Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43516: Maternity Services, whether he has set a deadline for (a) outcome and (b) progress measures in the three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal care services was published on 31 March 2023 and implementation of the objectives is due to run for three years until March 2026. Progress is monitored through the plan’s technical guidance, which sets out how progress will be tracked at a national level against the four key themes of the plan.
Due to the complexity of maternity and neonatal care and the need for robust validation, some of the outcome data is significantly lagged and will not be fully available within the lifetime of the plan. Much of this data is published by external organisations beyond NHS England.
Although the delivery plan spans three years, its objectives are intended to enable services to deliver improvements in care that will lead to sustained, long-term improvements in outcomes and experiences for women, babies, and families.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43516: Maternity Services, if he will update the three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal care to include specific numerical targets.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, ending in March 2026, will not be updated to include specific numerical targets. The focus remains on delivering actions to drive the necessary improvements on the ground to ensure that all women, babies and families receive the high-quality care that they deserve. This includes both the actions set out in the current plan, as well as the further actions needed to tackle the key issues in maternity and neonatal services. It is essential that any targets set are evidence-based and women and baby-centred.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 autism (a) awareness and (b) understanding among the adult population.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to creating a more inclusive society where autistic people are supported to thrive.
The Department is taking action to increase awareness and understanding of autism within health and adult social care services. From 1 July 2022, service providers registered with the Care Quality Commission are required to ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role, as set out in the Health and Care Act 2022. To support this, we are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. Over two million people have now completed the e-learning module, which is the first part of the training.
The Government has also committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity, including autism, in the workplace. An independent panel made of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity, including autism, has been launched to advise the Government on fostering more inclusive workplaces. This will build on the recommendations outlined in the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, which related solely to autism.
The panel will advise employers and ministers on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work, including for autistic people. The panel will consider mechanisms for change, making recommendations in the summer.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of uncollected rubbish in Birmingham on (a) public health and (b) levels of Weil’s disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is closely monitoring the situation in Birmingham.
Birmingham City Council is conducting a risk assessment on the potential public health impacts of uncollected waste. The assessment is being led by the Director of Public Health for Birmingham and encompasses a broad range of potential impacts, including risk of infectious diseases, including Weil’s disease.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is part of a multi-agency response Strategic Coordinating Group, led by Birmingham City Council, and has contributed to the risk assessment. UKHSA will continue to provide advice and support to Birmingham City Council as long as is necessary.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 41085 on Domestic Waste and Fly-tipping: Health Hazards, if he will publish the risk assessment on the potential health impacts of uncollected waste.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The risk assessment is a live document, owned and kept under review by the local Director of Public Health who is responsible for its distribution. The UK Health Security Agency is part of a multi-agency response Strategic Commissioning Group and has contributed to the risk assessment.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing over-the-counter sales of vitamin B12 injections in the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised several medicines for use in different circumstances associated with vitamin B12 deficiency. The legal status assigned to medicines is dependent on an assessment of the product against the criteria for either Prescription Only Medicine status or General Sales List status, and the classification is determined via the marketing authorisation.
The criteria for classification are set out in Regulation 62 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 [SI 2012/2016 as amended], and Regulation 62(3) is clear that if the medicine is usually prescribed for parenteral administration, that is by injection, then the medicinal product must by law be classified as a prescription only medicine. Other aspects within Regulation 62 also apply in consideration of the most suitable legal status of vitamin B12 injection and its use in deficiency states.
Currently, United Kingdom law specifies that all products administered by injection must be subject to a prescription. The MHRA is therefore unable to reclassify the status of injections, including Vitamin B12, to medicines, as this would not be consistent with the legislation.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of postnatal depression involved (a) engagement with and (b) mental health assessment of the woman’s partner by the relevant service in the most recent 12-month period for which data is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish data on the number of (a) fathers who have accessed perinatal mental health services and (b) maternity outreach clinics that offer (i) evidence-based mental health assessments and (ii) signposting.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of wound care, in the context of the disbandment of the National Wound Care Strategy Programme in March 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 the effectiveness of the internal NHS complaints system.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have the right to complain about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment, or service. The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 set out the minimum standards NHS organisations must adhere to in respect of their complaint handling arrangements.
The Department has worked closely with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on their work to develop the NHS Complaint Standards, which set out how organisations providing services in the NHS should approach complaint handling. The standards place a strong focus on several key aspects of complaint handling and set out practical advice and good practice to help NHS organisations improve.
In addition to these arrangements, the Care Quality Commission has an important role in ensuring NHS providers have an effective and accessible system for handling complaints from service users.