Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Chichester constituency compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data is available for emergency finished admission episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Chichester and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS-commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.

Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s Fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Chichester is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/6/ati/501/are/E07000225/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the extent of geographical variation in access to NHS ear syringing and ear wax removal services; and what plans he has to support Integrated Care Boards to ensure consistent provision of these services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made a specific assessment. Integrated care boards have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local populations. Guidance for patients on ear wax build-up, including when to seek advice from a pharmacist or general practitioner, is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/earwax-build-up/

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 ensure that primary care staff delivering the Steps to Safety domestic abuse project are supported with effective referral routes to (a) other parts of the NHS and (b) specialist domestic abuse voluntary sector organisations.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, the Department has committed to roll-out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service, Steps to Safety, across integrated care boards. This will ensure that general practices (GPs) in every area of England can connect victims and survivors with specialist services. The ambition is that by 2029 there will be national provision of Steps to Safety which will include:

• training to all staff in the GPs so they can identify and respond to domestic abuse and sexual violence;
• a specialist support worker linked to a group of practices to support GP staff and support and advocate for victims; and
• clear links with local specialist domestic abuse voluntary sector services to refer people into.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide network of support to GPs for enquiring about domestic abuse.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, the Department has committed to roll-out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service, Steps to Safety, across integrated care boards. This will ensure that general practices (GPs) in every area of England can connect victims and survivors with specialist services. The ambition is that by 2029 there will be national provision of Steps to Safety which will include:

• training to all staff in the GPs so they can identify and respond to domestic abuse and sexual violence;
• a specialist support worker linked to a group of practices to support GP staff and support and advocate for victims; and
• clear links with local specialist domestic abuse voluntary sector services to refer people into.

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 improve integration between hospitals, GP practices and district nursing services to streamline care for older patients and prevent long delays in accessing medical assessment for potentially serious conditions such as infection or deep vein thrombosis.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will fundamentally transform the National Health Service, through shifting resources from hospital to community, with a focus on population health. We know that reform cannot be achieved by simply shifting care to other parts of the health and care system working as they are now, and that more integrated working between primary and secondary care will be vital.

We are improving access to the front door of the NHS, for example by increasing capacity in general practice. More timely access to primary care and better proactive care for long term conditions will reduce demand into urgent and emergency care and reduce pressure in hospitals, freeing them up to providing faster and productive care for those who most need it, including older patients.

One example of the left-shift in practice is the pan-Sussex community project. Here patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis are seen in the community under the care of their general practitioner, leading to a substantial reduction in the number of patients needing to visit their local acute hospital.

We are also committed to reducing long waits and improving patient experience in urgent and emergency care. The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework sets out a clear trajectory to improve performance year-on-year toward the constitutional standard. This will be supported by investment in staff, digital triage, and community urgent care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce regular testing of approved breast implants to ensure continued compliance with safety standards.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Under existing medical device regulations, UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002, all medical devices must meet the Essential Requirements, which includes the use of designated standards that specify mandatory safety and performance criteria for those devices. As breast implants are the highest class medical device, class III, they must undergo rigorous pre-market testing by the manufacturer, which is then assessed by a third party such as a United Kingdom approved body or European Union notified body, before being registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and prior to being placed on the market in the UK. Once on the market, the manufacturer must continuously review the safety of their devices. The manufacturer is subject to annual surveillance and monitoring, alongside unannounced audits to ensure claimed standards of quality and safety management are being applied in practise. The MHRA also monitors emerging signals to determine if previously unrecognised risks exist or if the nature of known risks is changing.

Following the Cumberlege recommendations in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, the MHRA has introduced post-market surveillance regulations to require that safety issues with medical devices are identified early. Further information on the review is available at the following link:

https://immdsreview.org.uk/

The MHRA is also developing a future regulatory framework to strengthen pre-market requirements for medical devices. This intends to introduce requirements for unique device identifiers, implant cards, and new rules to ensure that claims are consistent with intended purpose to better reflect potential risks to patients, increase containment of safety issues, and reduce patient harm.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to improve mental health provision and outcomes for young people.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

For children and young people in distress or struggling with their mental health, fast access to early, high-quality support is critical. Mental health support teams play a key role in this, providing early intervention for mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing. By spring 2026, up to 900,000 more children and young people will have access to mental health support teams compared to Spring 2025, with full national coverage planned by 2029.

Alongside this, early support hubs provide drop-in mental health support for 11- to 25‑year‑olds without the need for a referral. The Government recently confirmed an additional £7 million funding boost for early support hubs across England, enabling 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions over the next 12 months. The Government is also establishing the first of 50 Young Futures Hubs to bring local services together within communities and offer early advice and wellbeing support for young people who may not meet thresholds for specialist National Health Service care.

We’re also tackling the longest waits for specialist mental health services for children and young people by reducing regional variation and improving access. Our goal is to make services more productive, so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.

Together, these initiatives, backed by recruitment of almost 8,000 additional mental health workers for adults and children since July 2024, are expanding timely, local support, reducing the need for escalation to specialist services and helping young people receive the right help at the right time, in the right place.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to help improve diagnosis of chronic kidney disease.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is delivering a comprehensive programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of people with kidney disease. In 2023, NHS England published a renal services transformation toolkit to support earlier identification of chronic kidney disease and more joined-up services. These changes are intended to make it easier to deliver improvements along the whole patient pathway, including earlier diagnosis and treatment, that can potentially prevent or delay the need for dialysis and transplant further downstream in the pathway.

In addition, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease modern service framework in spring. As part of its development, officials are considering opportunities for earlier identification and diagnosis of chronic kidney disease and are engaging widely to identify the best evidenced interventions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to expand community-based rehabilitation services for people recovering from long-term respiratory illnesses.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) services that meet the needs of their local populations, including delivery in community settings. To improve referral rates for PR, NHS England has issued guidance to ICBs on strengthening PR workforce capacity, ensuring safe staffing levels, and developing accessible service models to reduce health inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/pulmonary-rehabilitation-workforce/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in relation to the staff survey conducted by the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team that closed on 9 March 2026, a) how many total responses were received, b) how many NHS trusts in England were represented in the results, and c) what the breakdown of responses was by profession or clinical speciality.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Baroness Amos launched a call for evidence for those who work in the maternity and neonatal pathway, which closed on 9 March. The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team has received more than 8,500 responses from across 124 trusts. A breakdown for responses by profession or clinical speciality is not available as evidence is still being analysed.

Baroness Amos has advised that the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation will publish its final report and recommendations in June.

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 support the provision of endometriosis services in Edmonton and Winchmore Hill constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions including endometriosis, and we have already taken action to address this.

Residents in Edmonton and Winchmore Hill have access to a well-established Enfield-wide community gynaecology and women’s health hub. The North Central London Integrated Care Board invests approximately £1 million per year in delivering this type of care in community settings across Enfield, including provision at the Winchmore Hill Practice itself. The service provides support across a range of gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, and sees approximately 470 women each month. Care delivered through the community hub is increasingly integrated with both primary care and local acute services, helping women receive earlier assessment and support, with an average wait time of approximately four weeks, significantly shorter than typical hospital waiting times.

Where women require more specialist investigation or treatment via a hospital, the North Middlesex University Hospital is currently the best performing acute site in North Central London for gynaecology services against the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard, with around 64% of women waiting less than 18 weeks. However, we recognise there is more to do and continue to work with providers to reduce waits as part of our wider elective recovery programme.

Primary care is the key point of access for many women in Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, and we are supporting general practitioners (GPs) to access rapid specialist advice where endometriosis may be suspected. Local GPs can use Advice and Guidance services provided by experienced gynaecologists from local trusts and through a national network via a platform called Consultant Connect. This allows GPs to seek expert advice quickly, with 99% of responses received within five days, helping women receive appropriate support sooner and, where possible, closer to home.

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 education and training on endometriosis among healthcare professionals.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.

The Government also acknowledges the importance of ensuring healthcare professionals are adequately trained and educated on women’s health conditions, including endometriosis, and we have taken action to address this.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom. The content for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis.

Women's health is included the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) curriculum for trainee general practitioners (GPs), including gynaecology, sexual health, and breast health. The curriculum also covers the healthcare needs of women across all diseases seen in primary care as it is important women are treated holistically. This ensures that all future GPs receive education on women’s health.

The RCGP has also published a Women’s Health Library which brings together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health from the RCGP, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. This resource is continually updated to ensure GPs and other primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed a women’s and reproductive health topic suite, and updated guidelines on endometriosis in 2024 to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis. These clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide care for women with endometriosis.

Generally, employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the toxicology non-clinical studies for zapomeran, also called Kostaive, mRNA covid-19 vaccine following its approval for adults by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not publish non-clinical studies, in line with Section 64 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the MHRA has published a public assessment report (PAR) for Kostaive. This PAR includes the MHRA’s assessment of the non-clinical data submitted. This PAR is accessible to the public on the MHRA’s products website at the following link:

https://mhraproducts4853.blob.core.windows.net/docs/0e710f66d3e04b6346f668178c02524de9248f57

This product was authorised via the International Recognition Procedure ‘Route B’ process, with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) acting as the reference regulator. Further information on the EMA’s assessment of Kostaive, including its own PAR, is accessible to the public on the EMA’s website at the following link:

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/kostaive

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 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on access to fampridine for people with multiple sclerosis in England.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Health is a devolved matter and decisions on the availability of medicines in the devolved administrations are a matter for their own governments.

Ministers and Department officials have had no recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about access to fampridine. NICE’s updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults, published in June 2022, recommends that fampridine should not be offered to treat mobility issues in people with MS as it is not found to be a cost-effective treatment at the current list price. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE has indicated that it has no current plans to review its recommendations on fampridine.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decision in England to end or restrict gluten free prescriptions on (a) the health of affected patients and (b) additional costs faced by affected patients.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No recent assessment has been made. In 2017, the Government at the time decided to restrict gluten-free prescribing to bread and mixes only. The majority of consultation responses were in favour of this. An analysis of the anticipated impact of the decision was published alongside the consultation response and is available on the GOV.UK website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/availability-of-gluten-free-foods-on-nhs-prescription

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of propranolol in pharmacies; and what steps he is taking to ensure supply.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is aware of supply issues affecting propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram modified release (MR) capsules due to ongoing manufacturing issues which are expected to last until at least July 2026.

