Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 impact of the abolition of NHS England on the commissioning, oversight and consistency of access to weight management services across England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service and local government provide a range of weight management services. This includes behaviour change support such as the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, intensive treatments like very low-calorie diets, pharmaceutical treatments, and bariatric surgery. NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging the provision of health services, such as specialist weight management services, within their area, in line with local population need, and taking account of relevant guidance.
NHS England will continue to carry out its existing responsibilities and statutory functions during the transition period following the Government’s decision to abolish the organisation. This includes commissioning the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, oversight of NHS weight management services, and providing guidance, clinical leadership, and performance oversight of ICBs, while the Government brings forward legislation to amend the Department’s responsibilities.
Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities. It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. These ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.
Until the transfer of its functions, NHS England will continue to work with ICBs and providers to support the continuity of multidisciplinary provision and workforce capacity, and access to services across England.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, where responsibility for national leadership and accountability for obesity and weight management services will sit following the abolition of NHS England; and what steps he is taking to prevent regional variation in access to those services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service and local government provide a range of weight management services. This includes behaviour change support such as the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, intensive treatments like very low-calorie diets, pharmaceutical treatments, and bariatric surgery. NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging the provision of health services, such as specialist weight management services, within their area, in line with local population need, and taking account of relevant guidance.
NHS England will continue to carry out its existing responsibilities and statutory functions during the transition period following the Government’s decision to abolish the organisation. This includes commissioning the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, oversight of NHS weight management services, and providing guidance, clinical leadership, and performance oversight of ICBs, while the Government brings forward legislation to amend the Department’s responsibilities.
Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities. It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. These ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.
Until the transfer of its functions, NHS England will continue to work with ICBs and providers to support the continuity of multidisciplinary provision and workforce capacity, and access to services across England.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure continuity of specialist weight management services, including workforce capacity and multidisciplinary provision, during the transition following the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service and local government provide a range of weight management services. This includes behaviour change support such as the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, intensive treatments like very low-calorie diets, pharmaceutical treatments, and bariatric surgery. NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging the provision of health services, such as specialist weight management services, within their area, in line with local population need, and taking account of relevant guidance.
NHS England will continue to carry out its existing responsibilities and statutory functions during the transition period following the Government’s decision to abolish the organisation. This includes commissioning the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme, oversight of NHS weight management services, and providing guidance, clinical leadership, and performance oversight of ICBs, while the Government brings forward legislation to amend the Department’s responsibilities.
Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities. It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. These ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.
Until the transfer of its functions, NHS England will continue to work with ICBs and providers to support the continuity of multidisciplinary provision and workforce capacity, and access to services across England.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 ensure NHS workforce planning in England is (a) independent and (b) regular.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to publishing regular workforce planning. This will start with the 10 Year Workforce Plan, which will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be supported by independent external scrutiny to assess and test it.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 merits of ensuring that the independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism consults with people with lived experience across different regions such as the North East.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism will appoint an advisory working group. This will be a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
Ahead of launching the independent review, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, held discussions with a range of mental health, ADHD, and autism stakeholders on the scope of the review.
As this is an independent review, it is therefore for the Chair and vice-chairs to consider who to consult and the relevant forums for engagement, that are relevant to deliver the terms of reference set by the Department.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 merits of holding regional public consultation events as part of the independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism will appoint an advisory working group. This will be a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
Ahead of launching the independent review, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, held discussions with a range of mental health, ADHD, and autism stakeholders on the scope of the review.
As this is an independent review, it is therefore for the Chair and vice-chairs to consider who to consult and the relevant forums for engagement, that are relevant to deliver the terms of reference set by the Department.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the workforce modelling used as the basis for the 10 Year Workforce Plan will be independent; and whether the results of that modelling will be independently assessed and tested.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to updating workforce modelling which will be set out in and alongside the 10 Year Workforce Plan when published in spring 2026. This will be supported by external scrutiny to independently assess and test it.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to establish a centralised dataset on localised ADHD assessment waiting times.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.
For the first time, NHS England published management information on ADHD assessment waiting times at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan. Data is now released each quarter with the latest release in August 2025.
Data on ADHD waiting times at an integrated care board (ICB) level is not currently held centrally. NHS England has released technical guidance to ICBs to improve the recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving data quality and publishing more localised data. NHS England intends to publish data at an ICB level in 2026/27.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD, and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he has made an assessment on the potential impact of vape flavour restrictions in (a) Canada, (b) Australia and (c) Netherlands on smoking cessation in the context of the proposed regulation of vape flavours in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The youth vaping call for evidence, published in 2023, demonstrated that vape flavours are one of the main reasons that vapes appeal to children. However, we recognise that vape flavours can also be a consideration for adult smokers seeking to quit smoking.
That is why it is important we strike the balance between restricting vape flavours to reduce their appeal to young people, whilst ensuring vapes remain available for adult smokers as a smoking cessation tool.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes regulation making powers to limit vape flavours, to reduce the appeal to children. Before laying any regulations in Parliament, we will undertake a full public consultation to ensure we get this balance right and consider the views of a range of stakeholders. We will publish thorough impact assessments to accompany any future regulations, including future flavour restrictions. These assessments will consider the international evidence available.
In October 2025, we launched a call for evidence to gather information on flavours and substances in vaping, nicotine, and tobacco products, aiming to better understand the role and risks of flavourings and ingredients. The call for evidence also seeks to identify where efforts to control flavours have been effective or not.
Adult smokers will still be able to access vapes as well as alternative methods to support them to stop smoking. Vapes are commonly used alongside behavioural support within local Stop Smoking Services.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 adequacy of scientific evidence on vape flavours as a smoking cessation aid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The youth vaping call for evidence, published in 2023, demonstrated that vape flavours are one of the main reasons that vapes appeal to children. However, we recognise that vape flavours can also be a consideration for adult smokers seeking to quit smoking.
That is why it is important we strike the balance between restricting vape flavours to reduce their appeal to young people, whilst ensuring vapes remain available for adult smokers as a smoking cessation tool.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes regulation making powers to limit vape flavours, to reduce the appeal to children. Before laying any regulations in Parliament, we will undertake a full public consultation to ensure we get this balance right and consider the views of a range of stakeholders. We will publish thorough impact assessments to accompany any future regulations, including future flavour restrictions. These assessments will consider the international evidence available.
In October 2025, we launched a call for evidence to gather information on flavours and substances in vaping, nicotine, and tobacco products, aiming to better understand the role and risks of flavourings and ingredients. The call for evidence also seeks to identify where efforts to control flavours have been effective or not.
Adult smokers will still be able to access vapes as well as alternative methods to support them to stop smoking. Vapes are commonly used alongside behavioural support within local Stop Smoking Services.