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 support children and young people with ME/CFS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We published the final delivery plan (FDP) for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), on 22 July, which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, as set out in the FDP, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. All three sessions, with sessions one and two having universal access, whilst the third session is only available to healthcare professionals, of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288
The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.
As outlined in the FDP, we will improve awareness of ME/CFS by launching a public awareness initiative to promote wider awareness and understanding of the condition and support available to people with ME/CFS and their families.
DHSC will also engage stakeholders to discuss timely diagnosis and support for children who have ME/CFS and their families, as well as best practice in relation to safeguarding responsibilities. This will be taken forward in parallel with NHS England’s actions on ME/CFS services and neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams for children and young people.
Furthermore, as outlined in the FDP, the Department for Education is encouraging the sharing of ME/CFS-specific information with relevant organisations and promoting relevant training and resources to support children and young people.
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 implications for his policies of trends in the number of illegitimate businesses and rogue retailers selling tobacco and nicotine products.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Underage and illicit sales of tobacco and vapes undermine the Government’s work to protect people from harm and risk of addiction. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement, supporting legitimate businesses and cracking down on rogue retailers who breach tobacco and vape regulations. The bill introduces new £200 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales for certain offences, including underage sales, and enables the introduction of a retail licensing scheme in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for the sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, and a new registration scheme for tobacco, vape, and nicotine products sold on the United Kingdom’s market.
Alongside the bill, we are investing £30 million of new funding for enforcement agencies in 2025/26, including Trading Standards, HM Revenue and Customs, and Border Force. This funding is being used to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales in England, including a boost to the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting 94 new apprentices.
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 testing for other commonly linked conditions when running diagnosis tests for ME/CFS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the significant challenges faced by individuals living with multiple complex conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). Our approach focuses on improving care coordination and access to appropriate services.
For ME/CFS, we have published a cross-Government final delivery plan, which sets out actions to boost research, improve professional education, and enhance support for daily living, including community-based services and better benefit assessments. While the plan is specific to ME/CFS, it acknowledges overlaps with other long-term conditions such as EDS and commits to exploring synergies during implementation.
Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan aims to transform services and outcomes for people living with complex conditions such as EDS and ME/CFS by prioritising integrated, personalised care. The plan focuses on earlier diagnosis and promotes multidisciplinary teams and community-based services to deliver coordinated support closer to home, reducing reliance on hospital care. Digital innovations, including remote monitoring and personalised care planning, will help manage long-term conditions more effectively.
Guidance published by the National Institute for Care Excellence on the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, reference code NG206, does not recommend routine testing for conditions such as EDS as part of the diagnostic process for ME/CFS. The guideline makes clear that there is no single test for ME/CFS and diagnosis should be based on the clinical assessment of symptoms persisting for at least three months. It advises clinicians to carry out investigations only to rule out other possible causes of symptoms or to identify comorbidities that require separate management. Testing for other conditions, like EDS, should be considered if clinical features suggest their presence, rather than as a standard part of ME/CFS assessment.
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 they are taking to help support people living with ME/CFS and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome simultaneously.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the significant challenges faced by individuals living with multiple complex conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). Our approach focuses on improving care coordination and access to appropriate services.
For ME/CFS, we have published a cross-Government final delivery plan, which sets out actions to boost research, improve professional education, and enhance support for daily living, including community-based services and better benefit assessments. While the plan is specific to ME/CFS, it acknowledges overlaps with other long-term conditions such as EDS and commits to exploring synergies during implementation.
Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan aims to transform services and outcomes for people living with complex conditions such as EDS and ME/CFS by prioritising integrated, personalised care. The plan focuses on earlier diagnosis and promotes multidisciplinary teams and community-based services to deliver coordinated support closer to home, reducing reliance on hospital care. Digital innovations, including remote monitoring and personalised care planning, will help manage long-term conditions more effectively.
Guidance published by the National Institute for Care Excellence on the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, reference code NG206, does not recommend routine testing for conditions such as EDS as part of the diagnostic process for ME/CFS. The guideline makes clear that there is no single test for ME/CFS and diagnosis should be based on the clinical assessment of symptoms persisting for at least three months. It advises clinicians to carry out investigations only to rule out other possible causes of symptoms or to identify comorbidities that require separate management. Testing for other conditions, like EDS, should be considered if clinical features suggest their presence, rather than as a standard part of ME/CFS assessment.