The Department is working with all suppliers to help resolve the issues and improve supplies, including asking that they source stock from other markets. We have also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed imports of propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram MR capsules. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and to advise on available alternative preparations.

The Department continues to work with the supply chain teams and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to mitigate the situation and ensure supplies are available for patients as soon as possible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will commit to regularly publishing clear and transparent figures of Whole Genome Sequencing as described in the National Cancer Plan, broken down by trust, tumour type and outlining the percentages of patients receiving this against the number being diagnosed.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since 2023, NHS England has published National Health Service genomic testing activity data on the NHS England website, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/genomic-testing-activity/

This standardised data is published at a national level and by NHS Genomic Medicine Service region. For whole genome sequencing, data is published by cancer and rare disease. Data is also published for a number of specific cancer clinical indications, including for example lymphoma, lung, colorectal, and others. NHS England will continue to develop this dataset and publish genomic testing activity data on a quarterly basis in line with other diagnostic NHS services.

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 improve the MHRA's yellow card system.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is committed to continually strengthening the Yellow Card scheme to support patient safety. The MHRA regularly promotes awareness through public health campaigns, conferences, established networks, and new educational resources available on the Yellow Card website. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency

The MHRA is expanding and improving digital reporting routes. Every National Health Service webpage relating to a medicine or vaccine now links to the Yellow Card scheme, and the MHRA is working with NHS colleagues to enhance integration with the NHS App to increase visibility and reporting by the public. Yellow Card reporting is now embedded in almost all general practice clinical IT systems, enabling healthcare professionals to submit reports directly on behalf of patients.

Over recent years, the MHRA has delivered a major upgrade programme to modernise the Yellow Card scheme’s technology and infrastructure. This includes improving the quality and timeliness of submitted information, making it easier to report, adding conditional questions to reduce follow up, and support real time signal detection of safety issues.

The Yellow Card app has also been modernised to mirror the website, broaden reporting options, including defective and counterfeit medicines, and improve access to safety data. Multi‑factor authentication has been introduced to enhance account security and enable future integration with NHS login. The app has also been upgraded to a progressive web application, providing a seamless and engaging user experience across devices.

Together, these improvements increase public awareness, make reporting easier, and enhance the MHRA’s ability to identify and assess emerging safety concerns across healthcare products.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what new personalised treatments for glioblastoma are being assessed.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for assessing new medicines to ensure they meet the required standards of quality, safety, and efficacy before they can be authorised for use in the United Kingdom. The MHRA conducts a rigorous, evidence‑based scientific review of all applications for marketing authorisation and assesses them against statutory timelines. Northwest Biotherapeutics has submitted a marketing authorisation application to the MHRA for DCVax®-L, an immunotherapy for glioblastoma. The MHRA cannot comment on individual applications while they are under assessment but is committed to enabling safe and effective new treatments to reach patients as quickly as possible once the necessary standards are met.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether all new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims wherever possible to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the time of licensing. NICE is in discussions with the manufacturer of DCVax-L, Northwest Biotherapeutics, about a potential appraisal subject to licensing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will commission research to better understand the health impacts of breast implants.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including the health impacts of breast implants. Through the NIHR, the Department funded a study to explore the long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of different methods of breast reconstruction, including implants, for women following a mastectomy. This research showed which methods of breast reconstruction were more likely to require later revision, supporting patients to make informed decisions about their treatment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the adequacy of availability of fampridine (fampyra) for patients across the four nations of the UK.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Health is a devolved matter and decisions on the availability of medicines in the devolved administrations are a matter for their own governments.

Ministers and Department officials have had no recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about access to fampridine. NICE’s updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults, published in June 2022, recommends that fampridine should not be offered to treat mobility issues in people with MS as it is not found to be a cost-effective treatment at the current list price. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE has indicated that it has no current plans to review its recommendations on fampridine.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ethical implications of extending the Federated Data Platform contract between NHS England and Palantir Technologies beyond its initial term; whether an independent ethical review will be undertaken prior to any such extension; and whether considerations relating to (1) patient data protection, (2) patient consent, (3) transparency, (4) public trust, (5) alignment with NHS and wider UK public sector values, and (6) long-term UK data sovereignty and autonomy over NHS data infrastructure, will be taken into account before any decision on continuation beyond 2026–27 is made.

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

Following an independent and transparent procurement exercise, in line with public contract regulations, the NHS Federated Data Platform and Associated Services (FDP-AS) contract was awarded to a consortium, led by Palantir, in November 2023.

The contract has a review point after the first three years, which is up coming in 2026, then after a further two, then annually for the remainder of the seven-year contract period.

Should NHS England consider future procurement activity beyond the current contract term, this would be undertaken in full accordance with public procurement law and with careful consideration of the criteria highlighted. This would include patient data protection, patient consent, transparency, public trust, alignment with National Health Service and wider United Kingdom public sector values and long‑term UK data sovereignty.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of NHS England's proposals in the consultation on the 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme to set a £950 guide price for both adult and children and young people's autism assessments, given that children and young people's assessments includes additional components not required for adult assessments.

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

NHS England was advised by a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation. All National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism and ADHD services were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September.

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all NHS providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

NHS England are currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 25 February (HL14473), when they expect the co-produced action and implementation plan to be published.

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

NHS England has no plans at present to publish the action plan. The action plan is a partnership with HM Prison and Probation Service and other Government departments, and NHS England has a governance route through which it holds itself accountable.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the consultation on the 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme, why NHS England have proposed the same guide price for adult and child autism assessments and different guide prices for child and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments.

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

NHS England was advised by a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation. All National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism and ADHD services were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September.

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all NHS providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

NHS England are currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to measure the potential impact of NHS dental contract reforms on improving access to dentistry in rural and coastal communities.

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

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. From April 2026, we will be implementing reforms to the current National Health Service dental contract to improve access for patients with urgent and complex needs. A full impact assessment on the reforms has been published and is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2026/42

The Department will monitor the impact of the reforms post-implementation, including through the monitoring of annually published statistics.

We are committed to delivering further, fundamental reform of the dental contract 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, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Patients to benefit from improved access to dental appointments, published on 21 February 2026, what steps he is taking to help ensure that high street dentists offer the additional urgent appointments.

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

The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, integrated care boards (ICBs) have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. We will ensure a continued urgent care safety net by requiring, from April 2026, high street dentists to deliver 8.2% of their total contract value as urgent or unscheduled care.

We are broadening the scope of the commitment to deliver additional appointments so that they can be used for more patients, not just those who meet the clinical criteria for “urgent” care. Additionally, we are increasing the urgent care payment to dentists from an average of £42 to £75 so that reimbursement better incentivises dentists to deliver the care patients need.

ICBs already have capacity in place for urgent dental care and can now consider where capacity could be more effectively used, ahead of the April 2026 reforms that will embed urgent care requirements into all high‑street dental contracts. NHS England has written to ICBs with further information on the commissioning of the additional dental appointments.

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 accident and emergency waiting times on the incidence of reported patient harm.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to transparency in reporting patient harm in the National Health Service. The Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service provides a national database of patient safety incidents, whereby frontline workers in NHS providers are able to record and analyse their own patient safety events to identify trends. NHS England reviews hundreds of incidents each week via LFPSE, looking for risks that can be acted on, including by issuing National Patient Safety Alerts and collaborating with partners to address issues identified.

We recognise that urgent and emergency care performance has not consistently met expectations in recent years and are committed to restoring waiting time standards set out in the NHS Constitution by the end of this Parliament, as outlined in the Medium-Term Planning Framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/

NHS England has also published guidance on the Model Emergency Department, setting out core principles and pathways for high‑performing emergency departments, including a national model for extended emergency medicine ambulatory care to support faster decision‑making, improved patient flow and reduced overcrowding. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/the-model-emergency-department-high-performing-urgent-and-emergency-care-pathways/

We are also taking action to tackle corridor care by introducing new reporting arrangements and are committing to publishing data on its prevalence for the first time, improving transparency and driving operational improvement. Where corridor care cannot be avoided, updated guidance has been published to support trusts to deliver it safely, while maintaining patient dignity and privacy, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/principles-for-providing-patient-care-in-corridors/

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 ensure complex ophthalmology care is provided in a timely fashion.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have committed to ensuring that 92% of all patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) by March 2029. Since the Government came into office, the waiting list for routine appointments, operations, and procedures in England has now been cut by 374,083, and RTT performance has improved by 2.6%. This is despite 33.3 million referrals onto the waiting list.

In ophthalmology, the national waiting list stands at 602,163 pathways, with 69.8% of those having waited 18 weeks or less. This marks a 3.7% improvement in RTT performance since the Government came into office.

We are committed to expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide dedicated and protected elective capacity to drive improvement in six specialities, including ophthalmology. We are reducing missed appointments through enhanced two-way communication between hospitals and patients, supported by artificial intelligence prediction tools. We are also expanding the use of remote monitoring and patient-initiated follow up, where appropriate, to offer patients more flexibility over their care.

Improved IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services and the development of single points of access has also shown its ability to improve the referral and triage of patients and support more care being delivered in the community.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of current and projected workforce needs in interventional radiology; and what steps his Department is taking to support training and recruitment in this specialty.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts, with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Government is committed to training the staff we need, including doctors, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed services set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional variations in waiting times for diagnostic imaging appointments.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No recent assessment has been made of trends in the level of regional variations in waiting times for diagnostic imaging appointments.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and are supporting the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to bring down the size of the list and reduce waiting times, including for imaging diagnostic tests.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect boys from non-therapeutic male circumcisions performed by doctors who have been struck off the medical register.

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

The Department is in the process of providing a response to the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline and meet with external groups if necessary.

No assessment has been made regarding doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions, nor the case of Zuber Bux. No safeguarding assessment has been made regarding the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

The Children’s Rights Alliance and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report, You feel like you’re nothing, was published in 2006 under a previous administration and there are no current plans to implement the recommendation highlighted regarding working with religious communities to defer ritual male circumcision so that the informed consent of the child can be sought.

The Government would encourage anyone seeking non-therapeutic male circumcision (NMTC) services for themselves, or for someone else, to use the services of a regulated healthcare professional. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they are subject to regulatory oversight by the relevant regulators such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Even if a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguarding assessment they have made of doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions continuing to circumcise boys as laypeople.

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

The Department is in the process of providing a response to the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline and meet with external groups if necessary.

