Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the ratio of nurses and doctors is in the (a) North and (b) South of England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes monthly statistics showing the size and make up of staff employed in the National Health Service in England, and these include the number of full time equivalent (FTE) doctors and nurses employed by NHS trusts and integrated care boards grouped by the seven regional NHS areas. Further information is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates of populations resident in the seven NHS England regional areas. Further information is available at the following link:
The above information has been used to create the information in the following table which shows, for each of the seven NHS regions, the number of FTE doctors, nurses, and health visitors from which a ratio of nurses to doctors for different geographies can be calculated as well as a comparison of the ratio of the number of doctors and nurses per 10,000 population:
NHS Region | Doctors - FTE April 2026 | Nurses and Health Visitors - FTE April 2026 | Population Estimate for 2026 | Doctors per 10,000 Population | Nurses per 10,000 Population |
England | 153,389 | 372,636 | 59,137,052 | 26 | 63 |
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South of England | 82,611 | 185,992 | 31,589,383 | 26 | 59 |
London | 31,667 | 67,498 | 9,285,409 | 34 | 73 |
South West | 14,389 | 33,524 | 5,984,273 | 24 | 56 |
South East | 21,160 | 49,998 | 9,384,784 | 23 | 53 |
East of England | 15,395 | 34,972 | 6,934,918 | 22 | 50 |
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Midlands | 27,100 | 70,767 | 11,326,740 | 24 | 62 |
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North of England | 43,678 | 115,877 | 16,220,929 | 27 | 71 |
North West | 20,849 | 56,888 | 7,444,399 | 28 | 76 |
North East and Yorkshire | 22,829 | 58,989 | 8,776,529 | 26 | 67 |
Sources: NHS Workforce Statistics, published by NHS England, and the Population projections for sub-integrated care boards by five-year age groups and sex, England, published by the Office for National Statistics.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on appointing a Chair to the statutory public inquiry into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the inquiry can begin consultation on its Terms of Reference.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department is fully committed to setting up the Statutory Public Inquiry into the serious harms that have taken place at the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.
The Department has begun work to set up the inquiry, the Inquiry Secretary is in post, and we anticipate announcing the Chair soon. The Terms of Reference are the responsibility of the Chair once in post.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
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 extent to which decisions on community hospital facilities take account of rural need, public transport accessibility and population growth in East Cleveland, including for residents in Loftus, Brotton, Skelton and Guisborough who may face long journeys to access urgent care and basic hospital services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the planning and commissioning of National Health Service healthcare services. In doing so ICBs must take into account the needs of their local population, which includes meeting the healthcare needs of their rural populations and population demographics.
University Hospitals Tees provides a number of services at East Cleveland Primary Care Hospital in Brotton, including in the Tocketts Ward and a wide range of outpatient clinics.
In line with the 10-Year Health Plan for England, University Hospitals Tees, comprising of the South Tees Hospitals and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trusts, continues to explore the best possible ways in which to continue the transformation of services and optimise patient experience. This includes looking at how services are best delivered across the area and this may involve exploring different models of care, including the Neighbourhood Health Framework.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
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 health impacts of microplastic exposure.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is carrying out research to understand if there are potential health risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. This work is in collaboration with Imperial College under the Health Protection Research Unit Environmental Exposures and Health. These research projects assist in the understanding of the potential risks from exposure to micro- and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes and enhance UKHSA capability in understanding the risks from microplastics.
The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. The most recent statement was published in 2024 and can be found at the following link:
In October 2025, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants published a statement summarising the evidence for a potential risk to health from exposure to airborne nano- and microplastics, and the uncertainty and gaps in this evidence. This statement can be found on the GOV.UK website at the following link:
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring Disclosure and Barring Service checks for tattoo artists as part of the local authority licensing process.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made by the Department of the potential merits of requiring Disclosure and Barring Service checks for tattoo artists as part of existing local authority registration and licensing processes. On 7 August we announced our plans to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. There are no current plans to include tattooing as part of this scheme, as registration and licensing schemes already exist for tattooing under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for the publication of its forthcoming delivery plan on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, final delivery plan will be published shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish Health and Prosperity Improvement Zones with targeted interventions in communities with the lowest healthy life expectancy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Tackling the gap in healthy life expectancy is at the heart of our Health Mission, which is mobilising action across all parts of the Government to address the root causes of ill health and inequality, delivering targeted interventions at every stage of life to build a healthier society. We are considering a range of options to deliver this, including proposals for targeted interventions such as Health and Prosperity Improvement Zones.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
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 the disparity in healthy life expectancy between the North East and South East.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Tackling health inequalities is central to our Health Mission, which is why the Government has committed to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions by addressing the social determinants of health. Work is currently underway across the Department and with NHS England and the regional Directors of Public Health to develop approaches to address regional health inequalities.
In line with the Health Mission, we will also be launching a 10-Year Health Plan with the core focus of addressing healthcare inequity, ensuring the National Health Service is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
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 (a) ensure cleanliness in NHS hospitals to prevent infections and (b) address instances where contractors responsible for cleanliness fail to meet their obligations.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Hospitals are responsible for ensuring that third-party service providers (e.g., cleaning, catering, maintenance staff) adhere to infection prevention and control (IPC) standards. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) evaluates whether hospitals have effective oversight of subcontractors and whether their services meet regulatory cleanliness and safety standards. More information on these CQC inspections is available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/our-infection-prevention-control-inspections
Guidance for the cleaning of healthcare environments is contained in the NHS England national IPC manual. The manual is mandatory for all healthcare staff delivering services within the National Health Service in England. This includes the safe management of the care environment, linen and blood and body fluid spillages, and more information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
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 prevent NHS clinical staff from experiencing (a) verbal and (b) physical abuse at work.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to any kind of abusive behaviour. All National Health Service staff, including those in clinical roles, should be able to care for patients without fear of verbal or physical abuse.
Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff and put in place many measures to do this including appropriate security, training and emotional support.
To support them, NHS England is leading work on violence prevention and reduction to provide better training and support for employers and their staff. In December 2024, NHS England published a refreshed Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard. The standard sets out guidance for trusts to help them identify risks, training requirements and crucially, what support must be made available to those staff affected.