Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of penalties for people engaged in the illegal trade of tobacco products.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a robust strategy to tackle the illicit tobacco trade which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stubbing-out-the-problem-a-new-strategy-to-tackle-illicit-tobacco/stubbing-out-the-problem-a-new-strategy-to-tackle-illicit-tobacco
This strategy combines legislation, controls, operations and sanctions to penalise and deter those involved in the illegal trade of tobacco products.
HMRC works together with partner agencies such as Border Force and Trading Standards in tackling illicit tobacco. Penalties provide a strong deterrent effect and play a key role in enforcement activity. Published data on seizures, criminal investigations and civil penalties related to tobacco can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-outputs-for-tacking-tobacco-smuggling
The scope, impact and effectiveness of penalties are continually reviewed as part of the wider tobacco strategy. Strong enforcement supported by robust penalties has contributed to a significant reduction in the estimated duty gap by around one third for cigarettes (from 16.9% in 2005 to 10.5% in 2023 to 2024) and by nearly two thirds for hand-rolling tobacco (from 65.2% to 22.9% over the same period).
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the availability of tactile paving on platform edges at train stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All stations in England now have platform edge safety tactiles installed. The final station in Scotland is currently scheduled to have them installed by the end of December and the final station in Wales, currently closed for rebuilding, will have tactiles in place when it reopens in April 2026.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure anticancer agents can be offered on the NHS for the duration of people’s cancer treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations.
These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of the evidence. NICE’s methods and processes for making its recommendations are internationally respected and have been developed through extensive consultation. NICE is able to recommend the vast majority of new licensed medicines for use on the NHS, and many thousands of patients have benefited from access to medicines as a result.
NICE’s guidance on the use of pembrolizumab for the treatment of untreated PD-L1-positive metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer recommends that treatment should be stopped at two years. This recommendation was based on the best available clinical evidence and was made in the interest of patient safety. During the development of guidance, NICE’s appraisal committee was informed by clinical experts that the optimal duration of treatment was unknown and, despite the medicine having low toxicity, long courses of intravenous infusion may be a burden to patients. Further information is set out in paragraph 3.6 of NICE’s published guidance at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta531/chapter/3-Committee-discussion
The Department and NHS England do not hold any data on the number of patients who are unable to self-fund treatment of medicines beyond any stopping rule set out in NICE’s guidance.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 offering CT scans to former miners.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made on the potential merits of offering computed tomography (CT) scans to former miners. As set out in the recently published Men’s Health Strategy for England, we will expand the existing Respiratory Pathways Transformation Fund initiative by investing an additional £1 million this year through the Oxfordshire Health Innovation Network to develop targeted case-finding initiatives in former coalfield areas, such as those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This will help us to identify the individuals who need support to access appropriate local services. Investigations such as CT scans will be considered for those reporting symptoms in areas in which we are targeting support, if clinically appropriate.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 help ensure that people who cannot afford anticancer treatment will continue to receive treatment beyond the stopping date of their anticancer agent being available on the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations.
These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of the evidence. NICE’s methods and processes for making its recommendations are internationally respected and have been developed through extensive consultation. NICE is able to recommend the vast majority of new licensed medicines for use on the NHS, and many thousands of patients have benefited from access to medicines as a result.
NICE’s guidance on the use of pembrolizumab for the treatment of untreated PD-L1-positive metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer recommends that treatment should be stopped at two years. This recommendation was based on the best available clinical evidence and was made in the interest of patient safety. During the development of guidance, NICE’s appraisal committee was informed by clinical experts that the optimal duration of treatment was unknown and, despite the medicine having low toxicity, long courses of intravenous infusion may be a burden to patients. Further information is set out in paragraph 3.6 of NICE’s published guidance at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta531/chapter/3-Committee-discussion
The Department and NHS England do not hold any data on the number of patients who are unable to self-fund treatment of medicines beyond any stopping rule set out in NICE’s guidance.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of cancer patients who could not afford to continue using their anticancer agent beyond its NHS availability.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations.
These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of the evidence. NICE’s methods and processes for making its recommendations are internationally respected and have been developed through extensive consultation. NICE is able to recommend the vast majority of new licensed medicines for use on the NHS, and many thousands of patients have benefited from access to medicines as a result.
NICE’s guidance on the use of pembrolizumab for the treatment of untreated PD-L1-positive metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer recommends that treatment should be stopped at two years. This recommendation was based on the best available clinical evidence and was made in the interest of patient safety. During the development of guidance, NICE’s appraisal committee was informed by clinical experts that the optimal duration of treatment was unknown and, despite the medicine having low toxicity, long courses of intravenous infusion may be a burden to patients. Further information is set out in paragraph 3.6 of NICE’s published guidance at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta531/chapter/3-Committee-discussion
The Department and NHS England do not hold any data on the number of patients who are unable to self-fund treatment of medicines beyond any stopping rule set out in NICE’s guidance.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 assessment of the adequacy of systems for determining the duration of NHS funding for anticancer agents.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations.
These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of the evidence. NICE’s methods and processes for making its recommendations are internationally respected and have been developed through extensive consultation. NICE is able to recommend the vast majority of new licensed medicines for use on the NHS, and many thousands of patients have benefited from access to medicines as a result.
NICE’s guidance on the use of pembrolizumab for the treatment of untreated PD-L1-positive metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer recommends that treatment should be stopped at two years. This recommendation was based on the best available clinical evidence and was made in the interest of patient safety. During the development of guidance, NICE’s appraisal committee was informed by clinical experts that the optimal duration of treatment was unknown and, despite the medicine having low toxicity, long courses of intravenous infusion may be a burden to patients. Further information is set out in paragraph 3.6 of NICE’s published guidance at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta531/chapter/3-Committee-discussion
The Department and NHS England do not hold any data on the number of patients who are unable to self-fund treatment of medicines beyond any stopping rule set out in NICE’s guidance.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 assessment of the potential merits of making pembrolizumab available on the NHS for longer than two years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations.
These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of the evidence. NICE’s methods and processes for making its recommendations are internationally respected and have been developed through extensive consultation. NICE is able to recommend the vast majority of new licensed medicines for use on the NHS, and many thousands of patients have benefited from access to medicines as a result.
NICE’s guidance on the use of pembrolizumab for the treatment of untreated PD-L1-positive metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer recommends that treatment should be stopped at two years. This recommendation was based on the best available clinical evidence and was made in the interest of patient safety. During the development of guidance, NICE’s appraisal committee was informed by clinical experts that the optimal duration of treatment was unknown and, despite the medicine having low toxicity, long courses of intravenous infusion may be a burden to patients. Further information is set out in paragraph 3.6 of NICE’s published guidance at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta531/chapter/3-Committee-discussion
The Department and NHS England do not hold any data on the number of patients who are unable to self-fund treatment of medicines beyond any stopping rule set out in NICE’s guidance.