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, whether the UK National Screening Committee’s modelling assumes that the introduction of a prostate cancer screening programme would be additional to, or would partially replace, existing opportunistic PSA testing in primary care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Drawing on the available peer reviewed evidence, the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) has undertaken economic analysis on behalf of the UK National Screening Committee.
In their modelling, in line with best practice and the standard academic approach to assessing a new screening proposal, the SCHARR team has included the best available information on current care and compared this to a number of possible scenarios for a new prostate cancer screening programme. This includes the best estimate of current opportunistic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
There is little published data available that can determine between PSAs sought by asymptomatic males at their general practices (GPs), opportunistic PSA testing, and other types of PSAs in use which can include testing for symptomatic males where this could support a diagnosis and for men who are on a range of treatment pathways for known prostate cancer.
A prostate cancer screening programme would be most likely to add to the number of PSA tests because GPs have the right to offer a PSA test in line with their clinical judgement and this would continue outside of any screening programme. This is consistent with other screening programmes including, for example, access to the faecal immunochemical tests outside of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
The risk of overdiagnosis identified in the SCHARR model is in line with other international evidence-based prostate screening models which have been developed by academics in line with standard academic approaches and are underpinned by high quality published evidence.
New data on PSA uptake was published after the completion of the modelling report and will be incorporated into further model iterations before the completion of the consultation period.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the levels of paid ad spoofing in the no win no fee sector.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
It is not possible to identify where prosecutions of fraud are specifically related to paid ad spoofing in the no win no fee sector, as this would require manual checks at a cost disproportionate to the public interest.
In the 12 months ending June 2025, the CPS prosecuted 7,446 defendants, where Fraud and Forgery was the principal offence. In the same period, the CPS charged 77.3% of all Fraud and Forgery category cases that were referred to it by law enforcement and maintained a consistent conviction rate of 86.5%.
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 recent assessment he has made of the use of fax machines by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has instructed National Health Service trusts to stop using fax machines for anything other than business continuity. The trust has informed NHS England that they currently only use fax machines for administrative tasks.
NHS England will be meeting with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to work with them on their decommissioning plans. As such, there is currently no date set for when fax machines will be phased out.
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, when he expects fax machines to be phased out of use in Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has instructed National Health Service trusts to stop using fax machines for anything other than business continuity. The trust has informed NHS England that they currently only use fax machines for administrative tasks.
NHS England will be meeting with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to work with them on their decommissioning plans. As such, there is currently no date set for when fax machines will be phased out.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure that playing fields are not used for development in North Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) includes strong protections for existing open space, sports and recreational buildings, and land, including playing fields, setting out that they should not be built on unless they are no longer needed, equivalent or better provision is made, or the development is for alternative sports or recreational provision which offers benefits that clearly outweigh the loss of the current or former use.
The government is consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, more rules-based policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes updated policy on development affecting existing recreation facilities, including playing fields.
The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
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, if he will answer questions 96886, 96959 and 96965 tabled on 3 December 2025 on the UK-US pharmaceutical deal.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 January 2026 to Questions 96886, 96959 and 96965.
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 his Department is taking to support the provision of care for people with Parkinson’s disease outside specialist hospital settings, including measures to enable care to be delivered closer to patients’ homes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want people with Parkinson’s to receive high‑quality care as close to home as possible, and many aspects of Parkinson’s care, such as medication management, routine monitoring, rehabilitation therapies, and community nursing, can be delivered outside specialist settings, provided that strong local pathways and sufficient specialist workforce support are in place.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with Parkinson’s disease.
ICBs have access to a range of resources that support the delivery of Parkinson’s services closer to home. NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated, community‑linked neurology pathways, helping ICBs design services that provide timely, coordinated care outside hospital settings.
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers evidence‑based recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and medicine optimisation, ensuring that local services deliver consistent, high‑quality Parkinson’s care.
In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation, improve multidisciplinary working, and strengthen community‑based support. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs in community settings.
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, whether his Department has assessed the adequacy of the current model of care for people with Parkinson’s disease, including which services may be appropriately delivered outside specialist centres.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want people with Parkinson’s to receive high‑quality care as close to home as possible, and many aspects of Parkinson’s care, such as medication management, routine monitoring, rehabilitation therapies, and community nursing, can be delivered outside specialist settings, provided that strong local pathways and sufficient specialist workforce support are in place.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with Parkinson’s disease.
ICBs have access to a range of resources that support the delivery of Parkinson’s services closer to home. NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated, community‑linked neurology pathways, helping ICBs design services that provide timely, coordinated care outside hospital settings.
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers evidence‑based recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and medicine optimisation, ensuring that local services deliver consistent, high‑quality Parkinson’s care.
In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation, improve multidisciplinary working, and strengthen community‑based support. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs in community settings.
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, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) the Chief Executive of NICE and (b) other NICE officials on them meeting United States Ambassador to the UK.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The former National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Chief Executive, Dr Sam Roberts, met with the United States’ ambassador in October 2025. NICE’s current Chief Executive is due to meet with the US ambassador soon. The Department was notified of these meetings.
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, whether (a) Chief Executive of NICE and (b) any other NICE official has had recent discussions with the United States Ambassador.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The former National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Chief Executive, Dr Sam Roberts, met with the United States’ ambassador in October 2025. NICE’s current Chief Executive is due to meet with the US ambassador soon. The Department was notified of these meetings.