Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports of BIA-ALCL there have been in the UK; and which manufacturers of breast implants those reports have been associated with.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As has been previously shared in evidence submitted to the Women and Equalities Select Committee in July 2025, with further information in the document attached, the Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) closely monitors Breast Implant Associated- Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a cancer of the immune system, not a breast cancer, and publishes the output from this monitoring on the GOV.UK webpage, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/breast-implants-and-anaplastic-large-cell-lymphoma-alcl
The MHRA has developed, with advice from independent expert advisory group, a follow up strategy to collect further data on adverse incidents reporting BIA-ALCL. This has informed the information that is published on the MHRA webpage relating to BIA-ALCL which includes the most up to date number of confirmed reports of BIA-ALCL made to the MHRA, and the breakdown of the number of confirmed reports of primary BIA-ALCL cases by manufacturer of breast implant.
Please note that the data on the GOV.UK webpage should be interpreted in the context of the ‘Notes and limitations to the data’ section also provided on the webpage.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of the research programmes that are underway on the safety of breast implants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is not currently funding any specific research into the safety of breast implants but welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
The Department does not hold information related to breast implant safety research funded by other sources.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 the Nursing and Midwifery Council on wait times for (a) general cases and (b) cases before the case examiner.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC is independent of Government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees the bodies that regulate health and care professionals in the UK, which includes the NMC.
As Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), I monitor the NMC’s performance and meets with the organisation regularly, which includes discussion on the timeliness of the NMC’s fitness to practise processes. In line with the Ministerial Code, details of all ministerial meetings, including those with the NMC, are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on pay for specialist community public health nurses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialist community public health nurses in England are typically paid on the National Health Service’s Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system.
Annual AfC pay awards are decided following recommendations from the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). We accepted the 2025/26 recommendations in full, and the Government has asked the NHSPRB to begin the 2026/27 pay round. Relevant stakeholders are invited to submit evidence to the NHSPRB to inform its deliberations.
Officials and ministers continue to engage with AfC unions on pay and contractual matters via the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether British citizens who receive undergraduate medical training overseas will be considered as part of plans to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation postgraduate training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out next steps in due course.
Internationally educated staff remain an important part of the NHS workforce, and we recognise the valuable role that British citizens who studied medicine abroad play in our NHS.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to stop the use of paper forms for blood tests ordered by (a) GPs and (b) hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pathology service transformation is critical to delivering the Government's ambitions for the National Health Service. The NHS has invested heavily in delivering digital transformation for pathology services to reduce reliance on paper-based processes; working closely with integrated care boards, pathology networks, and clinical IT suppliers to ensure interoperability between clinical systems to enable a fully digital, joined-up approach to pathology services.
This includes implementing and expanding use of electronic test requesting systems and supporting efforts to standardise their use. These systems allow clinicians in general practice and hospital settings to request pathology tests digitally, improving efficiency, reducing transcription errors, and enhancing patient safety.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has (a) allocated to and (b) spent on the treatment and care of individuals subject to female genital mutilation in each financial year since 2014-15.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clinical services for women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM) are locally commissioned and include standard National Health Service delivery, for example in obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as maternity FGM clinics for pregnant women and FGM support clinics. The Department does not directly commission FGM support services and does not hold information on local spend on FGM services.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will make public their decision on licensing the personalised immunotherapy developed to treat the malignant brain tumour glioblastoma, DCVax-L.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Northwest Biotherapeutics has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application to the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for DCVax-L, an immunotherapy for glioblastoma. The MHRA is working with the applicant to reach a decision on this application, to ensure a thorough review that ensures quality, safety, and efficacy.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase routine heart screening for young people participating in (a) school and (b) university sports.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under the age of 39 in 2019 and concluded that population screening should not be offered. More information on the recommendation is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
The UK NSC received a submission via its 2024 annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged between 14 and 35 years old engaging in sport. The Committee decided to explore this proposal further and the next step will be an evidence-mapping process. Young people engaging in organised sport was one of the population groups included in the 2019 review, so the evidence map in this area will form part of the work to update the last review.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to expedite market access to the personalised immunotherapy developed to treat the malignant brain tumour glioblastoma DCVax-L via the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
DCVax-L has not yet been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use in the United Kingdom. The manufacturer has confirmed that it has submitted an application, and it is fully engaged with the Marketing Authorisation process. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether all new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the time of licensing by the MHRA. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. NICE is in discussions with the manufacturer of DCVax-L about a potential appraisal, subject to licensing.