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 number of children and young people with cancer from Scotland who have received some or all of their treatment in England within the last five years; and whether his Department provides support for travel costs for those patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to putting patients first and providing speedy and high-quality care, irrespective of where patients are treated in United Kingdom. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) works collaboratively with the Devolved Governments to drive forward its objective of supporting people, including children and young people with cancer, to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer.

DHSC knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also several charities in the UK who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, DHSC relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients in England. The taskforce will ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve experience and outcomes for children and young people with cancer in England.

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 trends in the level of health inequalities associated with a) asthma and b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is aware of the disproportionate impact that asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) have on deprived communities. The Government is acting on smoking, air pollution, and poor housing that will particularly benefit such communities.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of COPD. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be the biggest public health intervention since the 2007 indoor smoking ban and will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.

Poor air quality can exacerbate COPD and asthma. To address this, DHSC is working across Government with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to tackle air pollution, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to fix housing and reduce damp and mould. Infections can also exacerbate COPD and asthma, so the National Health Service is running winter vaccine campaigns against respiratory infections including COVID-19, flu, and pneumococcal disease.

To enable faster diagnosis of asthma and COPD and earlier access to treatment, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online. The first five months of 2025/26 saw an increase in CDC spirometry testing of approximately 2000 tests per month more than in the previous year.

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 equity of access to cancer treatment and care for children and young people with cancer from Scotland who may receive some or all of their care in England; and what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on this matter.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to putting patients first and providing speedy and high-quality care, irrespective of where patients are treated in United Kingdom. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) works collaboratively with the Devolved Governments to drive forward its objective of supporting people, including children and young people with cancer, to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer.

DHSC knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also several charities in the UK who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, DHSC relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients in England. The taskforce will ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve experience and outcomes for children and young people with cancer in England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on developing the cross-departmental Acquired Brain Injury Action Plan; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure the plan addresses regional inequalities in neurorehabilitation services.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is working closely with NHS England, other Government departments, and stakeholders to finalise the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Action Plan, which will set out clear priorities for improving prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and long-term support. Work on the plan is well advanced, and we expect to publish the plan in the first half of 2026.

The Department has worked closely with leading ABI charities through stakeholder forums, the ABI All-Party Parliamentary Group, and a national call for evidence. These organisations have provided expert insight on rehabilitation pathways, community support, and service gaps. Their contributions are directly shaping the plan by informing priorities and practical actions to improve outcomes for individuals and families affected by ABI.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent work has been undertaken with voluntary sector organisations supporting families affected by acquired brain injury; and how their expertise is being incorporated into the Acquired Brain Injury Action Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is working closely with NHS England, other Government departments, and stakeholders to finalise the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Action Plan, which will set out clear priorities for improving prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and long-term support. Work on the plan is well advanced, and we expect to publish the plan in the first half of 2026.

The Department has worked closely with leading ABI charities through stakeholder forums, the ABI All-Party Parliamentary Group, and a national call for evidence. These organisations have provided expert insight on rehabilitation pathways, community support, and service gaps. Their contributions are directly shaping the plan by informing priorities and practical actions to improve outcomes for individuals and families affected by ABI.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of community-based neurorehabilitation provision for children and young people following an acquired brain injury, particularly in regions with high incidence rates such as Teesside.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of timely, high-quality rehabilitation for children and young people with an acquired brain injury (ABI). NHS England’s paediatric neurorehabilitation service specification supports community neurorehabilitation by ensuring that children and young people receive coordinated, specialist care beyond the hospital setting. It requires integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB, to work with tertiary centres and local providers to deliver structured rehabilitation programmes in the community, supported by multidisciplinary teams.

The Department expects all National Health Services to follow the guideline for the assessment and early management of head injury in babies, children, young people, and adults, reference code NG232, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The guideline sets out clear standards for discharge advice, risk assessment, and timely referral for further evaluation where symptoms persist or escalate. NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements. NICE provides ICBs with implementation tools, audit templates, training resources, and commissioning guidance to help embed the guideline into local pathways and ensure consistent, evidence-based practice.

The Government is committed to increasing specialist neurorehabilitation capacity in the North East of England as part of wider efforts to improve access and reduce regional variation. Our forthcoming ABI Action Plan will set out practical steps to strengthen commissioning and expand multidisciplinary rehabilitation services. This aligns with commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan to enhance community-based rehabilitation, invest in specialist teams, and ensure timely, high-quality care for people with ABI across England, including the North East.

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 effectiveness of potential new treatments for glioblastoma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care enables research via its research arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and is committed to furthering our investment and driving scientific advancements in research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, the NIHR directly invested £11.8 million in research projects and programmes focused on brain tumours. During the same period, the NIHR’s wider investments include around £37.5 million in research infrastructure and the research workforce. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, invested £46.8 million in brain tumour research.

Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.

NICE has issued guidance for the NHS on several treatments for glioma and glioblastoma and has a number of other topics in active development.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has been made of (a) the effectiveness of follow-up pathways for children discharged from A&E after a head injury and (b) whether current practice aligns with national clinical guidelines.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of timely, high-quality rehabilitation for children and young people with an acquired brain injury (ABI). NHS England’s paediatric neurorehabilitation service specification supports community neurorehabilitation by ensuring that children and young people receive coordinated, specialist care beyond the hospital setting. It requires integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB, to work with tertiary centres and local providers to deliver structured rehabilitation programmes in the community, supported by multidisciplinary teams.

The Department expects all National Health Services to follow the guideline for the assessment and early management of head injury in babies, children, young people, and adults, reference code NG232, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The guideline sets out clear standards for discharge advice, risk assessment, and timely referral for further evaluation where symptoms persist or escalate. NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements. NICE provides ICBs with implementation tools, audit templates, training resources, and commissioning guidance to help embed the guideline into local pathways and ensure consistent, evidence-based practice.

The Government is committed to increasing specialist neurorehabilitation capacity in the North East of England as part of wider efforts to improve access and reduce regional variation. Our forthcoming ABI Action Plan will set out practical steps to strengthen commissioning and expand multidisciplinary rehabilitation services. This aligns with commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan to enhance community-based rehabilitation, invest in specialist teams, and ensure timely, high-quality care for people with ABI across England, including the North East.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans there are to expand specialist neurorehabilitation capacity in the North East.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of timely, high-quality rehabilitation for children and young people with an acquired brain injury (ABI). NHS England’s paediatric neurorehabilitation service specification supports community neurorehabilitation by ensuring that children and young people receive coordinated, specialist care beyond the hospital setting. It requires integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB, to work with tertiary centres and local providers to deliver structured rehabilitation programmes in the community, supported by multidisciplinary teams.

The Department expects all National Health Services to follow the guideline for the assessment and early management of head injury in babies, children, young people, and adults, reference code NG232, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The guideline sets out clear standards for discharge advice, risk assessment, and timely referral for further evaluation where symptoms persist or escalate. NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements. NICE provides ICBs with implementation tools, audit templates, training resources, and commissioning guidance to help embed the guideline into local pathways and ensure consistent, evidence-based practice.

The Government is committed to increasing specialist neurorehabilitation capacity in the North East of England as part of wider efforts to improve access and reduce regional variation. Our forthcoming ABI Action Plan will set out practical steps to strengthen commissioning and expand multidisciplinary rehabilitation services. This aligns with commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan to enhance community-based rehabilitation, invest in specialist teams, and ensure timely, high-quality care for people with ABI across England, including the North East.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of targeted interventions to improve breast cancer screening uptake among underserved groups.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has returned to normal operation following disruption from COVID-19 and subsequent recovery measures.

NHSBSP is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data for 2023/24 showing the number of women who are up to date with their screening has increased to the highest on record, to 4.61 million.

Breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023/24 improved to 70%, an increase from 64.6% in 2022/23, which is the first time the NHSBSP has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Specifically, regarding North West Leicestershire, measures to improve uptake include implementation of a timed appointment system which gives patients a specific date and time for their screening appointment, rather than asking them to contact the service to arrange one themselves. Evidence has shown that timed appointments improve participation and help reduce health inequalities. In addition, workforce structure is being reviewed to ensure a resilient staffing establishment capable of managing the higher demand from the timed appointment system.

More broadly, the integrated care board works with NHS England to support an increase in breast screening across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rugby. This includes:

• video shared via a link in a text message outlining the benefits of breast screening, targeted at women who have not attended their previous screening appointment
• a multidisciplinary project to address the requirements of women with a serious mental illness to attend for their breast screening
• working with primary care liaison nurses to support women with learning disabilities to attend for their breast screening

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the backlog and other impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the breast cancer screening programme has been completed.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has returned to normal operation following disruption from COVID-19 and subsequent recovery measures.

NHSBSP is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data for 2023/24 showing the number of women who are up to date with their screening has increased to the highest on record, to 4.61 million.

Breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023/24 improved to 70%, an increase from 64.6% in 2022/23, which is the first time the NHSBSP has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Specifically, regarding North West Leicestershire, measures to improve uptake include implementation of a timed appointment system which gives patients a specific date and time for their screening appointment, rather than asking them to contact the service to arrange one themselves. Evidence has shown that timed appointments improve participation and help reduce health inequalities. In addition, workforce structure is being reviewed to ensure a resilient staffing establishment capable of managing the higher demand from the timed appointment system.

More broadly, the integrated care board works with NHS England to support an increase in breast screening across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rugby. This includes:

• video shared via a link in a text message outlining the benefits of breast screening, targeted at women who have not attended their previous screening appointment
• a multidisciplinary project to address the requirements of women with a serious mental illness to attend for their breast screening
• working with primary care liaison nurses to support women with learning disabilities to attend for their breast screening

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to support areas with lower than national average attendance to breast cancer screening appointments, such as North West Leicestershire.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has returned to normal operation following disruption from COVID-19 and subsequent recovery measures.

NHSBSP is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data for 2023/24 showing the number of women who are up to date with their screening has increased to the highest on record, to 4.61 million.

Breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023/24 improved to 70%, an increase from 64.6% in 2022/23, which is the first time the NHSBSP has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Specifically, regarding North West Leicestershire, measures to improve uptake include implementation of a timed appointment system which gives patients a specific date and time for their screening appointment, rather than asking them to contact the service to arrange one themselves. Evidence has shown that timed appointments improve participation and help reduce health inequalities. In addition, workforce structure is being reviewed to ensure a resilient staffing establishment capable of managing the higher demand from the timed appointment system.

More broadly, the integrated care board works with NHS England to support an increase in breast screening across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rugby. This includes:

• video shared via a link in a text message outlining the benefits of breast screening, targeted at women who have not attended their previous screening appointment
• a multidisciplinary project to address the requirements of women with a serious mental illness to attend for their breast screening
• working with primary care liaison nurses to support women with learning disabilities to attend for their breast screening

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 rough sleeping in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency during winter 2025-26 on the health of rough sleepers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that homelessness and rough sleeping numbers continue to remain high. That is why the Government is providing £255.5 million for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant so that local authorities can support people sleeping rough in their areas, including funding health‑led interventions, alongside a £69.9 million top‑up announced in October 2025 to tackle additional pressures.

Surrey County Council has undertaken a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, focused on housing and related support, funded by the Department through the Public Health Grant and carried out by health and wellbeing boards. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.surreyi.gov.uk/jsna/jsna-housing-and-related-support/#homelessness

The assessment requires a thorough analysis of the health and social care needs of local populations, and highlights how determinants such as housing conditions, including insecure housing and homelessness, impact health and wellbeing. This informs planning across health, social care, and housing to improve outcomes and address inequalities.

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 number of children living with DIPG each year; and what resources has the Government allocated to research into the causes of and treatment of DIPG.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to furthering investment in research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, the Department’s research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), invested £11.8 million, and United Kingdom Research and Innovation invested £46.8 million in this area.

In September 2024, the NIHR launched a package of support to deliver a step-change in brain cancer research through:

• establishing a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium to bring together researchers from different disciplines to drive scientific advancements in how to prevent, detect, manage and treat brain tumours;
• a dedicated funding call for research into care, support and rehabilitation for people living with brain tumours; and
• the Allied Health Professionals Brain Tumour Research Fellowship programme, a partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.

The Department does not hold specific data on the number of children living with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) each year. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects diagnosis, treatment and outcome data on cancer patients in England. The most recent published data on registrations of cancer including cancer incidence and mortality in the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations covering 2023 is available at the following link:

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

DIPG is not currently one of the cancer groups routinely published against, however work will be undertaken by the NDRS to understand whether there are any improvements needed in registration to accurately identify DIPG moving forwards.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what metrics will the Department use to measure improvements in men’s health outcomes in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency over the next five years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 19 November 2025, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England. This aims to improve the health of all men and boys in England, including those in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The strategy includes investment in community-based men's health programmes and suicide prevention programmes, and a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to make sure people know what mental health support is available to them. It also includes comprehensive action on major health challenges including suicide, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mental health.

This strategy is a crucial first step, laying the foundation from which we can learn, iterate, and grow. We will work with the Men's Health Academic Network and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector to develop and publish a one-year-on report, highlighting the improvements made and where future efforts will need to be targeted.

The strategy is not just a plan, it is a call to action to create a society where men and boys are supported to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. We recognise that many of the issues affecting men cannot be solved by the Government alone. The strategy also highlights how everyone can help by setting out how other sectors, such as the National Health Service, local government, employers, charities, research funders, and communities, can contribute to shared outcomes.

We do not hold data on how much funding has been allocated specifically to men’s mental health initiatives in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. This information may be held locally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated to initiatives targeting male mental health in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 19 November 2025, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England. This aims to improve the health of all men and boys in England, including those in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The strategy includes investment in community-based men's health programmes and suicide prevention programmes, and a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to make sure people know what mental health support is available to them. It also includes comprehensive action on major health challenges including suicide, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mental health.

This strategy is a crucial first step, laying the foundation from which we can learn, iterate, and grow. We will work with the Men's Health Academic Network and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector to develop and publish a one-year-on report, highlighting the improvements made and where future efforts will need to be targeted.

The strategy is not just a plan, it is a call to action to create a society where men and boys are supported to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. We recognise that many of the issues affecting men cannot be solved by the Government alone. The strategy also highlights how everyone can help by setting out how other sectors, such as the National Health Service, local government, employers, charities, research funders, and communities, can contribute to shared outcomes.

We do not hold data on how much funding has been allocated specifically to men’s mental health initiatives in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. This information may be held locally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to implement the healthy food standard policy announced as part of the 10-year health plan for England within the current Parliament; and if he will publish a timeline for these legislative or regulatory changes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to introducing mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector before the end of this Parliament and targets to increase the healthiness of sales in all communities.

To fulfil this commitment, the Government is working towards a Spring 2026 public consultation on Healthier Food Targets and Reporting. Implementation dates will be determined following consultation. We are engaging with stakeholders on how this policy could reduce health inequalities and will also consider this through consultation.

We are considering the most suitable way to enforce the policy, and any decisions are subject to consultation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the economic impact of acquired brain injury on local authorities and health systems; and how that information is informing future funding models for neurorehabilitation.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the significant economic impact of acquired brain injury (ABI) on both the National Health Service and local authorities due to the costs of acute care, long-term rehabilitation, social care, and support for education and employment.

This is informing the development of future funding models for locally commissioned neurorehabilitation by emphasising the value of early, intensive rehabilitation in reducing long-term costs and improving outcomes. The ABI Action Plan will set out proposals to strengthen commissioning frameworks, promote integrated funding approaches between health and social care, and ensure resources are targeted where they deliver the greatest benefit.

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 levels of access to PSMA PET-CT imaging on regional and ethnic inequalities in prostate cancer diagnosis and outcomes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises that access to PSMA PET-CT imaging varies across England and that this may exacerbate existing disparities.

NHS England has introduced a commissioning policy for PSMA PET-CT imaging for patients with high-risk or recurrent prostate cancer, and work is underway to expand capacity and improve resilience in diagnostic services

Tackling health inequalities remains a core priority. Through the Core20PLUS5 framework, NHS England is working to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis and equitable access to cancer services across England.

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 recent uptake of covid boosters.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

COVID-19 vaccination uptake figures are published regularly during the spring and winter campaigns, as part of the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has been made of the adequacy of national production capacity for PSMA radiotracers in the context of projected clinical demand for prostate cancer diagnosis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiotracers are commissioned for use as part of PET-CT prostate cancer imaging, as set out in the published clinical commissioning policy. Access to PET-CT, as with any healthcare service, is closely monitored.

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 effectiveness of (a) early intervention and (b) prevention services aimed at supporting children affected by parental alcohol misuse in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Children affected by parental alcohol problems can experience adverse health, social, and economic outcomes, which can continue for generations without effective public health early interventions to break the cycle. The Government’s mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes supporting the children of parents with alcohol problems and preventing intergenerational transmission.

The Government is funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, which will be rolled out from April 2026. The hubs have been developed from the best of the Sure Start and Family Hubs and Start for Life approaches and will build on the £126 million funding boost for the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme in 2025/26. Best Start Family Hubs will be open to all and based in disadvantaged communities. Services will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating, such as intergenerational transmission of problem alcohol use.

