Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has made an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning selective internal radiation therapy for patients with neuroendocrine tumours.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Radiotherapy treatment for cancer is highly individualised and decisions about cancer treatment are typically made by clinicians and multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals. They consider all aspects of a patient's health and circumstances when recommending treatment options. While certain treatments may not be advised for some patients, these decisions are based on medical assessments and what is best for the individual's overall health and well-being. For this reason, NHS England has not made an assessment on the potential impact of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) on survival outcome and quality of life for neuroendocrine tumour patients. However, the Department recognises the need to offer patients who need it the most suitable treatment, including SIRT.
NHS England commissions SIRT for chemotherapy refractory/intolerant metastatic colorectal cancer in adults in accordance with the criteria outlined at the following link:
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to commission selective internal radiation therapy for patients with neuroendocrine tumours.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Radiotherapy treatment for cancer is highly individualised and decisions about cancer treatment are typically made by clinicians and multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals. They consider all aspects of a patient's health and circumstances when recommending treatment options. While certain treatments may not be advised for some patients, these decisions are based on medical assessments and what is best for the individual's overall health and well-being. For this reason, NHS England has not made an assessment on the potential impact of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) on survival outcome and quality of life for neuroendocrine tumour patients. However, the Department recognises the need to offer patients who need it the most suitable treatment, including SIRT.
NHS England commissions SIRT for chemotherapy refractory/intolerant metastatic colorectal cancer in adults in accordance with the criteria outlined at the following link:
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, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the confidentiality of NHS data for serving personnel.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. friends, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Defence, are united in their commitment to ensuring serving military personnel receive excellent health services through the Defence Medical Service working in partnership with the National Health Service.
The Defence Medical Services provide primary healthcare for serving personnel. Secondary care for Armed Forces personnel is provided by the NHS in England or by the devolved administrations outside of England, working with the Defence Medical Services to ensure that specific defence requirements are met.
All serving personnel will have a Defence Health Record which records their healthcare through their military service, whether provided by the Defence Medical Services or the NHS. The principles that underpin the handling of such sensitive records are patient privacy, confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is an existing process for the transfer of healthcare information to the NHS when people leave the Armed Forces. Serving personnel are provided with a medical care summary and a patient’s full Defence Health Record can be provided upon request from their NHS general practitioner.
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 publish a list of meetings held by the Casey Commission.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Given that the commission is independent, the Department will not publish a list of its meetings. It is for the commission to determine its approach, but we expect it will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with lived experience and unpaid carers, as well as building cross-party consensus.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to reduce the backlog of driving tests.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Since this announcement DVSA has:
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
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 assessment of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on people with rare conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases.
We are currently in the initial phases of scoping and designing a new integrated Department that aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our healthcare system. Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has provided guidance to (a) elected representatives, (b) political parties and (c) community groups on obtaining a (i) street trading and (ii) highways licence for a street stall in a public place.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The provision and administration of street trading and highways licences are the responsibility of Local Authorities under either the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 or the London Local Authorities Act 1990, depending on their location. The Government has not issued guidance on how to apply. However, signposting to local authority guidance is provided via gov.uk.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2025 to Question 50169 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, what changes have been made to those thresholds.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The thresholds have been aligned with Cabinet Office guidance.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - East Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect rare bird breeds from avian influenza in the Salisbury Plain Special Protection Area.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has implemented outbreak structures to control and eradicate avian influenza, which will reduce impacts on wildlife.
We have also decided not to issue a general licence for gamebird releases on Special Protection Areas such as Salisbury Plain, to help protect our internationally important bird populations from avian influenza.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
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 merits of introducing a recovery mechanism in incidents of NHS pay uplifts not being provided to (a) nursing staff and (b) other general practice staff by general practice employers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government looks to the independent pay review bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff, including both contractor and salaried general practitioners (GPs). They consider a range of evidence from organisations including the Government, the NHS, and trade unions to reach their recommendations.
The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) has recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we are accepting the DDRB’s pay recommendation and we will provide a 4% uplift to the pay elements of the GP Contract. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is up to GP practices how they distribute pay and benefits to their staff. We expect this funding to be passed on to salaried practice staff, including nursing staff.
This award is above forecast inflation over the 2025/26 pay year, meaning that the Government is delivering a real-terms pay rise, on top of the one provided last year, underlining the extent to which we value our GPs, practice nurses, and other GP staff.
Earlier in the year we announced that we are investing an additional £889 million in GPs through the GP Contract for 2025/26 to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.
Following the DDRB’s recommendation, we will provide a further uplift to the pay elements of the contract on a consolidated basis, on top of the provisional 2.8% uplift already provided, to bring it up to 4%.
The Government has committed to a new substantive GP Contract within this Parliamentary cycle, and we will continue to engage constructively with the General Practitioners Committee England on issues such as staffing.