Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reductions in (a) overtime pay for full-time nurses working additional hours, (b) bank shift rates and (c) pay rates for unfilled shifts by NHS trusts on the (i) morale and (ii) retention of NHS nursing staff.

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

These specific assessments have not been made. The national provisions for the payment of unsocial hours premia and overtime are set out in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook. These provisions are specific to Agenda for Change (AfC) staff, which includes nurses. Overtime payments for substantive AfC staff on national contracts in England can only be paid to individuals once they have worked more than 37.5 hours per week. The NHS Staff Council is responsible for maintaining the handbook, and we are not aware of any current discussions around reducing overtime rates.

Where an additional agreement exists between staff and their employing organisation on payment of any additional hours, including hours worked in excess of 37.5 hours per week, for example via a bank contract, then this is considered a local matter.

National Health Service bank contracts are local contracts, the terms of which the employer has discretion over. The expectation is that the terms offered under a bank contract are agreed in partnership between employers and trade unions via local negotiating committees.

The Department does not hold information on locally negotiated arrangements that individual NHS organisations offer as incentives to cover staff shortages.

It is the responsibility of local organisations to ensure they have the right numbers of staff with the right skills to deliver services, supported by guidelines by national and professional bodies, including the management of any staff shortages.

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 bring the Fielding Palmer Hospital back into full-time use as a community health hub for Lutterworth.

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

The transition from hospital to community care was one of the three big shifts set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, and we recognise the role of community facilities in delivering this ambition.

The 2025 Spending Review set out a four-year health capital settlement extending to 2029/30. This will provide local National Health Service organisations, including the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, responsible for Fielding Palmer Hospital, with the confidence needed for long-term investment decisions, including larger infrastructure projects.

From 2026/27 to 2029/30, the NHS Midlands Region has been allocated £910.1 million to deliver the shift from hospital to community care and to support the return to constitutional standards. Regional teams are currently prioritising the funding between proposed schemes across the midlands and will be considering the merits of a community health hub for Lutterworth as part of this process. In addition to national capital, the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust has been allocated £40.2 million in operational capital across 2026/27 to 2029/30, which they can allocate to local priorities, including funding for a new health hub.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing Level 7 apprenticeship funding on the delivery of the (a) NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and (b) Fit for the Future 10 Year Health Plan.

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

While funding arrangements for level 7 apprenticeships are changing, NHS England and the Department are funding ongoing provision of level 7 apprenticeships in five professions to support the delivery of our 10-Year Health Plan and the upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan and ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what response was provided by DHSC to the consultation by HM Treasury around changes to the VAT treatment of public bodies under Section 41 of the VAT Act.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care did not submit a formal response to HM Treasury’s consultation on proposed changes to the VAT treatment of public bodies under section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

The consultation, VAT and the Public Sector: Reform to VAT Refund Rules, was published by HM Treasury on 27 August 2020 and closed on 19 November 2020.

As a central Government department, the Department of Health and Social Care engaged with HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs through cross-Government discussions to consider the potential implications of the proposals for the health and care system, including National Health Service bodies, rather than responding as a stakeholder in its own right.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any NHS Trusts are developing proposals for new SubCos.

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

National Health Service trust proposals to establish subsidiary companies are reviewed by NHS England in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance. NHS England has one proposal under formal consideration.

As set out on 26 September 2025, NHS England will shortly consult on updating national guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of NHS staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.

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 (a) prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Newbury constituency compared with the national average; and what steps he is taking to prioritise respiratory health nationally.

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 the Newbury constituency, 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 Newbury can be found under the West Berkshire county at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/15/ati/502/are/E06000037/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

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 the time taken for diagnosis of endometriosis.

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

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, including long waits for endometriosis diagnoses. We are 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 by March 2029. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has commissioned studies focused on endometriosis diagnosis, treatment and patient experience.

We are taking action to increase capacity and transform diagnostic services to improve waiting times for endometriosis diagnoses. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and building up to five new ones in 2025/26. Our Elective Reform Plan also committed to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations. Surgical hubs are helping endometriosis patients get quicker treatment and deliver high-volume, low-complexity elective surgeries, including gynaecological procedures.

Currently, over half of the 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services. Laparoscopies remain the definitive diagnostic and treatment method and are a key part of this offering. The Elective Reform Plan commits to expand the number of hubs to increase surgical capacity and reduce waiting times.

From 2027, a new “online hospital” will also offer patients the choice to access specialist care including for menstrual problems potentially indicating endometriosis or fibroids from home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) travel expenses and (b) other financial support are available to nursing students.

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

The Department for Education provides the primary funding support package for English domiciled students in higher education through the student loans system.

We want to remove the barriers to training in clinical roles like nursing, which is why in addition to student loans, the Department of Health and Social Care provides supplementary non-repayable grants via the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). Eligible nursing students receive a minimum of £5,000 in each academic year, with an additional £1,000 per academic year available for priority areas such as mental health nursing or learning disabilities nursing. Further financial support is also available for childcare, dual accommodation costs, and travel.

These funding arrangements are reviewed annually ahead of the start of each academic year.

The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, set out that we will help students overcome financial obstacles to learning. We are working with the NHS Business Services Authority to reform and modernise the process of supporting students with their placement expenses, including reducing delays to reimbursement of their placement travel and accommodation costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 2nd March 2026 to Question 110309, what proportion of redirected patients were referred to a) mental health crisis services, b) urgent community response teams or c) primary care.

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

Data published monthly by NHS England on incidents raised and responded to by the ambulance sevice does not report the information required to answer this question.

Incident numbers and categorisation are published for England as part of the Ambulance Quality Indicators publication. The publication can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

The publication details the number of paredirected, or resolved without conveyance by an ambulance, but does not detail the service incidents are redirected to.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to pages 92 and 96 respectively of NHS England's annual report and accounts 2024-25 and 2023-24, if he will set out the business case for the increase in (a) facility time headcount to 88, (b) facility time paybill to £193,550, and (c) paid trade union activities to 1,068 hours.

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

The increased facility time in 2024/25 noted in NHS England’s Annual Report and Accounts was due to NHS England undergoing organisational change. This followed the transfers of Health Education England and NHS Digital into NHS England, which required formal consultation under employment legislation with recognised trade unions. This is also the reason for the increased facility time paybill and paid trade union activities.

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 changes in call categorisation thresholds in the East of England since 2023.

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

The Department is unaware of any national or local changes to guidance on call categorisation thresholds made since 2023, and has therefore made no assessment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the number of hospitals and departments that doctors rotate through as part of Internal Medical Training.

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

The Government recognises the importance of continuity in postgraduate medical training for both doctors and patients.

Following the 2024 Resident Doctors Agreement, the Department, working in partnership with NHS England and the British Medical Association, established a review of rotational training. This review drew on some 13,000 responses to surveys and found that rotations can provide valuable breadth of experience, but that in some cases frequent moves can disrupt learning, wellbeing, team integration, and patient care

NHS England has developed pilots within the Rotations Review programme, and these are being recruited to with start dates in August of this year. As set out in the 10-Point Plan to Improve Resident Doctors’ Working Lives, these test longer placements, smaller geographic footprints, and more flexible arrangements for less-than-full-time trainees. The future work will become part of the Medical Education and Training Review. One of these pilots has focussed on Internal Medicine Training programmes being based at a single provider for the entire three years.

The evaluation of these pilots will inform future policy decisions on placement length and continuity benefits.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of job evaluation scores for pharmacy assistants.

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

This specific assessment has not been made.

Agenda for Change pay is underpinned by the Job Evaluation Scheme (JES). This scheme was developed through collaboration between National Health Service leaders, NHS trade unions, and independent job evaluation experts. The JES is a structured method of comparing job demands and seeks to ensure that staff receive equal pay for work of equal value.

The JES focuses on the demands of the role as set out in the job documentation, for example the job description and person specification, and not the skills and knowledge an individual has. The requirements, as set out in the job documentation, are then analysed using the JES to determine the relative job demand, or weight, of the role which in turn determines which pay band the role sits in. This model of weighting has been legally tested and proven to be robust.

All local employing organisations are responsible for correctly and consistently implementing the JES to ensure staff are paid correctly for the work they are asked to deliver.

The NHS Staff Council’s Job Evaluation Group is responsible for maintaining the national role profiles that are used to support job evaluation practice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 124 of the DHSC annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1446, whether Alan Milburn is required to recuse himself from involvement in NHS and private sector health policy relating to (a) AM Strategy Ltd, (b) Bridgepoint Capital Ltd, (c) Human Therapeutic Ltd, (d) Mars Incorporated and (e) PWC.

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

Prior to appointment, non-executive candidates are required to declare all relevant interests. Appropriate mitigations are then put in place and approved by the Department.

This process was carried out for the Rt Hon. Alan Milburn, whose interests, and any updates to them, are available in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and on the GOV.UK website in alignment with Government policy.

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 alternative pathway on reducing ambulance handover delays at hospital emergency departments in the East of England.

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

Reducing unacceptably long ambulance handover delays is a priority for the Government, and the National Health Service has recently introduced a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.

We are further tackling this issue through greater use of alternative pathways of care, so patients receive the right care at the right time and in the right place. The Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan 2025/26 commits to scaling a new “Home First” approach which will enable ambulance services to prioritise the most critical cases while providing alternative pathways for those with less urgent needs.

To achieve this, we will enhance paramedic-led care in the community to ensure more patients receive effective treatment at the scene or in their own homes, reducing avoidable hospital conveyance. This will be delivered through ambulance crews operating a call before convey principle and enabling “see and treat”, supported by additional clinicians in emergency operating centres and single points of access. The East of England Ambulance Service in January 2026 reported that it responded to over half of incidents, or 52.6%, with either a see and treat response, at 34.3%, or hear and treat, at 18.3%.

The NHS Planning Guidance 2025/26 commits to improving accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times. NHS England will work with systems to reduce avoidable ambulance dispatches and conveyances by ensuring all Category 3 and 4 calls are clinically navigated, validated, and where appropriate, triaged in ambulance control centres, or in single points of access in line with existing guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 110309, how the proportion of calls redirected in the East of England compares with the national average.

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

NHS England publishes monthly data on the number of incidents raised and responded to by the ambulance service as part of the Ambulance Quality Indicators (AQI) publication. The publication can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

For the calendar year 2025, the number of incidents referred to other services nationally was 1,360,449, or 15% of all 9,312,404 incidents.

For the East of England Ambulance Service, the service referred 136,470 incidents to other services, or 14% of all incidents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publication of the final findings of the independent maternity services investigation.

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

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 progress he has made on providing the NHS staff council with a funded mandate to make improvements to the Agenda for Change pay structure.

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

The NHS Staff Council was provided with a mandate to negotiate changes to the Agenda for Change pay structure for their agreement on 5 March 2026.

Pay structure changes that are agreed by the NHS Staff Council under the mandate will deliver additional pay increases for some staff in 2026/27 on top of the 3.3% increase to all pay points that was announced on 12 February 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the Mohamed Abidisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report.

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

The Coroner has granted an extension to the statutory deadline to respond to the Mohamed Abidisamad: Prevention of Future Deaths report. The Department will respond by the extended deadline.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 20 February 2026 to Question 109501 on Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements, how many NHS overseas cost recovery claims remain outstanding after four years; and what the total value is of those claims.

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

Deadlines for settling claims between the United Kingdom and member states are set out in the implementing provisions of the UK’s agreements with the European Union, the European Economic Area, and with European Free Trade Association states, namely Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. These agreements include common rules for settling claims between states which have Social Security Coordination agreements. The relevant articles in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement are SSCI.47 to SSCI.54, and there are similar provisions in all relevant agreements. The use of common provisions and processing requirements facilitate operational delivery. Further information on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukeu-and-eaec-trade-and-cooperation-agreement-ts-no82021

Under article SSCI.52 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, states have 12 months from the end of the calendar half-year when claims were recorded in accounts to introduce a claim. There are then 36 months to resolve any disputes between the UK and the relevant member state. Agreements require that reimbursements are made as promptly as possible, but these deadlines reflect the complexity of some cases and the volume of claims processed.

Where agreement is not reached within this period, an independent committee provides a resolution process for any dispute between the UK and member states within the terms of the agreements. It is not possible to provide validated data relating to claims over four years as the status of these claims is continuously changing as they are settled, meet settlement deadlines, or go through the resolution process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 20th February 2026 to Question 109501, for what reason some NHS overseas cost recovery claims take up to four years to settle.

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

Deadlines for settling claims between the United Kingdom and member states are set out in the implementing provisions of the UK’s agreements with the European Union, the European Economic Area, and with European Free Trade Association states, namely Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. These agreements include common rules for settling claims between states which have Social Security Coordination agreements. The relevant articles in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement are SSCI.47 to SSCI.54, and there are similar provisions in all relevant agreements. The use of common provisions and processing requirements facilitate operational delivery. Further information on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukeu-and-eaec-trade-and-cooperation-agreement-ts-no82021

Under article SSCI.52 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, states have 12 months from the end of the calendar half-year when claims were recorded in accounts to introduce a claim. There are then 36 months to resolve any disputes between the UK and the relevant member state. Agreements require that reimbursements are made as promptly as possible, but these deadlines reflect the complexity of some cases and the volume of claims processed.

Where agreement is not reached within this period, an independent committee provides a resolution process for any dispute between the UK and member states within the terms of the agreements. It is not possible to provide validated data relating to claims over four years as the status of these claims is continuously changing as they are settled, meet settlement deadlines, or go through the resolution process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment had been made by DHSC or provided to DHSC by NHS England about the potential impact on the NHS of proposed changes to introduce the full refund model for VAT in the NHS.

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

The Department has not made a formal published assessment of the potential impact on the National Health Service of the proposed changes to introduce a full refund model for VAT under section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England have engaged with HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs through cross-Government discussions to understand the potential implications of the proposals for the NHS, including the interaction with NHS funding flows and the principle that any reform would need to be fiscally neutral.

NHS England has provided input to the Department to support this engagement, including analysis of existing VAT recovery arrangements and high-level consideration of the potential impacts of moving from the current Contracted Out Services regime to a full refund model. This work has been undertaken to inform cross-Government discussions and data-gathering exercises led by HM Treasury, rather than as a standalone assessment of the impact on NHS services.

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 support structured recruitment pathways for newly qualified paramedics entering the ambulance workforce.

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

No estimate has been made of the number of newly qualified paramedics unable to secure employment in National Health Service ambulance trusts.

Decisions on the employment of newly qualified paramedics are a matter for individual NHS trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, and educators to improve transition into the workforce.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include workforce projections and training requirements for prosthetics and orthotics as a distinct profession within the update to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

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

The 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 National Health Service 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.

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 newly qualified paramedics unable to secure employment in NHS ambulance trusts due to financial constraints on recruitment.

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

No estimate has been made of the number of newly qualified paramedics unable to secure employment in National Health Service ambulance trusts.

Decisions on the employment of newly qualified paramedics are a matter for individual NHS trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, and educators to improve transition into the workforce.

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 NHS ambulance trusts have sufficient funding to recruit newly qualified paramedics.

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

No estimate has been made of the number of newly qualified paramedics unable to secure employment in National Health Service ambulance trusts.

Decisions on the employment of newly qualified paramedics are a matter for individual NHS trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, and educators to improve transition into the workforce.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to make accessing and understanding support for unpaid carers clear and transparent a) nationally and b) locally.

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

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need. I chair a cross-Government ministerial group that meets regularly, made up of ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education, to consider how we can provide unpaid carers with the recognition and support they deserve.

Work is underway to introduce a MyCarer section to the NHS App, allowing people to book appointments and communicate more easily with relevant clinical team members on behalf of those for whom they care. This will allow carers to seek guidance directly from health professionals, improving people’s experience, outcomes, and saving admin time for the health professionals and the carer.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality services for unpaid carers. The Better Care Fund supports initiatives such as short breaks and respite care, with local areas deciding how to use funding based on local need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Nationally, the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside NHS England and local authorities, continue to strengthen guidance to the care sector, and online resources to make support clear and accessible through its work. This includes information on financial help, health and wellbeing services, and respite care.

Locally, integrated care systems and local authorities continue to work towards improving their services. All these steps aim to help ensure unpaid carers can access the services they need efficiently, supporting both their wellbeing and essential caring role.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to support unpaid carers a) generally and b) specifically to remove barriers to accessing respite.

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

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need. I chair a cross-Government ministerial group that meets regularly, made up of ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education, to consider how we can provide unpaid carers with the recognition and support they deserve.

Work is underway to introduce a MyCarer section to the NHS App, allowing people to book appointments and communicate more easily with relevant clinical team members on behalf of those for whom they care. This will allow carers to seek guidance directly from health professionals, improving people’s experience, outcomes, and saving admin time for the health professionals and the carer.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality services for unpaid carers. The Better Care Fund supports initiatives such as short breaks and respite care, with local areas deciding how to use funding based on local need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Nationally, the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside NHS England and local authorities, continue to strengthen guidance to the care sector, and online resources to make support clear and accessible through its work. This includes information on financial help, health and wellbeing services, and respite care.

Locally, integrated care systems and local authorities continue to work towards improving their services. All these steps aim to help ensure unpaid carers can access the services they need efficiently, supporting both their wellbeing and essential caring role.

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 Cabinet colleagues on the level of requirement for improvements in the provision of stroke rehabilitation.

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

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with a range of Cabinet Office colleagues on improvements to National Health Services. There has not been a recent specific meeting on stroke rehabilitation.

As set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, we are committed to improving services for patients locally by increasing the provision of services outside of a hospital setting that are delivered closer to home in the community.

The National Stroke Service Model provides best practice for stroke care, including post-discharge, which should include comprehensive rehabilitation and personalised care and support.

The National Stroke Quality Improvement in Rehabilitation programme is helping to transform community-based care by increasing access to specialist stroke rehabilitation at home.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 4.3.17 in his Department's manual entitled National Institute for Health and Care Excellence health technology evaluations: the manual, what would constitute a substantial effect on a carer’s health-related quality of life.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. In developing its recommendations, NICE takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, including health-related benefits to carers, but does not consider wider costs and benefits.

NICE is currently developing recommendations for the NHS on whether two new licensed medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease should be routinely funded by the NHS and has not yet published final guidance. NICE’s recommendations on the use of the treatments have been appealed and the appeals are being considered through the established process.

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 adequacy of the current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines on generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults.

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

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are developed 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 and panic disorder.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what processes are in place to ensure that findings from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) involving addiction related deaths are embedded consistently in national guidance, NHS workforce training, and commissioning standards.

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

The Government takes the findings from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs), including those where substance dependence was a feature in deaths very seriously, and expects them to inform practice, guidance, and commissioning at both a local and national level.

The processes for this is through the SAR escalation protocol and the national SAR analysis. All Safeguarding Adults Board members and relevant organisations are required to cooperate with SARs and implement findings locally, including through local commissioning and workforce training. The national SAR analysis then allows us to review at a national level.

The recently published Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment were informed by national SAR analysis and therefore include specific recommendations on adult safeguarding, summarise relevant legislation and guidance, and signpost to this national SAR analysis and associated good practice briefings, including on homelessness. The Department and NHS England are working with the drug and alcohol treatment sector to ensure that their workforce is sustainable, multidisciplinary, and equipped with the capabilities and capacity to help people to reduce risk and initiate and sustain recovery. The Department and NHS England published a 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce (2024–2034) in May 2024, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/10-year-strategic-plan-for-the-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-workforce-2024-2034/

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 adequacy of levels of provision of hoists and other accessibility equipment in GP surgeries to enable disabled and wheelchair‑using patients to undergo routine screening, including cervical smear tests; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that such equipment is available locally so that patients are not required to travel long distances to access routine NHS services.

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

We want disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.

Commissioners are responsible for ensuring any necessary equipment or environmental adaptations are delivered within general practices.

NHS England is rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a disabled patient or client and the reasonable adjustments to care and treatment that they need, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately and equitably.

Guidance and free training on the Flag is available for health and social care staff.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what methodology his Department used to calculate tariffs set out in the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service for (a) joint injections and (b) minor surgical excisions.

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

Practices sign up to deliver the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service. The Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) Directions 2025 set out the national requirements for the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service, with further information available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e683d737baea91c58c9fd4/primary-medical-services-directed-enhanced-services-directions-2025.pdf

However, please note that the service specification and payment arrangements for this directed enhanced service are determined locally by commissioners.

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 hospices in Lewes constituency.

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

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

The Government is providing £125 million in capital funding for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. Of this, St Peter and St James Hospice is receiving £392,580, St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne is receiving £793,464, and the Southern Hospice Group, which includes Chestnut Tree House Hospice and Martlets, is receiving £2,985,422, and together, these services support people in the Lewes constituency.

Children and young people’s hospices in England are receiving an additional £26 million in revenue funding for 2025/26, of which Chestnut Tree House will receive £713,000.

We have also recently announced the continuation of this funding, with approximately £80 million in revenue funding, to be provided over the next three years. I can confirm that Chestnut Tree House will receive £728,000 in 2026/27.

Additionally, the Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. It will drive improvements in access, quality, and sustainability, and support integrated care boards to commission high-quality, personalised care. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services, and we will also consider contracting and commissioning arrangements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether tariffs for procedures under the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service have been adjusted to account for inflation, staff costs and premises costs since 2004.

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

Practices sign up to deliver the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service. The Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) Directions 2025 set out the national requirements for the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service, with further information available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e683d737baea91c58c9fd4/primary-medical-services-directed-enhanced-services-directions-2025.pdf

However, please note that the service specification and payment arrangements for this directed enhanced service are determined locally by commissioners.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of GPs that will be needed to ensure that patients deemed clinically urgent are dealt with on the same day.

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

As a result of actions taken by the Government, we have the highest number of fully qualified general practitioners (GPs) since 2015. As of 31 December, there are also over 43,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) direct patient care staff working in GPs.

We are investing £485 million into GPs in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26.

Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme which ringfences and repurposes £292 million of funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions from existing GPs to support clinical same day urgent access in GPs. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment.

