Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Cabinet Office FOI disclosure FOI2025/05753 of 12 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of cancelling the (a) Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (b) Help Us Help You: Cancer the communications campaigns on health outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not conducted a formal assessment regarding the potential impact of cancelling the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign. UKHSA remains committed to promoting the importance of using antibiotics correctly, and in Spring launched a new pilot campaign to re-engage priority audience groups with the correct behaviors in terms of antibiotic usage. The evaluation of this campaign will support plans to develop the campaign further, if funding becomes available. UKHSA is planning proactive public and system facing activity for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, from 18 to 24 November 2025, and is using all relevant opportunities to build understanding of antimicrobial resistance and what the public can do to combat it. For these reasons, UKHSA has not conducted a formal assessment regarding the potential impact of cancelling the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign, specifically.
NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms as well as encouraging body awareness to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point. The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of cancelling the Help Us Help You campaigns.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services announced on 23 June 2025 will be empowered to recommend (a) regulatory and (b) structural reform of the Care Quality Commission in the context of continued failings in maternity units at (i) Southend Hospital, (ii) Basildon Hospital and (iii) other hospitals rated as Requires Improvement.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. It will look at up to 10 maternity and neonatal units, international evidence, adoption of best practice, and a system-wide investigation of maternity and neonatal care. This will include bringing together lessons from past reviews. The investigation will produce, by December 2025, one clear set of national actions, that will take primacy over previous recommendations. These actions will drive the improvements needed to ensure high quality, safe care across maternity and neonatal services, and that women and families are listened to.
The terms of reference for the investigation are still under development with stakeholders and families, and will be released in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve (a) safety and (b) other standards in maternity services at (i) Southend and (ii) Basildon Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating of maternity services at Southend Hospital as Requires Improvement in January 2025, the trust made several changes to improve the quality of the service. These changes include ensuring qualified midwifery staff are always available to support the maternity telephone triage service, foetal monitoring equipment is regularly checked and available, and triage information is displayed in waiting areas to provide further guidance on waiting times.
Basildon Hospital’s maternity services were rated as Requires Improvement by the CQC in March 2024. The trust has made several changes to improve the service, including improvements to staffing, with midwifery vacancies now at their lowest ever, ensuring staff complete training and expanding midwifery support for the birth reflections clinic, and around quality assurance, with regular audits conducted and acted upon.
Basildon Hospital maternity services are part of the national Maternity Safety Support Programme, which puts in place oversight from the integrated care board (ICB), NHS England, and the Local Maternity and Neonatal System. This includes support from two Maternity Improvement Advisors, covering all three trust maternity sites. The trust is in the Improvement phase.
While improvements have been made, further work is required. The ICB will continue to support the Trust to enhance safety, care quality, and patient experience.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether changes have been made to the NHS terms and conditions of service for Agenda for Change in relation to trade unions since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Changes to the National Health Service’s Terms and Conditions of Service, also known as the Agenda for Change contract, are agreed via the NHS Staff Council, which is a partnership body made up of employer and trade union representatives.
The NHS’s Terms and Conditions of Service were updated in April 2025 to reflect that the Prison Officers Association is now a nationally recognised organisation, for the purposes of the NHS Staff Council and for the collective bargaining of the Agenda for Change contract. No further changes have been made that relate to trade unions.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what declarations of political (a) activity and (b) interests were made by each Health Crown Representative.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The appointments of the Health Crown Representatives, as with all Crown Representatives, were made by the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office requires all Crown Representatives to declare any Conflict of Interest both on appointment and at regular intervals thereafter. None of the current Crown Representatives have declared any party-political activity or interests.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 2 June 2025 to Question 52906 on Department of Health and Social Care: Permanent Secretaries, whether she has been employed under the terms of the model permanent secretary contract; for how long the fixed term period is; and whether she is classified as a (a) temporary or (b) permanent civil servant.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to install customer experience machines in his Department to measure staff morale.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS England has made on sharing data about patients who (a) received a blood transfusion before 1996 and (b) have tested positive for (i) HIV and (ii) Hepatitis C with the Independent Contaminated Blood Authority.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is supporting the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) with their engagement with National Health Service organisations for the purposes of sharing data on patients who received a blood transfusion before 1996 and who have tested positive for HIV or hepatitis C, to support compensation claims.
This support includes highlighting the requirement to provide information promptly to the IBCA to support claims, conducting workshops to understand how the IBCA can most effectively gather information from NHS organisations, and drafting guidance for patients, clinicians, and information governance professionals so that NHS organisations feel confident about sharing information to support claims.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication entitled DHSC register of board members' interests, 2024 to 2025, published on 16 January 2025, who the health and social care related clients of A.M. Strategy Ltd are.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Declarations of interest, and any updates to them, are published in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and on the GOV.UK website, in alignment with Government policy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provides unconscious bias training; and whether his Department plans to provide unconscious bias training to staff from NHS England when that organisation is abolished.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department aligns itself to the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion approach to learning and to the use of evidence led interventions. The Department does not provide unconscious bias training to its staff, and there are no current plans to provide unconscious bias training for NHS England staff.