No assessment has been made regarding doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions, nor the case of Zuber Bux. No safeguarding assessment has been made regarding the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

The Children’s Rights Alliance and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report, You feel like you’re nothing, was published in 2006 under a previous administration and there are no current plans to implement the recommendation highlighted regarding working with religious communities to defer ritual male circumcision so that the informed consent of the child can be sought.

The Government would encourage anyone seeking non-therapeutic male circumcision (NMTC) services for themselves, or for someone else, to use the services of a regulated healthcare professional. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they are subject to regulatory oversight by the relevant regulators such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Even if a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what external groups, if any, they have consulted with regarding the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of future deaths report, published on 28 December 2025.

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

The Department is in the process of providing a response to the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline and meet with external groups if necessary.

No assessment has been made regarding doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions, nor the case of Zuber Bux. No safeguarding assessment has been made regarding the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

The Children’s Rights Alliance and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report, You feel like you’re nothing, was published in 2006 under a previous administration and there are no current plans to implement the recommendation highlighted regarding working with religious communities to defer ritual male circumcision so that the informed consent of the child can be sought.

The Government would encourage anyone seeking non-therapeutic male circumcision (NMTC) services for themselves, or for someone else, to use the services of a regulated healthcare professional. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they are subject to regulatory oversight by the relevant regulators such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Even if a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguarding assessment they have made of the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

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

The Department is in the process of providing a response to the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline and meet with external groups if necessary.

No assessment has been made regarding doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions, nor the case of Zuber Bux. No safeguarding assessment has been made regarding the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

The Children’s Rights Alliance and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report, You feel like you’re nothing, was published in 2006 under a previous administration and there are no current plans to implement the recommendation highlighted regarding working with religious communities to defer ritual male circumcision so that the informed consent of the child can be sought.

The Government would encourage anyone seeking non-therapeutic male circumcision (NMTC) services for themselves, or for someone else, to use the services of a regulated healthcare professional. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they are subject to regulatory oversight by the relevant regulators such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Even if a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the powers of NHS Trusts and the General Medical Council to conduct disciplinary procedures in the case of a resident doctor who has been found to have dishonestly claimed to be neurodivergent or have learning disabilities.

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

National Health Service organisations, as independent employers, have their own internal grievance and disciplinary procedures which should comply with employment law and relevant Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service codes and guidance. Any allegations of dishonesty would be considered to be a conduct issue and investigated in accordance with the employer’s disciplinary policy and procedures.

Maintaining High Professional Standards provides a national framework for the handling of concerns about doctors and dentists in the NHS. NHS trusts may also report any concerns about doctors to the General Medical Council (GMC).

The GMC is independent of Government, is directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is a statutory committee of the GMC. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.

In cases relating to dishonesty, the GMC’s Guidance for MPTS tribunals notes that, whilst a range of behaviour can be seen, the nature of the departure from the standards expected may mean that a concern or allegation relating to dishonesty falls at the high end of the spectrum of seriousness. Sanctions for dishonesty range from suspension to erasure, depending on the seriousness of the case.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether NHS Trusts and the General Medical Council have sufficient powers to conduct disciplinary procedures in the case of a resident doctor who has been found to have dishonestly claimed to be neurodivergent or have learning disabilities.

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

National Health Service organisations, as independent employers, have their own internal grievance and disciplinary procedures which should comply with employment law and relevant Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service codes and guidance. Any allegations of dishonesty would be considered to be a conduct issue and investigated in accordance with the employer’s disciplinary policy and procedures.

Maintaining High Professional Standards provides a national framework for the handling of concerns about doctors and dentists in the NHS. NHS trusts may also report any concerns about doctors to the General Medical Council (GMC).

The GMC is independent of Government, is directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is a statutory committee of the GMC. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.

In cases relating to dishonesty, the GMC’s Guidance for MPTS tribunals notes that, whilst a range of behaviour can be seen, the nature of the departure from the standards expected may mean that a concern or allegation relating to dishonesty falls at the high end of the spectrum of seriousness. Sanctions for dishonesty range from suspension to erasure, depending on the seriousness of the case.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays in access to elective treatment for heart valve disease.

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

No specific assessment of delays in access to elective treatment for heart valve disease has been made.

The Government is committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care, including cardiology services and cardiothoracic surgery, by March 2029. As of January 2026, there were 388,626 incomplete cardiology pathways, and 63.9% of patients on cardiology service waiting lists were seen within 18 weeks, up from 60.2% in January 2025. For cardiothoracic surgery services, 72.1% of patients were seen within 18 weeks as of January 2026, up from 68.5% in January 2025.

The Government has made commitments to improve outcomes of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our commitment to achieve a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to CVD and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework is currently in development and will be published in 2026. In 2025 The Getting It Right First Time programme published new and revised cardiology pathways​ to support evidence-based, efficient, and consistent care across primary and secondary settings, including for aortic stenosis. This supports early recognition of high-risk features, fast-track referral for those with severe symptomatic disease, and coordinated multidisciplinary evaluation. ​

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role the independent sector can play in supporting the development of NHS Online.

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

NHS Online, launching in 2027, will be a publicly owned National Health Service organisation, giving patients on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will offer the latest innovations in digital healthcare, nationally scaled for the benefit of patients in every part of the country, helping to reduce patient waiting times through delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years.

The Government recognises the role independent sector providers have in supporting the NHS as trusted partners to recover elective services by using additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst delivering value for money.

The NHS Online programme is actively engaging with both NHS organisations and the independent sector, including through representative bodies such as the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, to support the development of NHS Online.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the recommendation in the Children’s Rights Alliance for England and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report You feel like you’re nothing, published in 2006, that the Government work with religious communities to defer ritual circumcision until informed consent can be obtained from the individual.

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

The Department is in the process of providing a response to the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline and meet with external groups if necessary.

No assessment has been made regarding doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions, nor the case of Zuber Bux. No safeguarding assessment has been made regarding the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

The Children’s Rights Alliance and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report, You feel like you’re nothing, was published in 2006 under a previous administration and there are no current plans to implement the recommendation highlighted regarding working with religious communities to defer ritual male circumcision so that the informed consent of the child can be sought.

The Government would encourage anyone seeking non-therapeutic male circumcision (NMTC) services for themselves, or for someone else, to use the services of a regulated healthcare professional. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they are subject to regulatory oversight by the relevant regulators such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Even if a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend that the 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme consultation outcome in respect of guide prices for ADHD and autism assessments will be agreed to by Ministers before implementation.

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

The full responsibility for developing and setting the National Tariff, which is a set of rules, prices, and guidance that determine how providers of National Health Service funded healthcare are paid for the services they provide, was given to NHS England through the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The Health and Care Act 2022 confirmed this responsibility and renamed the ‘National Tariff’ to the ‘NHS Payment Scheme’. The legislation relating to the NHS Payment Scheme is set out in schedule 10 of the 2022 Act.

Under NHS England’s ‘Scheme of Delegation’, responsibility for approving the NHS Payment Scheme rests with the Chief Executive Officer of NHS England, delated to the Chief Financial Officer of NHS England. Ministerial agreement of the consultation is not currently a requirement of the regulations set out in the act.

NHS England will continue to work with policy teams at the Department and wider stakeholders to further develop currencies and consider appropriate payment options for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, in line with the overall direction set by ministers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case of Zuber Bux, a doctor who has been struck off the register and continues to circumcise boys as a layperson.

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

The Department is in the process of providing a response to the Mohamed Abdisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline and meet with external groups if necessary.

No assessment has been made regarding doctors who have been struck off the medical register for dangerous circumcisions, nor the case of Zuber Bux. No safeguarding assessment has been made regarding the rite of metzitzah b’peh.

The Children’s Rights Alliance and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report, You feel like you’re nothing, was published in 2006 under a previous administration and there are no current plans to implement the recommendation highlighted regarding working with religious communities to defer ritual male circumcision so that the informed consent of the child can be sought.

The Government would encourage anyone seeking non-therapeutic male circumcision (NMTC) services for themselves, or for someone else, to use the services of a regulated healthcare professional. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they are subject to regulatory oversight by the relevant regulators such as the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Even if a healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners were moved into a hospice in each of the past five years.

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

As the majority of hospices are independent charitable organisations, neither the Government nor NHS England collect or hold their data, including information on how many prisoners have been moved into a hospice.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end-of-life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.

Hospices operate as autonomous bodies, managing their own funding structures and the provision of their services. This autonomy allows them to maintain their independence and offer services beyond the statutory NHS offer.

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 mandating extended online consultation use at GP surgeries on the availability of face-to-face appointments.

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

The changes to the 2025/26 GP Contract that came into force on 1 October requires practices to make all routes for contacting the practice, including online consultations, available throughout core hours, 8:00am to 6.30pm. This is intended to provide more consistent access for patients and help manage the 8:00am scramble.

In 2024/25, 85% of primary care networks reported that all their practices already provided online consultations during core hours and did not raise concerns about an impact on the availability of face-to-face appointments. Online consultation systems support triage so patients can be directed to the most appropriate response, including face-to-face appointments where clinically necessary

In July 2024, only 61% of patients found it easy to access their GP. Today, it’s nearly 77%.

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 embed palliative care in neighbourhood health services.

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

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end-of-life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

Those at the end of life are highlighted in the recently published Neighbourhood Health Framework as a high-priority cohort, making services more convenient, joined-up, personalised, and based around the person. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neighbourhood-health-framework/neighbourhood-health-framework

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of when NHS dental contract would increase the availability of NHS dental appointments in areas currently experiencing limited access.

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

Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.

We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. And from April 2026, we will be implementing reforms to the current NHS dental contract which are expected to improve access for patients with urgent and complex needs. A full impact assessment on the reforms has been published and is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2026/42

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 support families who travel long distances for NHS‑commissioned inpatient mental health care.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that being sent to a hospital far away from home, family, and support networks means a poorer experience of care for patients and increased safety risks, which is why we are working to end this practice. We have invested £75 million of capital funding in 2025/26 to improve inpatient care and help stop mental health patients being sent far from home for treatment. A national quality improvement programme is in place across England to improve the culture of care in all mental health hospitals.

