Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 potential impact of precision medicine on the (a) life expectancy and (b) quality of life of people living with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a future where genomic information and insights are fundamental to healthcare, enabling precision medicine, predictive prevention, and personalised treatment, including for people with motor neurone disease.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases, and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. If a positive recommendation is made, then NHS commissioners will be under a legal duty to fund the treatment for all eligible patients in England.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 the (a) training and (b) awareness of healthcare professionals in (i) diagnosing and (ii) supporting people with (A) myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome and (B) long COVID.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department published the final myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), delivery plan on 22 July. The plan focusses on boosting research, improving education and attitudes, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, as set out in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan, the Department has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. All three sessions of the e-learning programme are now available on the NHS.UK website, with sessions one and two having universal access whilst the third session is only available to healthcare professionals, at the following link:
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288.
The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.
There is also targeted advice for healthcare professionals to manage long COVID. Patients should be managed according to current clinical guidance, such as that published and updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG188
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 (a) increase awareness of and (b) shorten diagnosis times for Postural Tachycardia Syndrome.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To improve awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) amongst healthcare professionals, and specifically general practitioners (GPs), the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link:
https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=500
The Syncope toolkit includes an e-learning module, a podcast, and a webinar, and provides GPs with information about the diagnosis and management of PoTS. The webinar gives GPs the opportunity to hear the lived experience perspective of a patient representative from PoTS UK.
The National Institute for Care Excellence has also published a clinical knowledge summary on the clinical management of blackouts and syncope, that provides advice for clinicians in the United Kingdom on best practice in the assessment and diagnosis of PoTS. This was last updated in November 2023, and is available at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/
We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029.
We surpassed our pledge to deliver an extra two million elective appointments, having now delivered 5.2 million additional appointments in our first year of Government. Waiting lists are coming down, as they have fallen by over 206,000 since July 2024.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 ensure Mounjaro, also called tirzepatide, is available to people who meet the clinical criteria for weight management.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimated that approximately 3.4 million people are eligible for tirzepatide, known by the brand name Mounjaro, to treat obesity. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a legal duty to make NICE-recommended medicines available to the eligible population alongside the appropriate behavioural and lifestyle support.
The National Health Service is rolling out access to tirzepatide, prioritising those with the greatest clinical need. Approximately 220,000 people are expected to benefit in the first three years of implementation. The NHS is developing and testing new models of care, including community-based services and digital technologies, and will speed up the roll out if possible. Progress on the NHS rollout of tirzepatide will be reviewed by NICE in three years.
NHS England is providing support for NHS ICBs, including providing:
- additional funding to support the delivery of services within primary care and the cost of obesity medicines in line with interim commissioning guidance; and
- a centrally funded wraparound care service ‘Healthier You: Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing’ to refer patients to.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 (a) awareness, (b) diagnosis and (c) access to fertility treatment for men affected by infertility.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, and which will be informed by the call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The call for evidence closed on 17 July 2025 and we are now analysing the responses to inform development of the strategy.
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 fund research into treatments for psychosis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), commissions a range of research into treatments for psychosis.
For example, the NIHR is currently funding a £2.6 million clinical trial of Feeling Safe, a cognitive behavioural therapy programme designed to treat persecutory delusions. Additionally, the NIHR is funding a £3 million study investigating the treatment of antipsychotic induced weight gain, and a £1 million study that aims to develop a more tailored approach to Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) treatment, which will inform national commissioning of EIP services.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including research into treatments for psychosis.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the public is made aware of the change from Physician Associate to Physician Assistant.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician assistants (PAs) and physician assistants in anaesthesia (PAAs) (still legally known as physician associates and anaesthesia associates) are safe and effective. The Review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.
The Review found that the majority of stakeholders, particularly patient groups, expressed concern that the name physician associate is confusing and that patients were unclear about who they were being treated by.
As set out in NHS England’s ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document, the immediate action for organisations is to make changes to the way in which roles are referred to in the workplace, to ensure that patients are not under the misapprehension that they have seen a doctor. Any changes to official job titles should be done in accordance with the organisation’s local change management policy, with proper regard to employment law and involve affected members of staff and local trade unions.
The ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/leng-review-nhs-england-faqs-on-actions-for-nhs-organisations.pdf.
The Government intends to commence consultation on a modernised legislative framework for the General Medical Council (GMC) by the end of this year. These proposals will include the change in role titles. Subject to parliamentary time, our expectation is that these changes will be put before the UK and Scottish Parliaments during 2026.
The Leng Review recommendations are far-reaching and require cross-system partnership working to develop a detailed implementation plan that effectively delivers on the Review’s recommendations, including national clinical protocols and professional standards and information for patients. This includes working together to consider how best to standardise identification of PAs, PAAs and other staff to support patients in recognising the staff caring for them.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 provide preventative health services in Stockport constituency's most deprived wards.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s mission is to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between rich and poor, through the Health Mission and 10-Year Health Plan. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how a shift to prevention will deliver healthier, more prosperous lives for all, but particularly for those suffering the consequences of widening levels of health inequality.
Our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free UK and we will take decisive action to tackle the obesity crisis and create the healthiest generation of children ever, working in partnership with schools, supermarkets, and pharmaceutical companies.
We will also be asking the NHS to do more on secondary prevention, including through strengthening its vaccination and screening programmes.
The public health grant is paid to local authorities and is used to provide vital preventative services that help to support health. In 2025/26, funding for all local authorities through the public health grant will be £3.884 billion. This is an average 3.4% real terms increase in local authority public health grant funding, compared to 2024/25. This is complemented by almost £490 million of additional targeted investment in local drug and alcohol treatment, early years and stop smoking services. This represents a significant turning point for local public health services, marking the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending. Our Regional Team works with and supports North West local authorities across a wide range of portfolios that support taking action on health inequalities including children's services, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services, physical activity and obesity, mental wellbeing, work and health, wider determinants of health and health literacy.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 reduce differences in life expectancy between different areas within the Stockport constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK faces significant health inequalities, with life expectancy and healthy life expectancy varying widely across and between communities. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) North West (the Regional Team) operates across the North West of England, covering the geography of Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and serving a population of 7.5 million people.
The Regional Team works with and supports North West local authorities across a wide range of portfolios that support taking action on health inequalities. These include 0-19 services, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services, physical activity and obesity, mental wellbeing, work and health, wider determinants of health and health literacy.
In addition, the public health grant is paid to local authorities and is used to improve population health, prevent illness, and reduce health inequalities.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support hs Department is providing to people caring for family members with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. We have produced guidance to help those diagnosed with dementia, or those supporting someone with dementia, to understand the kind of support and services available to them in England. The guidance is available at the following link:
As set out in the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by increasing visibility and empowering voices in care planning. We are joining up services, and streamlining caring tasks through the introduction of a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.
In April, the Government also increased the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196, the largest ever increase since the Carer’s Allowance was introduced.