Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 potential impact of introducing the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model on business investment in the food and drink sector.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, 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. As part of this, the Government committed to updating the standards behind the restrictions on advertising ‘less healthy’ food or drink products on television before 9:00pm and online at any time, as well as the restrictions on the promotion of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products by location and volume price by applying the new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM).
The advertising and promotions restrictions currently rely on the outdated NPM 2004/05. The new NPM has been updated in line with the latest dietary advice from the United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, particularly in relation to free sugar and fibre. Applying it to the restrictions will strengthen these policies by bringing more products of concern for children’s health into scope.
The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. Application of the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions would be subject to a full public consultation and an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
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 availability of diagnostic and treatment pathways for Tourette syndrome across Integrated Care Boards; and for what reason Tourette syndrome has not been included in the scope of the Independent Review into mental health conditions
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing local population need and commissioning appropriate diagnostic and treatment pathways for neurological conditions, including Tourette syndrome. While the Department has not undertaken a national assessment of provision across ICBs, we recognise the concerns raised about variation in diagnosis and support. To help address this, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is working with ICBs to develop clear, consistent diagnostic and treatment pathways. The programme has appointed a clinical lead for children and young people's neurodevelopmental services, focusing on improving the assessment and management of Tourette syndrome.
The Independent Review into mental health conditions focuses on mental health conditions, ADHD and autism. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder and, therefore, it will be at the chair's discretion as to how far the review considers Tourette syndrome.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of social media on young people’s wellbeing in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires services to protect children in the UK, including Surrey and Surrey Heath, from illegal and harmful content online. But we know that up and down the country, parents are grappling with how much screentime their children should have and the consequences on their mental health.
The government is determined to give children the childhood they deserve and enhance their wellbeing. That is why we are launching a consultation to gather evidence to understand how best we can build on the Online Safety Act’s provisions to ensure children have positive, enriched digital lives.
The consultation will be accompanied by a national conversation, and we want to hear from children and parents right across the UK. Every voice matters in shaping what comes next.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
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 improve coordination between health, education, and social care services for families affected by sodium valproate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies.
The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, identified significant shortcomings in National Health Service care pathways for people harmed by sodium valproate. NHS England has acknowledged variation in the availability and adequacy of care pathways, the impact of delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis on long-term outcomes, and the need for improved care coordination for those requiring lifelong support, including co-ordination with non-health care services.
In response, NHS England has commissioned a Fetal Exposure to Medicines Services Pilot, being delivered by the NHS in Newcastle and Manchester. The pilot provides multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment and is informing the development of improved care pathways, better coordination of care, and reduced reliance on emergency care. Findings from the pilot will inform future decisions on the commissioning of services, subject to funding.
In addition, we work closely with the Department for Education and across the Government to ensure co-ordination between health, education, and social care services for children and their families. The Health and Opportunity Missions of the Government highlight the importance of joined up working and integrated delivery.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of children who have (a) been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy and (b) received a diagnosis of Foetal Valproate Spectrum.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information regarding the number of children that have been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy, or those who have received a diagnosis of foetal valproate spectrum.
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England collects and quality assures data about people with congenital conditions and rare conditions across the whole of England.
In the most recent official statistics on congenital conditions in England, the 2022 Congenital Condition Official Statistics Report, which contains information on congenital conditions detected in babies delivered in England between 1 January and 31 December 2022, as well as in previous publications of this series back to its inception in 2018, there were no foetus' or babies reported to have a diagnosis of fetal sodium valproate syndrome.
It is likely that while some of the individual conditions, for instance neural tube defects, cardiac, oro-facial clefts, and/or limb difference, that can be associated with this condition are recorded on the register, the overarching diagnosis of fetal sodium valproate syndrome may not yet be registered because fetal sodium valproate syndrome may take more than a year after birth to be confirmed as a diagnosis, so the number reported in any year is the minimum level in the population.
The National Disease Registration Service is assessing the feasibility and reliability of better ascertainment of fetal sodium valproate syndrome by linking the congenital condition register to primary care prescription data.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 ensure that funding for wheelchair users is adequate to meet essential needs, including equipment and specialist support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population. NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment.
This includes the introduction of personal wheelchair budgets, including through legal rights in 2019, providing a clear framework for ICBs to commission personalised wheelchair services which are outcomes focused and integrated. Personal wheelchair budgets give people greater choice over the wheelchair provided.
