Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 51728, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients (a) improve and (b) protect their own health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst it is too early to say exactly what the 10-Year Health Plan will look like, what is certain is that delivering on prevention remains a priority as part of the plan’s three shifts, to get the health service and the nation’s health thriving once again. Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we want to take action to reduce the causes of the biggest killers and ensure the National Health Service uses its relationship with patients to help patients improve and protect their own health.
We have already taken action. For example, the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country and will ban vapes and other nicotine products from being deliberately branded and advertised to children.
The NHS Health Check aims to detect people at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease, as well as providing advice on reducing cardiovascular disease risk and referring people for support and treatment to improve their health. It is offered to eligible people aged between 40 and 74 years old once every five years. To improve access and engagement, we are developing a new online service that people can use at home to understand and act on their cardiovascular disease risk.
We already have one of the most extensive vaccination programmes in the world, with vaccine confidence and uptake rates among the highest globally. The Department is working with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to take steps to promote uptake by providing diverse delivery methods to make getting vaccinated easier, increasing outreach efforts to under-served groups, and raising awareness of the dangers of vaccine preventable diseases.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many commercial agreements NHS England has made with manufacturers of medicines which have r resulted in indication-specific pricing between January 2020 and March 2025; and what therapeutic area these have been for.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information provided by NHS England shows that there have been 74 commercial agreements involving indication-specific pricing arrangements between January 2020 and March 2025. The following table shows the split by therapeutic areas:
Cancer | 62 |
Haematology | 5 |
Other | 7 |
Note: therapeutic areas with fewer than five commercial agreements have been grouped under Other to avoid identification of specific commercial deals.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to consult the (a) medical technology sector, (b) Department of Health and Social Care and (c) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency when developing environmental policies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government consults regularly with a range of stakeholders when developing environmental policies, both within and outside of Government.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
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 school nurses have received specialist training in (a) allergy and (b) anaphylaxis management.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data is not held centrally on the number of school nurses who have received specialist training in allergy and anaphylaxis management. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) sets the standards for education preparation for school nurses, who are registered nurses that undertake a post-graduate Specialist Public Health Nurse qualification with an NMC-approved university. School nurses will then also undertake any mandatory training required by their employer, as appropriate to their role.
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions, and should have policies and processes in place to ensure that these can be well managed, including for allergies. The policy should also set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. NHS England has also produced the Health School Child e-learning programme, which is available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/healthy-school-child/
This is designed for healthcare professionals, including school nurses, working with children aged five to 12 years old. Module 5 of the e-learning programme includes sessions on asthma, eczema, and other allergies.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the draft regulations entitled The Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025, what the VAT status will be for any (a) fees and (b) other charges between hubs and spokes under model one.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The rate of VAT applicable to this supply will depend on the exact nature of the arrangements. If VAT charges apply to invoices issued by the hub, a spoke should be able to recover VAT costs if they are registered for VAT and if the final supply qualifies for VAT zero rating.
VAT is a self-assessing tax and it is the responsibility of the supplier to charge, collect and pay to HM Revenue and Customs any VAT due on the supplies they make.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to prevent spoke pharmacies from charging patients for additional services which are delivered by an outsourced hub partner.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For medicines prescribed as part of National Health Service primary care, patients either pay the standard NHS prescription charge or receive their prescriptions free of charge, depending on eligibility. Pharmacies are responsible for collecting these charges on behalf of the NHS and are not permitted to charge patients more than the set fee, even if the medicines have been assembled at the hub pharmacy.
Pharmacies can offer private services to patients and charge additional fees to those who choose these services, for example, to have medicines delivered to their homes. Distance selling pharmacies are contractually required to deliver medicines to patients free of charge and this requirement will not be affected if a distance selling pharmacy engages a hub.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the level of guaranteed support available to children with special educational needs in mainstream schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed and thrive in their education and as they move into adulthood.
To enable high quality and inclusive practices within mainstream schools, the department is building a strong and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. The department has also created an Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, who are using their expertise and drawing on that of wider stakeholders to advise government on how to best drive inclusive practice and improve the education experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND in mainstream schools.
Additionally, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND is over £12 billion in 2025/26. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has also announced £740 million for high needs capital in the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs and continue to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
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 NHS England’s criterion for eligibility for indication-specific pricing to demonstrate revenue loss on the UK’s international competitiveness in life sciences.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking decisive steps to secure the future of life sciences research in the United Kingdom and to ensure we remain internationally competitive. The upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a bold vision to strengthen our world-class research and development, attract global investment, and accelerate healthcare innovation.
The National Health Service seeks the best value in its commercial deals for patients and taxpayers. The recent NHS Commercial Framework consultation clarified the circumstances in which indication specific pricing will be considered in England. The framework now provides further guidance relating to the time period over which revenue loss is considered and the components included in its calculation, referencing the potential to include future indications where there is a high degree of confidence of regulatory approval, a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendation, and forecast volumes and prices. This will help companies better understand the circumstances in which indication specific pricing may be available to support patient access to new medicines.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Fund will be allocated.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Fishing & Coastal Growth Fund will be investing £360 million over the next 12 years. We will work with industry to target investment where it matters most. For example, by considering investment in new technology and equipment to modernise our fishing fleet, training and skills to upskill the workforce and back the next generation of fishermen and promote the seafood sector to export our high-quality produce across the world.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies on self-care within the forthcoming 10-year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will describe a shared vision for the health and care system in 2035, drawing directly from the extensive engagement that has been undertaken with the public, patients, and staff. The plan will set out how care models and pathways will need to change or evolve to better meet their needs, and the cultural and behavioural changes we want to see. The plan’s shift from sickness to prevention will help ensure the National Health Service uses its relationship with patients to help patients improve and protect their own health.