As part of the 26/27 GP Contract, we are increasing the flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner.

We are not defining “clinically urgent” from the centre. GP staff are trained and experienced in recognising which patients need to be seen quickly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the GP Contract 2026/27, how many more GPs are needed to fulfil the contract obligation that patients deemed clinically urgent must be dealt with on the same day.

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

As a result of actions taken by the Government, we have the highest number of fully qualified general practitioners (GPs) since 2015. As of 31 December, there are also over 43,000 full time equivalent direct patient care staff working in GPs.

We are investing £485 million in GPs in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26.

Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme which ringfences and repurposes £292 million of funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions from existing GPs to support clinical same day urgent access in GPs. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment.

As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, we are increasing the flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner.

We are not defining “clinically urgent” from the centre. GP staff are trained and experienced in recognising which patients need to be seen quickly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of a) GP consultations and b) Accident and Emergency attendances in England were assessed as i) avoidable, ii) non-urgent and iii) more appropriately managed in alternative settings in the latest year for which figures are available.

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

NHS England publishes monthly data on General Practice Appointments, including the approximate length of time between appointments being booked and taking place, including same day appointments, for instance for patients needing more urgent care. However, this can’t be used as a proxy for avoidable, non-urgent, or if a particular patient would be more appropriately managed in alternative settings.

In the 12-months to December 2025, 44% of all appointments were delivered on the same day and 88% of appointments not usually booked in advance were delivered within two weeks of booking.

General practices (GP) are independent businesses that hold contracts with the National Health Service to provide essential services. The contracts are clear that patients must be offered an assessment of need or signposting to a different service on the day they contact their practice. The 2026/27 GP Contract makes it explicit that any requests identified as clinically urgent, as determined by the GP, must be dealt with on the same day.

The Emergency Care Data Set is the national data set for urgent and emergency care, published by NHS England. In 2024/25, 25,822,265 patients attended accident and emergency departments, excluding planned follow ups, with data being published at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-accident--emergency-activity/2024-25

Of these, approximately 8%, or approximately two million, were recorded as non-urgent. However, this does not mean they were necessarily avoidable or could have been managed in alternative settings.

We are taking action to reduce pressures on emergency departments and working to ensure patients are seen and treated in the most appropriate setting. This includes: encouraging the use of alternative community services before attending accident and emergency; expanding urgent care access in primary, community, and mental health settings, including more support from Urgent Community Response teams; and increasing the use of virtual wards.

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 informal carers supporting psychiatric patients have access to appropriate support services.

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

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the need for additional recognition and support for unpaid carers of people with mental ill-health. Local authorities are required by the Care Act 2014 to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.

The Government is making approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.

Informal carers with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or be referred by their general practitioner. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes expanding Talking Therapies services and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

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 recognise the role of informal carers providing care to psychiatric patients.

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

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the need for additional recognition and support for unpaid carers of people with mental ill-health. Local authorities are required by the Care Act 2014 to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.

The Government is making approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.

Informal carers with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or be referred by their general practitioner. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes expanding Talking Therapies services and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

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 need for additional recognition and support for informal carers supporting people with mental health conditions.

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

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the need for additional recognition and support for unpaid carers of people with mental ill-health. Local authorities are required by the Care Act 2014 to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.

The Government is making approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.

Informal carers with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or be referred by their general practitioner. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes expanding Talking Therapies services and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is his Department taking to help ensure hospices receive sufficient funding to carry out at home visits.

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

We have provided a £125 million capital funding boost for eligible adult, and children and young people’s, hospices in England.  This can be used by hospices to improve IT systems, making it easier for general practices and hospitals to share vital data on patients. It can also help hospices to develop and better their outreach services to support people in their own homes when needed.

We are also providing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices in England over the next three financial years, giving them the stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients, whether that is on a hospice inpatient ward or in patients’ own homes.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead. Officials are working closely with a number of stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.

The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift. The MSF will address the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community.

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 review the NHS dental banding system to reflect the treatment of patients with complex needs.

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

We are introducing three new care pathways for patients with significant dental decay and gum disease, with payments to dentists ranging from £248 to £709.

Under the new care pathways, patients will agree a single care plan with their dentist, setting out the prevention, treatment, and appointments they need. Patients will pay one charge for the whole course of care, normally a Band 2 charge. This approach benefits patients by reducing the need for repeated visits and avoiding multiple charges, while supporting more effective, joined‑up care.

By incentivising complex treatments, we’re encouraging dentists to undertake vital National Health Service work, benefiting patients across the country who will pay one charge for the whole course of treatment.

We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available from the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

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 child dental health in Newbury constituency.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan confirms that child dental health is a priority. We are introducing changes to dental access that will benefit children. Following public consultation, from April 2026 we will introduce a new course of treatment for fluoride varnish for children to be applied by suitably trained dental nurses in between regular check-ups. We will also increase remuneration for dentists for fissure sealants, to support increased use of this effective treatment for primary prevention purposes.

In the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, 26,221, or 12%, more NHS dental treatments were delivered to children in April to October 2025 compared to the same period before the election.

The Government is also prioritising the prevention of poor dental health in children. Through the national supervised toothbrushing programme, the West Berkshire Council has been allocated approximately £33,000 over the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years to target three- to five-year-olds in deprived areas. The West Berkshire Council has also received approximately 700 free toothbrushes and toothpastes through our five year collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive.

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 local authority funding pressures on recruitment and retention in the adult social care workforce.

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

No specific assessment has been made on the potential impact of local authority funding pressures on recruitment and retention in the adult social care workforce.

English local authorities have a 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. The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth and improve the retention of the domestic workforce.

The Government is making over £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. This includes £500 million to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028 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, what proportion of funding from the Better Care Fund has been allocated to local systems in Essex.

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

The following table shows the 2026/27 Better Care Fund (BCF) allocations for Essex broken down by local authority:

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for informing children’s hospices of their individual allocations from recent funding announcements.

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

Children and young people’s hospices have been informed of their allocations for 2026/27 by NHS England. Communications regarding future allocations, for 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.

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 trends in the level of the proportion of standard continuing healthcare applications assessed as eligible in comparison to fast-track applications.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs), with oversight from NHS England, are responsible for operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).

Fast Track CHC supports individuals with a rapidly deteriorating condition who may be entering a terminal phase by putting a care package in place quickly. Eligibility is established through completing a Fast Track Pathway Tool (FTPT), with clear reasons why the individual fulfils the criteria evidenced. ICBs must accept a properly completed FTPT as sufficient to establish eligibility for CHC.

Standard CHC supports those with high ongoing needs and is assessed through a two-stage assessment process beginning with screening via a Checklist. The Checklist criteria is set deliberately low to ensure that anyone who may be eligible for Standard CHC is fully assessed for eligibility through the completion of a Decision Support Tool.

Due to the different eligibility criteria used in the assessment processes, it is not appropriate to directly compare the proportion of individuals assessed as eligible for Fast Track and Standard CHC. The latest published data on CHC eligibility is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-chc-fnc/

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 help improve early diagnosis of non-memory led dementias including primary progressive aphasia in Surrey.

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

A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible.

As part of development of the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, we will consider what interventions should be supported to improve dementia care and diagnosis waiting times, which we know are too long in many areas. We are considering all options to improve care and help reduce variation, including reviewing metrics and targets.

We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. The national ambition to ensure that two-thirds of people estimated to have dementia receive a formal diagnosis includes ensuring provision of a validated diagnosis of dementia subtype.

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 support available to people of working age living with dementia including primary progressive aphasia in Surrey Heath constituency.

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

No assessment has been made of the adequacy of the support available to people of working age living with dementia, including primary progressive aphasia, in the Surrey Heath constituency.

Employers must make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs. This applies to all workers, including trainees, apprentices, contract workers, and business partners.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs) and may include speech and language therapy. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total value of compensation paid for emergency medicine negligence claims has been in each of the last three years.

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

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. NHSR publishes data for payments made for their clinical schemes in their Supplementary Annual Statistics (SAS), which are available at the following link:

Supplementary-Annual-Statistics-NHS-Resolution-2024-25-ACC-CHECKED-V4.xlsx.

These tables include payments made in each relevant year for damages and legal costs, and average damages and legal costs.

Please note that the values for payments reported for each year in the SAS will be different from those reported in the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA). One of the differences is that our SAS dataset will take into account the periodical payment order (PPO) payments paid after the settlement year, the ARA will not. Future PPO payments, due after 31 March 2025 are not included in the data provided to this request.

Sheet 6 of the Additional Annual Statistics shows the total damages value of settled clinical claims by speciality as of 31 March 2025, including ‘Emergency Medicine’. The Additional Annual Statistics are available at the following link:

https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fresolution.nhs.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F11%2FAdditional-Annual-Statistics-NHS-Resolution-2024_25-ACC-CHECKEDv2.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

There is a detailed explanatory note which sets out the detail of what the damages value covers.

Also, in 2022 NHSR published a thematic review about learning from emergency medicine compensation claims, which can be found at the following link:

https://resolution.nhs.uk/2022/03/28/learning-from-emergency-medicine-compensation-claims/

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 introduce a community-based audiology service for adults to improve access to assessment and treatment.

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

Community health services are a fundamental part of the health and care system and an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of community health services, including audiology, to meet the needs of their local populations.

However, we know people are waiting too long to access audiology services. For the first time, we have set a clear target through the Medium Term Planning Framework, for systems to work to, in order to reduce long waits for community health services. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks. This includes community audiology services. This will be a key part of the shift from hospital to community.

In 2025, we published, for the first time, an overview of the core community health services, Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. It provides a baseline standard to ensure consistent delivery of community services, including audiology services, supporting effective commissioning and improved patient access. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of community audiology services for ICBs.

We are also committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including for audiology services for adults with age-related hearing loss.

NHS England is supporting provider organisations and ICBs who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

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 Advice and Guidance requests on the legal and accountability frameworks for clinicians.

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

Changes introduced as part of the 2025/26 GP Contract consultation included the introduction of the Enhanced Service for Advice and Guidance (A&G). This built upon existing use of A&G pathways by general practice over previous years, which helped to ensure patients received care at the right place and the right time. The Department and NHS England are embedding A&G into the core GP Contract for 2026/27. This removes the need for annual sign‑up and treats A&G as routine clinical practice with predictable, recurrent funding.

The use of A&G does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks, and supportive guidance is available to help signpost these responsibilities. Clinical decisions remain with appropriately qualified professionals under established regulatory and local governance arrangements, and NHS England continues to ensure these frameworks remain clear and robust as the use of A&G expands, including through job planning guidance that supports clinicians to manage this activity safely and appropriately.

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 changes to employer National Insurance contributions on providers of council-commissioned adult social care services.

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

The Government took the cost pressures facing adult social care, including changes to employer National Insurance contributions and increases to the National Living Wage, into account as part of the wider consideration of local government spending.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government has made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. The Government also made an extra £502 million of support for local authorities in England to manage the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions announced at the Autumn Budget for 2025/26.