NHS England also published a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from ICBs on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from the Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information on the National Wheelchair Data Collection is available at the following link:
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty under various legislations, including the Care Act 2014, and the Children and Families Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Some local authorities deliver this themselves, but a significant number have external contracts for an integrated community equipment service.
NHS England is also responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to ICBs. NHS England’s allocations policy aims to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, alongside NHS England’s duties to reduce health inequalities that are amenable to healthcare.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has marked 2025/26 as a financial reset year with the publication of Planning Guidance 2025/26. He has been clear that systems must live within their means, exhausting all opportunities to improve productivity, tackle waste, and take decisions on how to prioritise resources to best meet the health needs of their local population.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what statistics he has on the demand for and use of wheelchairs; and how that data informs NHS England’s commissioning of appropriate services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population. NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment.
This includes the introduction of personal wheelchair budgets, including through legal rights in 2019, providing a clear framework for ICBs to commission personalised wheelchair services which are outcomes focused and integrated. Personal wheelchair budgets give people greater choice over the wheelchair provided.
NHS England also published a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from ICBs on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from the Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information on the National Wheelchair Data Collection is available at the following link:
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty under various legislations, including the Care Act 2014, and the Children and Families Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Some local authorities deliver this themselves, but a significant number have external contracts for an integrated community equipment service.
NHS England is also responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to ICBs. NHS England’s allocations policy aims to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, alongside NHS England’s duties to reduce health inequalities that are amenable to healthcare.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has marked 2025/26 as a financial reset year with the publication of Planning Guidance 2025/26. He has been clear that systems must live within their means, exhausting all opportunities to improve productivity, tackle waste, and take decisions on how to prioritise resources to best meet the health needs of their local population.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 impact of poor air quality in (a) ambient air and (b) indoor air on different age groups of people in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Poor air quality is a major public health risk in the United Kingdom. An estimated 29,000 to 43,000 deaths were attributable to long-term exposure to ambient air pollution in the UK in 2019 among adults aged 30 years old and over.
Indoor residential exposure to damp and mould was associated with approximately 5,000 cases of asthma and 8,500 lower respiratory infections among children, those who are aged between zero to 14 years old, and adults, those who are aged between 15 to 49 years old, in England in 2019.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) contributed to a report by the Royal College of Physicians in 2025. This contained data on new cases of mortality, myocardial infarction, asthma, lung cancer, and other conditions, attributable to a range of air pollutants in 2019 and predicted for 2040, among children, those over 30 years old, over 60 years old, and at all ages. The report is available at the following link:
The Department’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out how the Government will act to reduce the health harms of air pollution. This includes action to reduce harm from ambient air pollution and tackling poor indoor air by improving the standard of rented homes with relation to damp and mould.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to ensure that NHS organisations and contracted wheelchair service providers are subject to more rigorous, mandatory regulation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population. NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment.
This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
NHS England also introduced personal wheelchair budgets, including legal rights in 2019, providing a clear framework for ICBs to commission personalised wheelchair services which are outcomes focused and integrated. Personal wheelchair budgets give people greater choice over the wheelchair provided.
Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from ICBs on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from the Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information on the National Wheelchair Data Collection is available at the following link:
The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets a requirement for all providers and ICBs to actively manage long waits for community health services reducing the proportion of all waits over 18 weeks. This will be monitored via the NHS’s usual regional and national assurance processes.
The Community Health Services Situation Report, which will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27, currently monitors waiting times for both children and young people, and adult waiting times under the ‘Wheelchair, Orthotics, Prosthetics and Equipment’ line. These targets will guide systems to reduce the longest waits, and improvement initiatives to meet these targets may affect waits that are over 18-weeks and 52-weeks.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make the recently developed service specification guidelines for wheelchair services mandatory across England.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population. NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment.
This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
NHS England also introduced personal wheelchair budgets, including legal rights in 2019, providing a clear framework for ICBs to commission personalised wheelchair services which are outcomes focused and integrated. Personal wheelchair budgets give people greater choice over the wheelchair provided.
Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from ICBs on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from the Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information on the National Wheelchair Data Collection is available at the following link:
The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets a requirement for all providers and ICBs to actively manage long waits for community health services reducing the proportion of all waits over 18 weeks. This will be monitored via the NHS’s usual regional and national assurance processes.
The Community Health Services Situation Report, which will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27, currently monitors waiting times for both children and young people, and adult waiting times under the ‘Wheelchair, Orthotics, Prosthetics and Equipment’ line. These targets will guide systems to reduce the longest waits, and improvement initiatives to meet these targets may affect waits that are over 18-weeks and 52-weeks.