Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of reactor-produced radioisotopes used for treatment of cancer in the UK are provided from (1) the European Union, (2) Australia, (3) Argentina, and (4) the rest of the world.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical radioisotopes can be produced in different ways and the cyclotrons used in the United Kingdom produce a small supply of medical radioisotopes, mainly for diagnostic use. This is because the cyclotrons used in the UK supply relatively low-level radioactive material which is best suited for imaging and diagnosis. For therapeutics, particle emitting radioisotopes tend to be used. For UK use, these are mainly manufactured in research reactors, and there are currently no reactors in the UK that manufacture these isotopes. Research reactors can also supply medical radioisotopes for imaging and diagnosis.
Medical radioisotopes are purchased from suppliers on trust and hospital levels, and the Department has not made a systematic review of the origin country for these products.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of medical radioisotopes used to treat cancer in the UK are produced by (1) a reactor-based method, and (2) close to hospital cyclotron manufacture.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical radioisotopes can be produced in different ways and the cyclotrons used in the United Kingdom produce a small supply of medical radioisotopes, mainly for diagnostic use. This is because the cyclotrons used in the UK supply relatively low-level radioactive material which is best suited for imaging and diagnosis. For therapeutics, particle emitting radioisotopes tend to be used. For UK use, these are mainly manufactured in research reactors, and there are currently no reactors in the UK that manufacture these isotopes. Research reactors can also supply medical radioisotopes for imaging and diagnosis.
Medical radioisotopes are purchased from suppliers on trust and hospital levels, and the Department has not made a systematic review of the origin country for these products.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with companies providing radioisotopes for cancer screening and treatment regarding the future security of supplies and options for manufacturing those isotopes in the UK; and what was the outcome of those discussions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly engages with suppliers, specialist clinicians, the British Nuclear Medicine Society, industry, and the UK Radiopharmacy Group to assist in the management of supply issues for medical radioisotopes, including those used for cancer screening and treatments. The Department also works with the National Health Service and other parts of the Government to better understand future needs for medical radioisotopes.
There is no current reactor-based production of medical radioisotopes in the United Kingdom. There is an existing network of cyclotrons for the close to hospital manufacture of specific medical radioisotopes in the UK, and these are directly contracted by the NHS on a trust level.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the actions outlined in the response to the consultation on fixed recoverable costs in lower damages clinical negligence claims will be implemented.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on a wide range of matters, including fixed recoverable costs, and we will announce our position in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what they estimate will be the cost to the public purse of clinical negligence by 2030; and what steps they intend to take to reduce this cost.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the written evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s inquiry into National Health Service litigation reform in 2022, following work with the Government Actuary's Department and NHS Resolution (NHSR), the Department advised that projections for the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) indicated that by 2029/30, annual cash payments for clinical negligence under the CNST could increase to £4.3 billion. The CNST, the largest clinical negligence scheme, covers all clinical negligence claims against member NHS bodies where the incident in question took place on or after 1 April 1995. The estimate does not include other smaller clinical negligence schemes run by NHSR. A copy of the Department’s full written evidence to the inquiry is attached.
The National Audit Office has announced that it is undertaking a review of clinical negligence costs this year, including an up-to-date assessment of how total cash costs may change in the future, and will publish its report in autumn 2025. Full details of the review can be found on the National Audit Office’s website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had in the past nine months with representatives of the medical sector concerning the availability of radio isotopes for treating cancer patients.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly engages with specialist clinicians, the British Nuclear Medicine Society, and the UK Radiopharmacy Group to assist in the management of supply issues with medical radioisotopes, including those used for treating cancer patients.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to legislating to establish a financial cap on compensation payments made by the NHS to patients who make claims arising from treatment or advice received from the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
The causes of the overall cost rise are complex and there is no single fix, as costs are likely to be rising because of a range of factors, including higher compensation payments and legal costs, rather than more claims or a decline in patient safety.
We recognise that this is an important issue, and ministers intend to look at all the drivers of cost, how to manage spending on clinical negligence, and the potential merits of reform options.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Wales about safeguarding the funding of children's hospices that provide services to children on both sides of the England–Wales border.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have not been any discussions between the Department and the Welsh Government about safeguarding the funding of children’s hospices.
The Department works collaboratively with the Devolved Governments to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer. While health is predominantly devolved, the Department holds some reserved functions and working together across the United Kingdom on health and social care is ingrained in the values of our National Health Service and social care sector.
Children and young people’s hospices in England will receive £26 million in revenue funding for 2025/26, through what until recently was known as the Children’s Hospice Grant. We are also supporting both the children and adult hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination for both funding streams in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure the availability of medical radio-isotopes for the treatment of cancer patients in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The supply of radioisotopes has now returned to normal levels, and a Written Ministerial Statement was laid on 26 November to update Parliament. During the disruption to supply, the Department worked with industry, the devolved administrations, the National Health Service, members of the radiopharmaceutical community, and regulators to secure fair and equal access across the United Kingdom for patients, including for the treatment of cancer. Patients with the most critical needs were given priority.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of funding for community pharmacy services for 2025–26 and its adequacy to maintain current standards of service in rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists as we shift care from hospital to the community.
Now that the budget for Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding the funding arrangements.