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 estimate he has made of the number of babies born with rare diseases in the first half of (a) 2025 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. Digital data and technology are an underpinning theme of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) is part of NHS England and manages two disease registration services, including the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service (NCARDRS). The NCARDRS records those people with congenital abnormalities and rare diseases across the whole of England. Further information on the NDRS and the NCARDRS is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/about/ncardrs
Currently, there is no single rare disease registry. The NDRS can access information from the Newborn screening programme, which enables early identification, referral, and treatment of babies with nine rare but serious conditions. The NDRS also approaches services for access to patient data for other rare conditions, but this is not blanket coverage at this stage. There are a number of rare diseases registries, some funded via NHS England, and some via industry or charities. Due to this, NDRS records would not be a full picture of everyone born with a rare disease.
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 merits of using nano needles to detect cancers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department looks at opportunities to utilise technology to improve diagnostic performance and bring down cancer waiting times. We are committed to backing an innovative clinical research ecosystem in the United Kingdom so that patients can be among the first to benefit as we make the National Health Service fit for the future.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not currently made a specific assessment of the potential merits of using nanoneedles to detect cancers.
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 his Department has made of the potential impact of short-term funding grants on the ability of drug treatment services to (a) provide long term care and (b) retain staff.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for greater certainty regarding funding and the ability to set clear budgets.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet these needs. It is also the responsibility of local authorities to set the length of the contracts with services.
To better support upper tier and unitary local authorities’ vital public health work, from 2026/27 we will bring together over £4 billion of public health funding for local government, by consolidating service specific grants into the Public Health Grant. It is our intention to publish indicative Public Health Grant funding alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, with final multi-year local authority Public Health Grant allocations published early in the new year. This will give local authorities more advanced notice of their total funding allocations, further empowering them to plan more effectively and better manage their services.
Alongside the funding allocations, the Department and NHS England have also published a 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, from 2024 to 2034, which is the first national workforce plan for this specialist part of the health workforce in England and outlines key milestones to grow, train, and develop staff.
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 drug treatment services have fewer than 24 months of secured funding.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for greater certainty regarding funding and the ability to set clear budgets.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet these needs. It is also the responsibility of local authorities to set the length of the contracts with services.
To better support upper tier and unitary local authorities’ vital public health work, from 2026/27 we will bring together over £4 billion of public health funding for local government, by consolidating service specific grants into the Public Health Grant. It is our intention to publish indicative Public Health Grant funding alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, with final multi-year local authority Public Health Grant allocations published early in the new year. This will give local authorities more advanced notice of their total funding allocations, further empowering them to plan more effectively and better manage their services.
Alongside the funding allocations, the Department and NHS England have also published a 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, from 2024 to 2034, which is the first national workforce plan for this specialist part of the health workforce in England and outlines key milestones to grow, train, and develop staff.
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 support dementia patients with (a) memory loss and (b) other symptoms.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
The Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.
Those with dementia will also benefit from more joined up care through co-created care plans, and by 2027, 95% of those with complex needs will have an agreed care 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 help prevent bullying amongst staff in health settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bullying is unacceptable in any workplace and has no place in the National Health Service. All employers across the NHS should have a robust policy on bullying outlining how it should be handled and the support available to staff.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan this autumn setting out how we will ensure all NHS staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.
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 progress he has made on approving new drugs for Alzheimer's disease.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on whether new medicines should be routinely funded based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE evaluates all new medicines, including medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and aims to publish guidance for the NHS as close as possible to licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund recommended treatments, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
NICE published its final draft guidance on the disease-modifying treatments lecanemab and donanemab, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, in June. NICE concluded that the evidence presented so far shows that neither donanemab nor lecanemab provide enough benefit to justify the substantial resources the NHS would need to commit to implement access to them. NICE has received appeals against its draft recommendations which are scheduled to be heard by an independent panel in October 2025.
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 people across the UK have been hospitalised for opioid overdoses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes data on hospital admissions and related diagnosis information, including finished admission episodes due to opioid overdoses.
The total number of finished admission episodes in England relating to opium, heroin, or other opioids in 2023/24 was 6,582. Further data is available at the following link:
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 people have been admitted to hospital for detached retinas in the last six months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes data on hospital admissions and related diagnosis information, including finished admission episodes due to detached retinas.
The total number of finished admission episodes in England relating to retinal detachments and breaks in 2023/24 was 21,466. Further data is available at the following link:
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 increase awareness of the potential risks of unregulated online pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies based in Great Britain must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). Patients can check if a pharmacy is registered on the GPhC website. The GPhC has recently updated their guidance for online pharmacies to strengthen their safeguards, to prevent people from receiving medicines that are not clinically appropriate for them, and which may cause them harm.
Not all providers of medicines online are pharmacies registered with the GPhC. In such cases, the matter falls to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which is responsible for regulating the sale, supply, and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. These regulations apply equally to medicines advertised, sold, or supplied via the internet. The MHRA and its Criminal Enforcement Unit actively seeks to identify individuals involved in unlawful activity and, where appropriate, prosecutes those who put public health at risk.