Through the 10-Year Health Plan we will move care closer to home by reducing ‘out of area placements’ for mental health patients by March 2027. The NHS England Capital Guidance for 2026/27 to 2029/30, published in November 2025, makes £473 million of capital funding available for systems and encourages them to establish community based mental health centres, alongside other capital priorities. These include eliminating inappropriate out of area placements.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to a family life. All patients have the right to maintain contact with, and be visited by, anyone they wish to see, subject to carefully limited exceptions. The value of visits in maintaining links with family and community networks is recognised as a key element in a patient’s care, treatment, and recovery. Every effort should be made to assist patients to maintain contact with friends and family, including considering the need to travel for visits when the patient is placed out of area.

Where the patient is detained under the Mental Health Act, the Code of Practice sets out that commissioners should consider whether they can provide any assistance where there are difficulties visiting because of distance. Local authorities should also consider whether it would be appropriate to provide financial support to enable families to visit children and young people placed in hospital, taking into account their duties to promote contact between children and young people and their families. Such duties arise when children and young people are being looked after by local authorities as well as when they are accommodated in hospital for three months or more. Consideration of any transfer to another hospital must include whether the transfer would give the patient greater access to carers or have the opposite effect.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England is taking, working with manufacturers of breakthrough treatments for fatty liver disease, to prepare the NHS to deliver such treatments as quickly as possible to eligible patients once approved.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE aims wherever possible to issue draft guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund drugs recommended by NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.

NICE is currently evaluating potential new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in anticipation of the medicines being granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with guidance expected later this year. NHS England is actively preparing to support the potential introduction of new treatments for MASH, including fatty liver disease with fibrosis, alongside the ongoing NICE appraisal process.

The Department and NHS England will continue to work to ensure that, once approved, effective new treatments for fatty liver disease are introduced in a way that is fair, affordable, and which protects the wider NHS, while ensuring that patients with the greatest clinical need are able to benefit as quickly as possible.

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 rising medication costs on (a) pharmacies in Yeovil constituency and (b) their ability to provide prescriptions.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Drug Tariff, a monthly publication, sets out reimbursement prices to be paid to pharmacy contractors for the medicines that they dispense. Whilst we do not look at specific areas of the United Kingdom or specific medicines, we do have arrangements in place to mitigate against rising medication costs for pharmacies, that ensure they are paid enough overall above what it costs them to purchase medicines.

Where prices increase significantly and rapidly, concessionary prices can be granted by the Department to ensure that pharmacy contractors are paid fairly, and can access medicines for their patients, even when market prices increase.

Concessionary prices are set using 'real time' market data provided to the Department under the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018 on prices and stock levels intended for retail pharmacy businesses in England. This ensures that prices set are reflective of the market and aims to reimburse pharmacy contractors fairly.

For branded medicine such as Actimorph the Department sets maximum list prices which are controlled through the Voluntary scheme for branded medicines Pricing, Access and Growth and the statutory scheme.

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 rising cost of Actimorph on its provision in Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Drug Tariff, a monthly publication, sets out reimbursement prices to be paid to pharmacy contractors for the medicines that they dispense. Whilst we do not look at specific areas of the United Kingdom or specific medicines, we do have arrangements in place to mitigate against rising medication costs for pharmacies, that ensure they are paid enough overall above what it costs them to purchase medicines.

Where prices increase significantly and rapidly, concessionary prices can be granted by the Department to ensure that pharmacy contractors are paid fairly, and can access medicines for their patients, even when market prices increase.

Concessionary prices are set using 'real time' market data provided to the Department under the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018 on prices and stock levels intended for retail pharmacy businesses in England. This ensures that prices set are reflective of the market and aims to reimburse pharmacy contractors fairly.

For branded medicine such as Actimorph the Department sets maximum list prices which are controlled through the Voluntary scheme for branded medicines Pricing, Access and Growth and the statutory scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients discharged from hospital to nursing or residential care placements outside their home local authority area due to local shortages of provision.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold an estimate of the number of patients discharged from hospital to nursing or residential care placements outside their home local authority area due to local shortages of provision. Local authorities have statutory responsibility for assessing and meeting eligible care needs and for arranging appropriate placements.

Enabling people to be discharged from hospital more quickly and with the right support contributes to speedier recovery and better outcomes. In some instances, this may mean discharging a patient outside of their local area so that they can receive the most appropriate care after discharge.

The Hospital Discharge and Community Support Guidance sets out that integrated care boards and local authorities should agree local arrangements to ensure that any decisions about the joint funding of care can be made swiftly. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hospital-discharge-and-community-support-guidance/hospital-discharge-and-community-support-guidance

These arrangements should follow the Who Pays? guidance for services funded by the NHS, and reference ‘ordinary residence’ rules for services funded by local authorities, so that there is no adverse effect on timely discharge. The Who Pays? guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/who-pays/

The Government provides £9 billion through the Better Care Fund (BCF) to be used jointly by the NHS and local authorities towards achieving agreed goals for reducing discharge delays. This February, the Government published guidance setting out new arrangements for the BCF. As well as supporting timely discharge from hospital, the BCF will also focus on services that help people regain independence and prevent avoidable admissions.

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 mitigate patient safety risks arising from delayed delivery of NHS clinical correspondence through the postal system.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the importance of timely delivery of National Health Service clinical correspondence and the risks to patient safety because of delayed or lost correspondence.

The monitoring of patient correspondence is the responsibility of individual NHS providers and integrated care boards (ICBs).

Recognising the need to embrace digital solutions, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS is transitioning to a digital-first model for patient communications, with the NHS App becoming the primary channel for messaging. This will improve accessibility, efficiency, and overall patient experience. The 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/#

In the last year, over 88 million messages were read in the NHS App. By the end of March 2026, NHS England are aiming to send over 270 million messages digitally-first via the NHS App.

Digital-first does not mean digital-only. Letters will continue to be sent to patients who need them. All providers of NHS funded care or adult social care must have regard to the accessible information standard. It means they should ensure that disabled people and people with impairments or sensory loss can access and understand information about NHS and social care services, and receive the communication support they need to use those services.

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 increase the number of clinical trials running in the UK for people with brain cancer; and whether he has any specific targets on this to reduce the number of patients who travel overseas for treatment.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for brain cancers.

The Department is supporting the delivery of brain cancer clinical trials through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) that funds research and research infrastructure to support patients and the public to participate in high-quality research. In January 2026, the NIHR announced total investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments across the UK. The consortium will develop and enhance innovative clinical trials.

There are no specific targets around increasing the number of brain cancer clinical trials, although the Life Sciences Sector Plan aims to double all commercial interventional trial participants in the UK by 2026, and double again by 2029.

As set out in our National Cancer Plan, the Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act, making it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to mitigate the risk of supply delays of bone cement, and other medical supplies.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has very well-established processes in place to help manage disruption to the supply of medical products when it occurs, always very seriously considering the needs of individual patients.

The Department’s National Supply Disruption Response acts as the single point of contact for the medical supply industry, and has been supporting the bone cement shortage since early February this year. Together with NHS England and NHS Supply Chain we have organised a formal coordinated national incident response, including daily meetings with operational colleagues, development of clinical guidance, and close engagement with suppliers, professional bodies, and the devolved administrations.

The incident management group was able to secure additional supplies from alternative, clinically assured suppliers, which are now being actively used. Elective orthopaedic activities have resumed.

These measures ensured that trauma and urgent care continued safely during the shortage, with orthopaedic waiting lists prioritised according to clinical needs.

The Department continues to hold regular discussions with NHS England on the supply position, operational impact, and alternative products, using well-established incident coordination arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the pace at which the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium is developing; and when the organisations that constitute the research consortium will have access to the funds.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.

We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, following the announcement on the19 December 2025 on the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, when the additional announcements will be made on further funding into brain tumour treatment trials beyond the £13.7 million initial investment.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.

We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, over what period he expects the £13.7 million initial funding in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium to be disbursed.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium was announced as part of the Government’s commitment to developing new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million. Payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to ten years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between NIHR and the consortium.

We are expecting to be able to make further updates on the progress of the NIHR Brain Cancer Consortium in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

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 ensure continuity of ADHD care for people on the right to choose waiting list in England when they move to Scotland to take up a place at University.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Healthcare is a devolved matter and the Right to Choose applies only to National Health Services commissioned in England. When a person moves from England to Scotland, their healthcare, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessment and treatment, becomes the responsibility of NHS Scotland, which operates under its own clinical pathways, eligibility criteria, and commissioning arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to include addiction or substance use disorder within the statutory definition of a mental disorder for the purposes of the Mental Health Act.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Mental Health Act 1983, specifically Section 1, subsection 3, states that “Dependence on alcohol or drugs is not considered to be a disorder or disability of the mind” for the purposes of the act, and we did not amend this in the Mental Health Act 2025 that passed in December. We have no plans to change the definition of mental disorder.

We know that people with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs do not receive the integrated, person-centred care they require and deserve. The Department and NHS England have recently published Co-occurring mental health and substance use delivery framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co-occurring-mental-health-and-substance-use-delivery-framework

This framework commits the Department and NHS England to delivering several national actions to improve delivery of integrated, person-centred care across drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services. The framework also includes recommended actions on how the health system can also work together to improve outcomes for those with co-occurring needs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of wealth inequality on levels of suicide.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

People living in the most deprived areas of England face a higher risk of suicide. Between 2020 and 2024, the age-standardised suicide rate for people aged 25 to 44 years old in the most deprived 10% of areas in England was 14.9 per 100,000 people, compared with 10.6 per 100,000 in the least deprived 10% of areas.

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which sets out over 100 actions aimed at saving lives through early intervention, prevention initiatives, and better support for anyone who may reach crisis point.

The strategy recognises that nobody should be left out of suicide prevention efforts. This includes responding to the needs of marginalised communities and addressing inequalities in access to effective suicide prevention interventions, as well as listening to individuals and being responsive to their needs.

While the overall framework remains the same, the strategy was designed to be iterative, and we continue to consider where further action can be taken most effectively to reduce the number of lives lost to suicide.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department intends to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Luke Chatterton.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Prevention of Future Deaths report concerning the death of Luke Chatterton was not received by the Department when it was issued, resulting in a delay in it coming to our attention. The Department is now considering the report carefully before responding.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children from Gaza have been admitted to NHS hospitals under the UK medical evacuation scheme since its launch.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Prime Minister announced at the end of July 2025 that the United Kingdom will medically evacuate Gazan children for treatment in the UK. The UK has successfully evacuated 50 child patients who are being treated in National Health Service hospitals as part of the Gaza medevac process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of access to a CAR-T therapy for mantle cell lymphoma on patients; and if his Department will consider learnings from other health systems that have provided access.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is re-evaluating brexucabtagene autoleucel following managed access through the Cancer Drugs Fund to determine whether it should be recommended for routine National Health Service funding. NICE’s draft guidance, published in December, does not recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. The Government recognises that any potential withdrawal for future patients with mantle cell lymphoma will be concerning, but these decisions are rightly taken independently and based on the available evidence. Under an arrangement between NHS England and the company, if NICE’s final guidance does not recommend routine use, patients who started treatment during the managed access period can continue their treatment.

NICE is an England-only body. Medicine availability decisions in the devolved administrations are for the relevant devolved governments.

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 access to CAR‑T therapies for mantle cell lymphoma is consistent across the UK, in the context of its continued availability in Scotland.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is re-evaluating brexucabtagene autoleucel following managed access through the Cancer Drugs Fund to determine whether it should be recommended for routine National Health Service funding. NICE’s draft guidance, published in December, does not recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. The Government recognises that any potential withdrawal for future patients with mantle cell lymphoma will be concerning, but these decisions are rightly taken independently and based on the available evidence. Under an arrangement between NHS England and the company, if NICE’s final guidance does not recommend routine use, patients who started treatment during the managed access period can continue their treatment.

NICE is an England-only body. Medicine availability decisions in the devolved administrations are for the relevant devolved governments.

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 merits of updating National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on anxiety.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has made no such assessment. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are developed independently by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. They represent best practice and healthcare professionals are expected to take them fully into account in the care and treatment of their patients. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. There are currently no plans to update the guideline on generalised anxiety or panic disorder.

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 address the shortage of and the level of prices paid for basic medicines by community pharmacies.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We already have two arrangements in place to reduce community pharmacies dispensing at a loss and to ensure that overall, they are paid enough as part of their Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) funding. These are the medicine margin arrangements and concessionary prices.

Regarding the medicine margin arrangements, the medicine margin is the difference between the reimbursement price and the price the pharmacy was charged by the supplier. Community pharmacy reimbursement arrangements include an amount of medicines margin that pharmacies are allowed to retain as part of CPCF funding. The Department assesses the medicine margin through a quarterly medicine margin survey, which ensures that in totality, pharmacies are paid the allowed medicine margin above what it cost them to purchase medicines overall.

For concessionary prices, the Department relies on competition and efficient purchasing by community pharmacies to keep prices of medicines down. This has led to some of the lowest prices in Europe and allows prices to react to the market. In an international market this ensures that when demand is high and supply is low, prices in the United Kingdom can increase to help secure the availability of medicines for UK patients. When the market price of a medicine suddenly increases, concessionary prices can be granted in that month, increasing the reimbursement price above the Drug Tariff price, with the aim of mitigating pharmacy contractors dispensing at a loss. In addition, there is a ‘retrospective top-up payment for concessionary prices’, which provides an additional payment to contractors when the margin survey indicates that despite a concessionary price, there was an under payment for a specific product.

More broadly, medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated. There are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the UK and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.

While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, and use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product and expediting regulatory procedures. In addition, we utilise sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.

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 reform NHS Drug Tariff reimbursement to ensure community pharmacies are not required to dispense medicines at a loss.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We already have two arrangements in place to reduce community pharmacies dispensing at a loss and to ensure that overall, they are paid enough as part of their Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) funding. These are the medicine margin arrangements and concessionary prices.

Regarding the medicine margin arrangements, the medicine margin is the difference between the reimbursement price and the price the pharmacy was charged by the supplier. Community pharmacy reimbursement arrangements include an amount of medicines margin that pharmacies are allowed to retain as part of CPCF funding. The Department assesses the medicine margin through a quarterly medicine margin survey, which ensures that in totality, pharmacies are paid the allowed medicine margin above what it cost them to purchase medicines overall.

For concessionary prices, the Department relies on competition and efficient purchasing by community pharmacies to keep prices of medicines down. This has led to some of the lowest prices in Europe and allows prices to react to the market. In an international market this ensures that when demand is high and supply is low, prices in the United Kingdom can increase to help secure the availability of medicines for UK patients. When the market price of a medicine suddenly increases, concessionary prices can be granted in that month, increasing the reimbursement price above the Drug Tariff price, with the aim of mitigating pharmacy contractors dispensing at a loss. In addition, there is a ‘retrospective top-up payment for concessionary prices’, which provides an additional payment to contractors when the margin survey indicates that despite a concessionary price, there was an under payment for a specific product.

More broadly, medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated. There are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the UK and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.

While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, and use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product and expediting regulatory procedures. In addition, we utilise sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.

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 disabled people receive essential medical and mobility equipment, such as wheelchairs and hoists, in a timely manner.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, and responsibility for providing equipment and wheelchairs to disabled people typically falls to local authorities and the National Health Service.

Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to make arrangements for the provision of community equipment for disabled people in their area. Responsibility for managing the market for these services, including commissioning and oversight of delivery, rests with local authorities. The NHS is responsible for providing wheelchairs for people with longer-term, complex needs.

The Medium Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, requires that from 2026/27 all ICBs and community health services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. These targets will guide systems to reduce longest waits.

NHS England is supporting ICBs to reduce delays and regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required.

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 ensure that patients released from hospital who need a wheelchair get one as soon as possible.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services. This includes both temporary wheelchair provision to support hospital discharge and National Health Service wheelchair services which support people of all ages with long-term mobility needs.

NHS England supports ICBs to reduce delays and regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. On 9 April 2025, NHS England published the Wheelchair Quality Framework, which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets, and aims to tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/

In October 2025, we published the NHS medium-term planning framework, requiring all ICBs and community health services to actively manage and reduce waits above 18 weeks and to develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. The community health services situation report will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting-time targets in 2026/27, and it currently monitors waiting times for children, young people and adults under “Wheelchair, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment”. These targets will guide systems to reduce longest waits and improvement initiatives to meet these targets may affect waits that are over 18 weeks and 52 weeks.

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 help ensure that medical certificates of cause of death can be issued outside normal working hours, including weekends and bank holidays.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Responsibility for ensuring that medical examiner services respond to local needs sits with trusts. Most medical examiners’ work can be undertaken during normal office hours with cover for weekends and public holidays likely to be required in most areas. Arrangements at each office should reflect local health priorities and the needs of communities, particularly if there is regular demand for the urgent release of bodies at weekends and public holidays. The National Medical Examiner provides guidance to medical examiner offices for weekend and public holiday cover and for the urgent release of a body in circumstances including where a bereaved families may have particular reasons to request urgent release of the deceased’s body for burial. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.rcpath.org/static/3590bf7f-a43e-4248-980640c5c12354c4/Good-Practice-Series-Urgent-release-of-a-bodyFor-Publication.pdf

Data indicates that 90% of urgent requests for swift scrutiny are met. The chief reason why requests were not met is because the cause of death is complex and therefore additional time was required to determine the cause.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with hon. Members and representatives of faith communities to discuss reforms to the death registration process.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The General Register Office oversees the policy for registration of births, deaths, and marriages. However, a death must be certified before it can be registered and since 9 September 2024, all non-coronial deaths are independently scrutinised by a medical examiner who completes the medical certificate of cause of death, and which is then sent to the registrar. The Department has engaged extensively over several years with representatives of faith communities during implementation of the 2024 death certification reforms. The Department is monitoring the introduction of the reforms and listening to faith communities to inform policy and operational decision making and to encourage collaborative working. Officials continue to meet faith group representatives to understand their perspectives on death certification and registration and to identify any emerging issues.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the Written Answer given on 2 March 2026 (UIN 114544), does he plan to review or update this guidance.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has no current plans to review or update informed consent guidance in protecting National Health Service clinicians from subsequent legal challenge where animal-derived ingredients are used in medicines or treatments without explicit disclosure.

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 reduce NHS waiting times for ADHD assessments; and what role he expects the independent sector capacity to have in meeting demand.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The independent sector provides important service capacity within ADHD services. We are committed to ensuring patients have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality services, irrespective of their service provider. Patients being referred for consultant-led elective care, or to a mental health professional, have the right to be treated by any clinically appropriate provider who holds a contract for the provision of NHS services.

This includes the independent sector, which holds contracts with ICBs across the country to deliver services for the NHS. By working with the independent sector, we are making sure patients have greater choice in their local areas.

NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing timely and equitable access to services and support.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

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 improve the efficiency of ADHD services.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.

This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people and their families including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has the Government made on the effectiveness of CAHMS online therapies as opposed to in person support.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made a specific assessment on the effectiveness of Children and Young People Mental Health (CYPMH) online therapies as opposed to in-person support.

However, more widely, the Department draws on a growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of digital and online therapies for CYPMH, including findings from ongoing evaluations, research programmes, and clinical trials. This includes research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, international evidence on digital innovation, and evidence generated through local service evaluations.

Digital and online interventions can provide young people with flexible, timely, and accessible support, and form an important part of a modern, blended mental health offer.

The Government has committed to harnessing safe and effective digital tools across the National Health Service, including through the 10‑Year Health Plan’s focus on digitally enabled care, to improve access, increase choice, and support earlier intervention for children, young people, and families.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of Mental Health Support Teams in schools in respect to reducing pressure on CAHMS.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has reviewed the available evidence and operational learning to assess the impact of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs). Early findings from evaluations of trailblazer and pilot sites suggest that MHSTs are supporting earlier identification and more effective management of emerging mental health needs within educational settings. By providing timely intervention, MHSTs can help prevent difficulties from escalating to a level that would otherwise require referral to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

In addition to this early evidence, an independent evaluation of the MHST programme is currently underway and is due to be published later this year. This evaluation will consider the broader impacts of MHSTs, including their effect on CAMHS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will commission the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no current plans to commission the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders.

Topics for new or updated guidance are considered through the NICE prioritisation process, and under this process, decisions as to whether NICE will create new, or update existing, guidance are overseen by a prioritisation board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer in line with its published prioritisation framework. Anyone is able to suggest a topic through the NICE website, at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/forms/topic-suggestion

NICE guidelines do not cover all conditions, and clinicians are expected to follow relevant professional guidance and the evidence available to them when making their decisions.

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 23 February 2026 to Question 112364, whether the annual spend on maternity care reported in the NHS National Cost Collection includes or excludes payments made by NHS Resolution for maternity clinical negligence claims; and under which budget heading such payments are accounted for.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The annual spend on maternity in the NHS National Cost Collection does not include payments made by NHS Resolution.

Payments for maternity clinical negligence claims are made from the clinical negligence scheme for trusts, which is managed by NHS Resolution.

https://resolution.nhs.uk/services/claims-management/clinical-schemes/clinical-negligence-scheme-for-trusts/

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 ensure adequate levels of staffing for ADHD services.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.

This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people and their families including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

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 (a) support NHS trusts with software needs and (b) unify software across NHS trusts.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England supports National Health Service trusts with software needs in many ways, including through documentation, guides, support, a developer community, application programming interfaces, and mandatory standards.

NHS England is unifying software across NHS trusts through application of interoperability and accessibility standards and national services such as NHS Notify.

NHS trusts make their own decisions regarding the adoption and deployment of software and are expected to ensure that access to the tools they employ is safe, ethical, effective, and equitable for all within their remit.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 5 March 2026 to Question 115670, how many National Patient Safety Alerts have been issued in response to incidents originating in accident and emergency departments in the past three years.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the period from 2023 to 2025, three full calendar years, the National Patient Safety Team issued seven National Patient Safety Alerts.

Whilst none of those originated from a single incident occurring in an emergency department, one alert in January 2023 was issued in response to a general concern that increasing pressure on the urgent and emergency care system was impacting the delivery of oxygen therapy to patients in clinical areas. To optimise the safe delivery of oxygen via portable oxygen cylinders, an alert was issued by the National Patient Safety Team, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/01/use-of-oxygen-cylinders-where-patients-do-not-have-access-to-medical-gas-pipeline-systems/

The alert asked providers to review NHS England guidance and conduct a risk assessment for all patient escalation/transient areas without piped oxygen and for trust medical gas committees to review and act on findings. Further information on the guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Official-sensitive-Oxygen-Cylinder-Comms-24-Jan-2023-UPDATE.pdf

Compliance with all National Patient Safety Alerts is overseen by the Care Quality Commission.

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 NICE Guidance to prevent irreversible sight loss is being met for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued technology appraisal guidance recommending several medicines for use in the treatment of wet age-related macular generation. The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

NICE has also published a clinical guideline that provides comprehensive guidance on best practice in the management of patients with this condition, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng82

NICE clinical guidelines are not mandatory, but NHS commissioners are expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that local services meet the needs of their populations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has any newly available (a) evidence or (b) modelling related to carriage studies and the potential impact of routinely offering Meningitis B vaccinations for people aged 13-25 on their health.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - 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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of patient parking at hospitals across County Durham.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No assessment has been made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, of the adequacy of patient parking at hospitals across County Durham.

National Health Service organisations decide locally on the amount of car parking they provide to patients, visitors, and staff, depending on the clinical services they provide and their local environment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will a) review the ongoing data collection work of the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy registry and b) work with partners in the space to identify opportunities to support further development of the registry, to drive improvements in care and treatment for patients with graft-vs-host disease.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum’s 2022 report, A ten-year vision for stem cell transplantation and cellular therapies, set out a number of recommendations for improving data collection for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy (HSCT-CT) to drive improvements in care and treatment of HSCT-CT patients, including those with graft-vs-host disease. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/who-we-are/performance-and-strategy/stem-cell-and-advanced-cellular-therapy-strategy/

Following on from the report recommendations, the forum has established a HSCT-CT Data Commission to create an enhanced, accessible, and sustainable data model for UK HSCT-CT data, with collaboration across the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, the UK Aligned Registry, NHS England and the devolved counterparts, patients, academia, and industry. The Department will consider any proposals made by the commission.

The Department is also exploring how to support the report’s recommendations on data through the extension of the Department’s stem cell programme funding.

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 17 February 2025 to Question 29847 on Death Certificates, if he will publish the findings of his Department's monitoring of the impact of the death certification reforms on the time taken to register deaths.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We believe the answer of 17 February 2025 refers to the answer given to Question 29570. The Department’s monitoring of the impact of death certification reforms, including the time to register a death, includes consideration of:

• the annual report of the National Medical Examiner, which was published on 11 September 2025, and the next annual report is expected in early Summer 2026. The report published on 11 September 2025 is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-medical-examiner-report-2024/;
• published data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), including the Analysis of death registrations since death certification reform, published on 9 October 2025, and we expect the ONS to publish a further report later in 2026. This report is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-medical-examiner-report-2024/; and
• feedback from a wide range of partners including NHS England, the National Medical Examiner, the Welsh Government, the General Register Office, the funeral sector and faith groups, and the Royal College of Pathologists.

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 effectiveness of health services available to children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in Gloucester constituency.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not routinely make assessments of the effectiveness of health services at a constituency level, and has therefore not made an assessment of the effectiveness of health services available to children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in Gloucester. The planning and delivery of National Health Services are the responsibility of local integrated care boards, which assess the needs of their local populations and commission services accordingly.

NHS England continues to work with eating disorder services and local commissioners to improve access to assessment and treatment for all children and young people with a suspected eating disorder, including those presenting with ARFID. Lessons from previous pilots commissioned to improve access to support and develop training on ARFID has contributed to this work. In January 2026, NHS England also updated guidance on children and young people’s eating disorders, including ARFID, that seeks to strengthen early identification and intervention of eating disorders, whilst ensuring swift access to specialist community eating disorder services as soon as an eating disorder is suspected.

Community children and young people’s eating disorder services across England provide assessment and treatment for eating disorders, including ARFID, and local areas are able to commission training and adapt care pathways to ensure services meet the needs of patients with this condition.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has conducted into changes in the number of cases of auto immune disorders since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has funded several studies which explore links between SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and autoimmunity.

For example, in April 2025, researchers funded by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in respiratory infections at Imperial College published a review on the mechanisms through which autoimmune responses can arise during and after viral infection, focusing on the evidence for B-cell dysregulation and autoantibody production in acute and long COVID.

In 2023, NIHR-supported researchers at the University of Birmingham conducted analysis of United Kingdom primary care records to review the incidence of immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, such as type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis. The NIHR has also commissioned targeted studies to investigate underlying mechanisms. These include The immunologic and virologic determinants of long COVID study, from Cardiff University, which is examining whether SARS‑CoV‑2 infection can trigger persistent immune activation or autoimmune processes in the post-COVID period. Another NIHR-funded project, Immune analysis of long COVID from Imperial College London, is investigating post-COVID immune dysfunction.

NIHR-funded research is published and made publicly available, with findings shared through journals and NIHR Evidence.

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 social care workforce shortages on delayed discharges from hospitals in Essex.

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

The Department have made no assessment of the potential impact of social care workforce shortages on delayed discharges from hospitals in Essex.

It is important that people are discharged promptly from hospital with the right support, both for their outcomes and to free up beds for other patients.

The Government provides £9 billion through the Better Care Fund to be used jointly by the National Health Service and local authorities towards achieving agreed goals for reducing discharge delays.

English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.

That is why we are committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce.

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 merits of extending Jess’s Rule, or establishing a similar national protocol, to ensure that recurrent presentations automatically trigger a clinical review.

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

Jess’s Rule was published in September 2024 as formal clinical guidance, developed with the Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS England, to support and strengthen general practitioners’ (GPs’) clinical judgement. It encourages GPs to pause, review recurrent presentations, and consider whether anything may have been missed.

Jess’s Rule formalises best practice, helping to embed a more consistent approach and reduce harmful inequalities in care. However, the guidance is intended to support, not replace, clinical decision-making. It does not mandate automatic referrals or investigations, as the GP remains responsible for deciding what action is clinically appropriate for the individual patient, in line with local pathways, and to avoid unnecessary pressure on services.

We will continue to keep Jess’s Rule under review, including the case for any future updates to national guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider requiring Jess’s Rule to be applied across all primary care contact points, including A&E and Child Assessment Units.

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

Jess’s Rule is an NHS England patient safety initiative for primary care. It is designed for general practitioners and supports them to reconsider a patient’s presentation and/or diagnosis where the patient has attended general practice three or more times and symptoms have escalated, or the diagnosis is uncertain.

Martha’s Rule is an NHS England patient safety initiative for secondary care. It enables patients, families, and carers to request an urgent, independent review if they believe a hospital inpatient’s condition is deteriorating and is not being adequately addressed. This includes all acute hospitals in England, including paediatric acute inpatient service.

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 ensure equal access to palliative care.

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

We know there are inequalities in access to palliative care and end of life care, and the Government is looking at how best to reduce these.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning services, which makes reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. This includes the completion of an Equalities and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment and action plan.

NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.

Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care has been recently extended for a further two years to run to the end of 2028, delivering high-quality policy research to help improve palliative care and end-of-life care, and tackle inequalities.

Through our Modern Service Framework on Palliative Care and End of Life Care, due for publication later this year, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality.

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 ICBs on determining funding required to meet palliative care needs.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care and end-of-life care services to meet the reasonable needs of their local populations, including hospice provision. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

As set out in NHS England’s Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium Term Planning Guidance, both published last year, ICBs are expected to understand current and projected total service utilisation and the associated costs for people at the end of life, create an overall plan to more effectively manage the needs of these high-priority cohorts, and significantly reduce avoidable unplanned admissions.

Through the development of the Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF), the Department and NHS England are working with the sector to support ICBs to commission more strategically, including considering future contracting and commissioning arrangements. This shift aims to move away from grant-based and historic block contract models towards a more sustainable approach that ensures funding aligns with the needs identified by ICBs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to deliver the MSF on Palliative Care.

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

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will publish an interim update in spring 2026, ahead of the full MSF in Autumn 2026.

The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable integrated care boards to address challenges in access, quality and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the last year’s 10-Year Health Plan. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality.

The MSF will put in place a clear and effective mechanism to deliver a fundamental improvement to the care provided. This will enable adoption of evidence-based interventions that are proven to make a difference to patients and their families. Examples include earlier identification of need, care delivered closer to home by integrated generalist and specialist teams, and strengthened out-of-hours community health support, including dedicated telephone advice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide additional support to rural community pharmacies to mitigate the potential impact of increases in costs, including for (a) wages, (b) energy, (c) business rates and (d) medicines.

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

In 2025/26 funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This included funding for the Pharmacy Access Scheme, which provides additional funding to more isolated pharmacies to support patient access.

