Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of restrictions on television and online advertising of products high in fat, salt and sugar on levels of marketing through outdoor and brand-based advertising; and if he will consider extending restrictions to cover such advertising.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever. We are already delivering the biggest public health reforms in a generation, including implementing restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and drink before 9:00pm on television and at all times online from 5 January 2026.
Last year, the Government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework for local government, giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate. This will stop the relentless targeting of children and young people by the fast-food industry.
We also welcome the work by the metropolitan mayors to support the action to ban junk food marketing across public transport networks and public spaces that are controlled locally.
An impact assessment on the advertising restrictions was published on the GOV.UK website, which considered the impact of the restrictions on brand advertising and alternative media, including outdoor advertising, from the perspective of actions that advertisers of products that are high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) may take to mitigate the loss of revenue from the restrictions on television and online. The impact assessment made an assumption that approximately £14 million of lost revenue may be mitigated if HFSS advertisers took these actions.
We continue to review evidence of the impacts on children of advertising for less healthy food and drink products and will consider if and where further action is needed.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking following the report by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body regarding electronic patient records (EPRs), which found that EPR systems have contributed to incidents of missed, delayed, or incorrect patient care, and that these risks have been "persistent despite national recommendations and guidance."
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is actively considering the issues raised by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body regarding electronic patient records (EPRs).
EPRs are already improving safety and care to patients, helping to detect conditions such as sepsis more quickly and preventing medication errors. Analysis shows that highly digitised trusts have a 17.5% reduction in sepsis mortality.
The National Health Service has well-established systems in place for reporting, investigating, and learning from any patient safety incidents. We are working closely with NHS trusts to ensure EPRs are used to the highest quality and safety standards.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to digitise communications with NHS patients; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on vulnerable people in South Suffolk constituency who previously received communications by letter.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to digitise communications with National Health Service patients through the NHS App. The app already allows patients to book, move and cancel their appointments, and communicate with their health team, as well as order repeat prescriptions.
Digital health tools should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services. Digital inclusion is a key priority for the NHS as it will support the shift from ‘analogue to digital’. It is one of the five national NHS England Health Inequalities Strategic Priorities, and they published a Digital Healthcare Framework which has guided the Integrated Care Board’s approach.
The NHS Digital Inclusion Framework ensures that considerations are made across all populations, including people who are vulnerable. Integrated care boards are responsible for local impact assessments, including engaging with affected populations, and ensuring no one is disadvantaged by digitisation plans. No assessment will be made on the impact of this on the population in South Suffolk by the Department.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
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 improve (i) support, and (ii) access to treatments, for people with (a) Multiple System Atrophy, and (b) Parkinson’s.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the national level, there are several initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), including the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care for neurology services, to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s and MSA. NICE has also published guidelines on Parkinson’s disease, namely NG71, covering the diagnosis and management in people aged 18 years old and over.
Under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is working to improve access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs across all rare conditions such as MSA. In February 2025, we published the fourth England action plan reporting on progress.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reform the compensation formula for maternity negligence compensation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office’s report.
The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding per capita her Department provided for NHS dentistry in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards. The dental ringfenced budget is set net of patient charge revenue. It is the total spend for dental, with less expected revenue from patients, and includes primary, secondary, and community dentistry.
In 2024/25, the National Health Service dental ringfenced budget was £3.97 billion, and the population of England was assumed to be 62.1 million as per published NHS Technical Guidance. Therefore, the spend per capita was £63.93.
In 2025/26, the NHS dental ringfenced budget increased to £4.13 billion. The population of England is assumed to be 63.8 million, as per published NHS Technical Guidance. Therefore, the spend per capita is £64.78.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 that access to information about the contribution of good eye care is readily available.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS.UK website sets out the importance of regular sight tests whilst also providing information about entitlement to free National Health Service sight tests. The Department also looks for opportunities to promote the importance of NHS sight tests, such as through National Eye Health Week.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the current NHS eligibility criteria are for CAR-T therapy for both high-grade and low-grade lymphomas.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England funds the use of licensed medicines that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), or the off-label use of licensed indications that have been approved via the NHS England clinical policy process.
NICE has evaluated and recommended several CAR-T therapies for both high-grade and low-grade lymphomas, some of which are recommended for a period of managed access, for instance:
To support implementation of NICE recommendations, NHS England sets clinical treatment criteria to ensure that treatments are made available to those intended by the NICE Guidance. Clinical input helps set the clinical and patient treatment criteria based on the NICE committee deliberations, how the treatment will be used within the treatment pathway, and the evidence base considered by NICE and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which specific CAR-T treatments are available for individuals with low grade lymphomas.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England funds the use of licensed medicines that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), or the off-label use of licensed indications that have been approved via the NHS England clinical policy process.
NICE has evaluated and recommended several CAR-T therapies for both high-grade and low-grade lymphomas, some of which are recommended for a period of managed access, for instance:
To support implementation of NICE recommendations, NHS England sets clinical treatment criteria to ensure that treatments are made available to those intended by the NICE Guidance. Clinical input helps set the clinical and patient treatment criteria based on the NICE committee deliberations, how the treatment will be used within the treatment pathway, and the evidence base considered by NICE and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to NHS Trusts to restore or replace paused CAR-T clinical trials, to prevent patients being left without viable treatment pathways.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and ensuring that all patients, including those with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
Decisions about whether a specific clinical trial should be paused are the responsibility of the study sponsor and research team, who closely monitor any reported patient safety concerns and other data that could impact a decision for an individual trial to be halted.
To support National Health Service trusts to deliver clinical trials, the Department funds research and research infrastructure across England through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including on CAR-T therapy.