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 are taking to improve the reliability of ME/CFS diagnosis tests.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have outlined our approach to supporting myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), research in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan published in July. These steps include a research showcase event, a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical interventions, and the announcement of new funded studies in health and care services, and research infrastructure and capacity-building.
We are determined to accelerate progress in the treatment and management of ME/CFS and will continue working with the ME/CFS community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting more research and capacity-building programmes.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Medical Research Council have provided over £3.2 million towards the DecodeME study which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition. While there is currently no diagnostic test for ME/CFS, we hope that DecodeME will help support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments. Preliminary findings from DecodeME indicate genetic differences in eight areas linked to the immune and nervous systems in people with ME/CFS. This discovery of specific genetic signals may help us understand the biological pathways involved in ME/CFS in the future. Further research is needed for the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
The Department funds research through the NIHR. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including ME/CFS and the development of diagnostic tests. Research funding is available, and applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
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 support research into ME/CFS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have outlined our approach to supporting myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), research in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan published in July. These steps include a research showcase event, a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical interventions, and the announcement of new funded studies in health and care services, and research infrastructure and capacity-building.
We are determined to accelerate progress in the treatment and management of ME/CFS and will continue working with the ME/CFS community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting more research and capacity-building programmes.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Medical Research Council have provided over £3.2 million towards the DecodeME study which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition. While there is currently no diagnostic test for ME/CFS, we hope that DecodeME will help support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments. Preliminary findings from DecodeME indicate genetic differences in eight areas linked to the immune and nervous systems in people with ME/CFS. This discovery of specific genetic signals may help us understand the biological pathways involved in ME/CFS in the future. Further research is needed for the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
The Department funds research through the NIHR. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including ME/CFS and the development of diagnostic tests. Research funding is available, and applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
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 increasing levels of research into the (a) causes of and (b) treatment pathways for endometriosis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research delivery arm of the Department, funds and supports a range of research to support women’s health conditions, including endometriosis. These awards seek to improve outcomes for women with endometriosis by better understanding the condition, enabling earlier diagnosis, and evaluating current and emerging treatment options.
Ongoing NIHR funded research includes a £2.1 million trial to look at the effectiveness of keyhole surgery to treat endometriosis, with a new £2.4 million NIHR funded research programme on pain management for endometriosis due to start in March 2026. Further information on both of these studies is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR129801
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR169738
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into endometriosis. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
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 has had recent discussions with families who have experienced baby loss on their experience of (a) maternity services and (b) other healthcare provision.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has held a series of meetings with harmed and bereaved families from across the country to hear about their experiences of maternity care and the wider healthcare system, most recently meeting with families failed by maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust. He has also twice visited Nottingham to meet with families involved in the ongoing independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Hon. Member and other local constituency MPs were invited to a meeting. However, the Hon. Member was unable to attend.
The Secretary of State has committed to ensuring the voices of women and families are at the heart of improving standards.
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 he is taking to reduce wait times to see a neurologist.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered 5.2 million more appointments across elective care services. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029.
Between September 2024 and 2025, we reduced the number of incomplete neurology pathways by over 15,000, from 234,720 to 219,221, and reduced the average waiting time for neurology services from 16.2 to 15.2 weeks. 57.2% of patients referred were waiting within 18 weeks, up from 54% at the same point last year. This is still lower than the national average and we are continuing efforts to improve this, recognising that this is a challenged specialty.
The January 2025 Elective Reform Plan commits to reforming outpatient services, including by supporting general practitioners and hospital doctors to work better together to ensure referrals are used only when a patient really needs hospital care, through increased uptake of Advice and Guidance. There are a number of initiatives at the national level supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including the United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology.
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 their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not run any recruitment with the sole aim of increasing the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
The Department has not run any internship schemes but has participated in the following internship schemes, to deliver greater diversity in the Civil Service and make it more representative of the people it serves, in the past 12 months: