Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the number of hospitals admissions which could be avoided per year among over 80 years olds through use of the RSV vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes advice on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation programmes from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). At its main committee meeting of 4 June 2025, the JCVI considered the potential extension of the older adults RSV catch-up programme to include those aged 80 years old and older.
Data on hospitalisations formed part of the evidence which informed the discussions at JCVI and the subsequent advice provided. The minutes of the meeting can be found on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of pregnant women who are not offered the whooping cough vaccine by 20 weeks’ gestation; and what steps are being taken to improve timely access.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All pregnant women in England should be offered the pertussis vaccination in every pregnancy, around the time of the mid-pregnancy scan, usually 20 weeks, and ideally before 32 weeks.
Recent data shows maternal pertussis vaccination coverage from July to September 2025 was 71.9%, which was 7.5% higher than the equivalent period in 2025. The data is available at the following link:
NHS England has implemented a range of measures to ensure timely access to the pertussis vaccination programme, including NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency having developed a joint maternal vaccines toolkit and campaign to promote timely uptake of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and flu vaccines during pregnancy, highlighting the protection provided to newborns.
NHS England has commissioned community pharmacies in the North West, Midlands, London, and the East of England to deliver pertussis and RSV vaccines, increasing convenience and capacity, particularly in areas of high deprivation and low uptake.
A maternal vaccination postcard has been translated into seven additional languages and distributed to 200 practices with lower uptake. Tailored communications are shared through community and faith-based channels, including radio, podcasts, and local publications.
NHS England regularly shares vaccination information with pregnancy and parenting organisations such as Tommy’s and the NCT, as well as community and faith groups, for use on their websites, newsletters, and social media.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to public health teams operating in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency to increase men’s engagement with preventative health services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 19 November, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England which aims to improve the health of all men and boys in England, including those in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. The strategy includes tangible actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community and family networks and address societal norms. It also considers how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which include mental health and suicide prevention, respiratory illness, prostate cancer, and heart disease.
We recognise that many of the issues affecting men cannot be solved by the Government alone. The strategy sets out how other sectors, such as the National Health Service, local government, employers, charities, research funders and communities, can contribute to shared outcomes and highlights that improving men’s health will depend on how national priorities are translated into local delivery.
The Department support Upper Tier Local Authorities, including Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, with the Public Health Grant. This is ringfenced funding given to local government to improve the health of their local populations and to reduce inequalities. We recently announced details of a three-year funding settlement for local government, including the Public Health Grant.
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, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of health inequalities associated with a) asthma and b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is aware of the disproportionate impact that asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) have on deprived communities. The Government is acting on smoking, air pollution, and poor housing that will particularly benefit such communities.
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of COPD. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be the biggest public health intervention since the 2007 indoor smoking ban and will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.
Poor air quality can exacerbate COPD and asthma. To address this, DHSC is working across Government with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to tackle air pollution, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to fix housing and reduce damp and mould. Infections can also exacerbate COPD and asthma, so the National Health Service is running winter vaccine campaigns against respiratory infections including COVID-19, flu, and pneumococcal disease.
To enable faster diagnosis of asthma and COPD and earlier access to treatment, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online. The first five months of 2025/26 saw an increase in CDC spirometry testing of approximately 2000 tests per month more than in the previous 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, whether his Department plans to support the adoption of the a) Asthma Control Test and b) COPD Assessment Test as part of annual reviews for respiratory patients in primary care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Asthma Control Test and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test are accessible online for patients to use and the results can be taken to a general practice to help inform an annual assessment or other general practice appointment associated with these conditions.
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, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to asthma diagnostics, including fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.
FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations
NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.
FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.
Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.
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, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.
FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations
NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.
FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.
Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.
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, whether his Department plans to expand fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing for asthma diagnosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.
FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations
NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.
FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.
Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government regarding the availability and UK-wide supply of flu and RSV vaccines this winter; and what steps are being taken at a UK level to support devolved administrations in managing winter pressures related to respiratory illness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with flu vaccine manufacturers and suppliers to maintain high level oversight of the overall United Kingdom supply of flu vaccine for adults. This enables early identification and mitigation of potential risks to programme delivery, such as constraints in dose availability or delays to deliveries.
The UKHSA procures the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), which is the primary vaccine used in the children’s flu programme, on a UK wide basis. As such, the UKHSA liaises regularly with all devolved nations, including the Scottish administration, on procurement activities and supply arrangements for these vaccines.
Both the RSV vaccine and LAIV are available for Scottish Health Boards to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform, ImmForm, ensuring consistent access across the UK.
Ensuring timely and reliable access to flu and RSV vaccines is a key part of reducing the burden of respiratory illness over the winter period, helping to limit avoidable hospital admissions and support health systems, including those in devolved administrations, in managing winter pressures.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
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 men can access timely support for their mental health.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach and access to timely mental health care, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App. These services are available to men.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies middle aged men as a priority group for targeted and tailored support at a national level.
On 19 November 2025, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the Men’s Health Strategy. The strategy includes tangible actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community and family networks and address societal norms. It also considers how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which include mental health and suicide prevention, respiratory illness, prostate cancer, and heart disease.
Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.
We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.