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 his Department has made of the number of people who be unable to access NHS services after the move from analogue to digital.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The shift from analogue to digital services is not intended to entirely replace traditional access methods. Practices are required to maintain phone and in-person services for those who cannot or prefer not to use digital options.
NHS Online will give patients more choice in how and when patients access specialist care. Digital services will always be optional and only offered when it is clinically appropriate and works for the patient. We’re working closely with community and patient groups to ensure inclusion is built into every stage of development. The experience of patients and how they access, understand, and feel about their care is central to the design and delivery of NHS Online.
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 will the NHS offline alternative consist of for people who are digitally excluded, in the context of NHS digitalisation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients who prefer face-to-face appointments in physical settings will continue to access care through their local National Health Service provider. This is about expanding choice, not replacing traditional services.
We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance that represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities. Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.
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, if he will take steps to ensure that NHS bank shifts are paid at the same rate as contracted overtime.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service bank contracts are local contracts, the terms of which the employer has discretion over. The expectation is that the terms offered via a bank contract are agreed in partnership between employers and trade unions via local negotiating committees.
Overtime payments for substantive staff on national contracts in England can only be paid to individuals once they have worked more than 37.5 hours per week, for Agenda for Change staff, or 40 hours per week for medical staff.
Where an additional agreement exists between staff and their employing organisation on the payment of any additional hours, including hours worked in excess of 37.5 or 40 hours per week, for example via a bank contract, then this is considered a local matter.
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, if his Department will make an assessment of the number of people (a) with a respiratory disease, (b) who were hospitalised during winter 2024-25 and (c) who are not eligible to receive the covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From November 2024 to March 2025 inclusive, 483,876 patients were admitted to hospital in England where the primary diagnosis was a respiratory disease. Data on COVID-19 vaccine eligibility is not linked to hospital admissions data.
The UK Health Security Agency published further data on the prevalence of respiratory viruses in the population, and this data is available at the following link:
https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses
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 many and what proportion of (a) women and (b) people have had a HPV vaccination in Poole constituency in 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage is presented for England at a national, National Health Service commissioning region, and local authority level. Data is not gathered at constituency level.
Vaccine coverage data for the routine school-aged HPV immunisation programme in England, including for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#hpv-vaccine-uptake
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 steps his Department is taking against PPE Medpro after their failure to repay £122m of public money by the 4pm deadline on 15 October 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
PPE Medpro Ltd went into administration prior to the court’s announcement on 1 October 2025. The Department has instructed lawyers who are engaged with all relevant parties regarding enforcement of the court decision, and this includes the administrators.
Due to the sensitive and legally complex nature of recovery activity we are unable to offer a detailed commentary on the discussions as this would risk compromising the legal team’s efforts.
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, with reference to the MS Society’s report entitled A Different Path: Rethinking MS hospital care, published in September 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of preventable unplanned hospital admissions for people with multiple sclerosis on (a) people with MS, (b) the NHS and (c) the economy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our recently published 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, including patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
We recognise that preventable unplanned hospitals admissions for people with MS creates added pressure on acute services and are more costly for the National Health Service and the economy, when in fact most patients would prefer to be supported in the community.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a person’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and only in a hospital if necessary.
The Neighbourhood Health Service will rebalance our health and care system so that it fits around peoples’ lives, not the other way round, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach and giving people more power and choice over the care they receive.
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 potential impact of not giving people aged between 65 and 74 Covid-19 booster vaccinations on public health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy on groups eligible for vaccination programmes is based on the advice of the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Over time, the risk from COVID-19 has reduced across the United Kingdom population, through exposure to the virus, changes in the virus and vaccination.
The JCVI carefully considered the latest evidence on the risk of illness, serious disease in specific groups, as well as cost-effectiveness analysis, to provide the Government with advice on the autumn 2025 programme. The evidence indicates that whilst the risk from COVID-19 is now much lower for most people, adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and those who are immunosuppressed are those at highest risk of serious COVID-19 disease. A more targeted vaccination programme, aimed at individuals, with a higher risk of developing serious disease, and where vaccination was considered potentially cost-effective, was advised for autumn 2025.
Whilst current COVID-19 vaccines provide good protection against hospitalisation and/or death for those at highest risk, they provide very limited protection against acquiring COVID-19 infection or mild illness, meaning any potential public health benefit of reducing transmission is much less evident.
Long term health consequences following COVID-19 infection, including post-COVID syndromes, such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.
The JCVI has proactively published an updated list of Research Recommendations, encouraging future investigations on the exploration of data and evidence on the benefit of vaccination amongst post-COVID syndromes, and those with underlying medical conditions who are not currently eligible.
The JCVI keeps all vaccination programmes under review. Accordingly, the Government will consider any additional advice from the JCVI in due course. Further information on the details of the modelling and analysis considered are within the 2025 and spring 2026 advice, on the GOV.UK website.
Information is collected on hospital bed occupancy and on the reason for hospital admissions. It is, however, not possible to determine which admissions associated with COVID-19 were for individuals who were eligible for vaccination in autumn 2024 but no longer eligible in autumn 2025.
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 many non-pandemic human vaccines have been licensed in the UK in the last 10 years that involved the use of beagles from MBR Acres; how many of those vaccines were later withdrawn or had contraindications added; and what contribution was made by the data from those beagles.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Answering this question would require Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) staff to go through a vast volume of data manually spanning 10 years. This is because the information is not held in such a way to be able to filter electronically by the requested category.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work is published online and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
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 his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing for England, in the context of equivalent commissioners in (a) Wales and (b) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of older people in England, and we are progressing towards a National Care Service based on higher standards, greater choice and control, and better joined up care between services, with over £4 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by 2028.
We have previously considered the merits of appointing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England, similar to those in Wales and Northern Ireland. However, we believe that the duties such a role would cover are already addressed through existing structures and initiatives across the health and social care system.
In England, local authorities have statutory responsibilities under the Care Act 2014 to promote individual wellbeing, prevent or delay the development of care needs, and ensure a sustainable and diverse care market, including for older people. This includes duties to assess needs, shape local provision, and support people to live independently for as long as possible. These responsibilities are reinforced by the Care Quality Commission’s assurance framework, which monitors how well councils are delivering these duties and which helps drive improvement across the system.