Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints have been made in the last five years to (a) Birmingham and Solihull ICB, (b) all ICBs and (c) NHS England that allege (i) failure to make reasonable adjustments and (ii) disability discrimination.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information is not available in the format requested. The annual publication of data on written complaints in the National Health Service, last published in October 2024, does not specify the number of complaints made to either integrated care boards or NHS England that were about either failure to make reasonable adjustments or disability discrimination.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 effectiveness of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism for improving compliance with the Equality Act at CQC registered practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for individual organisations, including Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered practices, to comply with the Equality Act 2010, guidance on which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance
A code of practice has been published to guide CQC registered providers on how to meet the statutory requirement for learning disability and autism training under the Health and Care Act 2022 which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oliver-mcgowan-code-of-practice
The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, otherwise known as Oliver’s Training, is the Government’s recommended training package.
The CQC has a role in assessing the completion and effectiveness of training, which may include Oliver’s Training, in relation to Regulation 18: Staffing of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Where an inspection involves the assessment of staff training, the CQC assesses the impact of training on the lives, outcomes and experiences of autistic people and people with a learning disability. The CQC also assesses whether people’s care, treatment and support promotes equality, removes barriers or delays and protects their rights under the Equity in experiences and outcomes quality statement, which is available at the following link:
All assessments carried out through formal inspection activity are reported on and published on the CQC website.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what sensitivity NHS BMI assessments allow for persons of mixed (a) South Asian and (b) non-South Asian heritage.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on the management of overweight and obesity. This specifies that a lower body mass index (BMI) threshold should be used as a practical measure of overweight and obesity for some adults from ethnic minority backgrounds, including South Asian, as they are prone to higher levels of abdominal fat and have an increased risk of developing certain health conditions at a lower BMI.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 raise public awareness of dyspraxia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to creating a more inclusive society where neurodiverse people, including those with dyspraxia, are supported to thrive.
Dyspraxia, also known as developmental co-ordination disorder or DCD, is a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination. Information on dyspraxia assessments and treatment is available to the public on the NHS.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia-in-adults/
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education on reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools as well as to ensure that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. The Government is also supporting earlier intervention for children with SEND through Mental Health Support Teams, as well as the Early Language Support for Every Child and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programmes.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 reduce barriers to the sharing of medical records between NHS trusts in cases when those trusts are treating the same patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Appropriate information sharing is essential for the provision of safe and effective health care. Improving this will enable enhanced quality of care and safety for patients and better informed clinical and care decision-making, empowered by access to precise and comprehensive information.
The Connecting Care Records programme joins up information based on the individual rather than via one organisation. Through targeted investment, local Connecting Care Record systems have been established in all integrated commissioning board areas. 97% of trusts and 92% of primary care networks are now connected.
As you may also be aware, NHS England has been supporting National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in acquiring and developing the effectiveness of their electronic patient records, and support is available to bring trusts to an optimum level of digital maturity, which will further reduce barriers to the information sharing needed to treat patients. Further information on data and clinical record sharing is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/data-and-clinical-record-sharing/
Going beyond this, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced the intention for there to be a single patient record, which would provide a comprehensive patient record and end the need for patients to have to repeat their medical history when interacting with the NHS. We have been engaging with the public to help shape our plans, including what information they would want to see included in a single record.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's advisory bodies have made comparative assessments of the efficacy of (i) natalizumab Tysabri and (ii) natalizumab Tyruko for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tyruko and Tysabri are United Kingdom licensed medicines. Tyruko is a biosimilar to the originator Tysabri. A biosimilar is a biological medicinal product that contains a version of the active substance of an already authorised original biological medicinal product. The guiding principle of authorising a biosimilar is to establish similarity between the biosimilar, Tyruko, and the originator, Tysabri, based on a comprehensive comparability exercise, ensuring that the previously proven safety and efficacy of the originator also applies to the biosimilar. This is assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) during the process of obtaining a marketing authorisation.
Following the introduction of Tyruko to the UK, the MHRA has investigated reports of increased disability associated with suspected allergic reactions, known as immunogenicity, following treatment with Tyruko, mainly in patients who were switched from Tysabri. The majority of these reports originated from a single National Health Service centre and only a few patients had residual symptoms after stopping Tyruko or transferring back to Tysabri. The assessment noted that more reassuring real world data has been described by other centres, which indicates some heterogeneity in the experience. The MHRA’s review was considered by the Commission on Human Medicine’s Neurology, Pain and Psychiatry Expert Advisory Group, which concluded that there was no corroborative evidence that allergic reactions are associated with progressive disability or any lack of efficacy for Tyruko when compared with Tysabri. The group recommended enhanced pharmacovigilance measures, including a specific follow up questionnaire, and that the marketing authorisation holder should review the risk of allergic reactions every four months or so and submit their data to the MHRA for monitoring, until greater experience with Tyruko is gained. The MHRA communicated the findings and outcomes of this review to clinicians at an NHS England webinar on 2 May 2025.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 merits of prescribing medical cannabis to treat Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend the use of any cannabis-based medicines to manage chronic or neuropathic pain in adults and that cannabidiol (CBD) only be offered as part of a clinical trial.
NICE recognises the lack of evidence to support the use of these medicines and recommends that further research is carried out on the clinical and cost effectiveness of CBD as an add-on treatment for adults with fibromyalgia or for persistent treatment resistant neuropathic pain.
The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. As for all other medicines, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to generate the evidence required for assessment by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
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 abolition of NHS England on the 2025-26 NHS Payment Scheme consultation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by James Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome there were in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) since 2014:
Year | Token Person ID |
2014 | 1,287 |
2015 | 1,279 |
2016 | 1,198 |
2017 | 1,184 |
2018 | 1,195 |
2019 | 1,083 |
2020 | 1,058 |
2021 | 1,163 |
2022 | 1,095 |
2023 | 1,056 |
2024 | 1,107 (provisional) |
Source: NHS England
Notes:
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS (a) operations, (b) appointments and (c) tests that took place in Birmingham between July-November (i) 2024 and (ii) 2023.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The scope of this data is limited to elective services consistent with consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times. It excludes emergency care, maternity, and mental health services. Birmingham has four trusts excluding these services, data for which has been aggregated into the table below. The following table shows the number of elective operations, outpatient appointments, and diagnostic tests, and the total of all three combined, delivered from July to November 2024 and from July to November 2023:
Time period | Elective operations | Outpatient appointments | Diagnostic tests | Total |
July to November 2024 | 105,253 | 708,569 | 260,143 | 1,073,965 |
July to November 2023 | 99,795 | 683,685 | 248,683 | 1,032,163 |
In addition, the following table shows the number elective operations, outpatient appointments, and diagnostic tests, and the total of all three combined, delivered from July to November 2023, adjusted for working days, and the number of addition appointments delivered in 2024:
| Elective operations | Outpatient appointments | Diagnostic tests | Total |
July to November 2023 adjusted for working days | 100,719 | 690,015 | 250,986 | 1,041,720 |
Additional appointments | 4,534 | 18,554 | 9,157 | 32,245 |
Note: the data excludes the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.