From this year, all drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding will be channeled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services according to local need and can use this funding to ensure that parents/carers with alcohol problems, and their children, can access high quality help and support.

For 2026/27, Surrey County Council will receive £12,356,996 in protected drug and alcohol prevention, treatment and recovery funding. Furthermore, to inform local authorities’ assessment of need and support the children of parents with alcohol problems, the Department is producing a suite of resources, including local prevalence and treatment data on parents/carers with alcohol problems, and child safeguarding guidance for alcohol and drug treatment commissioners.

Finally, the Department, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed and published the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/clinical-guidelines-for-alcohol-treatment

The guidelines promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision. It includes a section on the specific support needs of parents with alcohol problems and makes recommendations on how to address them.

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 raise awareness of challenges faced by children of parents with alcohol problems in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Children affected by parental alcohol problems can experience adverse health, social, and economic outcomes, which can continue for generations without effective public health early interventions to break the cycle. The Government’s mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes supporting the children of parents with alcohol problems and preventing intergenerational transmission.

The Government is funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, which will be rolled out from April 2026. The hubs have been developed from the best of the Sure Start and Family Hubs and Start for Life approaches and will build on the £126 million funding boost for the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme in 2025/26. Best Start Family Hubs will be open to all and based in disadvantaged communities. Services will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating, such as intergenerational transmission of problem alcohol use.

From this year, all drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding will be channeled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services according to local need and can use this funding to ensure that parents/carers with alcohol problems, and their children, can access high quality help and support.

For 2026/27, Surrey County Council will receive £12,356,996 in protected drug and alcohol prevention, treatment and recovery funding. Furthermore, to inform local authorities’ assessment of need and support the children of parents with alcohol problems, the Department is producing a suite of resources, including local prevalence and treatment data on parents/carers with alcohol problems, and child safeguarding guidance for alcohol and drug treatment commissioners.

Finally, the Department, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed and published the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/clinical-guidelines-for-alcohol-treatment

The guidelines promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision. It includes a section on the specific support needs of parents with alcohol problems and makes recommendations on how to address them.

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 prevent the intergenerational transmission of alcohol misuse in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Children affected by parental alcohol problems can experience adverse health, social, and economic outcomes, which can continue for generations without effective public health early interventions to break the cycle. The Government’s mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes supporting the children of parents with alcohol problems and preventing intergenerational transmission.

The Government is funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, which will be rolled out from April 2026. The hubs have been developed from the best of the Sure Start and Family Hubs and Start for Life approaches and will build on the £126 million funding boost for the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme in 2025/26. Best Start Family Hubs will be open to all and based in disadvantaged communities. Services will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating, such as intergenerational transmission of problem alcohol use.

From this year, all drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding will be channeled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services according to local need and can use this funding to ensure that parents/carers with alcohol problems, and their children, can access high quality help and support.

For 2026/27, Surrey County Council will receive £12,356,996 in protected drug and alcohol prevention, treatment and recovery funding. Furthermore, to inform local authorities’ assessment of need and support the children of parents with alcohol problems, the Department is producing a suite of resources, including local prevalence and treatment data on parents/carers with alcohol problems, and child safeguarding guidance for alcohol and drug treatment commissioners.

Finally, the Department, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed and published the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/clinical-guidelines-for-alcohol-treatment

The guidelines promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision. It includes a section on the specific support needs of parents with alcohol problems and makes recommendations on how to address them.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of junk food advertising on childhood obesity.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. We have implemented United Kingdom-wide restrictions on advertising of less healthy food and drink on television and online which we estimate will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children’s diets each year and deliver health benefits of approximately £2 billion. We have also committed to updating the standards that underpin the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink to reflect the latest dietary advice and strengthen the restrictions by more effectively targeting the products of most concern to childhood obesity.

An impact assessment on the advertising restrictions of less healthy food and drink on television and online is published on the GOV.UK website.

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 (a) homelessness and (b) insecure accommodation on public health in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that homelessness and rough sleeping numbers continue to remain high. That is why the Government is providing £255.5 million for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant so that local authorities can support people sleeping rough in their areas, including funding health‑led interventions, alongside a £69.9 million top‑up announced in October 2025 to tackle additional pressures.

Surrey County Council has undertaken a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, focused on housing and related support, funded by the Department through the Public Health Grant and carried out by health and wellbeing boards. The assessment is available at the following link:

https://www.surreyi.gov.uk/jsna/

The assessment requires a thorough analysis of the health and social care needs of local populations, identifying inequalities and wider determinants of health, such as housing. The assessment highlights how determinants such as housing conditions, including insecure housing and homelessness, impact health and wellbeing. This informs planning across health, social care, and housing to improve outcomes and address inequalities.

The Department is working to action the commitments made in A National Plan to End Homelessness, including ensuring that no one eligible for homelessness assistance is discharged to the street after a hospital stay. The plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness

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 consumption of junk food by children.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. As part of this, the Government has announced an ambitious programme aimed at improving the healthiness of the food environment. In December 2024, the Government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework for local government. As part of this, local authorities were given the stronger, clearer powers they have told us they need to block new fast-food outlets near schools.

On 1 October 2025, we implemented restrictions on volume price promotions for less healthy food and drinks, such as three for two offers, in stores and their online equivalents and United Kingdom-wide restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and drink on television and online came into force on 5 January 2026.

We have also consulted on banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old and announced changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in the Autumn Budget to deliver greater health benefits to children.

We announced in the 10-Year Health Plan that, in a world-first, we will introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for large food businesses and set new targets to increase the healthiness of sales. We will also strengthen the existing advertising and promotions restrictions by consulting on applying an updated definition of ‘less healthy food and drink’.

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 support the adoption of the a) Asthma Control Test and b) COPD Assessment Test as part of annual reviews for respiratory patients in primary care.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Asthma Control Test and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test are accessible online for patients to use and the results can be taken to a general practice to help inform an annual assessment or other general practice appointment associated with these conditions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Department taking to ensure providers of NHS services in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have the resources to implement the men’s health strategy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 19 November 2025, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England. This aims to improve the health of all men and boys in England, including those in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The strategy includes investment in community-based men's health programmes and suicide prevention programmes, and a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to make sure people know what mental health support is available to them. It also includes comprehensive action on major health challenges including suicide, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mental health.

This strategy is a crucial first step, laying the foundation from which we can learn, iterate, and grow. We will work with the Men's Health Academic Network and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector to develop and publish a one-year-on report, highlighting the improvements made and where future efforts will need to be targeted.

The strategy is not just a plan, it is a call to action to create a society where men and boys are supported to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. We recognise that many of the issues affecting men cannot be solved by the Government alone. The strategy also highlights how everyone can help by setting out how other sectors, such as the National Health Service, local government, employers, charities, research funders, and communities, can contribute to shared outcomes.

We do not hold data on how much funding has been allocated specifically to men’s mental health initiatives in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. This information may be held locally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to asthma diagnostics, including fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.

FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations

NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.

FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.

Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.

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 adequacy of access to fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.

FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations

NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.

FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.

Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 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 expand fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing for asthma diagnosis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.

FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations

NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.

FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.

Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.

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 the healthy food standard policy will reduce health inequalities and improve access to healthy food for deprived communities.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to introducing mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector before the end of this Parliament and targets to increase the healthiness of sales in all communities.

To fulfil this commitment, the Government is working towards a Spring 2026 public consultation on Healthier Food Targets and Reporting. Implementation dates will be determined following consultation. We are engaging with stakeholders on how this policy could reduce health inequalities and will also consider this through consultation.

We are considering the most suitable way to enforce the policy, and any decisions are subject to consultation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to enforce the targets set for businesses under the new healthy food standard policy announced as part of the 10-year health plan for England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to introducing mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector before the end of this Parliament and targets to increase the healthiness of sales in all communities.

To fulfil this commitment, the Government is working towards a Spring 2026 public consultation on Healthier Food Targets and Reporting. Implementation dates will be determined following consultation. We are engaging with stakeholders on how this policy could reduce health inequalities and will also consider this through consultation.

We are considering the most suitable way to enforce the policy, and any decisions are subject to consultation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his intention to expand Start for Life funding to the 78 local authorities currently without provision.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda on how we will improve the nation’s health by creating a new model of care that is fit for the future.

We recognise that local authorities are ambitious, seeking to deliver universal support to families and prevent escalating need. We are committed to delivering the 10-Year Health Plan’s ambition to match Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, to Best Start Family Hubs over the next decade.

From April, this Government is rolling out Best Start Family Hubs to all local authorities, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help embed Hubs within a wider support system, including integrated child health services, enable proactive identification and support for health issues and early developmental delays.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Department of Health on the application of learning from the NHS England Neurology Transformation Programme to improve access to specialised neurology care for people living with multiple sclerosis in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to sharing learning and best practice across the United Kingdom health systems.

The Neurology Transformation Programme in England aims to improve access, coordination, and outcomes for people with neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis, through service redesign and workforce development.

Officials continue to engage through the UK Neuro Forum to ensure that insights from this work are available to colleagues in Northern Ireland and other devolved administrations.

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 on the roll-out of Best Start Family Hubs and wider neighbourhood health integration if local authorities without existing Start for Life funding are unable to establish core services.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Delivering integrated, joined-up health, education, and family support is at the heart of our ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, funding is helping families during the critical 1,001 days, and as a result parents have said they are more confident in feeding their babies and have better perinatal mental health because of this support. We continue to assess how we can best support early-years service integration across the country and remain committed to working with delivery partners locally to achieve this.

Healthy Babies is one element of our broader commitment to supporting babies, children and families. From April 2026, Best Start Family Hubs will expand to every single local authority, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help all local authorities to integrate a range of statutory and non-statutory health and family services.

Best Start Family Hubs will form part of the architecture of the Neighbourhood Health Service. Through the shifts from hospital to community and treatment to prevention, we will further strengthen integration and join-up of services, helping to ensure that babies and their families can get the support they need, when and where they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the introduction of HPV self-sampling planned for January 2026, a) what information and awareness-raising programmes are being developed to inform under-screened women of the advantages and disadvantages of the available cervical screening options and b) when will the programmes be rolled out.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is committed to eliminating cervical cancer by 2040. Following ministerial endorsement of a UK National Screening Committee recommendation, in June 2025, NHS England indicated its intention to transform its approach to cervical screening for under-screened women. From early 2026, they will receive home testing kits starting with those that are the most overdue for screening. This will help tackle deeply entrenched barriers that keep some away from life-saving screening.

As part of implementation, NHS England is developing a communications and engagement plan to raise awareness of the option of self-testing. This includes underserved groups, NHS staff providing screening services, and key stakeholders such as charities. Materials developed have been tested with the Eve Appeal and build on extensive insights and user testing in the NHS cervical screening programme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how organisations providing mental health services to children and young people can engage with the Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism.

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

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has launched an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. We are deeply concerned that many adults, young people and children with mental health conditions, ADHD and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving timely or appropriate support and treatment. This Government has already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS mental health services but there is much more to do. Transforming the system will take time, but we are committed to delivering a new approach to mental health.

Therefore, this independent review will inform our new approach to mental health, so people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place. Likewise, the review will inform our approach so that people with ADHD and autistic people have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

As this is an independent review, it is for the Chair and Vice-chairs to consider who to consult and the relevant forums for engagement, that are relevant to deliver the terms of reference, set by the Department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that all patients with suspected leukaemia symptoms can access a full blood count test within 48 hours, as recommended by the NICE NG12 guidelines.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is determined to take all the necessary steps to improve early diagnosis for all cancers, including blood cancers such as leukaemia.

To accomplish this, the National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has a guideline on suspected cancer called ‘recognition and referral’ which aim to support the identification of children, young people and adults with symptoms that could be caused by cancer’. The guideline provides guidance on appropriate investigations in primary care, and the selection of people to refer for a specialist opinion. The guideline recommends that people with specific symptoms should be offered a very urgent full blood count to assess for leukaemia. Local NHS organisations are expected to take NICE guidelines fully into account in ensuring that their services meet the needs of their local populations. The NHS is held to account to deliver guidelines, which include all NICE directions, at local and regional level.

The National Cancer Plan for England will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for all patient groups, including leukaemia patients.

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 measures in the Rhode Island Latex Gloves Safety Act 2024 to help prevent latex allergy harm in England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is working closely with a range of stakeholders across the Government, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, and patient representative groups to consider how allergy care and support could be improved.

The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy met most recently on 3 December and continues to bring together key stakeholders to inform policymaking and identify priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies.

In terms of the use of gloves for medical purposes, the NHS purchases examination and surgical gloves through NHS Supply Chain’s two national frameworks and, ultimately, it is the choice of NHS trusts which gloves they wish to procure. Regarding examination gloves, latex was once the most commonly used glove, but nitrile, latex-free, gloves are now the most common choice. There are also ‘specialist examination gloves’ available, which aim to provide a reduction in allergy irritation.

Surgical glove purchase decisions are generally more clinically lead, and the choice of manufacturer and glove is usually made by the surgeon or consultant. There are latex and latex-free options available via the Surgical Glove Framework.

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 reasons people with brain cancer are seeking treatment outside the UK, particularly in Germany, including the trend in the level of such treatments.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ensuring patients have access to the latest and most effective treatment options is a top priority for the Government.

That is why we are committed to supporting an innovative clinical research ecosystem in the United Kingdom so that patients in this country can be among the first to benefit as we make the National Health Service fit for the future.

The Government is supportive of Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers, which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, such as brain cancers, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the NHS will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there has been a correlation between the months in which children are born and the rate of mental health problems or neurodivergence diagnosis in those under 18 years old in each of the past five years.

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

No assessment has been made between the months in which children are born and the rate of mental health problems or neurodivergence diagnosis in those under 18 years old in each of the past five years.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by expanding mental health support teams in schools and colleges in England, to reach full national coverage by 2029.

In addition, the Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December the launch of an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. We are launching this review to understand the rises in prevalence and demand on services, so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Merron on 5 December (HL Deb col 2044), what distinction exists under Articles 2, 8 or 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights which means that a legal challenge would not arise for a person under 18 years old compared to those who are (1) under 21 years old, and (2) under 25 years old.

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

At the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill committee debate on 5 December 2025, the comments referred to were made in relation to the amendments that had been tabled for consideration in the Lords. There would need to be a reasonable, necessary and proportionate justification to underpin restricting access to assisted dying to any age on the face of the Bill. Although the reasons to support an age limit of 18 years old, as opposed to an age limit of 21 or 25 years old, may well be different. This matter was debated at some length on 5 December 2025, and as I stated in that debate, it is rightly for Parliament to decide on any age-related restrictions and to consider the proportionality of the reasons which underpin them. As the Government is neutral, it is not for the Government to comment on the likelihood of a court upholding any particular case brought to challenge the age on the face of the Bill but it was important to note the general risk to aid the debate in the Chamber.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS providers are obligated to (a) advertise positions for British nationals before foreign nationals and (b) hire British residents before overseas residents for (i) nursing and (ii) midwife positions.

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

There is no obligation on National Health Service providers to advertise positions for British nationals before foreign nationals, or to hire British residents before overseas residents for nursing and midwife positions.

At the same time, the 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.

As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has has discussions with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on pressures on accident and emergency services.

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

As a Government department, we work collaboratively with the devolved administrations to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer.

While health is primarily devolved and each health system operates in its own context, there are strong benefits from sharing experiences and learning between the devolved administrations. While ministers have not recently discussed pressures on accident and emergency services in recent months, Department and NHS England officials periodically speak informally with counterparts on urgent and emergency care issues.

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 UIN 94508, how many of these unique applications were made by people currently outside the UK, compared to those already based in the UK.

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

The Department has not undertaken an analysis of the information collected as part of the 2025 medical specialty training programme to assess the location of applicants at the point of application.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of underage access to vape products on young people’s health.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The health advice is clear, that whilst vapes can be an effective quit aid for adult smokers, children and young people should never vape.

The leading health risk to children and young people from vaping is nicotine addiction, and evidence suggests that young people may be more susceptible to the effects of nicotine. There are also potential health risks associated with the other ingredients in vapes which when overheated may produce toxic compounds. Vaping is associated with health problems such as asthma, coughing, and poor mental health, and is linked to other risky behaviours, such as drug use. Evidence on the longer-term health effects of vaping are still emerging.

To address this, the Government is progressing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament, which includes a package of measures that will protect young people from the known and emerging harms of nicotine and vaping products. To better understand the longer-term effects of vaping on young people, the Government has commissioned a significant package of research including a £62 million research project funded by UK Research and Innovation.

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 deliver training in health play principles to multi-disciplinary teams as sought in NHS England's Play Well toolkit published in June 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.

The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. It aims to improve access to child-friendly care and specialised health play services across paediatric healthcare.

NHS England is promoting the toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. The toolkit provides clear guidance on supporting practical training and mentorship in healthcare settings.

