Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 patients seeking fertility treatment are protected from unregulated concierge IVF clinics that fall outside the remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Digital clinics do not currently fall within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act and therefore are out outside of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) remit at present.
The HFEA published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which made a number of recommendations for legislative change, including around its regulatory powers.
Ministers have met with the HFEA Chair and discussed the emerging regulatory challenges. The Government is considering the HFEA’s priorities for changing the law and will decide how to take this forward at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 30 June 2025 to Question 60420 on Health Services: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancelled appointments (a) at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and (b) in England; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of missed appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that to help achieve this target we must reduce the cancellation of procedures wherever possible.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, states that systems and providers will be expected to consistently focus on the smaller aspects of service delivery that can make a big difference in reducing cancellations, including embedding theatre scheduling for elective surgery, and reviewing list allocation for past and upcoming theatre lists.
At the Lancashire Teaching Hospital, a number of initiatives are in place to reduce the number of cancelled appointments, including theatre efficiency and utilisation programmes, focused on the reduction of late starts, improved turnaround times, and reduced overruns. The opening of the new elective admissions unit, the Lancashire Elective Surgery Unit, at the Royal Preston Hospital supports improved admission processes and theatre efficiency. Investment in the Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit workforce and tracking systems within theatres helps reduce the number of cancellations due to equipment issues. This is in addition to improved administrative processes to ensure care is delivered in the most productive way.
No specific assessment has been made of the cost of cancelled appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 30 June 2025 to Question 60419 on Surgery: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancellations of elective operations for non-clinical reasons at (a) Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and (b) hospitals in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that to help achieve this target we must reduce the cancellation of procedures wherever possible.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, states that systems and providers will be expected to consistently focus on the smaller aspects of service delivery that can make a big difference in reducing cancellations, including embedding theatre scheduling for elective surgery, and reviewing list allocation for past and upcoming theatre lists.
At the Lancashire Teaching Hospital, a number of initiatives are in place to reduce the number of cancelled appointments, including theatre efficiency and utilisation programmes, focused on the reduction of late starts, improved turnaround times, and reduced overruns. The opening of the new elective admissions unit, the Lancashire Elective Surgery Unit, at the Royal Preston Hospital supports improved admission processes and theatre efficiency. Investment in the Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit workforce and tracking systems within theatres helps reduce the number of cancellations due to equipment issues. This is in addition to improved administrative processes to ensure care is delivered in the most productive way.
No specific assessment has been made of the cost of cancelled appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ADHD assessments are outstanding for (a) children and (b) adults in Lancashire; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people receive a timely assessment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For the first time, NHS England published management information on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) waits at a national level, on 29 May 2025, as part of its ADHD data improvement plan. It has also released technical guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve the recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waiting time data and to publishing more localised data in future. NHS England has also captured examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services and is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.
NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors, to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June 2025, with the final report expected later in the summer.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical appointments were (a) missed by patients and (b) cancelled by the health trust at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in each of the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows data on the number of outpatient appointments missed by the patient where they Did Not Attend on the day, without prior cancellation, and the number of outpatient appointments cancelled by the provider, for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust:
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Missed by patients | 55,243 | 56,286 | 56,383 |
Cancelled by hospital | 58,367 | 57,817 | 57,108 |
The table above includes all outpatient appointments, both new and follow up, where the patient Did Not Attend on the day, or where the hospital cancelled, with the latter including some rearrangements of appointments, such as where a patient has been brought forward or delayed. This data excludes where the patient has cancelled in advance. Please note that the accuracy of the type of missed appointment ascribed could be impacted by incomplete documentation.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical operations were cancelled at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in each of the last last three years; and what the cost to the NHS was of those cancellations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the total number of elective cancelled operations for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25:
Year | Count of cancellations |
2022/23 | 684 |
2023/24 | 654 |
2024/25 | 600 |
Source: Cancelled Elective Operations Data, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancelled-elective-operations/cancelled-ops-data/
Note: this is for last-minute elective operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons, and excludes emergency and trauma cases.
No estimate has been made for the cost of these cancellations.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds data on how much notice was given to patients about the cancellation of their planned medical operation at (a) Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and (b) Blackpool Teaching Hospitals in the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on how much notice was given to patients about the cancellation of their planned medical operations.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical samples were lost and required resubmission by the patient at (a) Lancashire and (b) Blackpool teaching hospitals in each of the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the requested information. The Government is spending £600 million of capital this year on diagnostics, including funding all pathology networks to increase digital capabilities by March 2026, which will reduce unnecessary waits and the need for repeat tests.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 reduce waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England. We are determined to change that as part of our shift to prevention and earlier intervention, and in line with our Plan for Change.
Nationally, the Government is providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, and roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.
In addition, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England, to ease the pressure on the busy mental health services.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on the hospital admission rates at the Royal Preston Hospital for young people due to violent crime.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The number of hospital admissions for young people due to violent crime is published at a national level only, and is available at the following link: