Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the men’s health strategy; and whether it will include funding to help prevent (a) suicide and (b) premature death for men.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The strategy will be informed by the Call for Evidence which closed on 17 July 2025. We aim to launch the Men’s Health Strategy later this year.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of utilising shareable health data to help (a) fire and rescues services and (b) local authorities identify vulnerable residents.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of using health data in this way but is aware of exploratory work underway in the National Health Service, including in Greater Manchester. This year the Department is working to tackle the underlying barriers to linking health and non-health data to improve outcomes and is supporting a small number of priority projects.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the commercial arrangements made by NHS England with marketing authorisation holders between January 2020 and September 2025 involving indication-specific pricing were for indications for (a) rare non-oncology and (b) ultra-rare non-oncology conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between January 2020 and September 2025, NHS England entered into 75 commercial arrangements involving indication-specific pricing. Of these, eight of the commercial agreements have involved indication-specific pricing for rare non-oncology conditions, and of those eight, two were for indications classed as ultra-rare non-oncology conditions.
Please note that the following definitions of rare and ultra rare non-oncology conditions have been applied: rare, meaning a condition which affects less than 1 in 2,000 people, as per the National Health Service rare diseases framework; and ultra-rare, meaning a condition affecting 1 in 50,000 people or fewer in England.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department (a) has made and (b) plans to make an assessment of the impact of exposure to chemicals on cancer incidence rates.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK REACH regulation aims to protect human health from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, including substances of very high concern such as carcinogens. This is led by the Health and Safety Executive, with the UK Health Security Agency contributing to the process. The Department is currently not planning to make an assessment of the impacts of chemicals on cancer incidence rates for this reason.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many integrated care boards have a designated senior leader responsible for (a) neurology and (b) rehabilitation services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for designating senior leaders as appropriate, as well as for commissioning most services for people with long term conditions including for neurology and rehabilitation services. ICBs are allocated funding by NHS England to meet local need and priorities and improve outcomes.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the scope of the Government’s independent commission into adult social care include the means testing which underpins the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.
Baroness Casey and her team will look at what fundamental reforms will be needed, what social care should look like, who should it serve, and who should be responsible and accountable for its services.
The Terms of Reference for the commission are sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future, including aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) if she sees fit.
To ensure the DFG is as effective as possible, we continue to keep different aspects of the grant, including the means test, under consideration.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Delivery Plan for ME/CFS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, final delivery plan will be published shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
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 provide routine access to circulating tumour DNA blood tests to support the (a) detection and (b) treatment of breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to improving faster and earlier detection of breast cancer and will work to ensure that patients have timely access to lifesaving, innovative treatments. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over four million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to treatment. There are no current plans to provide routine access to circulating tumour DNA blood tests.
The Government’s wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer. We are also proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden National Institute for Health and Care Research Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including breast cancer.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spends on average per patient with secondary (metastatic) breast cancer; and if he will make a comparative assessment of the average spend per patient with primary breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the lives of those diagnosed with both primary and secondary breast cancer. The Department does not hold the information to make a comparative assessment of the average spend per patient with primary or secondary breast cancer.
Reducing unwarranted variation in cancer treatment is a strategic priority for the National Health Service. NHS England commissioned new clinical audits on primary and metastatic breast cancer to increase the consistency of access to treatments. On 12 September 2024, the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre published their State of the Nation Report on breast cancer. Officials at the Department and NHS England are in the process of considering the audit’s findings and what any next steps could be. To drive up the completeness of data for breast cancer, progesterone receptor status is already collected as part of the NHS Cancer Outcomes and Services Data set. No specific breakdown is available at this time.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Audit of Metastatic Breast Cancer will provide a specific breakdown by (a) breast cancer subtype and (b) hormone receptor status.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the lives of those diagnosed with both primary and secondary breast cancer. The Department does not hold the information to make a comparative assessment of the average spend per patient with primary or secondary breast cancer.
Reducing unwarranted variation in cancer treatment is a strategic priority for the National Health Service. NHS England commissioned new clinical audits on primary and metastatic breast cancer to increase the consistency of access to treatments. On 12 September 2024, the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre published their State of the Nation Report on breast cancer. Officials at the Department and NHS England are in the process of considering the audit’s findings and what any next steps could be. To drive up the completeness of data for breast cancer, progesterone receptor status is already collected as part of the NHS Cancer Outcomes and Services Data set. No specific breakdown is available at this time.