Department of Health and Social Care

Primary legislation is required to enable the transfer of NHS England’s functions, powers and responsibilities formally to the Department or out to the wider system. Primary legislation is subject to the will of Parliament, and the Government welcomes parliamentary scrutiny of these provisions. The bill will be introduced in Parliament when parliamentary time allows.

Currently, NHS England is responsible for publishing the NHS Payment Scheme, with the relevant legislation set out in schedule 10 of the 2022 Health and Care Act. Under NHS England’s Scheme of Delegation, responsibility for approving the NHS Payment Scheme rests with the Chief Executive Officer of NHS England, delegated to the Chief Financial Officer of NHS England.

During development of the NHS Payment Scheme, NHS England engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Department. The 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme was published on 26 March 2026 and incorporates a number of changes following consultation.

There is no national standard for defibrillator provision in all emergency vehicles, and the Government has not considered centralised procurement arrangements. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to mandate the provision of defibrillators in all emergency vehicles. For National Health Service ambulance services, all NHS ambulances carry defibrillators.

The Home Office has advised that Fire Services and police forces are operationally independent from the Government, and therefore decisions on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) would be an operational matter for them.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed there are already local models of joint working between emergency services, for example where firefighters are trained to respond alongside ambulance services, including basic life support and AED use. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports effective collaboration that strengthens public safety.

There is no national standard for defibrillator provision in all emergency vehicles, and the Government has not considered centralised procurement arrangements. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to mandate the provision of defibrillators in all emergency vehicles. For National Health Service ambulance services, all NHS ambulances carry defibrillators.

The Home Office has advised that Fire Services and police forces are operationally independent from the Government, and therefore decisions on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) would be an operational matter for them.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed there are already local models of joint working between emergency services, for example where firefighters are trained to respond alongside ambulance services, including basic life support and AED use. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports effective collaboration that strengthens public safety.

There is no national standard for defibrillator provision in all emergency vehicles, and the Government has not considered centralised procurement arrangements. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to mandate the provision of defibrillators in all emergency vehicles. For National Health Service ambulance services, all NHS ambulances carry defibrillators.

The Home Office has advised that Fire Services and police forces are operationally independent from the Government, and therefore decisions on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) would be an operational matter for them.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed there are already local models of joint working between emergency services, for example where firefighters are trained to respond alongside ambulance services, including basic life support and AED use. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government supports effective collaboration that strengthens public safety.

Mission Boards have been reformed to become delivery-focused forums. The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, is delivering our Health Mission. Ministers and external stakeholders are involved in a variety of fora to take forward the 10-Year Health Plan. Oversight is maintained by the Departmental Board, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, details of which can be found on the GOV.UK website.

NHS England publishes monthly information on the sickness absence of staff employed by NHS bodies, including NHS England. This is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-rates

NHS England publishes monthly information on the sickness absence of staff employed by NHS bodies, including NHS England. This is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-rates

Annual (financial year) summaries are included within the publication up to 2021/22. Subsequent years’ sickness absence days taken and the associated sickness absence rates can be constructed by aggregating the monthly published data.

There has been no national assessment of need for a dedicated referral and support pathway for topical steroid withdrawal (TSW). Care for patients presenting with TSW is provided through services commissioned by individual integrated care boards.

The Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, outlines actions that will help ensure care is delivered in the right place. This includes expanding the use of Advice and Guidance, a clinical collaboration tool that supports timely specialist input and helps patients receive care in the right setting, including for dermatology care.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not held discussions with the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust on potential factors that contributed to bed occupancy rates at the trust between October and December 2025. However, in line with normal practice, NHS England regional teams hold discussions with the trust on performance, including bed occupancy rates. We started planning earlier and have taken more action than in previous years to prepare for winter pressures. We closely monitored the impact of winter pressures on the National Health Service over winter months, providing additional support to services across the country as needed.

As set out in the Urgent and emergency care plan 2025/26, the NHS is focused on improvements that has seen the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care performance during winter including:

• expanding access to urgent care in primary, community, and mental health settings, which includes increasing the number of people supported by Urgent Community Response teams and treated in virtual wards;
• improving hospital flow through accident and emergency departments, with a focus on reducing the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours and making progress towards eliminating corridor care;
• reducing the average length of stay for patients requiring an overnight emergency admission by at least 0.4 days, returning closer to pre-pandemic levels; and
• agreeing local pathway profiles to support discharge capacity planning and eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours in all settings.

The Government is aware that post-acute infection conditions, such as Long Covid, can have a devastating effect on those who suffer from them. We are committed to taking a comprehensive and compassionate approach to supporting individuals with post-acute infection conditions such as Long Covid, recognising the unique challenges these conditions present.

NHS England has invested significantly in supporting people with Long Covid. This includes setting up specialist post-COVID, or Long Covid, services nationwide for adults, and children and young people, and investing in ensuring general practice teams are equipped to support people affected by the condition.

Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, commissioning of post-COVID services has been the responsibility of local integrated care boards to meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding.

Where referral into a Long Covid service is not possible, for example because a service has closed or is due to close, general practitioners can refer patients into other appropriate existing NHS pathways, depending on their clinical needs.

To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to establish the International Post Covid and Post Infection Conditions Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by Long Covid.

Officials routinely engage with other government departments on Long Covid-related issues which span departmental boundaries.

The Government is aware that post-acute infection conditions, such as Long Covid, can have a devastating effect on those who suffer from them. We are committed to taking a comprehensive and compassionate approach to supporting individuals with post-acute infection conditions such as Long Covid, recognising the unique challenges these conditions present.

NHS England has invested significantly in supporting people with Long Covid. This includes setting up specialist post-COVID, or Long Covid, services nationwide for adults, and children and young people, and investing in ensuring general practice teams are equipped to support people affected by the condition.

Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, commissioning of post-COVID services has been the responsibility of local integrated care boards to meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding.

Where referral into a Long Covid service is not possible, for example because a service has closed or is due to close, general practitioners can refer patients into other appropriate existing NHS pathways, depending on their clinical needs.

To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to establish the International Post Covid and Post Infection Conditions Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by Long Covid.

Officials routinely engage with other government departments on Long Covid-related issues which span departmental boundaries.

Overseas‑qualified doctors must meet General Medical Council (GMC) registration and licensing requirements before practising in the National Health Service. A range of information and guidance is available through the GMC website to support doctors through the registration process. Professional standards and entry requirements remain a matter for the independent regulator. NHS employers recruit locally and determine role requirements in line with service needs.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the Government will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.

The Model Emergency Department, published in February 2026, sets out a consistent national framework describing the core principles and pathways of high-performing emergency departments, including a national model for extended emergency medicine ambulatory care. The approach is intended to support improved patient flow, lower waiting times, and reduced overcrowding. The guidance provides a shared national model to support greater consistency and faster decision-making across urgent and emergency care pathways, while maintaining local decision-making.

We do not plan to make the Model Emergency Department mandatory for National Health Service trusts. We have developed a Model Emergency Department in partnership with clinical experts to enable trusts to implement the urgent and emergency care pathways that we know improve the quality and timeliness of care. On this basis would expect those trusts who are able to implement, to do so without the requirement to mandate.

NHS England has asked providers to begin developing improvement plans aligned with the guidance, including demand and capacity modelling, with the aim of supporting consistent implementation from 2026/27.

NHS England is aware of the workforce challenges within perinatal pathology, which can impact on waiting times. A national programme was established in late 2022 to address this, and significant work has been undertaken in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. Actions taken include:

- the 2024 launch of a fully funded international recruitment campaign;

- a £20,000 golden handshake for doctors entering paediatric and perinatal pathology training;

- additional funding being made available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post for them at a specific provider/location;

- the appointment of a new National Training Programme Director role which has revised the examination structure and aspects of the national training course, and supported an increase in the number of training posts across several recruitment rounds; and

- the perinatal and paediatric training pathway, which will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026, and with applications for the next specialty training level three having exceeded expectations.

NHS England is also pursuing medium-long-term options to increase service capacity alongside workforce initiatives.

A system of national mutual aid was established in late 2022 to maintain timely access to National Health Service post-mortems in areas with workforce shortages. This has been supported by over £1 million of additional funding in 2025/26.

NHS England is aware of the workforce challenges within perinatal pathology, which can impact on waiting times. A national programme was established in late 2022 to address this, and significant work has been undertaken in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. Actions taken include:

- the 2024 launch of a fully funded international recruitment campaign;

- a £20,000 golden handshake for doctors entering paediatric and perinatal pathology training;

- additional funding being made available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post for them at a specific provider/location;

- the appointment of a new National Training Programme Director role which has revised the examination structure and aspects of the national training course, and supported an increase in the number of training posts across several recruitment rounds; and

- the perinatal and paediatric training pathway, which will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026, and with applications for the next specialty training level three having exceeded expectations.

NHS England is also pursuing medium-long-term options to increase service capacity alongside workforce initiatives.

A system of national mutual aid was established in late 2022 to maintain timely access to National Health Service post-mortems in areas with workforce shortages. This has been supported by over £1 million of additional funding in 2025/26.

NHS England is aware of the workforce challenges within perinatal pathology, which can impact on waiting times. A national programme was established in late 2022 to address this, and significant work has been undertaken in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. Actions taken include:

- the 2024 launch of a fully funded international recruitment campaign;

- a £20,000 golden handshake for doctors entering paediatric and perinatal pathology training;

- additional funding being made available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post for them at a specific provider/location;

- the appointment of a new National Training Programme Director role which has revised the examination structure and aspects of the national training course, and supported an increase in the number of training posts across several recruitment rounds; and

- the perinatal and paediatric training pathway, which will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026, and with applications for the next specialty training level three having exceeded expectations.

NHS England is also pursuing medium-long-term options to increase service capacity alongside workforce initiatives.

A system of national mutual aid was established in late 2022 to maintain timely access to National Health Service post-mortems in areas with workforce shortages. This has been supported by over £1 million of additional funding in 2025/26.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme takes equality of access and opportunity for breast screening seriously. There is guidance in place to support breast screening services to address specific needs that people may have in order to attend their breast screening. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breast-screening-identifying-and-reducing-inequalities

Breast screening services are already expected to meet these requirements as part of the current national specification.

A project is underway to assess how the Reasonable Adjustments Digital Flag can be best implemented across screening programmes and how provider services can be best enabled to respond to these requirements. The national screening service specification will be appropriately updated to reflect changes.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation is independent, with the investigation’s terms of reference allowing Baroness Amos, in her role as Chair, to make recommendations as she sees fit.

The independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation is bringing together the findings from past reviews, from local investigations of maternity and neonatal services in selected trusts, and evidence from families and staff, and will develop and publish one clear national set of recommendations.

Baroness Amos and her team have met with hundreds of families as part of the local investigations, and a national call for evidence for women, families, and staff has recently concluded. Her final report will be published in June.

A formal assessment has not been made on the potential merits of listing hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy as a condition on the National Health Service website.

The first wave of modern service frameworks will include cardiovascular disease, sepsis, mental health, palliative care and end-of-life care, and dementia and frailty. The Government will consider other conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of modern service frameworks in due course.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

NHS staff told us through the 10-Year Health Plan engagement that they are crying out for change. This workforce plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.

We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, twice-yearly meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations, and health services and Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions. The forum has identified areas for initial focus, including workforce, which featured as a key item on the agenda at the third meeting of the forum on 18 March.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. The North East and North Cumbria ICB has implemented measures to improve access to dental services as part of the ICB’s Oral Health and Dental Strategy for 2025/27. Further information can be found on the NHS.UK website, in an online format.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.

The following table shows the total number of general dental practice contracts, including the number of units of dental activity (UDA) and the total value, that were handed back in the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since it took over the delegated commissioning responsibility in April 2023:

On 27 January, the Government published the new nutrient profiling model (NPM). This included associated NPM technical guidance to support businesses to understand the new NPM and apply it to their products and worked examples on how to calculate free sugars and NPM scores in a range of products.

Since publication of the new NPM in January, we have been engaging closely with industry to address technical points relating to the new NPM and calculating free sugars. On 25 February, we participated in the development of the Institute of Grocery Distribution free sugars calculation roundtable, ahead of launching the consultation on applying the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions on 25 March 2026.

In November 2024, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided advice on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme for adults aged 80 years old and over. The Government continues to carefully consider the JCVI’s advice.

We are taking key steps to ensure the National Health Service is prepared for the colder months. This winter, approximately half a million more people were vaccinated against flu compared to the previous season, though we know there is further to go next winter. We are undertaking a comprehensive ‘lessons learned’ review to help us identify what worked well, where persistent pressures remain, and what actions we need to prioritise going into next winter.

Food safety legislation, and the Food Law Code of Practice (England) (the Code) places a statutory duty on competent authorities to undertake official food controls that verify whether food businesses, including small and microbusinesses, comply with relevant food law requirements.

Food safety official controls are carried out by appropriately authorised officers from local authorities and port health authorities. These are competent authorities and use a range of statutory powers set out in food legislation.

Officers assess compliance with legal requirements by observing and discussing food handling practices, hygiene conditions, and by examining food safety management systems. Where noncompliance is identified, officers determine the most appropriate and proportionate course of action, taking account of the seriousness of the issue and any potential public health risk. This may include providing advice, issuing written requirements, or taking more formal enforcement action where necessary.

Lords Amendment 22 allows a relevant enforcement authority in England to retain all proceeds from the £2,500 fixed penalty notices for licensing offences in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The bill provides that the proceeds must be used for the enforcement of tobacco and vape legislation, mirroring the approach to the use of proceeds from £200 fixed penalty notices in the bill. The bill does not allow proceeds from fixed penalty notices to be invested in smoking cessation services.

From April 2026, the Government is investing an additional £260 million over three years in Stop Smoking Services within the Public Health Grant. This will mean at least £153 million of ringfenced funding for Stop Smoking Services each year.

The commissioning of services for Tourette’s syndrome is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), which have a legal duty to plan comprehensive health services for their populations, including for conditions like Tourette’s. While Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has not been directly approached to promote these e-learning modules, it would welcome reviewing the content and, if appropriate, would be happy to share more widely.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, including for neurology services. Between September 2024 and September 2025, the number of incomplete neurology pathways was reduced by 15,500, from 234,720 to 219,221, and the average waiting time for neurology services fell from 16.2 to 15.2 weeks. Over the same period, the proportion of patients seen within 18 weeks increased to around 57%, up from around 54% the previous year. We remain committed to returning to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. As part of the Elective Reform Plan, we are investing in additional capacity and reforming outpatient services to help bring waiting times down, recognising that neurology is a particularly challenged specialty.

NHS England’s Neuroscience Transformation Programme is supporting ICBs to improve pathways, reduce unwarranted variation and provide care closer to home for neurology patients, including for patients with Tourette’s.

The Mental Health Act 2025 is a critical foundation to ensure that people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care, and have greater choice and control over their treatment. NHS England’s mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient quality transformation programme will support cultural change and a new model of care for the future across all NHS-funded mental health inpatient settings. Local health systems have now published their three-year plans for localising and realigning inpatient care in line with this vision.

The commissioning of services for Tourette’s syndrome is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), which have a legal duty to plan comprehensive health services for their populations, including for conditions like Tourette’s. While Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has not been directly approached to promote these e-learning modules, it would welcome reviewing the content and, if appropriate, would be happy to share more widely.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, including for neurology services. Between September 2024 and September 2025, the number of incomplete neurology pathways was reduced by 15,500, from 234,720 to 219,221, and the average waiting time for neurology services fell from 16.2 to 15.2 weeks. Over the same period, the proportion of patients seen within 18 weeks increased to around 57%, up from around 54% the previous year. We remain committed to returning to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. As part of the Elective Reform Plan, we are investing in additional capacity and reforming outpatient services to help bring waiting times down, recognising that neurology is a particularly challenged specialty.

NHS England’s Neuroscience Transformation Programme is supporting ICBs to improve pathways, reduce unwarranted variation and provide care closer to home for neurology patients, including for patients with Tourette’s.

The Mental Health Act 2025 is a critical foundation to ensure that people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care, and have greater choice and control over their treatment. NHS England’s mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient quality transformation programme will support cultural change and a new model of care for the future across all NHS-funded mental health inpatient settings. Local health systems have now published their three-year plans for localising and realigning inpatient care in line with this vision.

The commissioning of services for Tourette’s syndrome is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), which have a legal duty to plan comprehensive health services for their populations, including for conditions like Tourette’s. While Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has not been directly approached to promote these e-learning modules, it would welcome reviewing the content and, if appropriate, would be happy to share more widely.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, including for neurology services. Between September 2024 and September 2025, the number of incomplete neurology pathways was reduced by 15,500, from 234,720 to 219,221, and the average waiting time for neurology services fell from 16.2 to 15.2 weeks. Over the same period, the proportion of patients seen within 18 weeks increased to around 57%, up from around 54% the previous year. We remain committed to returning to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. As part of the Elective Reform Plan, we are investing in additional capacity and reforming outpatient services to help bring waiting times down, recognising that neurology is a particularly challenged specialty.

NHS England’s Neuroscience Transformation Programme is supporting ICBs to improve pathways, reduce unwarranted variation and provide care closer to home for neurology patients, including for patients with Tourette’s.

The Mental Health Act 2025 is a critical foundation to ensure that people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care, and have greater choice and control over their treatment. NHS England’s mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient quality transformation programme will support cultural change and a new model of care for the future across all NHS-funded mental health inpatient settings. Local health systems have now published their three-year plans for localising and realigning inpatient care in line with this vision.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an expert scientific advisory committee that advises the Government on the eligibility for vaccination and immunisation programmes. The JCVI has been consulted on the immediate vaccine response to the outbreak and clinical effectiveness of potential future outbreak response vaccination strategies.

On the 17 March, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also announced to the House of Commons that he would ask the JCVI to review eligibility for meningococcal B vaccination. The JCVI will conduct a full assessment of the cost-effectiveness of a routine adolescent meningococcal B vaccination programme and provide a complete and formal response to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as soon as practicable.

Craniocervical instability (CCI) is a complex presentation that can arise in the context of a range of underlying conditions. At present, there is no agreed national diagnostic definition or evidence base to support a distinct National Health Service pathway. This makes the development of a single national NHS pathway challenging. At present, clinical assessment and management are undertaken through existing recognised specialties, such as neurology, rheumatology, spinal surgery and pain services, based on the individual symptoms and needs of each patient.

The NHS has established safeguards to protect patients, including the requirement that any investigations or interventions offered within the health service must meet nationally accepted standards of clinical safety, evidence and value for money. NHS England supports clinicians through relevant professional guidance, and patients who have concerns about their care can raise these with their clinical team, local service providers, or through the NHS complaints process to ensure that issues are fully addressed.

Patient experience remains central to service development, and feedback gathered through clinical services, commissioners, and patient organisations will continue to inform work to improve care for people with complex connective‑tissue and spinal conditions. As the evidence base develops, the Department will continue to work with NHS England to consider how services for people with suspected CCI can evolve, including whether changes to pathways or models of care are warranted in the future to improve consistency, safety and patient experience.

Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population. That is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and to commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people.

In performing that duty, a local authority must have regard to current and likely future demand for such services and consider how providers might meet that demand.

Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.

Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.

Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.

The Government is committed to expanding access to diagnostic imaging, including computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), through investment in new and expanded community diagnostic centres and wider imaging capacity.

Improved access to CTCA supports earlier and more accurate diagnosis of coronary artery disease and can contribute to pre-transplant assessment. In the context of heart donation, CTCA may be used selectively to assess donor heart suitability, particularly in higher-risk donors. NHS Blood and Transplant is currently progressing work to improve access to CTCA in selected donors to support safe decision-making and potentially improve organ utilisation.

The Government continues to prioritise and support access to computed tomography scanning services. Through ongoing capital investment in computed tomography assets, we have seen an 11% increase in the total number of computed tomography scanners recorded across the country, from March 2023 to March 2025. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostic-imaging-dataset/national-imaging-data-collection/

NHS England is currently building and rolling out new services for breast screening. The future breast screening service is expected to improve the consistency and completeness of demographic and equality data capture, which should support more robust reporting over time.

All patients, including LGBT+ patients, should feel comfortable and confident accessing National Health Services when they need to. Nobody should experience discrimination while accessing the healthcare they need.

We understand LGBT+ patients experience specific barriers to access and that in part is why last year my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, commissioned NHS England to undertake an LGBT+ health evidence review.

The review is being led by Dr Michael Brady, the National Advisor for LGBT+ Health at NHS England, and its objectives are:

• identifying barriers to accessing healthcare services for LGBT+ people;
• exploring experiences of healthcare, notably areas of poorer experience; and
• understanding the impact of LGBT+ health inequalities on outcomes and patient safety.

The review is expected to conclude in Spring 2026 with a final report and recommendations for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Further information about what the review covers, as well as its methodology, can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/lgbt-health/lgbt-health-evidence-review/

Transgender people can access specialist services for gender dysphoria and incongruence, and the Government recognises that waiting times are far too long for children and young people, and adults. This is why we are working closely with NHS England to implement recommendations from the Cass Review and NHS Adult Gender Services Review to improve these services. To that end NHS England has significantly increased investment in these services. It has opened three new regional gender services for children and young people since April 2024, with an ambition to have service provision in every region by 2026/27 and has increased the number of adult clinics from seven to 12 since 2020.

All patients, including LGBT+ patients, should feel comfortable and confident accessing National Health Services when they need to. Nobody should experience discrimination while accessing the healthcare they need.

We understand LGBT+ patients experience specific barriers to access and that in part is why last year my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, commissioned NHS England to undertake an LGBT+ health evidence review.

The review is being led by Dr Michael Brady, the National Advisor for LGBT+ Health at NHS England, and its objectives are:

• identifying barriers to accessing healthcare services for LGBT+ people;
• exploring experiences of healthcare, notably areas of poorer experience; and
• understanding the impact of LGBT+ health inequalities on outcomes and patient safety.

The review is expected to conclude in Spring 2026 with a final report and recommendations for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Further information about what the review covers, as well as its methodology, can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/lgbt-health/lgbt-health-evidence-review/

Transgender people can access specialist services for gender dysphoria and incongruence, and the Government recognises that waiting times are far too long for children and young people, and adults. This is why we are working closely with NHS England to implement recommendations from the Cass Review and NHS Adult Gender Services Review to improve these services. To that end NHS England has significantly increased investment in these services. It has opened three new regional gender services for children and young people since April 2024, with an ambition to have service provision in every region by 2026/27 and has increased the number of adult clinics from seven to 12 since 2020.

Coverage of bowel cancer screening has been increasing in recent years. In 2019, 60.5% of people took the offer up. Now, it is 71.8%.

To further increase coverage across England, including Yeovil, NHS England is doing the following:

• delivering new approaches to communicating with people about screening through the NHS App;
• incorporating the reasonable adjustment flag into screening to ensure that people get information in the way they want, and that adjustments are made to support people at appointments;
• has recently updated the bowel cancer screening leaflets and is updating the bowel cancer screening letters to improve accessibility; and
• has made the bowel cancer screening faecal immunochemical test kit more accessible for people who are blind or partially sighted.

We are working with NHS England to implement the recommendations from the Cass Review to ensure everyone gets the high-quality care they need. This includes setting up a clinical pathway and provision for people considering detransition.

Following engagement with those with lived experience, on 30 October 2025, NHS England published a call for evidence on a clinical pathway for adults who have previously undergone a gender transition and who wish to detransition to bring together professional opinion. The call for evidence closed on 28 December 2025.

NHS England is considering all relevant feedback that was submitted. It will collate views, evidence, and insights into a summary evidence report.

NHS England will use this evidence, together with other intelligence and further engagement, to begin to define a clinical pathway which will be tested through further stakeholder engagement and public consultation later this year.

While we work to establish this clinical pathway, patients who need the support of the NHS are encouraged to speak directly with healthcare professionals, including GPs and mental health services.

Decisions about the funding and provision of health services are the responsibility of local integrated care boards. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course. The National Cancer Plan, published 4 February 2026, has set out actions aimed at supporting people with secondary breast cancer.

To improve outcomes for breast cancer patients, NHS England funds the National Audit of Breast Cancer Treatment, covering both primary and metastatic disease. By analysing routine clinical data from National Health Service settings, these audits identify regional variations in care quality and establish best practices. This will benefit all breast cancer patients, including secondary breast cancer patients.

The plan highlights the Government’s ambition to ensure that every person with secondary breast cancer has faster diagnosis and treatment, access to the latest treatments and technology, and high-quality support throughout their journey, while driving up cancer survival rates.

The Government is continuing to invest in improvements to local alcohol and drug treatment services to ensure those in need can access high quality help and support. From 2026, all drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local needs for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and commissioning services to meet these needs. The Government works with local treatment systems to provide a number of digital products including guidance, subject-matter expertise and data tools to help them deliver their service.

Digital products are derived from The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System and other related health datasets and made available via a dedicated website to enable local treatment systems to monitor treatment access and better manage outcomes.

NHS England is considering the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s report and will respond to the recommendation in the report in due course.

To reduce insulin related harm, the NHS Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme published guidance in April 2025 to support trusts to establish Diabetes Safety Boards. GIRFT is also undertaking a pilot across 20 integrated care systems as part of a Community and District Nurse Insulin Programme, which works to empower community diabetes nurses and district nursing teams to support patients at home requiring insulin administration.

To further support services to provide high quality personalised care for all patients needing secondary mental health services, including those with diabetes, NHS England has shared new draft guidance with systems, the Mental Health Personalised Care Framework, sets out how services must effectively assess, plan, and manage people's care in collaboration with all relevant teams, including how they assess safety and risks of harm.

NHS England is considering the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s report and will respond to the recommendation in the report in due course.

To reduce insulin related harm, the NHS Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme published guidance in April 2025 to support trusts to establish Diabetes Safety Boards. GIRFT is also undertaking a pilot across 20 integrated care systems as part of a Community and District Nurse Insulin Programme, which works to empower community diabetes nurses and district nursing teams to support patients at home requiring insulin administration.

To further support services to provide high quality personalised care for all patients needing secondary mental health services, including those with diabetes, NHS England has shared new draft guidance with systems, the Mental Health Personalised Care Framework, sets out how services must effectively assess, plan, and manage people's care in collaboration with all relevant teams, including how they assess safety and risks of harm.

Blood pressure is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Each year, the NHS Health Check, which is a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, engages over 1.4 million people and identifies over 340,000 cases of high blood pressure.

Individuals who are identified with high blood pressure during their NHS Health Check are referred to their general practice for further clinical investigation who determine whether an individual should be tested for CKD. Data is currently not collected on the number of individuals who are subsequently tested for CKD.

To improve access and engagement with the NHS Health Check, we are developing the NHS Health Check Online service that people can use at home, at a time convenient to them, to understand and act on their CVD risk. The NHS Health Check Online is being piloted in multiple local authorities across England.