In addition, the final Local Government Finance Settlement has confirmed an increase of over £4.6 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for shaping their care markets to meet local needs. In doing so, they should have an understanding of the local market, work effectively with local providers, and maintain oversight of local workforce pressures. It is for them to determine what is a sustainable rate, suitable to their local circumstances.

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 whether current local authority funding for adult social care will be sufficient for projected demand over the next three years.

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

The Department regularly assesses the demand and cost pressures facing adult social care. These pressures were taken into account as part of the wider consideration of spending within the Spending Review process.

The Government is making additional funding available for adult social care to support the sector in making improvements. The total additional funding available for adult social care in 2026/27 compared to 2025/26 is over £1.6 billion, rising to over £4.6 billion in 2028/29.

This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support adult social care, and an increase to the National Health Service contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the suitability of the EQ-5D model for assessing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on carer quality of life.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. In developing its recommendations, NICE takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, including health-related benefits to carers, but does not consider wider costs and benefits.

NICE is currently developing recommendations for the NHS on whether two new licensed medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease should be routinely funded by the NHS and has not yet published final guidance. NICE’s recommendations on the use of the treatments have been appealed and the appeals are being considered through the established 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 novel treatments on the unpaid care costs associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. In developing its recommendations, NICE takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, including health-related benefits to carers, but does not consider wider costs and benefits.

NICE is currently developing recommendations for the NHS on whether two new licensed medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease should be routinely funded by the NHS and has not yet published final guidance. NICE’s recommendations on the use of the treatments have been appealed and the appeals are being considered through the established process.

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 13 February 2026 to Question 111118 on Coronavirus: Research, what is the definition of the word “routine” in this context.

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

In the context of the answer to Question 111118 of 13 February 2026, “routine” refers to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority standard practice on publications of audit outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has considered to support informal carers providing care to psychiatric patients.

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

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the need for additional recognition and support for unpaid carers of people with mental ill-health. Local authorities are required by the Care Act 2014 to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, including those caring for people with mental ill-health, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.

The Government is making approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.

Informal carers with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or be referred by their general practitioner. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes expanding Talking Therapies services and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.

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 help increase the availability of speech and language therapists supporting people living with dementia in Surrey Heath constituency.

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

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs) and may include speech and language therapy. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The Government is committed to improving care for everyone with dementia, including those with Primary Progressive Aphasia, which is why we have funded the work of Dementia 100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia.

A number of experts, including those with expertise in speech and language therapy and dementia care, provided independent, desktop analysis of the tool, and this invaluable feedback was integrated into the tool.

The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool can be found at the following link:

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-tool

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 help improve support for people living with primary progressive aphasia and other language led dementias in Surrey Heath constituency.

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

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs) and may include speech and language therapy. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The Government is committed to improving care for everyone with dementia, including those with Primary Progressive Aphasia, which is why we have funded the work of Dementia 100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia.

A number of experts, including those with expertise in speech and language therapy and dementia care, provided independent, desktop analysis of the tool, and this invaluable feedback was integrated into the tool.

The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool can be found at the following link:

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-tool

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 help ensure access to speech and language therapy for people diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia in Surrey Heath constituency.

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

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs) and may include speech and language therapy. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The Government is committed to improving care for everyone with dementia, including those with Primary Progressive Aphasia, which is why we have funded the work of Dementia 100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia.

A number of experts, including those with expertise in speech and language therapy and dementia care, provided independent, desktop analysis of the tool, and this invaluable feedback was integrated into the tool.

The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool can be found at the following link:

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-tool

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to improve patient flow between emergency departments and inpatient wards.

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

Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan set out steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. We are aiming for 78% of patients to be seen in in four hours this year, meaning over 800,000 people will receive more timely care. Building on this, the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework sets out a clear trajectory to improve urgent and emergency care performance year-on-year, reducing long waits and improving patient flow.

In February, we published guidance on the Model Emergency Department, setting out the core principles and pathways for high-performing emergency departments. The guidance includes a national model for extended emergency medicine ambulatory care and is intended to support faster decision-making across urgent and emergency care pathways, whilst strengthening whole-system responsibility for performance. This will improve patient experience and patient flow, with lower waiting times and less overcrowding.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the General Medical Council about improving the specificity of data points collected about the reasons that doctors (1) relinquish their licence to practice, and (2) leave the professional register, to better mitigate the causes of doctors leaving the profession.

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

The Department regularly discusses the data collections the General Medical Council (GMC) undertakes with the GMC. However, the Department has had no discussions with the GMC on changing data collection relating to the reasons for doctors choosing to relinquish their licence or leave the professional register.

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

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the community pharmacy sector's funding gap has changed since the publication of Economic analysis of NHS pharmaceutical services in England on 31 March 2025.

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

In 2025/26, the 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. Additional funding was also made available, for example, for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

On 25 February, the Department began the 2026/27 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework consultation with Community Pharmacy England, to consider any proposed changes to the reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2026/27.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in reducing disparities in health outcomes between ethnic groups; and how that progress is monitored and evaluated.

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

It is a priority for the Government to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths, with an ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.

Our 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes. This includes tackling the conditions where there are the greatest disparities for ethnic groups.

In England, the maternal mortality rates are significantly higher among women from Black and Asian ethnic backgrounds. To combat this, we are introducing an anti-discrimination programme to all trusts to tackle discrimination and racism, and have published a ‘Maternal Care Bundle’, which includes best practice for the clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death for women from Black and Asian backgrounds.

NHS England have launched a Maternity and Neonatal Equalities dashboard that brings together key information to address health inequalities in maternity and neonatal care services from a range of data sources, with breakdowns by ethnicity and deprivation to make health inequalities visible, measurable, and actionable in maternity and neonatal services.

We have also legislated to modernise the Mental Health Act to give patients greater choice, autonomy, enhanced rights and support, and ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout their treatment which will seek to address some of the disparities between ethnic groups. The Government is also committed to delivering the cross-sector Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. The ambitions outlined in the strategy include research on, and better understanding of, national trends and suicide rates in particular groups, including ethnic minority groups.

We have published a plan designed to transform cancer outcomes and we are determined to close inequalities in screening and early diagnosis for ethnic minority communities and underserved communities through our new Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund, which is part of £200 million for Cancer Alliances.

There are ethnic inequalities that exist across the cardiovascular disease (CVD) pathway, that is, from the prevention of disease, through to treatment and rehabilitation after a CVD event. To address this, the Department and NHS England are working together to deliver the CVD Modern Service Framework and are engaging widely throughout its development. At the heart of this is engagement with people and communities, including through the Race Equality Engagement Group.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the National Cancer Plan for England, published on 4 February, whether funding for travel costs for children and young people with cancer will be available to those in Wales and other devolved nations; and whether any Barnett formula consequentials will result from that funding.

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

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families across the United Kingdom.

Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committing up to £10 million a year to a new fund open to all children and young people in England with cancer and their families regardless of income, to support them with the cost of travelling to and from treatment This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.

Health is predominately devolved. Devolved administrations receive funding through the Barnett Formula, and it is ultimately for them to allocate, prioritise, and manage their budgets. This funding is not new and so Barnett consequentials do not apply. However, the Department does work closely with our counterparts in the devolved administrations to share expertise and identify new opportunities to improve health and social care delivery across the United Kingdom.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 5 February (HL13750), what is the evidence base that there is a stigma around mental health in schools that requires intervention by the Government.

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

The importance of reducing the stigma around mental health is widely recognised, backed up by evidence such as the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health, published in 2022, and is frequently highlighted as a key issue by stakeholders and service users. The findings are available on the Lancet Commission’s website.

The initial Mental Health Support Team (MHST) evaluation, the Early evaluation of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Trailblazer programme from 2023, and the more recently published Findings from surveys of schools and colleges and Mental Health Support Teams from 2025, both found overwhelmingly positive support for MHSTs from education staff. This data is available on page 21 of the attached document.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what antimicrobial resistance surveillance is currently conducted on imported foods at the UK border; and how that surveillance aligns with the UK's One Health approach to antimicrobial resistance.

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

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs monitors antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in zoonotic and commensal bacteria from food samples taken from Third Country Imports to the European Union of fresh meat at Northern Ireland’s Points of Entry. This AMR testing is carried out on beef and/or pork and chicken and/or turkey on alternating years. These inspections are carried out in line with and under European Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1729 on the monitoring and reporting of AMR in zoonotic and commensal bacteria, which applies in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

For the rest of the United Kingdom, port health authorities (PHAs) have a statutory obligation to prioritise sampling under official controls which are intended to mitigate known food safety risks. PHAs have their own local sampling plans which will be informed by the UK’s National Monitoring Plan and other intelligence. Currently, it is more practical to sample for AMR screening inland.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently funding two AMR surveys at retail which includes testing foods imported into the United Kingdom. This includes the raw frozen chicken meat survey and the eggshell membrane food supplements survey, which includes supplements imported into the UK.

The Government takes a ‘One-Health’ approach to controlling AMR through the UK’s 2024 to 2029 National Action Plan. The FSA leads on AMR in food and promoting good hygienic practices across the food chain. Surveillance improves our understanding of AMR by measuring, predicting, and understanding how resistant microorganisms spread from animals and agriculture to humans via the food chain. This allows decisions to be based on robust surveillance, scientific research, and datasets. We monitor AMR bacteria found in foods to understand trends over several years and detect emerging new threats to protect the public and future effectiveness of antibiotics both in healthcare and animal welfare.

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 people experiencing hair loss can access suitable mental health support.

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

We recognise that hair loss can have a significant emotional impact, and people affected should be able to access appropriate mental health support, if and when they need it.

The Government is increasing access to mental health services across the spectrum of need. This includes expanding NHS Talking Therapies, which provide effective treatment for common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, and growing Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to ensure children and young people can receive early support. This is supported by the recruitment of almost 8,000 additional mental health staff, against our target of 8,500 by 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, how many staff in his Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

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

47 individuals in the Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

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 adequacy of recent trends in diagnosis times for women with endometriosis.

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. We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for endometriosis. It is unacceptable that women can wait so long for an endometriosis diagnosis and we are taking action to address this.

As announced in September 2025, we will establish an online hospital, via NHS Online, which will give people across the country, on certain pathways, the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

Menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis will be among the first nine conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027. We’ve chosen some of the conditions with the longest waits and where online consultation works best. NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care. This will allow women with menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis across the country to reach a diagnosis sooner.

The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment from the academic year 2024/25. The content map for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health including menstrual problems, endometriosis, menopause, and urinary incontinence. This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated their guideline on endometriosis to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with a suspected diagnosis, which will help the estimated one in 10 women with endometriosis to receive a diagnosis faster. NICE is working with the National Health Service to ensure adoption of this best practice endometriosis care.

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 diagnosis times for women with endometriosis.

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. We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for endometriosis. It is unacceptable that women can wait so long for an endometriosis diagnosis and we are taking action to address this.

As announced in September 2025, we will establish an online hospital, via NHS Online, which will give people across the country, on certain pathways, the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home. It will connect patients with clinicians across the country through secure, online appointments accessed through the NHS App.

Menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis will be among the first nine conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027. We’ve chosen some of the conditions with the longest waits and where online consultation works best. NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care. This will allow women with menstrual problems which may be a sign of endometriosis across the country to reach a diagnosis sooner.

The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment from the academic year 2024/25. The content map for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health including menstrual problems, endometriosis, menopause, and urinary incontinence. This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated their guideline on endometriosis to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with a suspected diagnosis, which will help the estimated one in 10 women with endometriosis to receive a diagnosis faster. NICE is working with the National Health Service to ensure adoption of this best practice endometriosis care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the written answer of 5 December 2025 to question 93353, whether citizens of the British Overseas Territories are treated differently from other non-ordinarily resident citizens.

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

Entitlement to National Health Service care, free at the point of use, is based on ordinary residence. Anyone who is not ordinarily resident is considered an overseas visitor and may be chargeable under the NHS Charging Regulations, unless an exemption applies.

A healthcare agreement is an example of an exemption, as the healthcare agreements between the United Kingdom and British Overseas Territories (BOT) allow for some BOT citizens to access pre-authorised treatment that has been agreed under the NHS quota system or funded by the BOT administration. Some eligible BOT residents can also access necessary healthcare without charge while temporarily in the UK.

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 audiology waiting times for adults with age-related hearing loss.

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

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including for audiology services for adults with age-related hearing loss.

NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards (ICBs), who are the commissioners of audiology services, to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres (CDCs), and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and modernisation efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament. The plan commits to transform and expand diagnostic services and speed up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the RTT 18-week standard.  This includes expanding existing CDCs, as well as building up to five new ones in 2025/26, and commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations and an expanded range of tests.

For the first time, we have set a clear target through the Medium Term Planning Framework, for systems to work to reduce long waits. By 2028/29, at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks. This includes community audiology services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Amos Review interim report's findings regarding reports of racism and stereotyping in maternity and neonatal services; and what steps are being considered to respond to these issues.

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

The interim report of the national independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal care, chaired by Baroness Amos, underlines the unacceptable experiences of some women and their families due to racism and discrimination.

The investigation aims to identify the drivers and impact of inequalities faced by women, babies and families from Black and Asian backgrounds as well as deprived and marginalised groups. A coherent single set of national recommendations will be published by the investigation in June, which the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will address by developing a new action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.

We are not waiting for the investigation to report. We are taking immediate actions, including a programme in all trusts to tackle discrimination and racism, while local systems are all implementing their Equity and Equality action plans. We have also launched a ‘Maternal Care Bundle’ which includes best practice for clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death for women from Black and Asian backgrounds.

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 expand access to women's health hubs.

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

The Government is supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to use the learning from the women’s health hub pilots to improve local delivery of services to women and girls.

ICBs should take a neighbourhood approach to women’s healthcare, ensuring women can get the care they need regardless of whether they speak first to a general practice (GP), hospital, or other healthcare provider.

We are supporting ICBs to continue improving their delivery of neighbourhood women’s healthcare, in line with their responsibility to commission services that meet the needs of their local populations.

Neighbourhood women’s healthcare is delivered both by a range of providers and digitally, giving women access not just to GPs and community specialists in women’s health, but to other services include pelvic physiotherapists, pharmacies, and psychological support services. This builds on the successful pilot of women’s health hubs.

Outcomes in women’s health will be soon be shared with ICBs through a data dashboard so they can see how well they are meeting the needs of women in their population.

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 access to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography scans for cancer diagnosis.

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

The Government is committed to increasing access to Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) scans and other nuclear medicine for cancer diagnosis, primarily by boosting overall diagnostic capacity.

As part of the diagnostic capital allocation from the Spending Reviews between 2021 and 2026, five schemes have been funded to replace aged computed tomography or SPECT-CT scanners with new SPECT-CT scanners for a total investment of £6.2 million. The benefits include increased throughput of patients, lower radiation doses, faster scans, reduced sedation of patients, and improved image quality.

SPECT-CT bids are also within the scope of the 2026 Spending Review multi-year diagnostic capital process, which is ongoing.

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 support networks of (a) clinicians and (b) health professionals who wish to share best practice on responding to domestic abuse.

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

A network of Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) Leads are embedded in almost every National Health Service trust, integrated care board, and region across England. These Leads act as advocates both within the NHS and in partnership with external agencies to improve services for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The national network of DASV Leads hold quarterly webinars to share good practice. They also use a secure NHS online workspace to share learning, resources, and training.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the average ambulance waiting times for (a) Category 1, (b) Category 2, (c) Category 3 and (d) Category 4 incidents for each region of the UK.

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

NHS England publishes monthly data on ambulance response times for England as part of the Ambulance Quality Indicators publication. The publication can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

The following table shows latest published performance data for ambulance response times in England, broken down by ambulance category:

Ambulance response times for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are published by their own health services respectively and can be found online. The response time categories and thresholds differ from those used in England, and as such direct comparisons cannot be made. The separate publications for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are available, respectively, at the following three links:

https://www.scottishambulance.com/our-board/board-papers/

https://jcc.nhs.wales/insighthub/asi/

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/emergency-care-and-ambulance-statistics

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of ambulance response cases in Category 3 and Category 4 incidents that involved patients waiting over 5 hours for an ambulance for each region of the UK.

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

NHS England publishes monthly data on ambulance response times for England as part of the Ambulance Quality Indicators publication. The publication can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

NHS England does not publish performance response time data that allows for an assessment of the number of patients who wait over five hours. It does publish the 90th centile performance, the threshold that the 10% of incidents with the highest response time are greater than.

Ambulance response times for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are published by their own health services respectively and can be found online. The response time categories and thresholds differ from those used in England, and as such direct comparisons cannot be made. The separate publications for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are available, respectively, at the following three links:

https://www.scottishambulance.com/our-board/board-papers/

https://jcc.nhs.wales/insighthub/asi/

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/emergency-care-and-ambulance-statistics

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 provision of NHS audiology services in Dewsbury and Batley constituency.

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

NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in National Health Service trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

Data is also published on community health services waiting lists, which includes waiting times for community audiology services. This is published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical students graduated from UK universities in each of the last five years; and how many doctors completed foundation training in each of the last five years.

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

Data published by the General Medical Council (GMC) provides information on the number of doctors with a United Kingdom Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ) by year. The following table shows the number of doctors graduating from UK medical schools in each of the last five years who then registered with the GMC:

Source: General Medical Council, UK graduates summary data, with further information available at the following link:
https://gde.gmc-uk.org/medical-schools/uk-graduates/uk-graduates-summary-data
Note: total represents the total number of doctors with a UK Primary Medical Qualification in that year who went onto register with the GMC.

Medical graduates complete a two-year Foundation Programme following graduation from medical school. Successful completion of the programme occurs at the end of Foundation Year Two (F2). Data on the number of doctors completing foundation training is published by the GMC through its Education Data Tool. Successful completion of foundation training is interpreted as completion of F2.

The following table shows data published by the GMC on the number of doctors completing F2 in each of the last five years:

Source: General Medical Council, Education Data Tool Progression Reports, with further information available at the following link:
https://edt.gmc-uk.org/progression-reports/recruitment-from-f2

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects to announce the revised timetable for provision of McCloud Remedy statements to NHS workers who have already retired but have not been able to make their McCloud choice.

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

The Department recognises the importance of providing NHS Pension Scheme members certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remediable Service Statements.

An independent review of the NHS Business Service Authority’s revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members is ongoing. The independent review team is expected to assess this revised delivery plan shortly. Subject to the review team's assurance, we intend to issue new deadlines and update the House in May 2026.

In the meantime, the NHS Business Service Authority continues to provide Remediable Service Statements to affected members, prioritising those who may be most affected by the discrimination highlighted by the McCloud judgment. Additionally, members who meet specific criteria can request to receive a prioritised Remediable Service Statement. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/public-service-pensions-remedy-mccloud/making-your-decision-about-your-nhs-pension-benefits

The Government is committed to ensuring that affected members are not subject to financial disadvantage due to these delays. Pension arrears arising from the McCloud remedy are paid with 8% interest, and a compensation scheme is available for members who have experienced other direct financial losses.'

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the DHSC annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1446, what the payment of £18,000 of gross benefits for the Second Permanent Secretary relates to.

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

As stated in the Department’s Remuneration Report, that forms part of the annual report and accounts 2024/25, the Department’s Second Permanent Secretary, Tom Riordan, received £18,000 benefits in kind during 2024/25, to cover the dual location of his role.

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 safety benefits of providing warning lights for vehicles used by Community First Responders.

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

Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers trained by ambulance services to attend certain types of emergency calls in the communities where they live or work. Decisions on operational arrangements, including safety measures and equipment for CFRs, are determined locally by ambulance trusts.

As a complementary resource, CFRs are dispatched only to those calls that appropriately fall within the clinical scope of practice for a volunteer CFR role and assessment of this takes both the safety of the volunteer and patient into account.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, may, by regulations, make provisions for courses of training for driving vehicles at high speed. It is generally taken that those responding to incidents using blue lights and sirens are trained to an appropriate standard that is recognised by the despatching National Health Service ambulance service. The decision to authorise interested CFR and/or co-responder schemes to use blue lights and sirens and claim exemptions is for local determination by NHS ambulance services.

The CFR scheme is designed so volunteers are typically located close to incidents requiring a response, meaning driving under emergency conditions would typically confer relatively little benefit compared with travelling at normal road speed. Any potential benefits must also be weighed against the increased risks to the public associated with using exemptions to road traffic regulations.

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 the safety of Community First Responders.

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

Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers trained by ambulance services to attend certain types of emergency calls in the communities where they live or work. Decisions on operational arrangements, including safety measures and equipment for CFRs, are determined locally by ambulance trusts.

As a complementary resource, CFRs are dispatched only to those calls that appropriately fall within the clinical scope of practice for a volunteer CFR role and assessment of this takes both the safety of the volunteer and patient into account.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, may, by regulations, make provisions for courses of training for driving vehicles at high speed. It is generally taken that those responding to incidents using blue lights and sirens are trained to an appropriate standard that is recognised by the despatching National Health Service ambulance service. The decision to authorise interested CFR and/or co-responder schemes to use blue lights and sirens and claim exemptions is for local determination by NHS ambulance services.

The CFR scheme is designed so volunteers are typically located close to incidents requiring a response, meaning driving under emergency conditions would typically confer relatively little benefit compared with travelling at normal road speed. Any potential benefits must also be weighed against the increased risks to the public associated with using exemptions to road traffic regulations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in relation to the GP contract 2026/27, how his Department plans to support hospitals in dealing with the increased caseloads generated by mandating Advice and Guidance.

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

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is a clinical collaboration tool that supports timely specialist input and helps patients receive care in the right setting, enabling best use of clinical time.

The GP Contract 2026/27 sets out that practices will be required to use A&G prior to, or in place of, a planned care referral where clinically appropriate. It also sets out the expectation for practices to follow locally agreed referral pathways, including single point of access (SPoA) models once introduced. Similarly, our Medium-term Planning Framework, published in October 2026, introduced plans to support increased A&G by moving to an elective SPoA model. All appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, will be directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help reduce unnecessary appointments, making the best use of clinical time. The Medium-Term Planning Framework set the aim for all referrals to go via a SPoA for at least 10 specialties determined at provider level by October 2026, which provides flexibility for local teams to deliver where there is the most potential for the model to be effective, including ensuring timely responses.

