Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms are in place for NHS mental health trusts to be held accountable when written recommendations for improving carer involvement and crisis support following formal apologies are not implemented within agreed timescales.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Anyone receiving treatment for their mental health deserves safe, high-quality care, and to be treated with dignity and respect.

Families, staff, and the public deserve answers when things go wrong in mental health settings and it is vitally important that, where care falls short, we learn from any mistakes made to improve care across the National Health Service and protect patients in the future.

All NHS providers are held to account under the NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 when they fail to implement written recommendations, for instance on carer involvement or crisis support, in agreed timescales. This includes a capability assessment, where trusts are evaluated for leadership, governance, and ability to implement change, with failures heightening oversight. As part of the Provider Improvement Programme, low performing trusts enter a structured programme, gaining intensive, formal improvement interventions.

NHS England can formally step in using its enforcement guidance if performance or governance is below acceptable standards. NHS England regional teams convene regular meetings with trusts and integrated care boards to review progress on agreed recommendations and implementation plans.

It is the role of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to carry out independent investigations into complaints about treatment or service provided through the NHS where organisation level complaints processes have already been followed.

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 ensuring that NHS mental health trusts do not discharge patients with high PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores without robust safety planning and follow-up support; and what guidance his Department has issued to help prevent such cases.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2024, statutory guidance was issued on discharge from all mental health, and learning disability and autism inpatient settings, under the NHS Act 2006. The guidance also sets out that prior to discharge, robust planning and safety management should be developed for all patients, in collaboration with the person and their chosen carer or carers with input from relevant members of the multi-disciplinary team.

For individuals detained under the Mental Health Act, in the Mental Health Act 2025, passed this year, we have strengthened discharge decision making by requiring consultation with another professional before discharge, as well as introducing requirements around care and treatment planning. We will provide further guidance on this in the revised Code of Practice.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to review the cumulative effect of operating costs, including energy, staffing, compliance, and taxation, on the viability of hospitality businesses; and what consultations he is having with industry representatives on those matters.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

My department works closely with hospitality businesses to assess impact of rising operating costs across energy, staffing, compliance and taxation.

This includes regular engagement with the sector, including through the Hospitality Sector Council which provides a formal forum to co-create solutions to pressures facing the industry.

We also maintain regular engagement with trade bodies such as UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association, as well as colleagues across government, to ensure that policy decisions are informed by the latest evidence and genuinely support the sector’s long-term stability.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage businesses and individuals to buy local farming produce.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the key role that regional and local food systems can play in supporting delivery of the growth, health, sustainability, and food security/ resilience outcomes. Defra wants to create an environment that champions UK food cultures and celebrates British food. Connecting local communities can be a key vehicle for achieving this outcome and for harnessing a stronger food culture. The strategy helps strengthen pride in our unique food heritage and cultures and inspire a good food movement around the country.

Alongside, Defra is considering the policy options available to deliver on the Government's ambition for at least half of all food procured by the public sector to be, where possible, locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards, and to make it easier for British suppliers to bid for a share of the £5 billion spent annually on public sector catering contracts. To that end, the Government is conducting the first ever review of food currently bought in the public sector, including where it is bought from.

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 current age limits for routine breast cancer screening; and whether he plans to review these limits to improve early detection for patients outside of the standard screening range.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is guided by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the committee is confident that screening would provide more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended, as all medical interventions carry an inherent risk.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) offers all women in England between the ages of 50 to 71 years old the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost to invasive breast cancer.

The AgeX research trial has been looking at the effectiveness of offering some women one extra screen between the ages of 47 to 49 years old, and one between the ages of 71 to 73 years old. The biggest trial of its kind ever to be undertaken, AgeX will provide robust evidence about the effectiveness of screening in these age groups, including the benefit and harms. The UK NSC will review the publication of the age extension trial when it reports.

Women with a very high risk of breast cancer, for example due to family history, may be offered screening earlier and more frequently, sometimes using magnetic resonance imaging rather than a mammogram.

While the NHS BSP does not automatically invite women for breast screening after their 71st birthday, women aged 71 years old or over can still have breast screening every three years if they want to, by calling their local breast screening service to ask for an appointment.

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 ensure that local cancer treatment facilities, such as mobile chemotherapy units and hospital breast cancer clinics, have sufficient resources to meet demand and reduce waiting times for patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the plan for reforming elective care, the Government is committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times.

To improve access to cancer treatment, the Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the National Health Service and providing it with the resources it needs, including community diagnostic centres, to ensure patients are diagnosed faster and earlier so that they receive timely access to treatment. £70 million will also be spent on replacing out-of-date radiotherapy equipment so that cancer patients benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment using the most up-to-date technology. Replacing these older machines will save as many as 13,000 appointments from being lost to equipment breakdown.

NHS England has partnered with the charity Hope For Tomorrow to establish mobile chemotherapy units across England, bringing chemotherapy and cancer treatments closer to patients' homes, reducing waiting time for hospital appointments, with units staffed by specialist nurses offering personalised care.

The NHS has made important progress on the treatment of cancer, including breast cancer, delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week to ensure faster treatment for those who need it most.