Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister in his Department is responsible for eating disorder services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women’s Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron) has ministerial responsibility for eating disorder services.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 implications for his policies of The University of Manchester’s research entitled Assessing risk of breast cancer in young women to facilitate early diagnosis and improve outcomes, published on 2 June 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department welcomes the University of Manchester’s research on assessing risk of breast cancer in young women. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and as quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week. To support early detection and diagnosis, the NHS in England carries out approximately two million breast cancer screens each year in hospitals and mobile screening vans, usually in convenient community locations.
NHS England does not currently screen women younger than 50 years old for breast cancer. This is because the risk of women under this age developing breast cancer is low, and because mammograms are less reliable in this age group. Women below 50 years old tend to have denser breast tissue, which reduces ability to get an accurate mammogram.
This is in line with most European countries, most of whom screen women between the ages of 50 and 69 years old. Women with a very high risk of breast cancer, for example, due to family history, may be offered screening earlier and more frequently.
The National Cancer Plan, planned for publication later in 2025, will have patients at its heart and will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients of all ages, including those with breast cancer.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to improve access to mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more early interventions and getting waiting lists down.
We will transform mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres. I had the pleasure of visiting the Barnsley Street Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre last week, a pilot site which showcased holistic person-centred care.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 increase access to breast cancer risk assessment for women under 50.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service breast cancer risk assessments are undertaken to identify the risk of having an inherited tendency of developing breast cancer. Breast screening is offered to women under the age of 50 years old according to nationally recommended guidelines, based on assessed risk. These can be found on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s website, at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/breast-screening/
Some women have an increased chance of developing breast cancer because of their genes. Five to 10 out of 100, or 5% to 10% of, all breast cancers happen because of an inherited tendency, also called a genetic predisposition.
The Government does not currently plan to increase access to breast cancer risk assessments for women under 50 years old who are not at higher risk of developing breast cancer due to inherited tendency.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 ensure the accurate recording of deaths related to eating disorders; and what steps he is taking with the (a) National Medical Examiner, (b) Office for National Statistics and (c) Coroners' Society of England and Wales to increase understanding of how eating disorders contribute to deaths.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that all deaths are recorded accurately, and it is right that the extent to which eating disorders and other factors have caused or contributed to deaths should be explored further, in collaboration with stakeholders including the National Medical Examiner, the Office for National Statistics, and the Coroners' Society of England and Wales.
The National Medical Examiner’s Good Practice Series No. 7 on mental health and eating disorders, published in June 2022, makes it clear to medical examiners how mental health conditions, including eating disorders, should be recorded on the medical certificate of cause of death. The Good Practice Series No. 7 is available at the following link:
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether consideration has been given to the importance of (a) gardening and (b) nature-based therapies in improving (i) physical, (ii) social and (iii) mental health in the development of a neighbourhood health service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to moving towards a Neighbourhood Heath Service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier, supporting people to stay healthier and maintain their independence for longer. There will be a focus on shifting the way services are delivered to put the needs of people and places at the heart of the health and care system.
We recognise the value of social prescribing for addressing the wider determinants of health that can impact on an individual’s wellbeing. Green social prescribing is the practice of supporting people to engage in nature-based interventions and activities, and can include gardening and nature-based therapies. We know that it can help people from a range of backgrounds to connect with nature to improve their physical, social, and mental health. We remain committed to the development of social prescribing through our ambition to focus on a preventative approach to health inequalities and to deliver support closer to home, in our communities.
The full vision for the health care system will be set out in 10-Year Health Plan. However, Neighbourhood Health Guidelines were published alongside the 2025/26 NHS Operational Planning Guidance and the 2025/26 Better Care Fund policy framework, to help integrated care boards, local authorities, and health and care providers to continue to progress neighbourhood health in 2025/26.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department or agency leads on the Cross Government Working Level Group on Indoor Air Quality; how often it has met since Public Health England closed in September 2021; and which Ministers are involved in its meetings.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department co-ordinated the Cross Government Working Level Group on Indoor Air Quality following the closure of Public Health England in September 2021. Since that date the group has met five times, most recently in July 2023. Ministers have not attended this official-level group. Government departments involved in the group have included the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Education, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Transport, as well as the Scottish Government, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Health and Safety Executive.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost savings to social care budgets of providing universal access to Fracture Liaison Services each year.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government and NHS England support the clinical case for services which help to prevent fragility fractures and support the patients who sustain them. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Impacts will be assessed, including adult social care budgets, taking into consideration the evidence gathered from the 60 services already in operation in England.