The Play Well toolkit sets out what employers should consider when developing a standard operating procedure for a play team, and this includes training for staff who may encounter children in the course of their work. It is for services to determine what is required and to ensure their teams receive relevant training.

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 digitise the Play Well checklist, as published in NHS England's Play Well toolkit in June 2025, to enable data-based quality improvement, monitoring, evaluation and mapping of provision.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.

In June 2025, a number of Operational Delivery Networks came together to digitise the play well checklist, which is available to colleagues across the National Health Service to utilise within their services. The availability of this digital version of the checklist has been included in the content of the webinar and subsequent meetings where the Play Well toolkit is shared. It is also available on the Starlight website.

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 reduce delays caused by inadequate clinic capacity that prevent urgent breast referrals from meeting the 28 day Faster Diagnosis Standard.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners. The Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS over two years and is opening up community diagnostic centres at evening and weekends, to help catch cancer earlier, including breast cancer.

To ensure that those with signs and symptoms that may indicate breast cancer have cancer diagnosed or ruled out as quickly as possible, NHS England has published guidance for local systems on implementing a timed breast cancer diagnostic pathway. The guidance sets out how diagnosis within 28-days can be achieved for the suspected breast cancer pathway in line with Faster Diagnosis Standard.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with ‘Heating, ventilation and air conditioning’ (HVAC) professionals and facilities managers to understand how they reduce air pollution in dwellings and non-domestic buildings while minimising energy use and heat loss.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency engage with a range of stakeholders on ways to reduce the health impacts of both indoor and outdoor air pollution.

This includes engagement by officials with relevant bodies in the United Kingdom and internationally, such as the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre, which operates under the International Energy Agency, on issues related to indoor air quality, including ventilation.

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 trends of hospital admissions of those with stroke symptoms in the last 5 years.

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

The following table shows the trend in stroke admissions for the last five years:

Source: Fingertips, avaiable at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/stroke%20admissions#page/4/gid/1/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/iid/90986/age/1/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 plans he has to fill vacant consultant posts in Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology working in the South West and the Midlands.

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

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver effective 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 NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills when needed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of staff sickness levels within East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust; and what support is being provided to reduce sickness absence.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of July 2025, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) had an average annual sickness absence rate of 7.6%. This has remained at the same rate as the average for the 12 months to July 2024. The EEAST average annual sickness absence rate is 0.9 percentage points higher than the average annual sickness absence rate for all ambulance trusts in England, which is 6.7%. This difference has been consistent across the past five years.

NHS England publishes monthly information on the sickness absence rates of staff in National Health Service bodies, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-rates

The primary cause for sickness absence amongst professionally qualified ambulance staff remains, anxiety, depression and mental health conditions.

The EEAST recognises that its sickness levels remain high and is committed to reducing these while ensuring its staff are properly supported.

The EEAST continues to work with system partners on effective measures to ensure its staff can handover patients safely as soon as possible and has taken actions to address its sickness levels. These include training for line managers on how to best support staff, a wide-ranging health and wellbeing offer, and temporary and permanent redeployment.

Local employers across the NHS have in place arrangements for supporting staff including occupational health provision, employee support programmes and a focus on healthy working environments.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs to ensure all staff have access to high quality occupational health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two main causes of sickness absence in the NHS.

To further support this ambition, we are working with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism and sexual harassment in the workplace.

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 reduce the diagnosis waiting time for Endometriosis.

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

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, including endometriosis care. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, has commissioned studies focused on endometriosis diagnosis, treatment, and patient experience.

Diagnosis may involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound, but laparoscopy remains the definitive diagnostic and treatment method. We are taking action to transform diagnostic services and increase capacity, including MRI and ultrasound. 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. National Health Service surgical hubs deliver high-volume, low-complexity elective surgeries, including gynaecological procedures. Currently, over half of the 123 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services, and laparoscopies are a key part of this offering. The Elective Reform Plan commits to expand the number of hubs over the next three years 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 progress has been made in implementing workforce recommendations from the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce; and what measures are being taken to help tackle (a) midwife burnout and (b) midwifes working too many hours at maternity services serving Maidenhead constituents.

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

The health and wellbeing of our National Health Service staff, including midwives, is a top priority.

The independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, chaired by Baroness Amos, is expected to publish findings in the Spring. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will chair the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce to address the recommendations and develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment.

It is for local NHS trusts to determine what working patterns may be required to meet local service needs in the interest of patients, considering the provisions set out in the Working Time Regulations 1998.

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 (a) medical support for and (b) access to medical support for people with Crohn's disease in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) to meet the needs of patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, in the Leeds Central and Headingly constituency, supported by national improvement programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare. These programmes provide evidence-based tools and guidance to reduce unwarranted variation and improve patient outcomes.

In November 2025, GIRFT published a new handbook, Optimising care for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, in addition to an updated IBD pathway. This handbook provides practical advice, key actions, and examples of innovative practices to improve the care of National Health Service patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Gastroenterology is a top priority for reform in the Elective Reform Plan. Specific action in gastroenterology includes developing an integrated pathway across primary, community, and secondary care for common gastroenterology conditions. We will also drive rapid adoption of remote monitoring in appropriate gastroenterology pathways.

We are also introducing an ‘online hospital’ through NHS Online. This will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times. IBD is amongst nine initial conditions for online referrals from 2027.

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 (a) medical support for and (b) access to medical support for people with colitis in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is the responsibility of the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) to meet the needs of patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, in the Leeds Central and Headingly constituency, supported by national improvement programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare. These programmes provide evidence-based tools and guidance to reduce unwarranted variation and improve patient outcomes.

In November 2025, GIRFT published a new handbook, Optimising care for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, in addition to an updated IBD pathway. This handbook provides practical advice, key actions, and examples of innovative practices to improve the care of National Health Service patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Gastroenterology is a top priority for reform in the Elective Reform Plan. Specific action in gastroenterology includes developing an integrated pathway across primary, community, and secondary care for common gastroenterology conditions. We will also drive rapid adoption of remote monitoring in appropriate gastroenterology pathways.

We are also introducing an ‘online hospital’ through NHS Online. This will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times. IBD is amongst nine initial conditions for online referrals from 2027.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in the UK have been diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold data on cancer incidence for the United Kingdom. The latest data on bladder cancer incidence available, in England, can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2023

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 NHS support pathways pathways for people with Tourette’s Syndrome in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS England Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) initiative are playing an important role in improving care for people with Tourette’s syndrome, including in Yeovil. These programmes aim to ensure that patients receive timely, high-quality, and evidence-based care. For Tourette’s, this means supporting local integrated care boards (ICBs) to develop clearer referral pathways, improve access to multidisciplinary teams, and embed best practice in local services. GIRFT also uses data to identify gaps in provision and highlight where improvements can be made, helping to ensure that people with Tourette’s are not left behind in the transformation of neurological care.

Our 10-Year Health Plan is designed to transform the way we deliver care for people with long-term conditions, including Tourette’s syndrome. By shifting the focus from hospital-based treatment to more integrated, community-led care, the plan aims to ensure that individuals with Tourette’s can access timely support closer to home, including in Yeovil.

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 whether disabled parking provision at NHS and primary care premises is adequate to meet patient demand.

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

No national assessment he has made of whether disabled parking provision at National Health Service and primary care premises is adequate to meet patient demand.

Disabled parking provision on the public sector estate is mandated through national planning rules, and all NHS facilities must meet the requirements.

NHS organisations decide how they provide parking locally, based on the needs of patients, visitors, and staff, as well as environmental factors. The NHS car parking guidance requires free parking to be provided for four groups: disabled people; frequent outpatient attenders; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working night shifts. Further information is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will address (a) access to and (b) capacity for radiotherapy services for cancer patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as how we will reduce waiting times for diagnosis and treatment.

Improving access to all treatment services, including radiotherapy, remains a key priority for the Government. Our commitment to radiotherapy services is demonstrated by our £70 million investment in new LINAC radiotherapy machines to replace older, less efficient equipment. This crucial investment will boost treatment efficiency and productivity, freeing up capacity and reduce waiting times for patients. These new machines are currently being rolled out and have already started treating cancer patients across the country.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will address access to, and capacity for, radiotherapy services for cancer patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as how we will reduce waiting times for diagnosis and treatment.

Improving access to all treatment services, including radiotherapy, remains a key priority for the Government. Our commitment to radiotherapy services is demonstrated by our £70 million investment in new LINAC radiotherapy machines to replace older, less efficient equipment. This crucial investment will boost treatment efficiency and productivity, freeing up capacity and reduce waiting times for patients. These new machines are currently being rolled out and have already started treating cancer patients across the country.

