Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 120986 on General Practitioners: Contracts, what evidence his Department holds which shows that patients had improved care as a result of changes to Advice and Guidance.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Evidence supporting the use of Advice and Guidance (A&G) derives from national data, local system evaluations and established clinical practice. NHS England data shows that A&G requests largely result in patients being safely managed without needing an outpatient appointment, thanks to earlier access to specialist input. Local evaluations in systems have demonstrated faster access to specialist advice, reduced delays associated with incomplete referrals, and increased use of straight‑to‑test pathways.
Published evidence reviews, case studies, and NHS England’s analysis has consistently found that timely specialist input at the point of referral supports more appropriate decision‑making, improves coordination between primary and secondary care, and reduces unnecessary steps in the patient pathway. NHS England continues to strengthen this evidence base through national data collections and system‑level evaluation.
The Government’s plan to reform elective care is working. In March 2026, we hit our target of 65% patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks, and the waiting list decreased to 7.1 million, representing a drop of 515,000. The National Health Service also recorded its best year on record for elective care, with 506,000 more people starting treatment or completing care compared with last year, taking the total to over 18.6 million in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for 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 closure of the Crowborough Birthing Centre on (a) public health, (b) patient safety in Sussex Weald and (c) maternity care provision; and whether this closure forms part of a wider cost-saving strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment because local National Health Service organisations are best placed to make decisions on commissioning services locally, including maternity services, working with providers and other stakeholders to best meet people’s needs.
Changes to clinical services should be led by clinicians, and be in the best interests of patients. Substantial planned service change and reconfiguration of services are subject to a public consultation and must meet the Government and NHS England’s tests to ensure good decision making and that proposals are demonstrated to be in the interests of service users and the wider public.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to reopen the Birthing Centre in Crowborough; and what steps he is taking to mitigate the impact of its closure on access to maternity care for residents in Sussex Weald.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment because local National Health Service organisations are best placed to make decisions on commissioning services locally, including maternity services, working with providers and other stakeholders to best meet people’s needs.
Changes to clinical services should be led by clinicians, and be in the best interests of patients. Substantial planned service change and reconfiguration of services are subject to a public consultation and must meet the Government and NHS England’s tests to ensure good decision making and that proposals are demonstrated to be in the interests of service users and the wider public.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she will have conversations with the Social Media companies about trends in the levels of blocked content across their platforms, about the use of IPEDs and SARMs.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State engages regularly with Ofcom and industry, including social media companies, on how they are fulfilling their duties under the Online Safety Act, including in relation to illegal content and emerging harms.
The Act places clear duties on platforms to prevent their services being used to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs and to remove such content when it does appear, including content promoting controlled substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Platforms must also protect children from harmful content, including material encouraging the use of physically harmful substances such as unregulated medicines, through proportionate, risk-based measures.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to promote the Fuel Finder scheme to Motorists.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is promoting Fuel Finder primarily by making fuel price data openly available to third parties, allowing it to be incorporated directly into motorists’ commonly used apps and services.
Ministers have promoted Fuel Finder including references in speeches and through social media, highlighting the scheme’s benefits to motorists. Other communications on Fuel Finder have been delivered through the Department for Energy Security’s social channels and a factsheet published on GOV.UK.
Further communications are planned for later in the year to support continued awareness of Fuel Finder data.