As part of delivering the Pharmacy First service, pharmacy contractors receive a monthly fixed payment if they meet specific requirements, which include minimum activity levels. From June 2025, pharmacies delivering 20 to 29 consultations receive £500, while those with at least 30 consultations continued to receive £1,000 monthly. The new lower tier of payment supports pharmacies with lower potential for delivery, including rural pharmacies, and has increased the number of pharmacies qualifying for Pharmacy First fixed payments.

The Department is currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27. As part of this we will consider financial pressures on the sector.

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 (a) increases in the levels of wages and (b) the level of staff shortages on community pharmacies' ability to deliver additional NHS services.

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

In 2025/26 funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This included funding for the Pharmacy Access Scheme, which provides additional funding to more isolated pharmacies to support patient access.

As part of delivering the Pharmacy First service, pharmacy contractors receive a monthly fixed payment if they meet specific requirements, which include minimum activity levels. From June 2025, pharmacies delivering 20 to 29 consultations receive £500, while those with at least 30 consultations continued to receive £1,000 monthly. The new lower tier of payment supports pharmacies with lower potential for delivery, including rural pharmacies, and has increased the number of pharmacies qualifying for Pharmacy First fixed payments.

The Department is currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27. As part of this we will consider financial pressures on the sector.

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 Pharmacy First payment thresholds on smaller rural community pharmacies.

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

In 2025/26 funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This included funding for the Pharmacy Access Scheme, which provides additional funding to more isolated pharmacies to support patient access.

As part of delivering the Pharmacy First service, pharmacy contractors receive a monthly fixed payment if they meet specific requirements, which include minimum activity levels. From June 2025, pharmacies delivering 20 to 29 consultations receive £500, while those with at least 30 consultations continued to receive £1,000 monthly. The new lower tier of payment supports pharmacies with lower potential for delivery, including rural pharmacies, and has increased the number of pharmacies qualifying for Pharmacy First fixed payments.

The Department is currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27. As part of this we will consider financial pressures on the sector.

Found: Affairs, Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Transport (AIR0144) Joint Defra, DHSC

Found: Health Foundation, December 2024, Inequalities in likelihood of living in polluted neighbourhoods 10 DHSC

Found: latest scientific consensus from the World Health Organization makes clear that there is no safe 10 DHSC

Found: DBT, MHCLG, HMRC, DHSC are involved in trading standards and there is opportunity to more effectively

Found: leads but depends on coordinated action from DfT (transport emissions), DESNZ (energy & industry), DHSC

Found: This requires a joined up approach from Defra, BEIS and DHSC.

Found: that wildfire touches, the others being:  Cabinet Office (national security/national emergencies)  DHSC

Found: Defra as responsible departments or delivery partners for taking action (including also DfT, DESNZ, DHSC

Found: In Westminster alone, air pollution contributes to 7.2% of premature deaths (Department of Health and Social Care

Found: A cross‑government approach is vital, with stronger leadership required across DEFRA, DHSC, DESNZ, DfT

Found: that wildfire touches, the others being:  Cabinet Office (national security/national emergencies)  DHSC

Found: 7.1 Fragmented responsibilities Responsibility is split across:  DEFRA (ambient air),  DHSC (health

Found: For example, to tackle the contribution of agricultural ammonia pollution to poor air quality, the DHSC

Found: Department of Health and Social Care must emphasise action on reducing air pollution as part of their

Found: Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) must work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been notably more helpful than Defra in answering

Found: of joined up working between Defra and other Government departments including the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: monitoring and enforcement; and (4) joined-up policy across local authority departments, Defra, DfT, DHSC

Found: many important policy levers fall outside the Department’s remit, including with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: air quality as a shared 196 priority across government. 197 Question 7.b. 198 The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Health. 13 Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2024: Health in Cities (Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care also plays a role, given government recognition that air pollution

Found: Security and Net Zero, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: government material show that air quality action requires coordination across departments (Defra, DHSC

Found: source of PM2.5 in the UK. o Adopt a coordinated, cross-government approach to air quality, including DHSC

Found: use Air pollution outcomes depend on coordinated policy across:  Defra (air quality, targets),  DHSC

Found: health 4 Impact on Urban Health, What the latest data reveals about air pollution, (2022) 5 Ibid. 6 DHSC

Found: of the most impactful policy levers sit elsewhere: DfT (transport), DLUHC (planning and housing), DHSC

Found: An estimated 4.9% of mortalities in Southampton can be attributed to PM AP (Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Joined-up government Air quality policy sits across DEFRA, DfT, DLUHC, and DHSC, yet no single department

Found: While the DHSC Fingertips Indicators continues to include PM2.5, NO2 is not included at all.

Found: It is relevant for DHSC, DESNZ, MHCLG, DfE, Defra and DfT.

Found: Significant leadership is also needed from the Department of Health and Social Care. b.

Found: include: a Cabinet Office-chaired clean air taskforce with ministerial representation; a joint Defra-DHSC

Found: We also work closely with a range of Government departments, including DHSC and UKHSA, as well as the

Found: recommendations (citable: who, what, when, how to check) ● Cabinet Office with Defra, DfT, DLUHC and DHSC

Found: There is good coordination between Defra and DHSC on air pollution issues from a science and evidence

Found: Transport (DfT) - traffic reduction measures and vehicle emissions standards, the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: to that taken with other cross-cutting issues, for instance the joint Combating Drugs Unit (HO / DHSC

Found: with digital technology suppliers HC 640 26th Tackling Violence against Women and Girls HC 644 25th DHSC

Found: the National Health Service, for example, policy for England is determined by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care relating to Financial sustainability

Found: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) contributed

Found: with digital technology suppliers HC 640 26th Tackling Violence against Women and Girls HC 644 25th DHSC

Found: That project was commended by the Department of Health and Social Care as something that it is really

Found: That project was commended by the Department of Health and Social Care as something that it is really

Found: cross-departmental Young Futures Plan, bringing together the Department for Work & Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: more likely to be living with obesity as their peer in the least deprived fifth (Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Available at https://www.ncmd.info/publications/child-death-review-data-release-2025/ 3 DHSC (2025)

Found: opportunities in future, we are at a new point with NHS England being combined with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Targets can focus government attention, drive cross-department accountability (DWP, DfE, DHSC and local

Found: We believe that the Department of Work and Pensions should work with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found:  A cross-departmental Young Futures Plan bringing together DWP, DfE, DHSC and DCMS to align policy

Found: Perhaps the Department of Health and Social Care are the largest outlier, and I think you have questioned

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on whether the Maternity and Neonatal Investigation commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care will report to Parliament on coronial investigations of stillbirths following the 2019 consultation.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to all parents bereaved by baby loss. Bereavement is never easy, but the loss of a child is unimaginable, and we recognise the profound and lifelong impact this has on parents and families.

As I set out in my answer to the Right Honourable Member of 12 March, the wider landscape of maternity investigations has continued to evolve since the publication of the consultation on the coronial investigation of stillbirths in 2019 and the factual summary of responses published in 2023.

Most recently, this Government commissioned the independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care led by Baroness Amos. As outlined in the investigation’s terms of reference, it will, amongst other issues, look to consider the potential role of coroners in the investigation of late term stillbirths (37 weeks or later). We are aware that Baroness Amos has confirmed she will publish her final report in June 2026.

As I have previously confirmed to the Right Honourable Member, the Department has not made a formal assessment of the delay in publishing a decision in this area. It is important that the Government’s published position on coronial investigations of stillbirths is fully informed by any findings and relevant recommendations the independent investigation makes, and more broadly that it supports the most effective model for maternity investigation, one that strengthens learning, improves accountability and delivers better outcomes for families.

Section 4 of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 provides the statutory framework to enable, by way of regulation, amendments to be made to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in respect of the investigation of stillbirths and makes provisions about the content of those regulations.

The Government’s 2019 consultation, and the factual summary in 2023 were jointly published by the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice. The Government intends to communicate its position on this issue after the investigation has published its final report.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on trends in the number of sporting and cultural events in the UK.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS officials engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation. DCMS will continue to engage with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on the provision financial redress for families affected by sodium valproate during pregnancy.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care are in regular contact on a range of issues.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a introducing an expedited process for frontline healthcare organisations requiring Certificates of Sponsorship to support visa renewals.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Working alongside the DHSC-funded Regional Partnerships, UKVI have already established a process for expediting the processing of applications for the social care sector.

This supports visa renewals and those care workers who have been impacted by their employer's licence being revoked. This involves a letter of support from the relevant Director for Adult Social Services (DASS) being issued to a specific UKVI mailbox which receives preferential consideration over other priority services.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the proposed fast‑track route for early intervention will be defined, including eligibility thresholds, time limits and approved evidence‑based programmes.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

To achieve this, we will work with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), and NHS England to enable better information sharing between health professionals and local authorities. This will speed up the process of matching children to the right specialist provision package and create a more direct route to specialist provision for those with the most complex needs at the earliest stage.

We have asked for feedback on this proposal as part of the consultation and will build on these responses to develop this policy in partnership with parents, local authorities, settings, DHSC and NHS England.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of reforms to integrated care boards, including staffing reductions, on their role in SEND commissioning.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department will continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care as well as NHS England to ensure that special educational needs and disabilities reforms are co-ordinated across education and health, and local leaders are supported to manage the transition effectively.

The government is also providing substantial, targeted investment to help local areas grow and strengthen their specialist workforce. Over the next three years, £1.8 billion will be made available to local area partnerships to develop and roll out the Experts at Hand offer.

We have also announced over £40 million to expand the specialist workforce, including £15 million for new advanced speech and language therapy practitioner roles, and £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support those with back pain and musculoskeletal sick notes to get back to the workplace.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Musculoskeletal (MSK) problems were one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the UK in 2024. Early detection and prevention, including increasing access to employment advice, can support people with MSK conditions getting into and remaining in work.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including those with back pain and MSK conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as Connect to Work and WorkWell.

As well as supporting people back into work, it is important that they are supported to successfully remain there. The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 120 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on utilising spare capacity in the chiropractic sector to support those with back pain and musculoskeletal sick notes back to the workforce.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including back pain and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as Connect to Work and WorkWell.

As well as supporting people back into work, it is important that they are supported to successfully remain there. The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 120 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that delays in deciding visa extension and in-country switching applications for existing care workers do not lead to the loss of experienced staff from care homes supporting vulnerable residents during the transition period to 2028.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

UK Visas and Immigration is not currently experiencing any delays in the processing of visa extensions or applications for switching in-country. Up to date processing times can be found at: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK, and, Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK.

