Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) extend regulatory powers, (2) improve reporting mechanisms, and (3) work with (a) online platforms, (b) manufacturers, (c) professional bodies, and (d) enforcement agencies, to address the illegal online sale of optical appliances.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusions on the market in the United Kingdom are safe, effective, and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002) establish the statutory framework that medical devices must meet in order to comply with these standards.
Optical appliances as medical devices must comply with the MDR 2002, which include bearing the UKCA or CE marking on the packaging or labelling of the device. Manufacturers or their UK representatives must also monitor the use of these devices when used in the UK and report serious incidents to the MHRA. Allegations of deficiencies and incidents that do not meet these standards must be reported to the MHRA through the Yellow card scheme or informed though published guidance around enforcement and compliance.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has recently proposed measures to ensure that fines against NHS trusts are ringfenced for spending on health matters.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has criminal enforcement powers to fine a health or social care provider where they identify a breach of regulations. The CQC can directly serve a fixed penalty notice to a provider, or a fine may be issued by the court following prosecution brought by the CQC.
Any fixed penalty paid to the CQC is not retained but must be passed on by the CQC to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The CQC transfers the penalties received to the Department on a quarterly basis.
The size of the fine following prosecutions brought by the CQC is a decision made by the court and is informed by sentencing guidelines. The CQC does not have influence over this decision. The money raised by court fines is paid to HM Treasury.
The Department has not recently proposed any measures to change this.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
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 2 December 2025 to Question 93697, whether he has made an estimate of the differences in the number of conditions screened for in newborns between the UK and other countries such as Norway, Australia, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands; and how those differences relate to the internationally recognised criteria used by the UK National Screening Committee.
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: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
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 2 December 2025 to Question 93697, if he will meet with representatives of ArchAngel MLD Trust, the MPS Society, MLD Support UK, the LSD Collaborative, and Alex – The Leukodystrophy Charity before responding to the UK National Screening Committee’s forthcoming recommendation on Metachromatic Leukodystrophy.
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: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond substantively to Question 90841 tabled by the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire on 13 November 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - 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: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
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 2 December 2025 to Question 93697, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) preventable deaths and (b) cases of irreversible disability in children with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy over the last ten years; and how such outcomes are considered in UK National Screening Committee evaluations.
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: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
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 implications for the 10-year health plan of the findings of the report by NHS Providers entitled Investing in the NHS: empowering the sector to drive productivity, renewal and growth, published on 15 October 2025 on local authority funding for NHS infrastructure.
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: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 1 December 2025 to Question 87412, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost of the applications received to NHS England’s voluntary redundancy scheme.
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: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 1 December 2025 to Question 87412, how many applications have been received to NHS England’s voluntary redundancy scheme.
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: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to update medical device regulations to bring UK-based online contact lens retailers under a clear regulatory framework; and whether they plan to introduce measures including (1) a recognised compliance mark, (2) stronger border controls, and (3) oversight to ensure customers identify lawful suppliers and reduce the risk of eye infections.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusions on the market in the United Kingdom are safe, effective, and manufactured to the highest standards of quality. The Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002) establish the statutory framework that medical devices must meet in order to comply with these standards.
Opthalmic medical devices must comply with the MDR 2002, which include bearing the UKCA or CE marking on the packaging or labelling of the device. Manufacturers or their UK representatives must also monitor use of these devices when used in the UK. Allegations of deficiencies that do not meet these standards must be reported to the MHRA through the Yellow card scheme or informed though published guidance, with further information available on the GOV.UK website.
The MHRA is not responsible for the movement of medical devices across borders.