Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible families are receiving Healthy Start in Ribble Valley constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The number of people on the scheme in March 2025 for Ribble Valley was 104.
The NHSBSA does not currently hold data on the number of people who are eligible for the scheme. An issue was identified with the source data that is used to calculate uptake of the NHS Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA has therefore removed data for the number of people eligible for the scheme and the uptake percentage from January 2023 onwards.
The issue has only affected the data on the number of people eligible for the scheme. It has not prevented anyone from joining the scheme or continuing to access the scheme if they were eligible.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 25 March 2025 to Question 36961, whether there is a licensed direct infant immunisation for respiratory syncytial virus; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of maternal rather than direct infant immunisation on health outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s decisions on who to offer immunisations to, and which products are suitable, are based on expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
In June 2023 the JCVI advised, for infant protection against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for either a programme of maternal antenatal vaccination with Pfizer’s Abrysvo PreF vaccine or for infant immunisation with Sanofi’s monoclonal antibody nirsevimab (Beyfortus). Following a competitive tender, the new RSV vaccination programmes began in September 2024 for older adults and pregnant mothers, to protect infants, both using the Pfizer vaccine.
The UK Health Security Agency undertakes evaluation of national immunisation programmes and will be evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the RSV maternal vaccination programme for infant protection, once sufficient data is available. The JCVI will continue to keep the RSV programme under close review.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 improve postnatal care services for mothers (a) with mental health challenges and (b) in rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to ensuring that women, including those living in rural areas, receive safe and equitable care, regardless of where they live or give birth.
NHS England’s guidance sets out that all women who have given birth should be offered a postnatal check-up with their general practitioner (GP) after six to eight weeks. This check-up provides an important opportunity for women to be listened to by their GP in a discreet, supportive environment, and for women to be assessed and supported not just in their physical recovery post-birth, but also in their mental health.
For women with, or at risk of, mental health problems, who are planning a pregnancy, are pregnant, or who have a baby up to two years old, specialist perinatal mental health services provide care in all 42 integrated care system (ICS) areas of England. For women experiencing mental health difficulties directly arising from, or related to, their maternity or neonatal experience, Maternal Mental Health Services provide care in 41 of the 42 ICS areas in England, with the last being supported by NHS England to ensure it is up and running as soon as possible.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 (a) trends in the level of and (b) potential impact on health outcomes of maternal rather than direct infant vaccination.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency monitors trends in the level of vaccination rates. Trends in maternal and infant immunisation are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake
Maternal and infant whooping cough vaccinations are designed to act in different ways, so a direct comparison of effects is not appropriate. However, current evidence is that both offer excellent protection against mortality from whooping cough in infants. For respiratory syncytial virus, there is no suitable vaccine for infants.