Integrated care boards are expected to support the introduction of expanded A&G and SPoA through their strategic commissioning for 2026/27. National Health Service trusts will continue to be funded to deliver A&G through a fixed payment negotiated locally to ensure predictable and sufficient funding to cover increased A&G use. NHS England will continue to work with systems to monitor performance, share good practice, and support timely responses, including through job planning guidance that supports clinicians to manage A&G safely and appropriately.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in relation to the GP contract 2026/27, what framework he has put in place to help ensure that hospitals respond to Advice and Guidance requests in a timely manner.

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

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is a clinical collaboration tool that supports timely specialist input and helps patients receive care in the right setting, enabling best use of clinical time.

The GP Contract 2026/27 sets out that practices will be required to use A&G prior to, or in place of, a planned care referral where clinically appropriate. It also sets out the expectation for practices to follow locally agreed referral pathways, including single point of access (SPoA) models once introduced. Similarly, our Medium-term Planning Framework, published in October 2026, introduced plans to support increased A&G by moving to an elective SPoA model. All appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, will be directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help reduce unnecessary appointments, making the best use of clinical time. The Medium-Term Planning Framework set the aim for all referrals to go via a SPoA for at least 10 specialties determined at provider level by October 2026, which provides flexibility for local teams to deliver where there is the most potential for the model to be effective, including ensuring timely responses.

Integrated care boards are expected to support the introduction of expanded A&G and SPoA through their strategic commissioning for 2026/27. National Health Service trusts will continue to be funded to deliver A&G through a fixed payment negotiated locally to ensure predictable and sufficient funding to cover increased A&G use. NHS England will continue to work with systems to monitor performance, share good practice, and support timely responses, including through job planning guidance that supports clinicians to manage A&G safely and appropriately.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £70 million allocated in the Autumn Budget 2024 for new linear accelerator (LINAC) machines has been spent to date; how many new LINAC machines have been procured with that funding; what is the location of those new LINAC machines; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those deployments on the level of patient care.

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

The £70 million investment is in the process of being spent, machines have been ordered, and they are being rolled out across the country, with some treating patients already. These 28 new, cutting-edge machines will reduce waiting times and provide 15% more treatments allowing 27,500 extra patients to be treated every year. This means more equal access and better outcomes for cancer patients across England.

The new radiotherapy machines are located at: Addenbrooke’s Hospital; Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital; Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre at Bristol Royal Infirmary; Charing Cross Hospital; The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, in the Withington Site; Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, in the Liverpool Site; Colchester General Hospital; Derriford Hospital; Freeman Hospital; Guy’s Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital; Hereford County Hospital; James Cook University Hospital; Kent and Canterbury Hospital; Lincoln County Hospital; North Middlesex University Hospital; Northampton General Hospital; Nottingham City Hospital; Royal Berkshire Hospital; Royal Cornwall Hospital; Royal Derby Hospital; Royal Marsden Hospital, in Sutton, Surrey; Royal Preston Hospital; Royal Surrey Hospital; Southend University Hospital; St Bartholomew’s Hospital; University College Hospital; Weston Park Cancer Centre; and Worcestershire Royal Hospital. In addition, four trusts, namely University Hospitals Birmingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, Southend, and Hereford and Gloucestershire, have received a contribution towards the cost of bunker refurbishment.

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 impact of corridor care in Emergency Departments on patient safety, dignity, and clinical outcomes; and what actions are being taken to address the routine treatment of acutely ill patients in corridor settings.

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

The provision of clinical care in corridors is unacceptable, and we are committed to ending its practice in the National Health Service. Furthermore, our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 commits to publishing data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.

We recently published a clear definition of corridor care and based on this, will begin collecting data on its use across the NHS imminently. Subject to data quality, this information will be published monthly on NHS England’s website from May 2026. In parallel, NHS England is also working with trusts to introduce new reporting arrangements on corridor care to improve transparency and support system-wide improvement.

We have also introduced new clinical operational standards for the first 72 hours of care, setting clear expectations for timely reviews and specialist input, further supporting our efforts to eliminate corridor care and improve patient experience.

Where corridor care cannot be avoided, we have published updated guidance to support trusts to deliver it safely, ensuring dignity and privacy is maintained to reduce impacts on patients and staff. This means that corridor care areas must uphold the same high standards of care for patients as those in planned clinical settings, with patients prioritised by clinical urgency. All patients should be risk‑assessed by senior clinicians at triage and monitored by named nurses.

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 support independent hair salons who offer hair systems for people experiencing hair loss.

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

Individual National Health Service trusts are responsible for the provision of information and advice for patients about hair loss services.

NHS England does not collect information centrally about these services but expects there to be clear pathways around hair loss services in each NHS trust, including preventative care, such as scalp cooling, and psychological support around hair loss, and signposting to wig suppliers. The current NHS Supply Chain Wigs Framework Agreement was awarded to 42 suppliers and provides a range of wigs, both real and synthetic, headwear products to provide alternative choice to patients, and maintenance, styling, alteration, and repair services.

NHS England also expects NHS trusts to provide workshops such as headscarf tying, and eyebrow/lash make up and care, among other related services. There will also be provision at appropriate NHS trusts for children and young people. NHS.Net provides clear information on what can be provided and what costs are covered for wigs and fabric support, including advice for patients on a low income. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/wigs-and-fabric-supports-on-the-nhs/

Cancer charity support centres also provide advice and support on hair loss, including the national charity Cancer Hair Care, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/

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 help reduce the cost of women's hair systems.

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

Individual National Health Service trusts are responsible for the provision of information and advice for patients about hair loss services.

NHS England does not collect information centrally about these services but expects there to be clear pathways around hair loss services in each NHS trust, including preventative care, such as scalp cooling, and psychological support around hair loss, and signposting to wig suppliers. The current NHS Supply Chain Wigs Framework Agreement was awarded to 42 suppliers and provides a range of wigs, both real and synthetic, headwear products to provide alternative choice to patients, and maintenance, styling, alteration, and repair services.

NHS England also expects NHS trusts to provide workshops such as headscarf tying, and eyebrow/lash make up and care, among other related services. There will also be provision at appropriate NHS trusts for children and young people. NHS.Net provides clear information on what can be provided and what costs are covered for wigs and fabric support, including advice for patients on a low income. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/wigs-and-fabric-supports-on-the-nhs/

Cancer charity support centres also provide advice and support on hair loss, including the national charity Cancer Hair Care, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question UIN 82954, answered on 15 January 2026, what activities the £18,818,566 paid by NHS England for validation exercises (April to September 2025) funded; whether those payments were made on the basis of a per-patient or per-pathway “RTT clock stop” rate (or any other unit rate); and if he will make a statement.

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

NHS England has provided funding to increase validation of waiting lists in 2025/26, as part of the Government's plans for a more productive and improved approach to elective care which is better for patients. A £33 fee is provided for each additional referral to treatment clock stop per patient pathway above a provider’s agreed baseline.

Validation is a clinically supported process and forms a long-standing part of trusts’ routine management of their waiting lists. National guidance from NHS England provides further information about the validation process and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/B2121ii-validation-toolkit-and-guidance-december-2022.pdf

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 provision of NHS audiology services in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.

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

NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards, who are the commissioners of audiology services, to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in National Health Service trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

Data is also published on community health services waiting lists, which includes waiting times for community audiology services. This is published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/

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 prevent deaths related to non-therapeutic male circumcision.

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

The Department is currently considering its response to a prevention of future deaths report regarding non-therapeutic male circumcision. The response will set out any steps being taken to help prevent deaths related to non-therapeutic male circumcision. It will be published in due course.

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 support people experiencing hair loss from (a) alopecia and (b) cancer treatment.

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

Individual National Health Service trusts are responsible for the provision of information and advice for patients about hair loss services.

NHS England does not collect information centrally about these services but expects there to be clear pathways around hair loss services in each NHS trust, including preventative care, such as scalp cooling, and psychological support around hair loss, and signposting to wig suppliers. The current NHS Supply Chain Wigs Framework Agreement was awarded to 42 suppliers and provides a range of wigs, both real and synthetic, headwear products to provide alternative choice to patients, and maintenance, styling, alteration, and repair services.

NHS England also expects NHS trusts to provide workshops such as headscarf tying, and eyebrow/lash make up and care, among other related services. There will also be provision at appropriate NHS trusts for children and young people. NHS.Net provides clear information on what can be provided and what costs are covered for wigs and fabric support, including advice for patients on a low income. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/wigs-and-fabric-supports-on-the-nhs/

Cancer charity support centres also provide advice and support on hair loss, including the national charity Cancer Hair Care, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/

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 make affordable hair systems more available for people experiencing hair loss.

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

Individual National Health Service trusts are responsible for the provision of information and advice for patients about hair loss services.

NHS England does not collect information centrally about these services but expects there to be clear pathways around hair loss services in each NHS trust, including preventative care, such as scalp cooling, and psychological support around hair loss, and signposting to wig suppliers. The current NHS Supply Chain Wigs Framework Agreement was awarded to 42 suppliers and provides a range of wigs, both real and synthetic, headwear products to provide alternative choice to patients, and maintenance, styling, alteration, and repair services.

NHS England also expects NHS trusts to provide workshops such as headscarf tying, and eyebrow/lash make up and care, among other related services. There will also be provision at appropriate NHS trusts for children and young people. NHS.Net provides clear information on what can be provided and what costs are covered for wigs and fabric support, including advice for patients on a low income. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/wigs-and-fabric-supports-on-the-nhs/

Cancer charity support centres also provide advice and support on hair loss, including the national charity Cancer Hair Care, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.cancerhaircare.co.uk/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long the waiting times are for an NHS audiology appointment in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England.

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

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

The Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are taking a number of steps to improve the provision of audiology services. These include the building of a new soundproof booth to boost testing capacity and transforming some paediatric ear, nose, and throat (ENT) pathways for direct audiology follow-ups. The trust is also improving ENT triage to ensure that patients with potential hearing loss are seen and assessed as soon as possible.

Waiting times for NHS audiology appointments are captured across a number of different data publications. Monthly diagnostics waiting times and activity data for 15 key diagnostic tests and procedures, including audiology assessments, is published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/

As of the end of December 2025, the latest available data, only three of 501 waits, or 0.6%, for an audiology assessment at the Ashfield constituency’s local NHS trust, the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, were waiting more than six weeks. That’s better than the NHS constitutional standard of 1% and the national average of 45.5%. Since the end of June 2024, audiology assessment performance has improved by 25% in the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB. The following table shows audiology assessment performance at the local trust, local ICB, and national level:

Data is also published on community health services waiting lists, which includes waiting times for community audiology services. This is published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/

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 provision of NHS audiology services in Ashfield constituency.

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

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

The Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are taking a number of steps to improve the provision of audiology services. These include the building of a new soundproof booth to boost testing capacity and transforming some paediatric ear, nose, and throat (ENT) pathways for direct audiology follow-ups. The trust is also improving ENT triage to ensure that patients with potential hearing loss are seen and assessed as soon as possible.

