Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department is using to evaluate (a) effectiveness and (b) value in the new NHS medical technology procurement model.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is developing Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance to improve the National Health Service’s consistency in the procurement of medical technology in England, shifting the focus from buying the cheapest to considering wider factors to ensure that taxpayer money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff, and the environment.
Procurement decisions will be based on a minimum of 60% weighting from five value domains, including the mandated minimum 10% on Social Value. The remaining 40% is a maximum weighting for Whole Life Cost. The guidance includes the choice of 21 questions across the five value domains. For example, where improvement to hospital productivity is assessed, real world evidence on the impact to the length of stay, procedure time, and/or readmission rates will be required.
The following 13 NHS trusts, covered by nine procurement teams, are piloting the guidance before national rollout across the NHS in England in early 2026:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which 13 NHS Trusts have been selected to pilot the value-based procurement guidance.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is developing Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance to improve the National Health Service’s consistency in the procurement of medical technology in England, shifting the focus from buying the cheapest to considering wider factors to ensure that taxpayer money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff, and the environment.
Procurement decisions will be based on a minimum of 60% weighting from five value domains, including the mandated minimum 10% on Social Value. The remaining 40% is a maximum weighting for Whole Life Cost. The guidance includes the choice of 21 questions across the five value domains. For example, where improvement to hospital productivity is assessed, real world evidence on the impact to the length of stay, procedure time, and/or readmission rates will be required.
The following 13 NHS trusts, covered by nine procurement teams, are piloting the guidance before national rollout across the NHS in England in early 2026:
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 December 2024 (HL1918), what steps they are taking ensure the appropriate use of sex-specific language in the NHS, as set out in the Women's Health Strategy for England, published on 30 August 2022 (CP 736).
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and the National Health Service know the importance of using accurate and factual language in relation to biological sex as part of health communications. The Department’s longstanding position is that health information should be as clear as possible, and that language should be used that appropriately reflects sex as defined as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered prioritising the integration of PCOS care into Women's Health Hubs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Women’s health hubs bring together healthcare professionals and existing services to provide integrated women’s health services in the community, centred on meeting women’s needs across their life course.
As set out in the core specification on the GOV.UK website, women’s health hubs should provide assessment and treatment for menstrual problems, including but not limited to care for heavy, painful, or irregular menstrual bleeding, and care for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome.
We are looking to integrated care boards to further expand their coverage of women’s health hubs to improve local delivery of services to women. We will support them in doing so, drawing on the learning from the existing women’s health hubs.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 increase awareness of the impact of polycystic ovary syndrome among NHS professionals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government recognises that women suffering with gynaecological conditions, including polycystic ovary syndrome, have been failed for far too long. We acknowledge the impact these conditions have on women’s lives, relationships and participation in education and the workforce. We know that more needs to be done to support women with gynaecological conditions.
As set out in the women’s health strategy, women's health is included in the Royal College of General Practitioners curriculum for trainee general practitioners (GPs), including gynaecology. The curriculum also covers the health care needs of women across all diseases seen in primary care as it is important women are treated holistically. This ensures that all future GPs receive education on women’s health.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with international aid organisations on the potential impact of the availability of clean water not affected by cholera in conflict-affected areas of Sudan on levels of insecurity for women and girls in that country.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are over 96,700 confirmed cases of cholera across 17 states in Sudan, with the true number likely to be significantly higher. The UK Government is working with international partners - including UNICEF, WHO, SFPA, and UNFPA - to help coordinate an effective response. This includes issuing targeted guidance on managing cholera among vulnerable groups, particularly women, girls, and malnourished children, through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation 2 (SFFGM2) and Women's Integrated Sexual Health 2 (WISH2) programmes. In addition, we have recently match-funded an extra £3.75 million of Kuwaiti support to UNICEF, supplementing UK resources already allocated to combat the outbreak. We continue to urge the UN to scale up its response and ensure that aid reaches those most in need.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken with international partners to (a) end and (b) assist victims of sexual violence in conflict-affected areas of Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a major humanitarian donor to Sudan. We provided over £235 million last financial year, and a further £120 million this year. We support women and girls through the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation 2 programme. This provides protection, prevention, and care services in response to rising gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). We also support the Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme and fund local responders via the Sudan Humanitarian Fund and the Mercy Corps-led Cash Consortium. This year, the UK PSVI Team is supporting the deployment of a specialist sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) investigator to the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in Sudan, delivered through our implementing partner UN Women. This contribution supports the UK offer to the FFM and ensures expert input on SGBV to strengthen accountability for conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan. At the UN, the UK has led efforts to spotlight CRSV and other atrocities, including ten Security Council press statements and the renewal of the FFM's mandate.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on updating the Women’s Health Strategy in response to the publication of the 10-Year NHS Plan for England.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Ministers for Women and Equalities work closely with colleagues from DHSC on a number of areas to improve women’s health, as we put women’s equality at the heart of our missions.
Through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are delivering our manifesto commitment that never again will women’s health be neglected, and we set out how the NHS will meet the health needs of women. This includes turning the commitments in the existing Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan and setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that women's health is included in the Government's approach to prevention across the NHS.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Ministers for Women and Equalities work closely with colleagues from DHSC on a number of areas to improve women’s health, as we put women’s equality at the heart of our missions.
Through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are delivering our manifesto commitment that never again will women’s health be neglected, and we set out how the NHS will meet the health needs of women. This includes turning the commitments in the existing Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan and setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on increasing the women's healthcare workforce to ensure services can meet rising demand and deliver the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Ministers for Women and Equalities work closely with colleagues from DHSC on a number of areas to improve women’s health, as we put women’s equality at the heart of our missions.
Through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are delivering our manifesto commitment that never again will women’s health be neglected, and we set out how the NHS will meet the health needs of women. This includes turning the commitments in the existing Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan and setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan.