Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
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 to support research into new treatments for epilepsy.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Knowsley on 6 January 2026 to Question 101055.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish impact assessments, modelling and further detail on the UK-US pharmaceutical trade deal.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tens of thousands of National Health Service patients will benefit from this deal, which will secure and expand access to vital drugs, and thereby safeguard our medicines supply chain.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.
This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and world leading life sciences without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.
There are no current plans to publish an impact assessment or modelling on the United Kingdom and United States’ pharmaceutical trade deal. Further detail on the deal will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has allocated towards research into the causes of epilepsy.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Knowsley on 6 January 2026 to Question 101055.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
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 closure of the social care visa route on the availability of staff in the social care sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the technical annex published alongside the Immigration White Paper on 12 May 2025, the Home Office has estimated an annual reduction of approximately 7,000 main visa applicants as a result of ending overseas recruitment for care workers and senior care workers. This is based on their internal management information for entry visas granted covering the period of March 2024 to February 2025. This estimate reflects that there was a drop in visa grants of more than 90% compared with the 12 months ending in March 2024.
The Department for Health and Social Care continues to monitor adult social care workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, there will be a transition period until 2028, to be kept under review, where in-country applications, including from other visa routes, will continue to be permitted for care workers and senior care workers, provided individuals are already working in these roles in the adult social care sector. This means, for example, that care providers will continue to be able to recruit those who want to switch from student or graduate visas, who we know have provided a vital role in workforce capacity in recent years. The sector can also continue to employ individuals whose immigration status allows them to work in any sector, for example, those on a dependent visa or working whilst on a student visa.
We recognise the scale of the reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing new Fair Pay agreements for adult social care workers, with legislation currently going through Parliament, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications. These changes will help attract staff to the sector, providing proper recognition and opportunities for them to build their careers.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the report by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entitled Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 3 March 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The relevant departments are currently considering the committee’s concluding observations in detail. The Government will give written responses to three priority areas that the committee has identified for specific follow-up by 2027.
The Government will respond to the rest of the recommendations before the United Kingdom’s next reporting cycle starts in 2030.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Trade Act 2021 to prevent future international trade agreements from including provisions relating to the operation of the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy position is to protect the National Health Service and the services it provides in trade agreements. The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to defend this position in all trade policy and trade agreement considerations.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has a policy on the inclusion of provisions on the supply of services to the NHS within the proposed free trade agreement with the US.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy position is to protect the National Health Service and the services it provides in trade agreements.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of a free trade agreement with the US on the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is considering the impact of a potential trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States. As my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said last week, “we’re clear the NHS is not on the table. It’s not up for sale. But when it comes to life sciences and medical technology… we’ve got a lot to offer the United States, and we’ve got a lot to get from the United States in return”.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 19 December 2024 on Hospice Funding, Official Report, column 451, what the level of the Barnet consequentials will be for each of the devolved Administrations.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to the Government’s departmental expenditure limits. As this £100 million in capital funding for adult and children’s hospices is being re-allocated from within existing budgets, there will be no additional Barnett consequentials. The Barnett formula has already been applied to funding previously allocated at Autumn Budget 2024. Given the devolved nature of healthcare funding and administration across the four nations, this capital funding is for adult and children’s hospices in England only.