Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had on increasing access to Palforzia treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) assesses the clinical and cost effectiveness of new medicines on behalf of the National Health Service in England. Palforzia is an oral immunotherapy treatment for peanut allergy. In February 2022, NICE recommended Palforzia for NHS use as a possible treatment for peanut allergy in children and young people aged between four and 17 years old.
Once a medicine has been recommended for use in the NHS by NICE, the relevant NHS commissioners have 90 days within which to implement the NICE recommendation, after which they have a legal responsibility to make the treatment available to NHS patients. Additionally, any qualified prescriber can prescribe any medicine recommended by NICE, such as Palforzia. It is each integrated care board’s responsibility to commission services that will allow this medicine to be offered to their patients safely and effectively.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 with the Food Standards Agency to help increase levels of public awareness of dangerous food product recalls.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Food recalls and allergy alerts often receive a high level of engagement depending on the scale and risk associated with each recall. It is the responsibility of businesses to reach the public through displaying in-store notices and notifying consumers through their own communication channels. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) amplifies recalls to reach a wider audience and those most vulnerable.
The FSA works with national and regional media outlets, and shares recall information across its social media channels. This strategy achieves regular national coverage, plus targeted regional coverage. Targeted advertising campaigns on social media encourage the public to sign up for the food alerts and recalls service. Promoting the alerts and recall service is a key objective of our current business campaign. Safer food means better business, which aims to support small and micro businesses in protecting their customers.
Targeted partnerships with healthcare providers, charities and organisations that represent vulnerable consumers facilitate direct access to those who are most at risk to food borne diseases. This includes immunocompromised groups or those living with an allergy.
The FSA carried out a key review of the recall process in 2017 with the strengthened processes in place by 2019, and an evaluation of improvements carried out in 2022. At the heart of this work is making sure that as much as possible the system works smoothly across all those involved so that consumers are aware when unsafe foods are recalled.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of schools that have the recommended allergy safeguards in place.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure that pupils with medical conditions have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. In doing so, schools must have regard to the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ statutory guidance, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
The department intends to issue a consultation on an updated version of the current statutory guidance on ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ this autumn.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to reduce the number of allergy-related deaths.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 July 2025 to Question 64001.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration is being given to specialised dermatology, immunology and allergy services as part of NHS England’s review of commissioning, including services for patients living with chronic spontaneous urticaria.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England and the British Association of Dermatologists have established a specialist dermatology clinical reference group. Its objectives are to: measure and improve quality; improve value and reduce unwarranted variation; improve equity of service; and transform and provide advice and support to integrated care boards as they take on responsibility for specialised service commissioning.
In addition, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is working to improve capacity and waiting times through its established Further Faster programme. This programme brings together hospital trust clinicians and operational teams with the challenge of collectively going ‘further and faster’ to transform patient pathways, reduce unnecessary follow-up outpatient appointments and improve access and waiting times for patients, including dermatology patients.
A Further Faster handbook for dermatology has been produced, to share best practice and support National Health Service dermatology teams to reduce the number of Did Not Attend appointments, reduce unnecessary follow ups and, where appropriate, reduce the number of outpatient appointments by booking patients straight to tests, helping to free up capacity for patients in need of specialist dermatology services.
The GIRFT team is carrying out regular visits to and meetings with challenged departments to support them in this work.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to the use of AI algorithms to help triage patients in primary care settings, particularly in relation to patients presenting with dermatological symptoms that can be mistaken as allergy, such as patients living with chronic spontaneous urticaria.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Each medical school in the England sets its own undergraduate curriculum which must meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC) in its Outcomes for Graduates. The GMC would expect that, in fulfilling these standards, newly qualified doctors are able to identify, treat and manage any care needs a person has, including chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and similar conditions. The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant Royal College and must also meet the standards set by the GMC.
To support clinicians in the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of patients with CSU, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has developed an online Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) for the management of the condition. Patients can usually be managed with either antihistamines or steroids, but the guidance also makes clear that patients with CSU should be considered for a referral to a dermatologist where symptoms are severe, persistent, or unresponsive to first-line treatments.
The NICE CKS and Technology Appraisal is on the NICE website in an online-only format.
