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 admissions there were in each mental health inpatient unit in each of the last five years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not available in the format requested, as NHS England does not publish information at mental health inpatient unit level. The attached table has been provided by NHS England and shows admissions by mental health provider from 2020/21 to 2024/25.
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 (a) travel expenses and (b) other financial support are available to nursing students.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Education provides the primary funding support package for English domiciled students in higher education through the student loans system.
We want to remove the barriers to training in clinical roles like nursing, which is why in addition to student loans, the Department of Health and Social Care provides supplementary non-repayable grants via the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). Eligible nursing students receive a minimum of £5,000 in each academic year, with an additional £1,000 per academic year available for priority areas such as mental health nursing or learning disabilities nursing. Further financial support is also available for childcare, dual accommodation costs, and travel.
These funding arrangements are reviewed annually ahead of the start of each academic year.
The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, set out that we will help students overcome financial obstacles to learning. We are working with the NHS Business Services Authority to reform and modernise the process of supporting students with their placement expenses, including reducing delays to reimbursement of their placement travel and accommodation costs.
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 improve audiology waiting times for adults with age-related hearing loss.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including for audiology services for adults with age-related hearing loss.
NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards (ICBs), who are the commissioners of audiology services, to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres (CDCs), and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament. The plan commits to transform and expand diagnostic services and speed up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the RTT 18-week standard. This includes expanding existing CDCs, as well as building up to five new ones in 2025/26, and commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations and an expanded range of tests.
For the first time, we have set a clear target through the Medium Term Planning Framework, for systems to work to reduce long waits. By 2028/29, at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks. This includes community audiology services.
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 increase access to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography scans for cancer diagnosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to increasing access to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) scans and other nuclear medicine for cancer diagnosis, primarily by boosting overall diagnostic capacity.
As part of the diagnostic capital allocation from the Spending Reviews between 2021 and 2026, five schemes have been funded to replace aged computed tomography or SPECT-CT scanners with new SPECT-CT scanners for a total investment of £6.2 million. The benefits include increased throughput of patients, lower radiation doses, faster scans, reduced sedation of patients, and improved image quality.
SPECT-CT bids are also within the scope of the 2026 Spending Review multi-year diagnostic capital process, which is ongoing.
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 his Department plans to introduce a community-based audiology service for adults to improve access to assessment and treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are a fundamental part of the health and care system and an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of community health services, including audiology, to meet the needs of their local populations.
However, we know people are waiting too long to access audiology services. For the first time, we have set a clear target through the Medium Term Planning Framework, for systems to work to, in order to reduce long waits for community health services. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks. This includes community audiology services. This will be a key part of the shift from hospital to community.
In 2025, we published, for the first time, an overview of the core community health services, Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. It provides a baseline standard to ensure consistent delivery of community services, including audiology services, supporting effective commissioning and improved patient access. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of community audiology services for ICBs.
We are also committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including for audiology services for adults with age-related hearing loss.
NHS England is supporting provider organisations and ICBs who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.
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 has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving access to mental health support for adolescents in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter, and responsibility for improving access to mental health services in Northern Ireland, including for adolescents, sits with the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government works closely with the devolved administrations on shared health challenges, including mental health. Ministers meet regularly with their counterparts through intergovernmental forums such as the Interministerial Group for Health and Social Care.
At the Interministerial Group for Health and Social Care in April 2025, ministers discussed common priorities across the four governments on mental health, including the importance of early support for children and young people delivered in schools and community settings. The Government remains committed to continuing to work with the Northern Ireland Executive and the other devolved administrations to share learning and approaches to improving mental health support.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of the radioisotope supply disruption in late 2024 on patients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 2024 disruption was caused by the required closures of a number of reactors used to supply the United Kingdom and Europe. In response to this shortage, the Department worked closely with suppliers, the National Health Service, the British Nuclear Medicine Society, the UK Radiopharmacy Group, and the devolved administrations to ensure that the limited available supplies were shared equitably and that patients with the most critical needs were prioritised. A National Patient Safety Alert was issued providing guidance to radiopharmacy units on how to manage affected patients.
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 publish the review of clinical negligence costs by David Lock KC.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last ten years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. That work is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports.
The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps in due course.
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 proportion of the health budget is allocated to mental health services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
For the 2025/26 financial year, total mental health spend is forecast to be £15.6 billion, the equivalent to 8.71% of the recurrent National Health Service baseline of £179.4 billion. However, there are important elements of mental health spend not included in these figures. This includes capital spending, where we committed £75 million of investment in 2025/26 to reduce out-of-area placements, prescribing mental health medication, continuing healthcare, and NHS England’s investment in training the mental health workforce. This was set out in the Written Statement HCWS562 of 27 March 2025, by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Funding is central to delivering the ambitious goals set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over the next three years to drive improvements across mental health services. These include 100% coverage of Mental Health Support Teams by 2029, expanding NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement Support, and reducing the number of inappropriate out-of-area placements by the end of March 2027. To support this, the Government is requiring all integrated care boards to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard over the next three years, which sets a minimum rate of growth in annual spend on mental health services.
As required under Section 3 of the Health and Care Act 2022, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will lay a Written Ministerial Statement before Parliament setting out the expected mental health spend for 2026/27, including the total forecast spend and the proportion of the NHS recurrent baseline allocated to mental health services. This will be before the start of the next financial year.
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of greater reference to blood cancer diagnosis and treatment pathways in upcoming cancer policy documents.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan for England, released on 4 February 2026, sets out a commitment to diagnose cancers earlier and ensure people receive timely, effective treatment. The government is committed to helping the National Health Service to detect cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and provide faster treatment to improve outcomes.
While there has been no separate assessment of the benefits of including blood cancer pathways in future policy documents, the National Cancer Plan for England outlines actions to improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those diagnosed with blood cancer. These include expanding faster access to diagnostic tests, improving treatment turnaround times, and ensuring patients benefit from the latest innovations and technologies.
The NHS in England now uses non‑specific symptom pathways for people presenting with symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue or general illness that do not point to a particular cancer type. These pathways are especially important for detecting blood cancers, which often present with vague or non‑specific symptoms.
In addition, ongoing investment in diagnostic capacity, including new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners, will support the NHS in England to diagnose all cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and ensure patients can begin treatment as quickly as possible.