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 an adequate (a) supply and (b) distribution of the flu vaccine in (i) Bedfordshire and (ii) East of England, in light of the emergence of the H3N2 “subclade K” virus.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The supply and distribution of flu vaccines for the majority of NHS England’s flu programme is managed by individual providers. NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) work with the pharmaceutical sector to support adequate supply, understand provider ordering, and signpost providers to the continued availability of stock towards the end of the season.

There is currently good availability of flu vaccines in Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes. Local practices and pharmacies have not reported any significant disruption to supply or distribution. NHS England regional teams monitor availability of appointments and stock levels, and are working with community pharmacies, general practices, and other providers to identify and escalate any providers that need further support with supply, which the NHS England Regional Vaccination Operations Cell will assist with.

For the children’s flu programme, the UKHSA centrally procures and manages the supply of all vaccines to ensure that eligible children aged under 18 years old who present for vaccination can be offered an appropriate vaccine. Supply remains available throughout the entire flu season. Flu vaccines for children are made available to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform ImmForm. General practices are able to place weekly orders and receive weekly deliveries of children’s flu vaccines from the UKHSA. School immunisation teams are able to place orders and receive deliveries up to twice per week.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure that families of babies identified as deaf through the newborn hearing screening programme receive timely and appropriate support from birth.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Newborn babies whose hearing screening suggests they may have deafness and hearing impairment are referred for an audiological assessment within four weeks.

A family centred approach underpins all recall processes to prioritise clear communication and support for families, ensuring transparency and minimizing harm. Working with the National Deaf Children’s Society, a range of communications have been developed with families to help support families of babies and children who are deaf or have hearing loss.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, commissioned the recently published, independent Kingdon review that includes a number of recommendations on how children’s hearing services need to be improved.

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 car parking charges in hospital car parks on access to healthcare.

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

It is important that the National Health Service is as accessible as possible to those that need it most. That is why the NHS already provides free hospital car parking to those in greatest need. This includes disabled blue badge holders, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of children staying overnight and NHS staff working overnight.

More widely, all NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the area, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people died from smoking in England in each year since 2021.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The latest estimates for smoking-attributable mortality in England are for the period 2017 to 2019. The Smoking Profile, produced by the Department, reports 191,903 smoking-attributable deaths of people aged 35 years old and over in the period 2017 to 2019 in England, which is just under 64,000 deaths each year. Further information on the Smoking Profile is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/tobacco-control/data#page/1/gid/1938132887/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/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 are being taken to ensure hospitals are routinely up to date with fire safety guidance.

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

NHS England has published guidance through Health Technical Memorandum 05:03 – Firecode, which provides guidance on operational provisions for fire safety for health sector buildings and premises. This guidance is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/fire-safety-in-the-nhs-health-technical-memorandum-05-03/

This HTM is updated when necessary. For example, the ‘Training’ section of the guidance was last updated in 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to improve the care system for cardiology patients in the UK; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s by Professor Religa.

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

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

No assessment has been made of adopting elements of the structured clinical programme established in Poland in the 1980s for heart transplant surgery. The National Health Service’s heart transplant programme provides life-saving heart transplants for adults, those 16 years old or older, with end-stage heart failure, involving assessment, surgery, and lifelong care.

NHS England has been undertaking a review of heart and lung transplantation services, building on a report commissioned by the Department, named Honouring the gift of organ donation, published in 2023 and avaiable at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/honouring-the-gift-of-donation-utilising-organs-for-transplant

The goals of the review are to increase the number of transplants, improve patient outcomes, reduce inequalities in access to transplants, and improve patient experience.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will update the Health and Technical Memorandum 03-01 for the latest technical standards.

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

Published guidance on ventilation in healthcare settings includes the Health Technical Memorandum 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises. It gives comprehensive advice and guidance on the legal requirements, design implications, maintenance, and operation of specialised ventilation in healthcare premises providing acute care. Further information is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-buildings/

NHS England will update Health Technical Memorandums, including HTM 03-01, when necessary.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many admissions to hospital there were for flu in December 2025.

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

In December 2025, an average of 2,888 hospital beds were occupied by patients with flu across all acute settings, including both General and Acute and Critical Care beds.

These figures are published in the NHS England Winter Situation Reports, which are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/uec-sitrep/urgent-and-emergency-care-daily-situation-reports-2025-26/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Warrington South, colleagues and representatives of Royal College of Pathologists about the recruitment of Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology consultants in the South West and the Midlands.

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

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver effective 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 NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills when needed.

We are engaging with partners throughout this process. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients, and organisations, including royal colleges across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people eligible for winter flu vaccinations received them in 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

For England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes provisional vaccine uptake data throughout the flu season. Weekly national level data for general practice (GP) patients is available from October to January, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season

Monthly national and regional level data for GP patients, school-aged children, and frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) is available from October to January. The latest monthly data for the 2025 to 2026 season includes all vaccinations given between 1 September to 30 November 2025, and is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures

Up to 4 January 2026, over 18 million people eligible for the national programme had been vaccinated so far this season.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take in the forthcoming National Cancer Plan to improve diagnosis and treatment for penile cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer, including penile cancer, is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan. The plan will be published early this year. It will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients with cancer, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates. This will benefit all cancer patients, including penile cancer patients.

The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including penile cancer patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England will publish the delayed breast screening uptake improvement plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England will publish a Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Review this year, to help improve uptake and address inequalities.

The review supports breast screening service providers with national solutions such as:

• introducing digital options for sending out invitations and managing appointments;
• raising awareness of the importance of screening through the media; and
• facilitating learning and gathering evidence to inform programme policy, pathway changes, and guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take in the forthcoming National Cancer Plan to improve diagnosis times for myeloma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.

To tackle the late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating them faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years. This will benefit all cancer patients, including leukaemia and myeloma patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to reduce delays in cancer diagnosis, specifically for blood cancers such as leukaemia.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.

To tackle the late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating them faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years. This will benefit all cancer patients, including leukaemia and myeloma patients.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with Tourette syndrome in Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS England Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) initiative are playing an important role in improving care for people with Tourette’s syndrome, including in Yeovil. These programmes aim to ensure that patients receive timely, high-quality, and evidence-based care. For Tourette’s, this means supporting local integrated care boards (ICBs) to develop clearer referral pathways, improve access to multidisciplinary teams, and embed best practice in local services. GIRFT also uses data to identify gaps in provision and highlight where improvements can be made, helping to ensure that people with Tourette’s are not left behind in the transformation of neurological care.

Our 10-Year Health Plan is designed to transform the way we deliver care for people with long-term conditions, including Tourette’s syndrome. By shifting the focus from hospital-based treatment to more integrated, community-led care, the plan aims to ensure that individuals with Tourette’s can access timely support closer to home, including in Yeovil.

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 people are able to access a timely diagnosis for arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving timely diagnosis and management of arthritis and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions across England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These guidelines help ensure that patients receive evidence-based care as early as possible.

NHS England is working to improve early diagnosis rates through its Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) rheumatology programme. This initiative focuses on reducing variation in care, improving referral pathways, and ensuring patients with suspected arthritis and other MSK conditions are assessed promptly by specialists.

The Government has funded NHS England’s GIRFT programme to deploy its proven Further Faster model for MSK community services. The programme has been designed to reduce waiting times for community MSK appointments and to enhance access to quality treatment, working with integrated care board leaders to improve data and metrics and referral pathways to wider support services.

We are working together to further develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to reduce access to treatment variations between ICBs for people with arthritis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving timely diagnosis and management of arthritis and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions across England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These guidelines help ensure that patients receive evidence-based care as early as possible.

NHS England is working to improve early diagnosis rates through its Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) rheumatology programme. This initiative focuses on reducing variation in care, improving referral pathways, and ensuring patients with suspected arthritis and other MSK conditions are assessed promptly by specialists.

The Government has funded NHS England’s GIRFT programme to deploy its proven Further Faster model for MSK community services. The programme has been designed to reduce waiting times for community MSK appointments and to enhance access to quality treatment, working with integrated care board leaders to improve data and metrics and referral pathways to wider support services.

We are working together to further develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include health play professionals in the modelling for multi-disciplinary paediatric teams for the new neighbourhood health service.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We will deliver a Neighbourhood Health Service that serves everybody, everywhere across the country, including children and young people.

An important feature of our new Neighbourhood Health Service will be the rollout of Neighbourhood Health Centres in every community, including multidisciplinary neighbourhood teams who will work together around the needs of children and families.

