Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring regulation on packaging of cigars and cigarillos in line with that for cigarettes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the November 2024 Government response to the consultation 'Mandating quit information messages inside tobacco packs', we are considering introducing more stringent packaging requirements for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarillos, tobacco related devices, cigarette papers, and herbal smoking products.
We ran a call for evidence on standardising packaging for all tobacco products between November 2024 and January 2025. We will publish a consultation next year on future regulations. We will listen very carefully to the views and evidence put forward by stakeholders.
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 steps he is taking explore potential (a) genomics and (b) AI opportunities for (i) preventing, (ii) diagnosing and (iii) treating bowel cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will use genomics, predictive analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to shift from sickness to prevention, enabling earlier diagnosis and personalised care.
The National Health Service Genomic Medicine Service provides equitable access to cancer genomic testing, guided by the National Genomic Test Directory, which includes over 200 cancer indications. NHS England’s Cancer Genomics Improvement Programme is delivering quality improvement initiatives and establishing Cellular Pathology Genomic Centres to streamline clinical pathways and accelerate genomic testing.
In addition, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department of Health and Social Care fund research via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) into AI applications for cancer diagnosis. This includes the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund, the £10 million Cancer Data-Driven Detection programme, and the £11 million Early Detection using Information Technology in Health Trial.
The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) is also funding the £11 million NIHR i4i/OLS Cancer Healthcare Goals: Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation programme, which includes a project to assess a breath test technology's effectiveness by using AI for gastrointestinal cancers in over 8,000 patients (including bowel cancer). AI offers significant opportunities for faster triage and improved outcomes, and evaluations of its impact are ongoing.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of approval rates for covid-19 vaccine injury claims in (a) the UK and (b) other jurisdictions for which figures are available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. All claims made through the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are assessed on a case-by-case basis by independent medical assessors. Medical assessors must be General Medical Council registered doctors with a licence to practise and at least five years’ experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.
Medical assessors will consider the claim form, the clinical research, the epidemiological evidence, the current consensus of expert medical opinion, and the claimant’s full medical records. The assessment, once complete, will then undergo assurance review.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the medical experience requirements are for caseworkers handling vaccine damage payment claims.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Caseworkers supporting the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) are administrative staff who are not involved in the assessment of claims. Their role is to provide claimants with a consistent point of contact, manage the administrative progress of claims, communicate updates, and ensure all necessary documentation is gathered. No medical experience is required for this supportive administrative function.
All clinical assessments under the VDPS are conducted solely by medical assessors. Medical assessors are General Medical Council registered doctors who have licences to practise and at least five years' experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department is undertaking into side affects of the AstraZenica covid vaccine; through what process his Department are recognising emerging side effects; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.
The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.
Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is undertaking research into (a) damage and (b) lasting effects from the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.
The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.
Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the outcome of the national exercise for pandemic preparedness conducted in 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national pandemic preparedness exercise, Exercise PEGASUS, which focused on the emergence, containment, and mitigation phases of a pandemic, concluded live participation on 5 November 2025. Evaluation of these three phases is underway, and a fourth phase, focussed on recovery, is planned to be exercised in 2026. The Government has committed to communicating the findings and lessons of the exercise as recommended by the COVID-19 inquiry and a post-exercise report will be delivered in due course.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set (a) the role of Integrated Health Organisations (IHOs) and (b) how IHOs will align with (i) integrated care boards and (ii) neighbourhood health plans.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the very best foundation trusts will have the opportunity to be eligible for designation as integrated health organisations (IHOs).
An IHO will hold the whole health budget for a local population. IHOs will be required to support integration, shift resources from hospital to community, focus on population health and tackle inequalities.
Guidance for providers on IHO designation is available at the following link:
Further guidance on the implementation of IHOs will be published by NHS England shortly.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 ensure that staff impacted by the abolition of Commissioning Support Units are kept informed of their (a) employment status and (b) future prospects.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises that the current process of transition for Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) directly impacts staff. NHS England is working to support CSUs as part of the change process, and the Department and NHS England are committed to treating people with the care, respect, and fairness they are owed throughout this process.
The Government is committed to the modernisation of the National Health Service as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including abolishing CSUs as part of the refocussing of the role of integrated care boards on strategic commissioning. This will help support delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future.
No formal assessment has yet been made about the number of staff employed in CSUs without allocated work.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 potential impact of the abolition of Commissioning Support Units on (a) staffing levels and (b) management capacity within NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises that the current process of transition for Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) directly impacts staff. NHS England is working to support CSUs as part of the change process, and the Department and NHS England are committed to treating people with the care, respect, and fairness they are owed throughout this process.
The Government is committed to the modernisation of the National Health Service as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including abolishing CSUs as part of the refocussing of the role of integrated care boards on strategic commissioning. This will help support delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future.
No formal assessment has yet been made about the number of staff employed in CSUs without allocated work.