Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 8 October 2025 provided to question 76507, (i) how many NICE Technology Appraisal approved therapies are not being provided in contravention of obligations by a) Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust b) Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and c) Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and (ii) what the names of these therapies are.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 11 November 2025 to Question 87431 on Congenital Abnormalities, what consanguinity data NHS England collects through the Maternity Services Data Set; what assessment he has made of the completeness and reliability of those data; and whether he has reviewed that information in his Department.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 11 November 2025 to Question 87431 on Congenital Abnormalities, whether he has plans to (a) publish aggregated consanguinity statistics collected through the Maternity Services Data Set, (b) improve the completeness and reliability of those data and (c) integrate consanguinity indicators into wider national population health or genomics datasets; and whether he has reviewed options for doing so in his Department.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has been made of the average number of lost work days for (a) public sector employees (b) private sector employees (c) self employed patients waiting for pre-booked NHS operations and procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Baroness Bakewell (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage healthy eating.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
With measures like mandatory business reporting and targets, we are moving to a more strategic, outcomes-based approach focussing on reducing less healthy food consumption, in line with United Kingdom dietary guidelines. We are implementing restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food or drink products on television before 9:00pm and all paid-for advertising online. Volume price promotion restrictions came into force in England on 1 October 2025. This restricts volume price promotions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink in stores and their equivalent places online.
The UK dietary guidelines, as depicted in the Eatwell Guide, advise that people should eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat, and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt. The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns. The guide also underpins Government catering guidance and standards.
The Department also has a series of websites and digital tools that support adults and families to eat better, providing guidance on healthy eating. These include the Food Scanner app, NHS weight loss plan app, email programmes and websites such as Better Health, Better Health Families, and Best Start in Life.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 help ensure trusts have sufficient access to operational capital funding to repair buildings, replace old equipment, and provide a suitable environment for patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan, and we recognise the importance of supporting NHS trusts to manage and maintain their estates using operational capital allocations.
The Government’s recently published 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy set out 10-year maintenance budgets for the public estate, confirming £6 billion per year for the maintenance and repair of the NHS estate up to 2034/35.
Within this overall figure, the Government is providing over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26 and has now allocated a further £15.6 billion directly to providers over the following four years, from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Providers have also been given further five-year operational capital planning assumptions, covering 2030/31 to 2034/35, allowing them to plan longer term with confidence and accelerate investment decisions aligned to local priorities, including repairs, maintenance, and ensuring suitable patient environments.
In addition to operational capital, the Estates Safety Fund, established in 2025/26, will continue, with £6.75 billion investment over the next nine years to target the most critical building repairs and ensure safe environments for healthcare delivery.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 merits of making the NHS the preferred provider for commissioned healthcare services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s ambition, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, is to increasingly put power into patients’ hands themselves so they can personalise their National Health Service care to their individual needs, choices, and preferences.
More broadly, the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 provide a proportionate framework under which NHS commissioners consider the most appropriate approach in awarding contracts to healthcare providers. The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 are available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1348/contents/made
Further information on the selection processes is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support the NHS to train more gynaecology specialists.
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, over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.
In acknowledgement of doctors’ concerns about jobs and access to training places, the Government made an offer to the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee to double the previously announced increase in specialty training places in the 10-Year Health Plan to 2,000, bringing 1,000 of these forward to next year, create an alternative training pathway, and take steps to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates and doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty posts.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help prevent industrial action in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May, we accepted the independent pay review bodies’ headline pay recommendations, giving doctors and Agenda for Change staff, including nurses, an above inflation pay rise for the second year in a row.
As well as awarding resident doctors in England a pay rise of 28.9% over the last three years, we have listened to their concerns about the state of their training and employment for resident doctors and made proposals to tackle this. We have been clear that we cannot go further on pay but we remain committed to finding a way to end their dispute.
We continue to work in partnership with stakeholders, including trade unions and employers, to implement a suite of non-pay measures to improve working conditions such as tackling violence against National Health Service staff, improving career progression for nurses, and improving the process for exception reporting for resident doctors.
Our 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will deliver change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, and more fulfilling roles.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges on overseas doctors competing for UK training posts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has regular discussions with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges about a range of issues, including recruitment to foundation and specialty training posts.