Waiting times for NHS audiology appointments are captured across a number of different data publications. Monthly diagnostics waiting times and activity data for 15 key diagnostic tests and procedures, including audiology assessments, is published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/

As of the end of December 2025, the latest available data, only three of 501 waits, or 0.6%, for an audiology assessment at the Ashfield constituency’s local NHS trust, the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, were waiting more than six weeks. That’s better than the NHS constitutional standard of 1% and the national average of 45.5%. Since the end of June 2024, audiology assessment performance has improved by 25% in the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB. The following table shows audiology assessment performance at the local trust, local ICB, and national level:

Data is also published on community health services waiting lists, which includes waiting times for community audiology services. This is published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/

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 there are an adequate number of suitable training places available for medical graduates across all of the UK, including those who have graduated in Scotland and who are mobile in terms of securing employment; what steps he is taking to prevent newly qualified doctors travelling overseas for work, particularly those graduating during this academic year and including those who graduated in 2025 and have yet to be connected with a suitable training opportunity; and whether he has plans to review the pre-entry qualifications for medical training places and start accepting UK based medical graduates, who miss out on a training place by a matter of a few exam marks.

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 greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.

We have also introduced the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 which delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. We expect that all eligible prioritised applicants for the foundation programme in 2026 will be offered a place.

This act will ensure a sustainable medical workforce that can meet the health needs of the population, and will mean we are less reliant on an unpredictable labour market and can make best use of the substantial taxpayer investment in medical training. It will reduce competition for places and give homegrown talent a path to become the next generation of NHS doctors.

There are no current plans to review the pre-entry qualifications for medical training places in respect of UK based medical graduates who have not achieved the necessary exam marks.

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 staff providing NHS services being employed on different contractual terms to NHS Agenda for Change staff on (a) equality and (b) the workforce.

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

This specific assessment has not been made. Independent organisations commissioned by the National Health Service in England, such as general practices or social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales that they use.

Where such organisations choose to dynamically link to any of the national contracts, including Agenda for Change, those staff will be contractually entitled to receive the same uplifts in pay and associated terms and conditions as staff employed in NHS organisations.

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 respiratory Modern Service Framework on NHS provision in Bristol East constituency.

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

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 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. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to National Health Service provision in the Bristol East constituency.

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 ensure that NHS commissioning ensures equivalent employment practices in outsourced NHS services.

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

The Government is committed to making work pay and ensuring that outsourced services are delivered in a way that improves quality, gives greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce, and delivers better value for money as part of the broader commitments on procurement.

In December 2025 the Employment Rights Act received Royal Assent and passed into law. This act aims to enhance worker security, fairness, and pay, as well as banning exploitative practices.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the (i) number and (ii) adequacy of provision of paediatric post-mortem specialists in (a) Gloucestershire, (b) the South West and (c) England.

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

The Department does not hold information on the number of paediatric post mortem specialists either across England or in the South West or Gloucestershire regions.

NHS England does publish monthly information on the number of staff employed in the National Health Service in England, including information on the grade and specialty of NHS doctors. This includes information on the number of doctors working in the specialty of pathology as well as the sub-specialty of paediatric and perinatal pathology. This is not though the same as those able to provide paediatric post mortems. The relevant information can be found in the file ‘NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables’ in each monthly publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics

NHS England established a national programme in late 2022 to address paediatric and perinatal pathologist workforce challenges and has undertaken significant work in relation to workforce funding, training, and incentives. This has included making additional funding available to support training posts in areas where there have been interested candidates but no training post available and changes to the national training course and examination structure. The number of training posts has increased across several recruitment rounds and the perinatal and paediatric training pathway will be at a full complement of 16 training posts from February 2026.

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 deliver universal thrombectomy services by April 2026.

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

NHS England has approved an additional £14.2 million of funding, targeted to areas where 24/7 access to thrombectomy is currently not available, in order to enable delivery from 1 April 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including international medical graduates who are GMC-registered and who have at least two years’ NHS experience by 5 March 2026 in the prioritisation for specialty training.

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

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 5 March 2026, prioritises United Kingdom medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, immigration statuses are being used as a practical proxy to capture applicants who are most likely to have significant experience working in the health service in the UK.

From 2027, immigration status will no longer automatically determine priority for specialty training. Instead, we are able to make regulations to specify any additional groups who will be prioritised by reference to criteria indicating significant experience as a doctor in the health service, or by reference to immigration status. The Department will work with NHS England, the devolved administrations, and other partners on how best to define and evidence significant NHS experience as part of the development of those regulations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 114110, what information his Department holds on tyre procurement by its arm’s-length bodies, including NHS trusts and other agencies; and whether he plans to collect centrally data on the proportion of retread and single-use imported tyres procured for heavy vehicle fleets operated by those bodies.

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

The Department does not hold any information on tyre procurement by its arm’s length bodies and does not intend to collect data on the proportion of retread and single-use imported tyres by those bodies.

NHS England reports that that emergency ambulances and rapid response vehicles used by National Health Service trusts, which are based on light commercial vehicle and car platforms, do not routinely utilise retread tyres. This reflects the demanding operational duty cycles associated with frontline emergency response, where vehicle reliability, performance, and safety are critical. As a result, these vehicles typically operate with new tyres in line with manufacturer guidance and operational requirements.

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 potential merits of (a) automatic licence suspension and (b) revocation thresholds for retailers found repeatedly selling (i) illegal and (ii) non-compliant vaping devices.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is currently being considered in the House of Lords, provides powers to enable the Government to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, and also to specify the grounds on which a licence may be granted, suspended, revoked, or varied.

We recently launched a call for evidence to gather views on a range of topics related to tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products, including the implementation of the proposed licensing scheme for the retail sale of these products. The call for evidence ran for eight weeks and closed in December 2025.

The call for evidence asked detailed questions on the administration and implementation of the licensing scheme, including factors that should be considered by licensing authorities when making licensing decisions. The evidence gathered will be used to inform the development of the licensing scheme, and we will launch a subsequent consultation on our policy proposals before bringing forward secondary legislation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve detection processes for Functional Neurological Disorder in children.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that functional neurological disorder (FND) can have a significant impact on the lives of children and their families. Children with FND may experience a wide range of symptoms, and early recognition and access to appropriate support is essential. FND can be difficult to identify in children, as symptoms often overlap with other neurological and developmental conditions. Early and accurate detection is therefore essential to ensure children receive appropriate assessment, clear communication of diagnosis, and timely access to multidisciplinary support.

Health professionals are supported by national evidence‑based products which play an important role in strengthening recognition and referral pathways. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) includes FND within its guideline, Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, reference code NG127. It outlines common symptom patterns associated with FND, such as fluctuating limb weakness, sensory disturbances, episodes of altered awareness, and difficulties with memory and concentration, and sets out recommended referral routes for suspected cases.

NICE’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on FND also provides practical advice for clinicians on the diagnosis and management of FND, supporting improved recognition in primary and non‑specialist care.

In addition, NICE published, in October 2025, new guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, reference code NG252, which will help improve access to consistent, multidisciplinary support for children and young people with neurological conditions, including those with FND.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local populations, including pathways for children with neurological conditions such as FND. ICBs are expected to work with clinicians and specialists, informed by national guidance, to ensure appropriate assessment, referral and support arrangements are in place for children presenting with symptoms consistent with FND.

NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.

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 support children living with Functional Neurological Disorder.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that functional neurological disorder (FND) can have a significant impact on the lives of children and their families. Children with FND may experience a wide range of symptoms, and early recognition and access to appropriate support is essential. FND can be difficult to identify in children, as symptoms often overlap with other neurological and developmental conditions. Early and accurate detection is therefore essential to ensure children receive appropriate assessment, clear communication of diagnosis, and timely access to multidisciplinary support.

Health professionals are supported by national evidence‑based products which play an important role in strengthening recognition and referral pathways. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) includes FND within its guideline, Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, reference code NG127. It outlines common symptom patterns associated with FND, such as fluctuating limb weakness, sensory disturbances, episodes of altered awareness, and difficulties with memory and concentration, and sets out recommended referral routes for suspected cases.

NICE’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on FND also provides practical advice for clinicians on the diagnosis and management of FND, supporting improved recognition in primary and non‑specialist care.

In addition, NICE published, in October 2025, new guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, reference code NG252, which will help improve access to consistent, multidisciplinary support for children and young people with neurological conditions, including those with FND.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local populations, including pathways for children with neurological conditions such as FND. ICBs are expected to work with clinicians and specialists, informed by national guidance, to ensure appropriate assessment, referral and support arrangements are in place for children presenting with symptoms consistent with FND.

NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.

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 support the recovery of people who have been diagnosed with severe Functional Neurological Disorder in Nottinghamshire.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The majority of services for people with neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorder (FND), are commissioned locally. Integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, have a statutory responsibility to commission services that meet the needs of their local population. This includes ensuring appropriate assessment, referral routes, and access to multidisciplinary rehabilitation for people diagnosed with FND. ICBs are expected to work with clinicians, service users, and patient groups to develop pathways that are responsive and convenient for patients.

National guidance is also in place to improve the consistency of care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides advice to clinicians on recognising and managing FND through its Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral guideline, reference code NG127, and Clinical Knowledge Summary, which support improved identification and care planning across primary and specialist settings.

NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.

The National Neurosciences Advisory Group developed an Optimal Clinical Pathway for FND, published in 2023, which sets out what good, person‑centred FND care should look like across the National Health Service. The pathway provides a clear, evidence‑informed framework for commissioners and clinicians, emphasising timely assessment, clear and compassionate communication of the diagnosis, and coordinated multidisciplinary rehabilitation involving neurology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychological support. It also outlines how services should work together across primary, community, and specialist care to ensure patients receive consistent support, reduce unwarranted variation, and avoid patients being passed between services without a coherent plan.

NHS England has also strengthened expectations for FND care through its updated Specialised Neurology Service Specification (Adult), published in August 2025, which, for the first time, includes explicit requirements relating to FND. The specification states that all specialised neurology centres must ensure access to appropriate FND treatment services and adopt a multidisciplinary, networked model of care.

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 people diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder can access adequate support services.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The majority of services for people with neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorder (FND), are commissioned locally. Integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, have a statutory responsibility to commission services that meet the needs of their local population. This includes ensuring appropriate assessment, referral routes, and access to multidisciplinary rehabilitation for people diagnosed with FND. ICBs are expected to work with clinicians, service users, and patient groups to develop pathways that are responsive and convenient for patients.

National guidance is also in place to improve the consistency of care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides advice to clinicians on recognising and managing FND through its Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral guideline, reference code NG127, and Clinical Knowledge Summary, which support improved identification and care planning across primary and specialist settings.

NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.

The National Neurosciences Advisory Group developed an Optimal Clinical Pathway for FND, published in 2023, which sets out what good, person‑centred FND care should look like across the National Health Service. The pathway provides a clear, evidence‑informed framework for commissioners and clinicians, emphasising timely assessment, clear and compassionate communication of the diagnosis, and coordinated multidisciplinary rehabilitation involving neurology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychological support. It also outlines how services should work together across primary, community, and specialist care to ensure patients receive consistent support, reduce unwarranted variation, and avoid patients being passed between services without a coherent plan.

