Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce additional accountability measures for Integrated Care Boards on delivery of NHS Health Checks and cardiovascular prevention outcomes.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, has been commissioned by local authorities in England since 2013, and engaged over 1.4 million people last year. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning the NHS Health Check, including setting accountability measures for integrated care boards regarding delivery of the programme.
To accelerate progress on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next ten years, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) this spring.
The CVD MSF will support consistent, high quality, and equitable activity across the CVD pathway by identifying and setting standards for the best evidenced interventions. As part of this, Department officials are working closely with NHS England and stakeholders and are assessing accountability measures.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports were submitted by members of the public through the Yellow Card scheme, in each of the past five years, in relation to the sale of (a) counterfeit medicines, (b) unapproved medicines in the UK, and (c) medicines which are authorised for supply in the UK but supplied through unregulated channels.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Answering the question raised by the Hon. Member would require the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency staff to go through a large volume of data manually. This is because the information is not held in such a way to be able to filter by the requested categories.
The sections (a) and (b) would require a data extraction to identify all reports received from members of the public over the last five years. Following this, a manual review would need to be undertaken of every report to cross reference the suspect drug against all active licenses at the time of reporting for each individual case and would thereby incur disproportionate cost. Section (c) is information which is not held in the Yellow Card database.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work sets here out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The Guide to Parliamentary Work is published online and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding is currently available to Integrated Care Boards to deliver community‑level engagement programmes aimed at increasing awareness and early detection of prostate cancer in high‑risk groups.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Department does not ring-fence integrated care board (ICB) funding exclusively for prostate cancer public awareness campaigns, community-level engagement programmes aimed at increasing awareness and early detection are supported via broader communication programmes, working in partnership with charities and local Cancer Alliances.
To increase knowledge of cancer symptoms, and to address barriers to acting on them, the National Health Service has run Help Us Help You campaigns. These campaigns focused on recognising a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers, including prostate cancer, at an earlier stage. NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including prostate cancer. This information can be found at sources including the NHS website, which is available at the following link:
The National Cancer Plan, published in February 2026, is backed by significant funding committed by the Government at the Spending Review, including £200 million next year for local Cancer Alliances. Alliances are encouraged to allocate a proportion of this funding to the delivery of local early diagnosis plans, to drive progress on data-led priorities. This can include work to support the diagnosis of prostate cancer, but it will vary by alliance depending on local need. In 2025/26, several alliances have undertaken work to support awareness and earlier diagnosis of prostate cancer.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 encourage the use of community-based rehabilitation in the treatment of alcohol and substance use and addiction.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidence-based, high-quality treatment.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area and for commissioning services to meet these needs. Through the Public Health Grant, we are providing local authorities with £3.4 billion in ringfenced funding over the next three years for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. This first multi-year settlement in over a decade gives local authorities the certainty to plan and invest for the medium term.
Additionally, the Department provides guidance and support to improve outcomes, for example last year we launched a self-assessment toolkit to help local areas to improve residential drug and alcohol treatment, which is available at the following link:
The Department also maintains regular engagement with commissioners and providers and works closely with other Government departments to improve pathways into treatment and foster recovery.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what size by attendance of sporting or cultural events are within the scope of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
For providers of treatment of disease, disorder, or injury (TDDI), regulatory obligations do not vary by event type or the number of attendees. Restricting Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulation to larger events would risk unregulated providers operating at events where attendance is higher than anticipated and would create gaps in oversight at smaller events that may also require TDDI services.
The level of risk associated with an event cannot be determined by attendance figures alone. Event organisers are expected to draw on risk assessments, advice from Statutory Advisory Groups, and sector guidance such as the Purple and Green Guides to identify the appropriate level of event healthcare provision.
