Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that people from (a) ethnic minority and (b) low socio-economic backgrounds have adequate access to endometriosis diagnosis services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.
The 10-Year Health Plan described our reimagined National Health Service, which will be designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as to give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with the NHS on their own terms.
We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis for all women, and we have already taken action to address this.
£25 million has been invested in women’s health hubs to improve care for common gynaecological and urogynaecological conditions, with care for endometriosis outlined as a core service within the women’s health hubs. The women’s health hubs aim to address gaps in provision and long waiting times, specifically for those from low socio-economic background or those who are from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has updated their guidelines on endometriosis in November 2024, with two new treatments having been approved, and we are investing £5.6 million into research to support our efforts in gynaecology and are taking action to cut gynaecology waiting lists through our Elective Reform Plan.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure the guidance on endometriosis published by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is effectively implemented.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.
We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions including endometriosis, and we have already taken action to address this.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated its guideline on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. The guideline, Endometriosis: diagnosis and management, aims to raise awareness of endometriosis symptoms, and to provide clear advice on referral, diagnosis, and the range of treatments available.
NICE will be working with National Health Service systems to ensure adoption of this best practice endometriosis care, including access to approved medicines.
NHS England encourages adherence to guidance publications by NICE. However, professionals and practitioners are expected to exercise their judgement when taking NICE guidelines into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families, and carers or guardian.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help health authorities deliver endometriosis services in (a) East Sussex and (b) areas where the prevalence endometriosis is higher than the national average.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, and we have already taken action to address this.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated their guideline on endometriosis, which makes firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis. This will help the estimated one in 10 women with endometriosis receive a diagnosis faster. NICE will be working with National Health Service systems to ensure adoption of this best practice endometriosis care, including access to approved medicines across all regions.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish national data on endometriosis diagnostic waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not centrally hold data on the number of women in England and Wales awaiting specialised endometriosis care, or on the waiting times for patients waiting for a diagnosis of endometriosis.
However, in England, the waiting list for gynaecology care, which includes those waiting for endometriosis care, stands at 575,986. This is a reduction of 19,979 since the Government came into office. Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times data, which includes the above data, is published monthly at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Data is currently published on the waiting times for diagnostic tests that are used along an endometriosis pathway, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound, but does not differentiate between the suspected diagnosis. This can be found in the Monthly Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity dataset, published monthly at the following link:
The following table shows the number of patients waiting for MRI and non-obstetric ultrasound, as of November 2025:
| Total waiting list | Number waiting over six weeks | Percentage waiting over six weeks |
MRI | 362,208 | 67,557 | 18.7% |
Non-obstetric ultrasound | 627,473 | 115,909 | 18.5% |
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS works with local authorities to ensure that people moving into temporary accommodation are supported to make necessary changes to personal information and continue to access relevant health services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 introduced a duty on specified public authorities to refer service users who they think may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to local authority homelessness/housing options teams. The specified public bodies include hospitals, emergency departments, and social services.
As part of the recently published cross-Government strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness, the Government is committing to a new Duty to Collaborate as well. This aims to strengthen and improve co-operation, early identification, and information sharing between health, housing, and social care services. Further information on A National Plan to End Homelessness is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness
Integrated care boards are expected to work in partnership with local authorities and housing services to support continuity of care for people whose housing circumstances change, including those moving into temporary accommodation. The 2025 10-Year Health Plan sets out how the Single Patient Record will support more consistent capture of social risk factors such as housing status, enabling care to be better coordinated across organisations when personal details or accommodation changes.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans there are to widen pay bands for Level 3 Staff in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any changes to the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay structure, including for Band 3 staff, will be for the NHS Staff Council to ratify or agree to as part of any future discussions. The NHS Staff Council is a partnership body made up of trade unions and employers and has overall responsibility for the AfC pay system and the terms and conditions of service.
The Government accepted the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendations for 2025/26 in full, which included a recommendation to provide the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to make improvements to the AfC pay structure.
The Department intends to deliver this mandate as soon as possible, to make the changes in time for 2026/27. Once the mandate is confirmed, the Department will work closely with the NHS Staff Council to agree the changes to the pay structure. This may or may not include changes to Band 3 pay, depending on NHS Staff Council views.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the department has to improve retention of level 3 staff within the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.
To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment by April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff including promoting flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.
NHS England is already leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.
Regarding pay, the Government remitted the Pay Review Bodies on 22 July and published its written evidence on 30 October, with the target of getting uplifts into the pockets of health workers early next year.
Earlier this year, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care was also able to accept the vast majority of recommendations that were produced from the non-pay work from the 2023 Agenda for Change deal. This covers work on a variety of issues including job evaluation and tackling violence and aggression against staff. NHS organisations are now in the process of implementing these recommendations.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department will provide to support the delivery of (a) art therapy, (b) animal therapy, (c) talking therapies, (d) group therapies and (e) other community-based preventative mental health support provision for residents in the Eastbourne area.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board is responsible for funding decisions relating to the provision of mental health care for people in the Eastbourne area.
Nationally, funding to expand evidence-based NHS Talking Therapies services has been prioritised, with the number of people completing a course of treatment expected to increase by 384,000 by 2028/29.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to allocate funding to the Lobular Moonshot Project.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC).
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, accompanied by the Minister of State for Health, met with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot Project on 14 July 2025 to discuss their work. The Chief Scientific Adviser and officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the MRC have held two further meetings with the Lobular Moonshot Project to provide advice on existing funding options.
Both the MRC and the NIHR have committed to continuing to work with the Lobular Moonshot Campaign team to support the development of fundable research proposals in this area and help drive our collective ambition to increase understanding and effective management of this disease.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality, high impact funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including lobular breast cancer.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 the mental health of (a) victims and (b) survivors of crime.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many people with mental health issues, including victims and survivors of crime, are not getting the support or care they need. This is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.
We are committed to improving mental health care for people with a range of mental health conditions, and to shifting the focus from treatment to prevention as we make the National Health Service fit for the future.
This Government is recruiting 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services. More than 6,700 extra mental health workers have been recruited since July, latest data shows. The latest recruitment milestone means the government is more than halfway towards its target of hiring an extra 8,500 mental health staff by the end of this Parliament, helping get people the care they need so they can get back to work, school and doing what they love.
We are transforming mental health services into 24 hour a day, seven day a week neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, and increasing access to evidence based digital interventions. People will get better access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week directly through the NHS App, including through self-referral for Talking Therapies.