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 information their Department holds on (a) the proportion of tyres procured that were re-tread tyres for (i) Department-operated and (ii) commercially contracted heavy vehicle fleets, including lorries, buses and refuse vehicles and (b) the volume of tyres procured for those fleets that were single-use imported tyres in the last 12 months; and whether such information is held centrally or by individual contractors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not operate vehicles and does not procure tyres.
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 3 February 2026 to Question 107160, which countries are defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council as majority English-speaking for the purposes of meeting English language proficiency requirements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has published an accepted list of countries where English is a majority spoken language on its website. This is available at the following link:
This list is primarily based on the UK Visas and Immigration skilled worker visa list, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/knowledge-of-english
Any variation from this list is based on independent evidence as to whether a country is majority English-speaking.
No assessment has been made by the Department of the adequacy of English language proficiency requirements for registered nurses and care staff in National Health Service settings.
As the independent regulator of registered nurses, the NMC is responsible for establishing the requirements that applicants must meet to demonstrate English language proficiency for registration.
It is the responsibility of NHS employers to assess the English language proficiency of nurses and the care staff they employ as part of their recruitment process to ensure workers have a sufficient level of English to carry out their role safely.
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 3 February 2026 to Question 107160, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of English language proficiency requirements for registered nurses and care staff in NHS settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has published an accepted list of countries where English is a majority spoken language on its website. This is available at the following link:
This list is primarily based on the UK Visas and Immigration skilled worker visa list, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/knowledge-of-english
Any variation from this list is based on independent evidence as to whether a country is majority English-speaking.
No assessment has been made by the Department of the adequacy of English language proficiency requirements for registered nurses and care staff in National Health Service settings.
As the independent regulator of registered nurses, the NMC is responsible for establishing the requirements that applicants must meet to demonstrate English language proficiency for registration.
It is the responsibility of NHS employers to assess the English language proficiency of nurses and the care staff they employ as part of their recruitment process to ensure workers have a sufficient level of English to carry out their role safely.
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, how much his Department has spent in each of the last 3 years on (a) maternity services and (b) compensation for errors in maternity services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the annual spend for providing maternity care for each of the last three years:
Year | Annual spend |
2022/23 | £4,722,376,594 |
2023/24 | £5,174,161,637 |
2024/25 | £5,790,365,917 |
Source Patient-Level Costing dataset, NHS National Cost Collection, NHS England
Note: data is not yet available for the financial year 2025/26.
NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The following table shows the total payments for maternity, including obstetrics and neonatology, clinical negligence claims across all clinical schemes between 2022/23 and 2024/25, broken down by primary specialty and payment year:
Payment Year | Obstetrics (£) | Neonatology (£) | Total Maternity (£) |
2022/23 | 1,086,187,276 | 20,097,430 | 1,106,284,706 |
2023/24 | 1,145,173,134 | 30,185,739 | 1,175,358,873 |
2024/25 | 1,287,368,291 | 47,037,798 | 1,334,406,089 |
Source: NHSR.
Notes:
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 5 February 2026 to Question 108297, whether his Department holds any evidence on rates of neonatal and post-neonatal death, including accidental suffocation and overlaying, associated with parental cannabis use during pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) programme is responsible for reviewing stillbirths and neonatal deaths across the United Kingdom to identify causes, improve clinical care, and reduce future preventable deaths. Analysis of MBRRACE-UK data found that between 2014 and 2024, there were 17 neonatal deaths attributed to accidental suffocation, with only one case explicitly linked to cannabis use. There was also one neonatal sudden infant death syndrome case involving maternal cannabis and alcohol history, and one neonatal death where maternal cannabis use was a secondary contributor. There were thus a total of three neonatal deaths linked to cannabis use between 2014 and 2024.
The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) collects and analyses data on the deaths of all children under 18 years of age. The latest data published by the NCMD highlighted that of the deaths reviewed by Child Death Overview Panels between April 2024 and March 2025, substance misuse during pregnancy was identified as a contributing factor in 62 out of 4,035 infant deaths where data was available. The NCMD thematic report on Deaths of children and young people due to traumatic incidents also highlighted that between 1 April 2019 and March 2022, there were 42 deaths as a result of accidental strangulation or suffocation. 13, or 31%, children were aged under one years old, 17, or 40%, were aged one to four years old, and 12, or 29%, were aged five to 17 years old. In total, 18 children died where entrapment or overlay was found to be a significant contributing factor, but the analysis did not look at whether or not there was substance misuse by the parents.