The adult social care sector enjoys direct access to UKVI, via Directors of Adult Social Services across England and DHSC funded Regional Partnerships. Contact information can be found here: Support offer to international ASC workers whose employer's sponsor licence has been revoked - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many additional educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists will be required annually to deliver the Experts at Hand programme.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government is providing substantial, targeted investment to help local areas grow and strengthen their specialist workforce. Over the next three years, £1.8 billion will be made available to local area partnerships to develop and rollout of the Experts at Hand offer.

Local area partnerships will design and implement their own Experts at Hand models, tailored to local needs and workforce capacity. This will be supported by strong national oversight. The department will set the overall framework, provide guidance and tools, and work closely with local areas to ensure consistent quality.

​To support this, we have also announced £15 million for new speech and language therapy advanced practitioner roles, as well as continuing our investment in the educational psychology workforce with £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027, building on previous investment.

The department knows that continuing to build the pipeline of speech and language therapists is essential. That is why we are working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with SEND.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what steps they will take to prevent (1) families from being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks, and (2) new-born babies from being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation immediately after leaving hospital.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, this government is committed to tackling the detrimental impact of living in temporary accommodation on a child’s health, wellbeing and education outcomes. We will work with councils, supported by robust NHS pathways, to make sure safe and appropriate alternatives are available and used for newborn babies. We are also setting an ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively.

Legislation is clear B&B accommodation is never suitable for families with children. There may be instances when B&B accommodation may be the only immediate option, for example emergency placements made out of hours, however such placements should be rare and there is a six-week limit to family B&B placements.

To deliver upon our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families over the legal six-week limit by the end of this Parliament, we will scale up our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots into a programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice. We also increasing the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

The Government will be introducing a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GP practices where a child is in temporary accommodation. The intention of the temporary accommodation notification duty is to strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and health providers are aware where children may require additional or different support and can seek to improve their outcomes. MHCLG, DfE and DHSC are working closely together to develop guidance to relevant bodies, to support effective implementation of this important measure. We are undertaking impact assessments for this measure, including a new burdens assessment for councils which is being informed through engagement with the sector, including councils who have piloted this approach.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what assessment they have made of the suitability of bed and breakfast accommodation for (1) families, and (2) families with babies; and what are the legal limits on the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, this government is committed to tackling the detrimental impact of living in temporary accommodation on a child’s health, wellbeing and education outcomes. We will work with councils, supported by robust NHS pathways, to make sure safe and appropriate alternatives are available and used for newborn babies. We are also setting an ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively.

Legislation is clear B&B accommodation is never suitable for families with children. There may be instances when B&B accommodation may be the only immediate option, for example emergency placements made out of hours, however such placements should be rare and there is a six-week limit to family B&B placements.

To deliver upon our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families over the legal six-week limit by the end of this Parliament, we will scale up our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots into a programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice. We also increasing the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

The Government will be introducing a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GP practices where a child is in temporary accommodation. The intention of the temporary accommodation notification duty is to strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and health providers are aware where children may require additional or different support and can seek to improve their outcomes. MHCLG, DfE and DHSC are working closely together to develop guidance to relevant bodies, to support effective implementation of this important measure. We are undertaking impact assessments for this measure, including a new burdens assessment for councils which is being informed through engagement with the sector, including councils who have piloted this approach.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what assessment they have made of how better data sharing between housing, schools and healthcare will improve support available to homeless children.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, this government is committed to tackling the detrimental impact of living in temporary accommodation on a child’s health, wellbeing and education outcomes. We will work with councils, supported by robust NHS pathways, to make sure safe and appropriate alternatives are available and used for newborn babies. We are also setting an ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively.

Legislation is clear B&B accommodation is never suitable for families with children. There may be instances when B&B accommodation may be the only immediate option, for example emergency placements made out of hours, however such placements should be rare and there is a six-week limit to family B&B placements.

To deliver upon our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families over the legal six-week limit by the end of this Parliament, we will scale up our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots into a programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice. We also increasing the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

The Government will be introducing a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GP practices where a child is in temporary accommodation. The intention of the temporary accommodation notification duty is to strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and health providers are aware where children may require additional or different support and can seek to improve their outcomes. MHCLG, DfE and DHSC are working closely together to develop guidance to relevant bodies, to support effective implementation of this important measure. We are undertaking impact assessments for this measure, including a new burdens assessment for councils which is being informed through engagement with the sector, including councils who have piloted this approach.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what assessment they have made of the impact of being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation beyond the six-week limit on children's health, education and life chances.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, this government is committed to tackling the detrimental impact of living in temporary accommodation on a child’s health, wellbeing and education outcomes. We will work with councils, supported by robust NHS pathways, to make sure safe and appropriate alternatives are available and used for newborn babies. We are also setting an ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively.

Legislation is clear B&B accommodation is never suitable for families with children. There may be instances when B&B accommodation may be the only immediate option, for example emergency placements made out of hours, however such placements should be rare and there is a six-week limit to family B&B placements.

To deliver upon our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families over the legal six-week limit by the end of this Parliament, we will scale up our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots into a programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice. We also increasing the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

The Government will be introducing a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GP practices where a child is in temporary accommodation. The intention of the temporary accommodation notification duty is to strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and health providers are aware where children may require additional or different support and can seek to improve their outcomes. MHCLG, DfE and DHSC are working closely together to develop guidance to relevant bodies, to support effective implementation of this important measure. We are undertaking impact assessments for this measure, including a new burdens assessment for councils which is being informed through engagement with the sector, including councils who have piloted this approach.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what measures they will use to assess the impact of the notification system for councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, this government is committed to tackling the detrimental impact of living in temporary accommodation on a child’s health, wellbeing and education outcomes. We will work with councils, supported by robust NHS pathways, to make sure safe and appropriate alternatives are available and used for newborn babies. We are also setting an ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively.

Legislation is clear B&B accommodation is never suitable for families with children. There may be instances when B&B accommodation may be the only immediate option, for example emergency placements made out of hours, however such placements should be rare and there is a six-week limit to family B&B placements.

To deliver upon our target to end the use of B&B accommodation for families over the legal six-week limit by the end of this Parliament, we will scale up our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots into a programme with £30 million funding to tackle a wider range of poor practice. We also increasing the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation through the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.

The Government will be introducing a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GP practices where a child is in temporary accommodation. The intention of the temporary accommodation notification duty is to strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and health providers are aware where children may require additional or different support and can seek to improve their outcomes. MHCLG, DfE and DHSC are working closely together to develop guidance to relevant bodies, to support effective implementation of this important measure. We are undertaking impact assessments for this measure, including a new burdens assessment for councils which is being informed through engagement with the sector, including councils who have piloted this approach.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether guidance on screen use will include recommendations on preventing eye conditions such as myopia and dry eye associated with excessive screen use.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department and the Department of Health and Social Care are jointly working to produce and publish new practical, evidence-informed guidance on screen time for early years. An early years screen time advisory group of child health and development specialists has been convened to shape the guidance, which will also be informed by the perspectives of parents and carers. And as I committed to in the House, I will consider how we will support children with eye conditions.

In addition, amid concerns that young people’s lives are dominated by time in front of devices, the government will support families by producing evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged five to 16. Experts are considering a wide range of evidence, and the guidance will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether guidance on screen time and social media use will include the potential impact of excessive use of screens on sight loss.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department and the Department of Health and Social Care are jointly working to produce and publish new practical, evidence-informed guidance on screen time for early years. An early years screen time advisory group of child health and development specialists has been convened to shape the guidance, which will also be informed by the perspectives of parents and carers. And as I committed to in the House, I will consider how we will support children with eye conditions.

In addition, amid concerns that young people’s lives are dominated by time in front of devices, the government will support families by producing evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged five to 16. Experts are considering a wide range of evidence, and the guidance will be published in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March to Question 115508 on Strategic Defence Review, how many workshops have taken place involving MOD, DHSC and UK health services as of 10 March 2026.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Between February 2025 and 10 March 2026, there have been four multi-day workshops involving the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Health and Social Care and UK health services to explore the UK’s ability to deal with casualties across a range of scenarios up to and including warfighting.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with sporting (a) bodies, (b) venues and (c) events organisers on proposed changes to the role of the Care Quality Commission.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Manchester Arena Inquiry Volume Two report recommended the government make changes to the law to enable the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to regulate event healthcare at sporting venues and gymnasiums and under temporary arrangements at sporting and cultural events to ensure public safety.

The government and CQC has engaged a range of stakeholders within the health, sports and events sector. The government has also held a public consultation which fed into the development of these regulatory changes. The government and CQC continues this engagement, where the CQC will also develop further guidance for Treatment of Disease, Disorder, or Injury providers to support registering with the CQC.

DCMS officials regularly engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation, and will continue to do so with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events, to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on incorporating (a) evidence on the maternal and neonatal risks from extreme heat and (b) measures to protect pregnant people and infants during heatwaves into the UK’s National Adaptation Programme.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working across Government to reset the climate adaptation framework and safeguard people, livelihoods, and the natural environment. Defra is setting stronger objectives and improving governance and monitoring, to help the Government turn evidence into action.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)recognise there are risks to pregnant women caused by exposure to extreme high temperatures, set out in the Adverse Weather and Health Plan Equity Review and Impact Assessment 2024. This includes an assessment on stillbirth, pre-term birth and maternal health complications.

UKHSA provides a weather-health alerting system for England, which alerts the public (including specific vulnerable groups such as pregnant women) and public sector organisations to prepare for impacts of adverse weather, including high temperatures. Risks to health are communicated via heat-health alerts.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regarding the potential merits of incorporating (a) evidence on the maternal and neonatal risks from extreme heat and (b) measures to protect pregnant people and infants during heatwaves into the UK’s National Adaptation Programme.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working across Government to reset the climate adaptation framework and safeguard people, livelihoods, and our natural environment. Defra is setting stronger objectives and improving governance and monitoring, to help Government turn evidence into action.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognises that there are risks to pregnant women caused by exposure to extreme high temperatures which are set out in the Adverse Weather and Health Plan Equity Review and Impact Assessment 2024. This includes an assessment on stillbirth, pre-term birth and maternal health complications.

UKHSA provides a weather-health alerting system for England, which alerts the public (including specific vulnerable groups such as pregnant women) and public sector organisations to prepare for impacts of adverse weather, including high temperatures. Risks to health are communicated via heat-health alerts.

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