Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that dentists have adequate knowledge and training to treat people born with cleft (a) lips and (b) palates.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Yeovil on 20 November 2025 to Question 90537.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress is being made to improve North East Somerset & Hanham patient access to GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are expanding capacity in general practice and delivering more appointments to patients. North East Somerset and Hanham sit within the NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board area, which has seen a 9.4% rise in the number of general practice appointments delivered over the past year, with 304,000 appointments delivered in September 2025 compared to 278,000 appointments delivered in September 2024. This is above the national average increase of 6.6%.
In October 2024, we have invested £160 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme and given additional flexibilities to recruit 2,500 new general practitioners into primary care networks across England. We have invested an additional £1.1 billion in general practice to reinforce the front door of the NHS. This is the biggest increase in over a decade. Additionally, the new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 general practices across England to deliver 8.3 million more appointments each year.
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, how many people have received cornea transplants aged under 18 in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the last three years, there has been a total of 469 finished consultant episodes recorded where there was any procedure of ‘other corneal graft procedure’ for patients aged zero to 17 years old, when accounting for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the private sector. By year there were:
This information has been gathered from the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset, which is published by NHS England.
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, how many GP appointments are offered in England each week.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice appointment data is collected and published monthly by NHS England. This data records appointments that have actually taken place, rather than those offered. As a result, we are unable to ascertain precisely how many appointments are offered to patients, we can, however, report on the number delivered.
In September 2025, 32 million appointments were delivered, which is, on average, approximately eight million appointments delivered in general practice per week.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley dated 17 September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the Hon. Member’s correspondence on 19 November.
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, if his Department will roll out a national education programme to inform women about menopause.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that women suffering from symptoms of menopause have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact it has on women’s lives, relationships and participation in the workplace.
Our renewed strategy will set out how the Government will take the next steps to improve women's healthcare as part of the 10-Year Health Plan and create a system that listens to women. Steps to improve awareness of menopause symptoms are being fully considered as part of the renewal.
We recently announced that menopause will be included in the NHS Health Check. This will mean eligible women can access high-quality information on menopause more easily, including information on managing symptoms, where to seek support, and treatment options.
Mariella Frostrup has been appointed the Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador works closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing the menopause, raise awareness of menopause symptoms and champion the economic contributions of women. With decades of experience championing women’s rights and gender equality across the world, Mariella Frostrup brings a powerful and unique voice to this agenda.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a new (a) strategy and (b) framework to replace the UK Rare Diseases Framework.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Rare Diseases Framework was published following the National Conversation on Rare Diseases, which received nearly 6,300 responses. This helped identify the four priorities of the framework in tackling rare diseases, which are: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals; better coordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs.
The Government remains committed to improving the lives of those living with rare conditions and will be publishing the next England Rare Diseases Action Plan for rare disease day in 2026, as in previous years. We recognise that despite the progress that has been made there remains considerable unmet need for people living with rare conditions. We are carefully considering the future of the UK Rare Disease Framework and will be announcing our intentions at a later date.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the banning of cigarette filters, in the context of the upcoming eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are confident that the best way to tackle tobacco litter and to protect people’s health is to reduce the prevalence of smoking. That is why we are taking decisive action through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free generation alongside continuing with evidence-based approaches to supporting smokers to quit. We therefore have no current plans to ban cigarette filters.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 that the number of children who have been seen by an NHS dentist in Slough is in line with the national average.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Slough constituency, this is the Frimley ICB.
We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.
ICBs are recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response shortly.
We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.
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 steps his Department is taking to increase early detection of mouth cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To help increase the early detection of cancer, the Government has recently launched Jess’s Rule, an initiative that asks general practitioners (GPs) to think again if, after three appointments, they have been unable to diagnose a patient, or if their symptoms have escalated.
The Department is also investing an additional £889 million in GPs, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This will help to ensure the National Health Service has a well-trained and well-equipped primary care service that can take the time to provide quality care to patients around the country.
Dentists and other dental professionals, including hygienists, routinely check the soft tissues of a patient’s mouth for signs of cancer during dental visits and as part of the check-up will make an assessment and record an individual’s oral cancer risk. Dentists will prioritise patients at a higher risk of oral cancer for more frequent recall and review in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
Additionally, NHS England is working in partnership with major supermarket chains to include messages about common cancer symptoms onto the packaging of relevant products. This has included specific messaging on mouth cancer symptoms on toothpaste and mouthwash packaging.
To support earlier and faster cancer diagnosis, the NHS is now delivering additional checks, tests, and scans at 170 community diagnostic centres.
Cancer incidence, including mouth cancer, is increasing. The Government is taking action, including raising awareness of signs and symptoms and focusing on prevention, such as the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.