Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a form of licencing for high street vape shops.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently being considered in the House of Lords, provides powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme, in their respective nations, for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products. This will strengthen enforcement and support legitimate businesses, while acting as a deterrent to retailers who breach the law. In doing so, it will support public health.
We recently launched a call for evidence to gather views on a range of topics related to tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, including the proposed licensing scheme. The call for evidence ran for eight weeks and closed in December 2025. The evidence gathered will be used to inform the development of the licensing scheme, and we will launch a subsequent consultation on our policy proposals before bringing forward secondary legislation.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will increase the level of funding for import of medication from abroad to treat Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that patients with acute myeloid leukaemia can access safe and effective treatments when they need them. The Government’s priority is to maintain the continuity of supply of all medicines, including those sourced from abroad, and to take action with suppliers, National Health Service organisations, and regulators where supply issues arise.
Where there are no licensed available medicines in the United Kingdom, companies may manufacture or import unlicensed medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency operates established routes that can enable clinicians and pharmacists to obtain unlicensed medicines for individual patients. Funding for these medicines is not set nationally. Instead, decisions on commissioning, procurement, and reimbursement for unlicensed medicines are made locally by NHS commissioners, who are best placed to determine how resources are allocated to meet the needs of their populations.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Poole constituency compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
The Department holds data on emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of respiratory condition for Poole and England, for activity from August 2024 to November 2025, although the data is provisional. The following table shows the number of emergency FAEs with a primary diagnosis of respiratory condition, for Poole and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, from August 2024 to November 2025:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
Poole | 1370 | 985 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s Fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at a regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Dorset is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/15/ati/502/are/E06000059/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1
The Government has committed to delivering the three big shifts that our NHS needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.
Through our community diagnostic centres, we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get diagnosed closer to home. 101 community diagnostic centres across the country now offer out of hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. This is alongside action being taken to expand capacity and improve the quality of pulmonary rehabilitation services to support patients living with respiratory conditions.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with stakeholders on his Department's modelling of workforce numbers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026. This plan will set out action to create a National Health Service workforce which is able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.
That engagement began well before the call for evidence was closed. In early November, ministers hosted an event with nearly one hundred representatives of partner organisations to hear views from across the health system.
Engagement is now continuing while we analyse the submissions to our call for evidence, including a roundtable with medical royal colleges on 14 January, which I chaired.
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 subject to independent scrutiny by our appointed external scrutiny panel.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 medication available on the NHS to treat Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in babies.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Acute myeloid leukaemia is rare in babies, as there are approximately 10 cases in England each year. Standard upfront chemotherapy is available but options for patients who do not respond to standard chemotherapy or relapse are limited. NHS England encourages clinicians to submit proposals to expand the range of clinical commissioning policies, helping to ensure that patients are able to access the latest, evidence-based treatments and care.
The Department continues to work with NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to support the development of new treatments for rare paediatric cancers.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of new neighbourhood health centres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years, and new build sites opening in the medium term.
The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030 and will be delivered through a mixture of public private partnerships (PPP) and public capital. 50 of these will be delivered through refurbishments and 70 will be new builds. This includes refurbishments to the Alfred Barrow Health Centre in Barrow-in-Furness, the Stockland Green and Summerfield Primary Care Centres in Birmingham, and the Jubilee Gardens Centre in Ealing. Further information on NHCs and funding will be published over the coming months.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 22 January 2026 to question 105956, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the impact of the immigration white paper on NHS and social workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.
The Government has published an Impact Assessment alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which sets out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The Impact Assessment is published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy
The forthcoming 10-Year Health Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.
For adult social care, it is also the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment and improve domestic recruitment and retention. We recognise the scale of reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 22 January 2026 to question 105956, if he will publish an assessment of the potential impact of the immigration white paper on social care workers and NHS workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.
The Government has published an Impact Assessment alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which sets out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The Impact Assessment is published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy
The forthcoming 10-Year Health Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.
For adult social care, it is also the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment and improve domestic recruitment and retention. We recognise the scale of reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 22 January 2026 to question 105956, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the immigration white paper on the NHS long-term staff plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.
The Government has published an Impact Assessment alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which sets out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The Impact Assessment is published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy
The forthcoming 10-Year Health Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.
For adult social care, it is also the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment and improve domestic recruitment and retention. We recognise the scale of reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much interest payments will cost for new neighbourhood health centres.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the Autumn Budget 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) would be created using a mix of public and private finance. 250 NHCs will be delivered through upgrading and repurposing existing buildings, and building new facilities through a combination of public sector investment and a new model of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
The Department is supporting the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to develop the new PPP model for NHCs. The new NHC PPP model will build on lessons from the past including the National Audit Office’s 2025 report on private finance and other models currently in use. This report is available at the following link:
This model is currently in development, therefore interest payments for NHCs using PPPs have not yet been calculated.