NHS England has also strengthened expectations for FND care through its updated Specialised Neurology Service Specification (Adult), published in August 2025, which, for the first time, includes explicit requirements relating to FND. The specification states that all specialised neurology centres must ensure access to appropriate FND treatment services and adopt a multidisciplinary, networked model of care.

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 misdiagnosis of the wrong neurological condition.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that people with neurological symptoms receive an accurate and timely diagnosis. Clearer diagnostic pathways and improved clinical understanding are key to improving earlier recognition and reducing misdiagnosis of conditions like functional neurological disorder (FND).

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, reference code NG127, sets out the symptoms commonly associated with FND and the recommended referral pathways for suspected cases, helping clinicians identify positive diagnostic signs rather than relying on a diagnosis of exclusion.

NHS England ensures that integrated care boards (ICBs) follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.

NICE’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on FND offers further practical advice for clinicians in both primary and non‑specialist care on the diagnosis and management of the condition, supporting more consistent recognition across the system.

ICBs are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local populations. This includes ensuring appropriate assessment, referral, and support arrangements are in place for people presenting with symptoms consistent with FND, informed by 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 list all the (a) patient representative organisations, (b) clinical associations and (c) providers of NHS-funded autism and ADHD services NHS England has engaged with (i) before and (ii) since publishing proposed guide prices for autism and ADHD services in its 2026/27 payment scheme consultation, in respect of the prices proposed.

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

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all service providers to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2026-27-nhsps-consultation/

NHS England is currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation and were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September 2025.

Prior to the publication of the consultation, NHS England undertook broad engagement with a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

In addition to the engagement that was undertaken as part of the wider NHS Payment Scheme consultation, the following engagement took place on this policy area prior to consultation:

• engagement with the Independent Healthcare Provider Network (IHPN), representing independent sector providers; and
• engagement with healthcare policy professionals, clinicians, patient representative organisations, commissioners, and providers.

In addition, the following engagement took place on this policy area post-consultation:

• further engagement with the IHPN, representing independent sector providers;
• engagement with integrated care boards;
• engagement with independent sector providers;
• engagement with mental health trusts; and
• engagement with clinicians.

NHS England was informed by a variety of sources when developing the policy and associated guide prices, for instance:

• the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guidelines CG142, CG128, and CG170, and NICE’s quality standards, which are available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS51;
• NHS England’s published National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/;
• NHS England’s published reports of the ADHD taskforce, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adhd/;
• local integrated care board service specifications;
• pricing information in a sample of contracts for provision of autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services; and
• a number of relevant academic papers, including, in particular, Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Findings from a rapid realist review, which contains autism diagnostic assessment costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment NHS England has made of the difference in levels of healthcare resource consumed in conducting (a) children’s autism assessments and (b) children’s ADHD assessments; and what account of this assessment NHS England took in proposing guide prices for autism and ADHD services, as set out in its 2026/27 payment scheme consultation.

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

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all service providers to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2026-27-nhsps-consultation/

NHS England is currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation and were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September 2025.

Prior to the publication of the consultation, NHS England undertook broad engagement with a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

In addition to the engagement that was undertaken as part of the wider NHS Payment Scheme consultation, the following engagement took place on this policy area prior to consultation:

• engagement with the Independent Healthcare Provider Network (IHPN), representing independent sector providers; and
• engagement with healthcare policy professionals, clinicians, patient representative organisations, commissioners, and providers.

In addition, the following engagement took place on this policy area post-consultation:

• further engagement with the IHPN, representing independent sector providers;
• engagement with integrated care boards;
• engagement with independent sector providers;
• engagement with mental health trusts; and
• engagement with clinicians.

NHS England was informed by a variety of sources when developing the policy and associated guide prices, for instance:

• the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guidelines CG142, CG128, and CG170, and NICE’s quality standards, which are available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS51;
• NHS England’s published National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/;
• NHS England’s published reports of the ADHD taskforce, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adhd/;
• local integrated care board service specifications;
• pricing information in a sample of contracts for provision of autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services; and
• a number of relevant academic papers, including, in particular, Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Findings from a rapid realist review, which contains autism diagnostic assessment costs.

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

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

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: We welcome the Future Minds Roadmap recommendation that DHSC and DWP jointly expand this pilot, potentially

Found: National oversight and commissioning of palliative and end-of-life care services 8 Introduction 8 DHSC

Found: Community and early intervention • NHS England led a programme in collaboration with DHSC, HMPPS and

Found: MoJ & DHSC 28 Expand Home Office investment in a range of helpline services that provide support and

Found: Lord Vallance: I cannot comment on the DHSC contract with Palantir; I am not in that Department and

Found: Dr Rich Scott: Our funding from the Government comes from DHSC R&D capital funding, which is devolved

Found: to really focus on in the next year, is the reorganisation with NHS England coming together with DHSC

Found: We have seen no evidence that there has been genuine join up with the Department of Health and Social Care

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

Found: Finally, Access to Work should be placed on a cross-government footing across DWP, DHSC and DBT, with

Found: departments that need longer- term thinking longer-term plans—10-year plans for departments such as the DHSC

Found: The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) should engage with manufacturers of the relevant procedural

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care is looking at this in its review of prevalence and what the

Found: You have conversations with the Home Office about radicalisation, and with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: You have conversations with the Home Office about radicalisation, and with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: You have conversations with the Home Office about radicalisation, and with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: My Department and I have been working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

Found: My Department and I have been working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

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.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for the life sciences sector.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Life Sciences Sector Plan, published in July 2025, launched a ten year programme to cement the UK’s position as a global life sciences leader. The Secretary of State is in regular contact with Cabinet colleagues, and we have strengthened the Office for Life Sciences as a trilateral unit across DSIT, DHSC and DBT, bringing together health, industrial strategy and innovation, and appointed an Executive Chair, Steve Bates, to provide leadership and accountability.

This collaborative approach is delivering, with the UK securing multibillion pound private investment, building new research infrastructure, scaling manufacturing, streamlining regulation, strengthening clinical trials and driving medical breakthroughs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure a) parents and b) carers are aware that they can request to view DBS certificates when recruiting individuals to work with i) children and ii) vulnerable adults.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

In January the following news story Self-employed workers and personal employees can now apply for Enhanced DBS checks - GOV.UK announced the legislative changes which now allow self‑employed individuals, as well as personal employees who are hired directly by an individual or family, to obtain enhanced criminal record checks with barred list information issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), when they work closely with children or vulnerable adults. The article explained that parents and carers who employ a self‑employed worker or personal employee in an eligible role can ask to see that individual’s enhanced DBS certificate, including barred list information; it also included links to further guidance.

Alongside this, DBS has updated its published guidance on GOV.UK to reflect the change:

• DBS checks for self-employed people and personal employees - GOV.UK
• Private individuals employing self-employed workers or personal employees - GOV.UK
• DBS application form: guide for counter signatories - GOV.UK

The Department for Education (DfE) has published guidance for parents and carers to help them make informed decisions on Out-of-School settings for their children. This highlights information on the safeguarding measures providers should have in place and questions to ask, including on staff/volunteer DBS checks.

Similarly, the DfE has provided explanatory posters for providers to put up in their setting. These include a safeguarding checklist and prompts parents to ask about appropriate staff/volunteer checks, including DBS checks.

The DfE also held a Call for Evidence in 2025, considering how to further improve safeguarding standards in Out-of-School settings, including questions on the issue of how providers communicate their safeguarding practices with parents. DfE will respond in due course.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with Skills for Care to update guidance for people who employ personal assistants in line with the recent changes in access to enhanced DBS checks. The current guidance is published in the Employing PAs Toolkit in Skills for Care’s website, and further updates are due imminently.

Found: It is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.

Found: (DHSC), Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England (PDF), July 2025, p102

Found: Data is extracted from UN Comtrade at a HS6 level using a set of codes (identified by DHSC) for commodities

Found: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Department for Business and Trade and Department of Health and Social Care

Found: (DHSC) (England)/Welsh Government Health and Social Services (Wales) Department

Found: Both the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will

Found: Both the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will

Found: DWP, HMT, MoD, NS&I, Royal Mail Pensions, and SIA Gary.Hansman@hmtreasury.gov.uk DfE, DHSC

Found: (DHSC).

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: Data is extracted from UN Comtrade at a HS6 level using a set of codes (identified by DHSC) for commodities

Found: UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.   

Found: work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.    

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and NHS Supply Chain have continued to work

Found: Gastroenterology (BSG) British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (BSGAR) Department of Health and Social Care

Found: professionals who provide the activities and services related to the updated guidance; the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Gastroenterology (BSG) British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (BSGAR) Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Complementing this, the NAIAD study, funded by the DHSC, provides multisite real- world data confirming

Found: NHS trusts will be designated by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care as eligible

Found: and personal Leading author for the Future Cancer UK: Histotripsy Evidence Document for the DHSC

Found: NHS Long Term Plan Department of Health and Social Care, NHS Outcomes Framework 2016-2017: Domains

Found: Society • Royal Society of Medicine • UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Ruxolitinib for treating non-segmental vitiligo in people 12 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The Review recommended that the Department of Health and Social Care should define the dispensing responsibilities

Found: organisations, as required by the Health and Social Care Act (2012): • NHS England • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: College of Paramedics Costello Medical Cure and Action for Tay-Sachs Foundation DEBRA UK Department of Health and Social Care

Found: professional and personal Leading author for the Future Cancer UK: Histotripsy Evidence Document for the DHSC

Found: Gastroenterology (BSG) British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (BSGAR) Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Physical Activity Clinical Champion, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: This systematic review is being completed by NICE which receives funding from the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: refractory follicular lymphoma after 2 or more lines of systemic treatment The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: and personal Leading author for the Future Cancer UK: Histotripsy Evidence Document for the DHSC

Found: Physical Activity Clinical Champion, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pegzilarginase for treating arginase-1 deficiency in people 2 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: triaging skin lesions referred to the urgent suspected skin cancer pathway: early value assessment DHSC

Found: Foundation Trust Croydon University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust DeepX Health Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society • Urology Foundation Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Association • UK Cutaneous Lymphoma Group • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pharmacy Association • UK Oncology Nursing Society • Urology Foundation Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Association • UK Cutaneous Lymphoma Group • UK Oncology Nursing Society Others • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Pegzilarginase for treating arginase-1 deficiency in people 2 years and over The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Inherited Metabolic Disorders • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Inherited Metabolic Disorders • Department of Health and Social Care

Found: CVRX Cybex Ventures Deltex Medical Dementia Pathfinders Community Interest Company Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Care Quality Commission Cochrane Anaesthesia Review Group College of Paramedics Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care, under direction form the Secretary of State for Health, have

Found: (DHSC) (England)/Welsh Government Health and Social Services (Wales) Department

Found: Statistics Authority, Cabinet Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: 00:00:00Meeting / with UK MinisterDr Zubir Ahmed MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The exercise, led by the Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with the UK Health Security

Found: The exercise, led by the Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with the UK Health Security

Found: DHSC Department for Health and Social Care. EIC European Innovation Council.