The make-up of neighbourhood multi-disciplinary teams for children and young people is locally determined by integrated care boards. Local commissioners determine the role for each practitioner within neighbourhood multidisciplinary teams based upon the clinical interventions being undertaken.

Play specialists could be involved as part of a neighbourhood multi-disciplinary teams for children and young people but this is likely only appropriate for multi-disciplinary teams who provide face to face patient care. For example, when a general practitioner and paediatrician hold a joint clinic in the practice or local setting.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will consider allowing families of vulnerable patients who are at highest risk, particularly those affected by transplants and kidney disease, access to NHS COVID vaccinations.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19.

The JCVI has advised that population immunity to COVID-19 has increased due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.

The JCVI has also advised that as currently available COVID-19 vaccines provide limited protection against transmission and mild or asymptomatic disease, the focus of the programme is on offering vaccination to those most likely to directly benefit from vaccination. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.

The Government has accepted the JCVI advice for autumn 2025 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups:

• adults aged 75 years old and over;
• residents in care homes for older adults; and
• individuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed.

As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.

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 availability and quality of data held by Integrated Care Boards on the prevalence of clinically diagnosed allergic conditions and the specialist allergy workforce in their local areas; and what consideration has he given to the potential merits of establishing a National Allergy Register, embedded within the planned Single Patient Record in improving patient safety and reducing regional inequalities in allergy care.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards (ICBs) will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.

NHS England is working with the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Register (UKFAR) to develop a mechanism for sharing relevant patient safety anaphylaxis incidents, including the reporting of anaphylaxis in hospitals. The aim will be for the UKFAR to extract and share patient safety incidents reported to the national databases, the National Reporting and Learning System and Learn from Patient Safety Events, relating to severe allergic reactions. Work has been progressing on this.

The National Allergy Strategy Group, an external group of stakeholders, is developing a UK National Allergy Strategy 2025-2035. The Department will carefully consider and respond to it when we receive it next year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include information in the Green Book on the HPV vaccine that includes reference to its role in reducing the risk of oral cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Green Book is written for healthcare professionals. The chapter on human papillomavirus (HPV) does highlight the causal link between infection with this virus, cervical cancer, and some non-cervical cancer including those of the head and neck. The HPV chapter 18a from the Green Book is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-papillomavirus-hpv-the-green-book-chapter-18a

Broader UK Health Security Agency guidance on HPV also highlights the protection the vaccine provides against HPV infection and related conditions. This public‑facing information also explains that the vaccine helps protect against cancers of the mouth and is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64919b26103ca6000c03a212/HPV_Vaccination_For_All_-_English_Leaflet_from_September_2023.pdf

It also highlights that the greatest risk comes from infection with high-risk types of HPV. There is very good evidence that the vaccine in use in the United Kingdom offers excellent protection against these high-risk types.

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 paediatric settings to adopt the recommended Play Well standards in NHS England's Play Well toolkit published in June 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.

The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. It aims to improve access to child-friendly care and specialised health play services across paediatric healthcare.

To support adoption of Play Well standards, NHS England is promoting the toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. The toolkit provides clear guidance on supporting practical training and mentorship in healthcare settings.

A range of communication channels have been used to raise awareness, including engagement with services via professional bodies, messaging via the Chief Nursing Officer, a blog posts and ongoing promotion of the toolkit across the National Health Service through operational delivery networks, directly to trusts and directly with professional groups.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that cancer patients in Newbury are treated within 62 days.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments across elective, diagnostic, and cancer care, having now delivered over five million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to treatment.

Between November 2024 to October 2025, approximately 110,000 more patients were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days compared to the previous 12 months. This supports the achievement of the 62-day treatment standard, as faster diagnosis means that patients can begin treatment sooner.

The latest available data shows that the 62-day treatment standard for the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board has improved by 3.5% between October 2024 and October 2025.

However, we recognise that there is more to do, including for patients in Newbury.

To ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it, and so that patients can be treated sooner, the Government has also invested £70 million of central funding to replace outdated radiotherapy machines, including one at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase (a) capacity of and (b) access to radiotherapy cancer treatment in (i) England and (ii) Stratford-upon-Avon.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Radiotherapy is crucial to cancer treatment, and it remains a key priority for the Government to reduce radiotherapy waiting times and provide high quality treatment for all patients, including those in Stratford-upon-Avon. This is why the Government has invested £70 million of central funding on 28 new LINAC radiotherapy machines across the country to replace older, less efficient radiotherapy machines. This crucial investment will boost treatment efficiency and productivity, freeing up capacity and reduce waiting times for patients. These new machines are currently being rolled out and have already started treating cancer patients across the country.

The Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust received £2.3 million to replace ageing radiotherapy equipment from an underspend in the National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024/25.

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 current age limits for routine breast cancer screening; and whether he plans to review these limits to improve early detection for patients outside of the standard screening range.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is guided by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the committee is confident that screening would provide more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended, as all medical interventions carry an inherent risk.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) offers all women in England between the ages of 50 to 71 years old the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost to invasive breast cancer.

The AgeX research trial has been looking at the effectiveness of offering some women one extra screen between the ages of 47 to 49 years old, and one between the ages of 71 to 73 years old. The biggest trial of its kind ever to be undertaken, AgeX will provide robust evidence about the effectiveness of screening in these age groups, including the benefit and harms. The UK NSC will review the publication of the age extension trial when it reports.

Women with a very high risk of breast cancer, for example due to family history, may be offered screening earlier and more frequently, sometimes using magnetic resonance imaging rather than a mammogram.

While the NHS BSP does not automatically invite women for breast screening after their 71st birthday, women aged 71 years old or over can still have breast screening every three years if they want to, by calling their local breast screening service to ask for an appointment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which public health factors created the 10 largest direct cost impacts on the NHS in 2024; and how much the NHS spent in 2024 on tackling the health impacts of the following public health factors: (a) air pollution, (b) alcoholism, (c) obesity, (d) excessive salt consumption and (e) smoking.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Global Burden of Disease data considers the top ten public health factors in the United Kingdom in 2023 in order of importance to be: tobacco, high body mass index, dietary risks, high fasting plasma glucose, high blood pressure, high alcohol use, high cholesterol, occupational risks, kidney dysfunction, and drug use. Further information on the Global Burden of Disease data is available at the following link:

https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/

The following table shows the various estimates of the cost to the National Health Service of the five factors specified:

Comparisons of costs should not be made between these estimates because of the different methodologies used in their construction.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local cancer treatment facilities, such as mobile chemotherapy units and hospital breast cancer clinics, have sufficient resources to meet demand and reduce waiting times for patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the plan for reforming elective care, the Government is committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times.

To improve access to cancer treatment, the Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the National Health Service and providing it with the resources it needs, including community diagnostic centres, to ensure patients are diagnosed faster and earlier so that they receive timely access to treatment. £70 million will also be spent on replacing out-of-date radiotherapy equipment so that cancer patients benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment using the most up-to-date technology. Replacing these older machines will save as many as 13,000 appointments from being lost to equipment breakdown.

NHS England has partnered with the charity Hope For Tomorrow to establish mobile chemotherapy units across England, bringing chemotherapy and cancer treatments closer to patients' homes, reducing waiting time for hospital appointments, with units staffed by specialist nurses offering personalised care.

The NHS has made important progress on the treatment of cancer, including breast cancer, delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week to ensure faster treatment for those who need it most.

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 build capacity in the health play professional sector, including training, qualifications and registration, as sought in NHS England's Play Well toolkit published in June 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.

The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit, published in June 2025, includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. It aims to improve access to child-friendly care and specialised health play services across paediatric healthcare.

NHS England is promoting the toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. The toolkit provides clear guidance on supporting practical training and mentorship in healthcare settings.

The Play Well toolkit aims to ensure that health play services have the right staff with the right qualifications to deliver a high-quality service. This includes ensuring that services are able to support the training and development of the health play specialists they employ.

Health play specialists are trained through foundation degrees and prospective health play specialists can also be trained through the apprenticeship route.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with (1) Chrohn's and (2) Colitis in (a) South Holland and the Deepings and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Neither the Department nor NHS England hold data on the total number of people diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or colitis in South Holland and the Deepings or Lincolnshire in each of the last five years. However, the following table shows a count hospital admissions (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis Crohn's disease or colitis and where the patient was resident in Lincolnshire or South Holland and the Deepings, each year from 2020/21 to 2024/25:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, published by NHS England

Notes:

1. an FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes;
2. for the purposes of this data, the following ICD-10 codes have been used: K50 for Crohn’s Disease; A09.0 for other and unspecified gastroenteritis and colitis of infectious origin; A09.9 for gastroenteritis and colitis of unspecified origin; K51. For ulcerative colitis; K52. For other noninfective gastroenteritis and colitis; A06.2 for amoebic non-dysenteric colitis; and A04.7 for enterocolitis due to clostridium difficile;
3. the data presented here is a count of the number of admissions rather than the number of patients. It’s possible that the same person may have been admitted to hospital on more than one occasion within any given period; and
4. the majority of cases of Crohn’s disease and colitis are treated through routine access to primary and secondary care services, with only a smaller number of cases, typically the most serious, requiring hospital admission. The data presented here will, therefore, only represent a small proportion of the total number of cases that were treated.