If, following this process, an organiser determines that first aid is sufficient for a small event, this position is unaffected. First aid does not fall within the definition of TDDI and will remain outside CQC regulation.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many reports submitted by members of the public through the Yellow Card scheme resulted in enforcement action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, in each of the past five years, in relation to the sale of (a) counterfeit medicines, (b) unapproved medicines in the UK and (c) medicines which are authorised for supply in the UK but supplied through unregulated channels.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 March 2026 to Question 122732.
The Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected adverse drug reactions, medical device incidents, and concerns about the safety and quality of medicines. Where appropriate, reports raising potential counterfeit, compliance, or safety issues may be referred to relevant teams within the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for consideration of regulatory or enforcement action.
However, this information is not held in a format that readily allows the MHRA to identify how many reports submitted by members of the public resulted in enforcement action in relation to counterfeit medicines, unapproved medicines in the UK, and medicines which are authorised for supply in the United Kingdom but supplied through unregulated channels. Extracting this information from Yellow Card reports would require a manual review of individual records and would incur disproportionate cost. The MHRA is therefore unable to provide the requested figures for each of the past five years.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what has been the total cost to date of the Thirlwall Inquiry.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The total cost of the Thirlwall Inquiry from its commencement in September 2023 to the end of March 2026 is £18,718,000.00. This includes March 2026 forecasted amounts.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 expand access to treatment for those with Motor Neurone Disease.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions the specialised elements of motor neurone disease (MND) care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. Within these specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals and specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with MND, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit.
Baroness Casey has set out that the Government must take immediate action on MND. Where someone has a severe, reasonably predictable, and life-limiting condition, it is essential that we provide rapid access to the support they need, and we will take forward immediate work to develop a fast-track process, or “passport”, that speeds up assessments and access to care for people diagnosed with MND. We will consider how best to safely implement a process that expedites assessments and gets people with MND the care and support they need more quickly.
The Government has provided £6 million in funding for the MND Translational Accelerator, which aims to speed up the development of treatments for MND, and £2 million in funding for the MND Data Catalyst, to accelerate the discovery of new diagnostics, treatments, and support better care for MND patients. Twelve projects have been funded through the accelerator, and all aimed at speeding up the development of treatments for MND.
The Government has also invested £8 million through the National Institute for Health and Care Research for the EXPERTS-ALS study, a pre-clinical study which is designed to accelerate the identification and testing of the most promising treatment candidates for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the most common form of MND.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers.
The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need. Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 support people with Motor Neurone Disease.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions the specialised elements of motor neurone disease (MND) care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. Within these specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals and specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with MND, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit.
Baroness Casey has set out that the Government must take immediate action on MND. Where someone has a severe, reasonably predictable, and life-limiting condition, it is essential that we provide rapid access to the support they need, and we will take forward immediate work to develop a fast-track process, or “passport”, that speeds up assessments and access to care for people diagnosed with MND. We will consider how best to safely implement a process that expedites assessments and gets people with MND the care and support they need more quickly.
The Government has provided £6 million in funding for the MND Translational Accelerator, which aims to speed up the development of treatments for MND, and £2 million in funding for the MND Data Catalyst, to accelerate the discovery of new diagnostics, treatments, and support better care for MND patients. Twelve projects have been funded through the accelerator, and all aimed at speeding up the development of treatments for MND.
The Government has also invested £8 million through the National Institute for Health and Care Research for the EXPERTS-ALS study, a pre-clinical study which is designed to accelerate the identification and testing of the most promising treatment candidates for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the most common form of MND.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers.
The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need. Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.
Asked by: Tim Roca (Labour - Macclesfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what action his Department is taking to encourage cardiac screening in young people.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. Where the committee is confident that offering screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.
The UK NSC last reviewed screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death in people aged under 39 years old in 2019. The conclusion of that review was that population screening should not be offered, as research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use on young people with no symptoms.
The Department and NHS England currently have no specific ongoing campaigns, or plans to conduct a campaign, to encourage cardiac screening in young people as this would go against the current evidence-based advice.