a person can make specific decisions regarding their care and treatment. Capacity assessments are done locally, and data is not collated or held centrally on how many assessments are carried out.
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is a procedure prescribed in law under the MCA when a person who lacks mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment is being deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital in order to keep them safe from harm. DoLS assessments data is collated and published, the most recent data available is for 2023/24.
In 2023/24 there were 323,870 DoLS applications completed, 145,945 fully assessed, 15,270 closed partially assessed, 162,655 closed without assessments, and 123,790 not completed at year end.
The MCA code of practice gives guidance to people who work with, or care for, people who can’t make decisions for themselves, including when a mental capacity assessment should be carried out, and by whom. Government is clear that professionals applying the MCA are expected to keep up to date with guidance and caselaw, and to correctly use the principles within the act.
In October 2025 we announced our intention to run a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice to consult on Liberty Protection Safeguards and an updated draft of the Code of Practice in 2026.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides on when a mental capacity review should be carried out on a patient.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect and empower people who lack the mental capacity to make a decision themselves. It says that every person must be presumed to have capacity to make the decision in question unless it is established otherwise, and sets out a two-stage test to establish if a person can make specific decisions regarding their care and treatment. Capacity assessments are done locally, and data is not collated or held centrally on how many assessments are carried out.
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is a procedure prescribed in law under the MCA when a person who lacks mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment is being deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital in order to keep them safe from harm. DoLS assessments data is collated and published, the most recent data available is for 2023/24.
In 2023/24 there were 323,870 DoLS applications completed, 145,945 fully assessed, 15,270 closed partially assessed, 162,655 closed without assessments, and 123,790 not completed at year end.
The MCA code of practice gives guidance to people who work with, or care for, people who can’t make decisions for themselves, including when a mental capacity assessment should be carried out, and by whom. Government is clear that professionals applying the MCA are expected to keep up to date with guidance and caselaw, and to correctly use the principles within the act.
In October 2025 we announced our intention to run a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice to consult on Liberty Protection Safeguards and an updated draft of the Code of Practice in 2026.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 increase the number of specialist arterial vascular consultants.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England that over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts, with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.
The Government is committed to training the staff we need, including doctors, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed services set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 waiting times for gynaecological (i) consultant appointments and (ii) surgery.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029. We are making good progress, as waiting lists have been cut by over 310,000 since the Government came into office, which includes almost 20,000 patients waiting for gynaecology treatment over the same period.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, set out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures. It also includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. Currently, over half of the 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services. Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services, including more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups. We are also introducing an “online hospital”, through NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide additional resources to gynaecology services to help reduce waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029. We are making good progress, as waiting lists have been cut by over 310,000 since the Government came into office, which includes almost 20,000 patients waiting for gynaecology treatment over the same period.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, set out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures. It also includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. Currently, over half of the 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services. Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services, including more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups. We are also introducing an “online hospital”, through NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to detail the average waiting time for gynaecological surgery, in each of the last five years, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold waiting list data for health and social care trusts of Northern Ireland. Health policy is largely devolved, and this data is therefore held by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.
In England, waiting list data for all specialities, including gynaecology services and median waiting times, is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
This data does not provide a breakdown of waiting times for appointments and surgery, as waiting times are measured from referral to first definitive treatment, a decision not to treat, or when a patient has decided to refuse treatment.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to detail the average waiting time for gynaecological consultant appointments, in each of the last five years, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold waiting list data for health and social care trusts of Northern Ireland. Health policy is largely devolved, and this data is therefore held by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.
In England, waiting list data for all specialities, including gynaecology services and median waiting times, is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
This data does not provide a breakdown of waiting times for appointments and surgery, as waiting times are measured from referral to first definitive treatment, a decision not to treat, or when a patient has decided to refuse treatment.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 help improve addiction and mental health treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that people with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs do not receive the integrated, person-centred care they require and deserve. The Department and NHS England have recently published the Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Delivery framework, which is available at the following link:
This framework commits the Department and NHS England to delivering several national actions to improve delivery of integrated, person-centred care across drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services. The framework also includes recommended actions on how the health system can also work together to improve outcomes for those with co-occurring needs.
We also know that gambling can have a wide-ranging negative effect on health and inequalities and is associated with poor mental health and in severe cases suicide, as well as the knock-on impacts from gambling related debt. In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 50% allocated to gambling harms treatment activity across Great Britain.
Lastly, rates of smoking continue to fall in the general population, although inequality remains, with higher rates of smoking in other groups such as people with a mental health condition or people in routine and manual work. Stop Smoking Services are effective in reaching high-prevalence groups. By targeting support in populations with greater need, we want to secure a smoke-free generation together, where no one is left behind.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 help reduce regional inequalities in health outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths, with an ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.
We know that everyday life poses greater health risks to the most disadvantaged in society, and that the current model of care works least well for those who already experience disadvantage and are far more likely to have complex needs. To help tackle this, we will distribute National Health Service funding more equally locally, so it is better aligned with health need.
Further to this, much of what determines health and wellbeing is influenced by factors other than health services. As a result, we are taking bold action across the Government on the social determinants of health to build a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer.
Cross-Government activity includes the introduction of Awaab’s Law, ensuring landlords will have to fix significant damp and mould hazards, and legislating for a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities.
We support the NHS’s CORE20PLUS5 approach which targets action to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the NHS. The approach focuses on improving the five clinical areas at most need of accelerated improvement, namely cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory, maternity, and mental health outcomes, in the poorest 20% of the population, along with other disadvantaged population groups identified at a local level.
In addition, we know that the Carr-Hill formula, the United Kingdom’s formula for allocating core funding to general practices (GPs), is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that GPs serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 maximise the amount of time surgeons spend in theatre.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking steps to maximise the amount of time surgeons spend in theatre so they can get through theatre lists more quickly. This includes providing additional capacity via surgical hubs to get through high volume, low complexity lists, and by other productivity measures to free up clinicians’ time to spend in theatres.