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 has identified general dental practices participating in locally commissioned schemes to provide prioritised oral healthcare for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe, and effective dental care.
NHS England has produced guidelines which aim to ensure that patients across England with a diagnosis of cancer, including oral cancer, have equitable access to oral healthcare. This could include oral health assessments, prevention, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in primary, either National Health Service or independent, community, secondary, or tertiary care settings. This would be provided as part of a multi-disciplinary team care plan. Ongoing oral health management for the duration of the cancer therapy would take place. Further information can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/oral-healthcare-provision-for-cancer-pathways/
The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the South West a number of pilot models are being trialled, for example, if a patient does not have 'a usual dental practice’ and has primary dental care requirements, they will be referred to specific general dental practices, referred to as cancer action support practices, based in ICBs where the pathway is running.
Participation in schemes supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment does not create any automatic entitlement to additional contractual or financial support. Any supplementary funding, including through flexible commissioning, is determined locally and subject to commissioner discretion, identified local need, and available resources.
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 steps NHS England is taking to encourage integrated care boards to commission prioritised oral health pathways for patients undergoing cancer treatment; and whether practices that participate in such schemes are eligible for additional contractual or financial support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe, and effective dental care.
NHS England has produced guidelines which aim to ensure that patients across England with a diagnosis of cancer, including oral cancer, have equitable access to oral healthcare. This could include oral health assessments, prevention, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in primary, either National Health Service or independent, community, secondary, or tertiary care settings. This would be provided as part of a multi-disciplinary team care plan. Ongoing oral health management for the duration of the cancer therapy would take place. Further information can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/oral-healthcare-provision-for-cancer-pathways/
The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the South West a number of pilot models are being trialled, for example, if a patient does not have 'a usual dental practice’ and has primary dental care requirements, they will be referred to specific general dental practices, referred to as cancer action support practices, based in ICBs where the pathway is running.
Participation in schemes supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment does not create any automatic entitlement to additional contractual or financial support. Any supplementary funding, including through flexible commissioning, is determined locally and subject to commissioner discretion, identified local need, and available resources.
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 guidance is issued to maternity services and safeguarding partners on cannabis use during pregnancy and while caring for new born babies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Maternity services are required to provide care in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on antenatal care and pregnancy, reference code NG201, and complex social factors, reference code CG110. These guidelines specify that women should be asked about substance use, including cannabis use, as part of routine antenatal care.
Women requiring support for substance misuse should be offered a personalised care and support plan which may include referrals to specialist services. NHS England recently published the Improving postnatal care toolkit which aims to support system leaders improve postnatal care. This includes the development of targeted care pathways for vulnerable groups, such as women affected by substance misuse.
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 16 January 2026 to Question 101856, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Food Scanner app on people with eating disorders.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 January 2026 to Question 101856.
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 English language proficiency requirements apply to (a) registered nurses and (b) care staff working in regulated settings; and how compliance is monitored and enforced.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To practise as a nurse in the United Kingdom, individuals must register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) which sets the standards for both domestic and internationally qualified nurses. All applicants must demonstrate they have sufficient competency in English to communicate safely in clinical settings to meet NMC registration standards.
UK-qualified nurses meet this requirement through an NMC-approved nursing programme. International applicants can show proficiency by providing a recent International English Language Testing System or Occupational English Test score at the required level, completing an English-taught nursing programme with significant patient interaction in English, or having one year of recent practice in a majority English-speaking country.
As an independent regulator, the NMC determines how English language competence is assessed for registration.
Care providers must ensure staff have adequate English skills to communicate effectively. Under Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, employers are required to only employ ‘fit and proper’ staff to provide care and treatment appropriate to their role. Failure to comply may lead to fixed penalties for providers and registered managers.
Employers and providers should use robust recruitment and monitoring procedures to ensure employees are qualified and competent. NHS Employers guidance requires proportionate English language standards for public-facing roles, and human resources policies should be regularly checked against the English language requirement for public sector workers: code of practice.