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 (a) campaigners and (b) stakeholders on treatment for (i) lobular breast cancer and (ii) other rare cancers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving outcomes and experiences of cancer treatment, including lobular breast cancer and other rare cancers, is a priority for the Government. Engagement with campaigners and partners is vital to achieving this.

My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, accompanied by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Health, met with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot Project on 14 July 2025 to discuss their work. Following this meeting, the Chief Scientific Adviser and officials from the Department and the Medical Research Council (MRC) met again with the Lobular Moonshot Project to provide advice on existing funding options. Both the MRC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research have committed to continuing to work with the Lobular Moonshot Campaign team to support the development of fundable research proposals in this area and help drive our collective ambition to increase understanding and effective management of this disease.

In April 2025, I attended an event with Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, and Cancer52. The was followed by a roundtable in May 2025, in which I met with Cancer52 members, representing a wide range of cancer types, to discuss how the National Cancer Plan can prioritise rare cancers, to make a meaningful difference to how patients experience cancer treatment, and to bring cancer survivability back up to the standards of the best in the world. I have also met with brain cancer campaigners and All-Party Parliamentary Group members on several occasions since taking up post.

The National Cancer Plan will include more details about improving treatments for all tumour types, including lobular breast cancer. The Department continues to engage with a wide range of cancer partners on the Plan, including charities and patient representative bodies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to set national targets for early and accurate dementia diagnosis, and to publish annual data on regional variations and performance.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis, and remain committed to increasing diagnosis rates and ensuring people can access any licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-recommended treatment, and support they need.

We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. NHS England continues to monitor the monthly dementia diagnosis rate and analyse trends at national, regional and integrated care board level.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the recently published 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will also deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 July (HL9109), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, where the first 10 Neighbourhood Health Centres will be located, and when will those centres open.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and NHS England have written to integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to invite applications from local places to participate in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP). As part of this, we have requested initial information on local assets that could host neighbourhood health centres (NHCs). ICBs will be key here as strategic commissioners in identifying where NHCs are required and defining their requirements in the context of other supporting infrastructure in the local area.

Applications should be submitted by 8 August 2025; our 10-Year Health Plan sets out we will start in some of the communities where healthy life expectancy is lowest, delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of recommendation 4 of the Leng Review, published 16 July, that physician associates should not see undifferentiated patients except within clearly defined national clinical protocols, on (1) waiting times and (2) patient access to care.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Leng Review was clear that for patient safety reasons, physician assistants should not see undifferentiated patients except within clearly defined national clinical protocols. NHS England has written to National Health Service trusts, integrated care boards, and primary care networks, as well as to the staff most affected by the recommendations, to set out the immediate implications of the recommendations. In its letter to employers, NHS England set out that current physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia should remain in post, with their deployment aligned to the recommendations of the review.

The Department, alongside NHS England, royal colleges, and other system partners, including representatives of doctors, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, will develop a detailed implementation plan to address the review’s 18 recommendations, which will consider all relevant factors. Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential use of the supercomputer Isambard-AI in processing the medical scans of cancer patients.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan will help the National Health Service become the most artificial intelligence (AI) ready healthcare system in the world. While no assessment has yet been made of the potential use of Isambard-AI in processing the medical scans of cancer patients, the Government is fully committed to the ‘scan-pilot-scale’ approach set out in Matt Clifford’s AI Opportunities Action Plan published earlier this year, so that we can ensure AI is deployed in the critical areas where the technology can support better health outcomes.

The Government has already had success with the ‘scan-pilot-scale’ approach as part of the £113 million AI awards, which provided funding for a number of technologies that support cancer diagnosis. In addition, the £21 million AI diagnostic fund is supporting the deployment of technologies in key, high-demand areas such as chest x-ray and chest computed tomography scans to enable faster diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in over half of acute trusts in England. Funding is being provided to 12 imaging networks, which cover 67 out of a total of 137 acute and specialist trusts across all seven regions of England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to establish a permanent faculty to provide professional leadership for physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 16 July 2025, Professor Gillian Leng published her review into physician associates and anaesthesia associates, now to be renamed physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.

Professor Leng set out 18 recommendations that will give much-needed clarity, certainty, and confidence to staff and patients. The Government is accepting these recommendations in full. Some actions will be implemented immediately, whilst others will require wider input, with benefits being fully realised over time.

The Department, alongside NHS England, royal colleges, and other system partners, including representatives of doctors, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, will develop a detailed implementation plan to address the review’s 18 recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to produce national clinical protocols to allow physician assistants to see undifferentiated patients.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 16 July 2025, Professor Gillian Leng published her review into physician associates and anaesthesia associates, now to be renamed physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.

Professor Leng set out 18 recommendations that will give much-needed clarity, certainty, and confidence to staff and patients. The Government is accepting these recommendations in full. Some actions will be implemented immediately, whilst others will require wider input, with benefits being fully realised over time.

The Department, alongside NHS England, royal colleges, and other system partners, including representatives of doctors, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, will develop a detailed implementation plan to address the review’s 18 recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they require integrated care boards to publish routine data on outcomes for peripheral arterial disease.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.

NHS England introduced the Vascular PAD Quality Improvement Framework, which was incentivised through a two-year scheme, from 2022 to 2024. This framework helps to ensure that patients across the country receive timely and effective interventions, such as revascularisation, by encouraging all providers to meet consistent standards of care. It aims to reduce variation in how quickly and effectively patients are treated, regardless of where they live.

There are no plans to update Vascular PAD Quality Improvement Framework, but it remains an available resource that the National Health Service should have regard to.

The National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across NHS hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.

There is no specific mandatory requirement for integrated care boards (ICBs) to publish routine data on PAD outcomes. However, ICBs are expected to contribute to data collection and reporting. Additionally, the Quality and Outcomes Framework incentivises general practices to improve care for various conditions, including those related to cardiovascular health, which may indirectly impact PAD management.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve diagnosis, care and treatment for patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.

NHS England introduced the Vascular PAD Quality Improvement Framework, which was incentivised through a two-year scheme, from 2022 to 2024. This framework helps to ensure that patients across the country receive timely and effective interventions, such as revascularisation, by encouraging all providers to meet consistent standards of care. It aims to reduce variation in how quickly and effectively patients are treated, regardless of where they live.

There are no plans to update Vascular PAD Quality Improvement Framework, but it remains an available resource that the National Health Service should have regard to.

The National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across NHS hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.

There is no specific mandatory requirement for integrated care boards (ICBs) to publish routine data on PAD outcomes. However, ICBs are expected to contribute to data collection and reporting. Additionally, the Quality and Outcomes Framework incentivises general practices to improve care for various conditions, including those related to cardiovascular health, which may indirectly impact PAD management.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent lower-limb amputations caused by the progression of peripheral arterial disease.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.

To support the reduction of inequalities in care, NHS England’s national approach is Core20PLUS5, with further information available on the NHS.UK website. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, including cardiovascular disease. There is a specific focus on improving the detection and management of hypertension, and optimising lipid management, amongst target groups to prevent conditions such as PAD.

In addition, the National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across National Health Service hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.

Information on PAD is available on the NHS.UK website, and NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and professional bodies to improve care and reduce regional variation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle variation in uptake of peripheral arterial disease intervention.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.

To support the reduction of inequalities in care, NHS England’s national approach is Core20PLUS5, with further information available on the NHS.UK website. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, including cardiovascular disease. There is a specific focus on improving the detection and management of hypertension, and optimising lipid management, amongst target groups to prevent conditions such as PAD.

In addition, the National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across National Health Service hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.

Information on PAD is available on the NHS.UK website, and NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and professional bodies to improve care and reduce regional variation.

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 help improve access to NHS dentistry in Bolsover constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Bolsover constituency, this is the Derby and Derbyshire ICB.

We will deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year, and ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. The Derby and Derbyshire ICB is expected to deliver 16,298 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.

ICBs are recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

The Government’s ambition is to deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to implement a specialist pathway for people under the age of 35 with a cardiac abnormality detected on electrocardiogram.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.

There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.

Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics-compendium-2024-v3.pdf?rev=c72e2593b0ac4f2b999ad2f5999d8c07&hash=7DCC7E6832AA9495B0F5E720357DB9FB

NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:

Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Notes:

1. the 2020 figure is survival to discharge from hospital rather than survival at 30 days, and may be incomplete;
2. during the COVID-19 pandemic, data suppliers in some hospitals were moved to other duties, making data on survival harder to obtain than data on deaths; and
3. due to a trust-wide outage of the Electronic Patient Clinical Record, data is unavailable from 1 April to 30 September 2023 for the Isle of Wight, and incomplete for the South Central Ambulance Service from July to September 2023.

Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people aged 14 to 35 who die each year as a result of a primarily cardiac health condition.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.

There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.

Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics-compendium-2024-v3.pdf?rev=c72e2593b0ac4f2b999ad2f5999d8c07&hash=7DCC7E6832AA9495B0F5E720357DB9FB

NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:

Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Notes:

1. the 2020 figure is survival to discharge from hospital rather than survival at 30 days, and may be incomplete;
2. during the COVID-19 pandemic, data suppliers in some hospitals were moved to other duties, making data on survival harder to obtain than data on deaths; and
3. due to a trust-wide outage of the Electronic Patient Clinical Record, data is unavailable from 1 April to 30 September 2023 for the Isle of Wight, and incomplete for the South Central Ambulance Service from July to September 2023.

Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths as a result of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022, (d) 2023 and (e) 2024.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.

There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.

Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics-compendium-2024-v3.pdf?rev=c72e2593b0ac4f2b999ad2f5999d8c07&hash=7DCC7E6832AA9495B0F5E720357DB9FB

NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:

Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Notes:

1. the 2020 figure is survival to discharge from hospital rather than survival at 30 days, and may be incomplete;
2. during the COVID-19 pandemic, data suppliers in some hospitals were moved to other duties, making data on survival harder to obtain than data on deaths; and
3. due to a trust-wide outage of the Electronic Patient Clinical Record, data is unavailable from 1 April to 30 September 2023 for the Isle of Wight, and incomplete for the South Central Ambulance Service from July to September 2023.

Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) specialist bereavement support and (b) familial screening services for the family members of a person who died from a cardiac condition under the age of 35.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), which covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and is delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/

A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit, while delivering value for money for the NHS. Further information on this process is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/genomics/the-national-genomic-test-directory/

Genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing, as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, such as testing for familial hypercholesteremia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether sudden cardiac death in young men is being considered as part of the Men's Health Strategy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, and which will be informed by a call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The call for evidence closed on 17 July 2025 and we are now analysing the responses to inform the development of the strategy. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is currently examining the evidence for screening for sudden cardiac death in people under 39 years old. This will consider screening the whole population under 39 years old and will therefore include young men. The UK NSC will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect a formal certification and credentialling programme to be in place for physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 16 July 2025, Professor Gillian Leng published her review into physician associates and anaesthesia associates, now to be renamed physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.

Professor Leng set out 18 recommendations that will give much-needed clarity, certainty, and confidence to staff and patients. The Government is accepting these recommendations in full. Some actions will be implemented immediately, whilst others will require wider input, with benefits being fully realised over time.

The Department, alongside NHS England, royal colleges, and other system partners, including representatives of doctors, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, will develop a detailed implementation plan to address the review’s 18 recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Care on 5 February (HC27717), whether the undertaking in the Budget of 3 March 2021 of a lifetime funding commitment for thalidomide survivors still applies.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to meeting the health needs of people affected by thalidomide, known as Thalidomiders, and to ensuring that they can live with dignity and have access the support they need.

The Thalidomide Health Grant exists to meet the health and wellbeing needs, both present and future, of Thalidomiders living in England. This funding helps Thalidomiders to maintain control over their own health and enables them to personalise the way their health and care needs are met, maintain independence, and minimise any further deterioration in their health.

We will provide an update on funding arrangements beyond 2027 in due course.

Ban vaping in public places, especially public houses and beer gardens, to help protect people with asthma, COPD, sarcoidosis an other lung diagnosis. I don't see why people vaping have the right to pollute my air space.

We want the government to make it possible for student nurses and midwives to study and fund 30 hours of free childcare per week. We have to do long placement hours.

Enshrine women's right to choose to have an abortion in law. We believe this will help protect women's right to choose from future governments and any religious influence.

We want the government to fund period products so women and girls can access them for free. We also want them to guarantee access to clean, free drinking water in public and high traffic areas.

I want to the Government to fund access to an NHS dentist for all NHS staff.

Introduce a legal price cap on infant formula. Increase the Healthy Start allowance to cover the average cost of formula (£11.99 per tin, according to some reports) and expand the scheme to include all safe, regulated brands.

There are reports of hospice care charities being forced to cut staff and available beds for patients. We want the Government to increase the funding and support they’re allocated. Dying should be dignified and personal and hospices can provide this.

Fund greater access to testing for spiking victims, to allow the scale of the spiking cases to be quantified, truly analysed and tackled. We think this should be available in hospitals and sexual health clinics to help understand, deter and tackle spiking.

We want the government to instate a regulatory body to oversee doulas and birth keepers. We think there are people in this role offering amazing emotional support. However, currently as the role is not regulated, we are concerned that some could be advising and causing harm to mothers and newborns.

We call on the UK Government to increase funding for preventative NHS mental health care. We think too many people are left to deteriorate while waiting for support. We demand legally enforced access times, and investment in early intervention and prevention — not just crisis response.

We ask the UK Government to introduce urgent legal safeguards to the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), neural interfaces, or related neurotechnologies on individuals.

IV Fluid treatment may be a last resort option for people living with POTS ( Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome). Some people with POTS are unable to work due to symptoms of extreme tiredness, fatigue, frequent dizzy spells and gastrointestinal issues.

There are very few hotels in the whole of the UK that have ceiling hoists. This means non-ambulatory people can't go on holiday or rely on hotels as temp accommodation. We think this needs to change. Gov need to make it a requirement for hotels to include a ceiling hoist in accessible rooms

A review could explore the feasibility of a system in which a notification is sent through to the patient's GP surgery. This way, there'd be a better audit trail for how many times someone purchases this medication. This could then be looked at if the patient is buying the medication regularly.

Increase funding for community mental health services to help cut waiting times and fully staff 24/7 crisis lines.

Provide funding to add Fabry disease to the newborn screening programme via the existing heel-prick test. Early detection could allow faster treatment and help identify affected families. Review the evidence and begin a process of funding the addition of the disease to the test.

We urge the Government to only allow UK citizens or residents with settled status to use the NHS. We think everyone else should be required to have private insurance, including illegal migrants. We believe this could save the NHS money.

We urge the UK Government to provide funding to ensure every dementia patient stays under specialist care and receives automatic NHS Continuing Healthcare. We think no one should face the heartbreak of dementia without proper care, support, and compassion.

Screening could take place in primary care, including GP appointments, health visitor reviews, and school entry health at key developmental stages. It should involve early, trauma-informed, and identity-safe screening tools, with clear referral pathways, follow-up support, and outcomes monitored.

We think the Cass Review has undermined trans youths' access to evidence-based and safe care.

We are asking the government to:
• Revisit its decision to abolish local independent services that speak up for the public
• Consult with the public to codesign a service which meets their needs and supports the NHS to realise its ambitions
• Invest in and strengthen independent services

As practitioners working first hand with early years children, we sometimes pick up sickness bugs, conjunctivitis and flu. We can lose pay for being off sick and it can effect our Bradford score when the germs may have been passed to us while doing our jobs.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to recent spending by Great British Energy on solar panels for use by schools and hospitals, what assessment they have made of the merits of (1) sourcing solar panels from manufacturers outside China, and (2) spending money from this scheme on creating solar panel manufacturing capacity in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

For solar projects, the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC) and their partners are procuring the solar panels in line with strict procurement controls. While these panels could come from anywhere in the world, we know that around 95% of global polysilicon, ingot and wafer production, required for the manufacture of solar panels, happens in China [1].

Whilst China has a long-established strong position in conventional solar, there are emerging opportunities in solar supply chains which the UK can capture by leaning into our strengths as a scientific and innovation superpower. Alongside Great British Energy delivering over £200m investment for local and community energy, we have several other pioneering companies developing the next generation of cutting-edge solar technologies, including perovskite and thin film. In the Solar Roadmap, we have committed to consider the case to further support companies looking to scale up the production of these parts – so that UK companies don’t just generate innovative ideas but build them as well.

^[1]Based on previous estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA): https://www.iea.org/reports/solar-pv-global-supply-chains/

Found: Supplementary note on legislative government amendments at Lords stages (PDF), 25 April 2025 6 DHSC

Found: equality impact assessment comparing the measures in the bill to no policy change: • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: equality impact assessment comparing the measures in the bill to no policy change: • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Topics: Health and social care, NHS, Project and service delivery Departments: Department of Health and Social Care

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