Skin lesion analysis tools that use an artificial intelligence (AI)-based fixed algorithm are currently being trialled in several National Health Service trusts. These AI tools have the potential to free up dermatology capacity and reduce waiting times by effectively triaging patients with skin lesions where there is a suspicion of cancer. Data from trials in 2023/2024 suggests these tools could help with diagnosing and discharging around 30% of cases from the pathway. This will allow more patients to be seen and get a diagnosis in a timely manner.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she has considered the potential merits of requiring schools to have (a) allergy policies, (b) staff training on allergy management and (c) adrenaline auto-injectors available on site.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Policies should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
Schools can purchase spare adrenaline auto-injectors from a pharmacy without a prescription and for use in an emergency situation.
The department intends to consult on updated statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions later this year. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that integrated care boards collect and use data on (1) allergy prevalence, and (2) allergy services, to inform local commissioning decisions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), which is co-chaired by the Department, currently advises the Department, NHS England and other Government departments on the priority areas for policy change and development related to allergy care and outcomes. The EAGA will continue to support the Department and its partners to ensure that the specific needs of people with allergies are addressed through broader National Health Service reforms.
The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. Its three big shifts, namely from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention will all help deliver improvements to allergy care. With more tests delivered in the community and better joint working with multidisciplinary teams, including allergy specialists, working in local communities as part of the neighbourhood health service. The greater use of apps and wearable technology will also support people to manage their allergies closer to home.
We are committed ensuring we have the staff we need in the NHS, and we want to hear from partners to make sure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills. We will provide more details about what will be included in the 10-Year Workforce Plan in due course.
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme aims to enhance the overall capacity of and capabilities of primary care teams to address a wide range of patient needs and broader healthcare challenges in their localities. Networks may recruit dieticians and nurses with advanced skills and knowledge in a specific area of healthcare or disease management depending upon the needs of their populations.
NHS England does not collect national data on allergy prevalence or services, nor does it issue specific guidance. In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, what steps they are taking to improve access to allergy care in the community.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), which is co-chaired by the Department, currently advises the Department, NHS England and other Government departments on the priority areas for policy change and development related to allergy care and outcomes. The EAGA will continue to support the Department and its partners to ensure that the specific needs of people with allergies are addressed through broader National Health Service reforms.
The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. Its three big shifts, namely from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention will all help deliver improvements to allergy care. With more tests delivered in the community and better joint working with multidisciplinary teams, including allergy specialists, working in local communities as part of the neighbourhood health service. The greater use of apps and wearable technology will also support people to manage their allergies closer to home.
We are committed ensuring we have the staff we need in the NHS, and we want to hear from partners to make sure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills. We will provide more details about what will be included in the 10-Year Workforce Plan in due course.
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme aims to enhance the overall capacity of and capabilities of primary care teams to address a wide range of patient needs and broader healthcare challenges in their localities. Networks may recruit dieticians and nurses with advanced skills and knowledge in a specific area of healthcare or disease management depending upon the needs of their populations.
NHS England does not collect national data on allergy prevalence or services, nor does it issue specific guidance. In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include allergy in the strategic priorities of (1) the NHS long-term workforce plan, and (2) the additional roles reimbursement scheme.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), which is co-chaired by the Department, currently advises the Department, NHS England and other Government departments on the priority areas for policy change and development related to allergy care and outcomes. The EAGA will continue to support the Department and its partners to ensure that the specific needs of people with allergies are addressed through broader National Health Service reforms.
The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. Its three big shifts, namely from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention will all help deliver improvements to allergy care. With more tests delivered in the community and better joint working with multidisciplinary teams, including allergy specialists, working in local communities as part of the neighbourhood health service. The greater use of apps and wearable technology will also support people to manage their allergies closer to home.
We are committed ensuring we have the staff we need in the NHS, and we want to hear from partners to make sure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills. We will provide more details about what will be included in the 10-Year Workforce Plan in due course.
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme aims to enhance the overall capacity of and capabilities of primary care teams to address a wide range of patient needs and broader healthcare challenges in their localities. Networks may recruit dieticians and nurses with advanced skills and knowledge in a specific area of healthcare or disease management depending upon the needs of their populations.
NHS England does not collect national data on allergy prevalence or services, nor does it issue specific guidance. In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.