Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of research projects funded through the Small Business Research Initiative regarding reform to occupational health services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Projects funded through the Small Business Research Initiative have submitted self-reported outcomes to the Government for internal assessment. The reports suggest that the fund has helped to stimulate innovation in the occupational health market and encouraged the development of new models of occupational health tailored to the self-employed and small to medium enterprises with better use of technology.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether patients with a cancer diagnosis will have access to local genomic testing; and if so, what is the timeline for that access to be in place.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to every cancer patient having the choice to receive a comprehensive genomic analysis and molecular profiling, where appropriate. The NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) ensures equitable access to genomic testing for cancer patients across England through seven regional GMS geographies working with Cancer Alliances and National Health Service trusts. Genomic testing is delivered by a national network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs, guided by the National Genomic Test Directory, which includes over 200 cancer indications for a range of genomic tests, including whole genome sequencing. In 2025/26, NHS England is continuing its Cancer Genomics Improvement Programme for a second year to deliver quality improvement initiatives, education, local engagement, and to establish Cellular Pathology Genomic Centres to streamline cancer genomics pathways and accelerate genomic testing.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of gamebird releases on Lyme disease risk.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Direct impacts of gamebird releases on Lyme disease risk are difficult to quantify due to the complex transmission cycle that occurs between Borrelia and a wide range of British wildlife. The lack of clarity on where humans are exposed to infected ticks, as well as levels of engagement in protective behaviours that reduce disease risk further complicates matters.
A recent study by the University of Exeter and the UK Health Security Agency in southwest England compared woodlands with and without pheasant release and provided evidence that woodlands with pheasants have a higher percentage of ticks infected with the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease. The study, however, did not link this directly with human case data and thus cannot be used to infer Lyme disease risk.
Asked by: Baroness Morris of Yardley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they are developing to create a barcoded stock management system for medicines, akin to the EU's falsified medicines directive.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The European Union’s Falsified Medicines Directive’s (FMD) primary purpose was to help prevent falsified medicines from entering the legal supply chain through the introduction of safety features on the packaging and verification at certain points of the supply chain to confirm authenticity. The monitoring and management of shortages was not part of its original legal framework.
There are provisions in the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 providing powers to enable the introduction of a similar system to the EU’s FMD’s ‘safety features’ and verification in the United Kingdom. However, the powers allow us to go beyond the FMD and use derived data from any system for other health related purposes. For example, to support the recall of medicines, to support patient care, research, policy development, and medicine supply, to prevent diversion and support patient access to medicines, and to counter fraud in primary care. Regulations would be needed to set out the details of any scheme, which would require consultation. Consideration is being given as to whether to consult on options for a potential UK system. Any consultation would be published in the usual way on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following analysis by the Royal College of Nursing showing an increase in complaints about racism at work, what steps they are taking to address the increase in racism and discrimination in the health service.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any form of racism or discrimination is unacceptable and has no place in our National Health Service.
Action is being taken to address racism and discrimination in the NHS, including an urgent review of antisemitism, other forms of racism, and the oversight and regulation of healthcare professionals. The NHS is also strengthening mandatory anti-racism training across the NHS.
Additionally, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment which will include reducing violence against staff and tackling racism and sexual harassment. They will underpin the NHS Oversight Framework and act as an early warning signal for the Care Quality Commission.
Asked by: Baroness Morris of Yardley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made on where medicine shortage sits on the Department for Health and Social Care risk register, and what is its corresponding 'RAG' rating.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current Department’s High Level Risk Register categorises the risk to the continuity of medicine supply as amber-red after consideration of the mitigations available. This assessment is continuously reviewed in light of changing external risks to the supply of medicines and actions are taken to further reduce the risk of medicine shortages.
When medicine supply issues occur, we have established processes and systems in place to limit the impact on patients. This has been set out in detail in our recent publications Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines and A guide to the systems and processes for managing medicines supply issues in England.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 improve the (a) accuracy and (b) transparency of data reporting on NHS dental service availability in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service dentists are required to update their NHS website profiles at least every 90 days to ensure patients have up-to-date information on where they can access care. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. Integrated care boards review which practices in their area have not updated their profile in a 90-day period and work with practices to ensure websites are up to date.
Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS 111.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of introducing a national risk-stratified screening programme for prostate cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises ministers on all screening matters, commissioned an evidence review modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. This included different potential ways of screening the whole population and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men, men with the BRCA gene mutation, and/or men with a family history of cancer.
The modelling and evidence review reports are now complete, and the UK NSC plans to open a three-month public consultation towards the end of the year. After this, the UK NSC will make a recommendation on screening for prostate cancer. Ministers will then be asked to consider whether to accept the recommendation.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits (a) introducing free dental care and (b) ensuring access to dental rehabilitation for mouth cancer patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2025 to Question PQ89333.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 improve training on cleft in (a) undergraduate dental education and (b) ongoing dental professional development.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for dentists is the responsibility of the General Dental Council (GDC) who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses and dental schools to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the GDC’s outcome standards.
Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all nevertheless emphasise the skills and approaches a dentist must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d07-cleft-lip.pdf