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 10 May 2023 to Question 183643 on Public Health, what methodologies were used to estimate the costs to the NHS for each of the five risk factors specified.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The applicable methodologies for the National Health Service cost attributed to each of the risk factors outlined are explained in the following reports.

The estimated air pollution related costs to the NHS can be found in the Public Health England report ‘Estimation of costs to the NHS and social care due to the health impacts of air pollution: summary report’ , from 2018, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-a-tool-to-estimate-healthcare-costs

An estimate of the NHS and healthcare costs of alcohol from 2021/22, produced by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, can be found at the following link:

https://www.ias.org.uk/factsheet/economy/

Estimated obesity related costs to the NHS can be found in the Frontier Economics report for NESTA, published in July 2025, ‘The Economic and Productivity Costs of Obesity and Overweight in the UK’, which is available at the following link:

https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/The_economic_and_productivity_costs_of_obesity_and_overweight_in_the_UK_.pdf

Estimated Hypertension related costs to the NHS can be found in the Optimity Matrix Cost-effectiveness review of blood pressure interventions, ‘A Report to the Blood Pressure System Leadership Board’, published November 2014, available at the following link:

https://cleanair.london/app/uploads/vdocuments.site_cost-effectiveness-review-of-blood-pressure-cost-effectiveness-review-of-blood.pdf

The most recent estimated smoking related costs to the NHS can be found in the press release, ‘New figures show cost of smoking to society in England dwarfs tobacco tax revenue’. This is available at the following link:

https://ash.org.uk/media-centre/news/press-releases/new-figures-show-cost-of-smoking-to-society-in-england-dwarfs-tobacco-tax-revenue

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many removals from elective waiting lists there have been as a result of data validation exercises in 2025-26; and what the cost to his Department has been of those exercises.

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

Validation is a well-established component for the effective management of waiting lists, ensuring that the patients who are on the list should still be there. While we have significantly reduced the size of the total elective waiting list by over 206,000 since the Government took office, a large list requires consistent validation in order to ensure that all patients on the list still require care, and all appointments are of optimum value for patients and clinicians.

The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of patient pathways removed from the elective waiting list as a result of data validation.

NHS England has paid the system £18,818,566 for validation exercises from April to September 2025. Payments for the most recent validation exercises have not yet been issued to providers. We know validation provides significant benefits for patients by reducing missed appointments, making effective use of clinical time, and ensuring patients are on the best care pathway for their needs.

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 radiotherapy professionals on the upcoming national cancer plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have been working closely with radiotherapy professionals and the national clinical adviser for radiotherapy, throughout the development the National Cancer Plan to understand the specific challenges that radiotherapy services face. We will continue to work with professionals to identify how we can reduce barriers to access, cut waiting lists, and improve outcomes for cancer patients who require radiotherapy services. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.

All key evidence from clinicians, stakeholders and parliamentarians has been considered in the plan's development, as well as over 11,000 responses, many of which were from clinicians to our Call for Evidence. We are grateful for everyone's involvement in this important work.

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 10 December 2025 to Question 95676, whether his Department has conducted any evaluation of patient safety risks affecting people with severe and very severe ME/CFS, including malnutrition.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Patient safety risks affecting people with severe and very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), including malnutrition, have been considered during the development of the final delivery plan (FDP) published in July this year, through engagement with stakeholders, including clinicians and patient groups.

To this end, the FDP includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered permitting the term probiotic to be used in mandatory food labelling.

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

Under existing legislation, the Department considers the term ‘probiotic’ to constitute a health claim as it implies that consuming a food or food supplement containing these bacteria may provide a health benefit. Health claims may only be used if they have been scientifically substantiated and authorised in accordance with nutrition and health claims legislation.

There is an established process for authorising health claims, which requires industry to submit detailed scientific evidence for assessment. Since the exit of the European Union, the Department has not received any applications for new health claims relating to probiotics or specific bacterial strains. As no claims are authorised, ‘probiotics’ should not be used as a claim on food labels.

The term ‘probiotic’ could only be used on food labels if a specific authorised health claim existed for the particular strain of live bacteria used. The authorisation process remains available to industry, and any future applications would be considered in line with the requirements to ensure that health claims used on food are accurate, evidence‑based, and not misleading for consumers.

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 Matha's Rule on enhancing patient care and saving lives for those with learning disabilities.

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

Martha’s Rule is being implemented in all acute hospitals in England. Early indications suggest a positive impact on patient care across patient groups, including people with learning disabilities, through improved recognition of physiological deterioration, strengthened patient and family voice, and earlier clinical review.

Data published by NHS England shows that from September 2024 to November 2025, 9,135 Martha’s Rule calls were made, with the highest proportion of calls, or 72%, made via the family escalation process. 3,186 Martha’s Rule escalation calls, or 36%, related to acute deterioration and of those, 412 calls resulted in potentially life-saving transfers of care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the Westminster Hall debate on Parkinson's disease on 17 November 2025, col. 230WH, what steps he will take to encourage medical researchers to propose more projects for National Institute for Health and Care Research funding to help cure that disease.

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

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the 2024/25 financial year, the NIHR committed £6 million to Parkinson’s disease research through its research programmes and capacity building schemes.

As well as funding research itself, the NIHR invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England. Collectively this forms NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure enables the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research into Parkinson’s disease.

In order to inform priorities and guide future research commissioning by funders of Parkinson’s research, the NIHR Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit at Exeter has undertaken a mapping exercise of the current evidence landscape.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Welcoming applications on Parkinson's disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to encourage the use of a surgical robot in Cornwall, in the context of it being the only region in England and Wales without one.

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

Our 10-Year Health Plan commits to expanding surgical robot adoption over the next decade. We recognise the importance of ensuring equitable access and we will establish national registries for robotic surgery data from 2029 and develop telesurgery networks to support geographical equity of access to robotic assisted surgery.

Decisions on the procurement of robotic‑assisted surgery are made locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards, in line with local need and national guidance. The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) has a robotic surgery programme as a commitment in their refreshed 10-year strategy, which was approved at the RCHT Board on 8 January 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all pregnant women are offered the whooping cough vaccine at the optimal time in pregnancy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

All pregnant women are offered the whooping cough vaccination in every pregnancy, around the time of the mid-pregnancy scan, usually 20 weeks, and ideally before 32 weeks, via midwifery in the community or their general practice.

The Department is working with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to encourage high uptake of all immunisations, including in underserved communities and in groups with historically lower vaccination rates.

Significant efforts have been made to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination to protect babies against whooping cough, also known as pertussis. These include targeted campaigns using social media, digital screen graphics, and community outreach. The National Health Service actively promotes vaccination for pregnant women to protect their newborns, and efforts are underway to enhance the recording and monitoring of vaccinations, ensuring accurate data collection to assess the programme’s effectiveness.

Recent data shows maternal pertussis vaccination coverage from July to September 2025 was 71.9%, which was 7.5% higher than the equivalent period in 2025. However, there is more to do to stabilise and improve uptake, and that is why we have set out actions to improve uptake in our 10-Year Health Plan for England. Putting our plans into action, we have recently launched a campaign to promote awareness and confidence in vaccination, including for pregnant women, which will run throughout the year.

To improve accessibility, community pharmacies in areas of high deprivation and low uptake are now also commissioned to offer some vaccinations, making it more convenient for individuals to get vaccinated.

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 19 November 2025 to Question 84923 on Public Houses: Electronic Cigarettes, whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of a ban on vaping in pubs on their (a) financial viability and (b) profitability.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill gives the Government powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free also vape-free.

We plan to consult on making most indoor settings, that are subject to existing smoke-free legislation, vape-free. This would include inside pubs and other hospitality venues. A number of places have already done this voluntarily.

These measures will be subject to a full consultation, and we will be guided by public health advice. All future regulations will be accompanied by an impact assessment that will consider the economic effects of the proposed measures and will be published as part of the consultation process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration he has made of the need for a national bladder cancer audit.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In regards to a National Bladder Cancer Audit consideration, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell on 10 December 2025 to Question 96365.

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 diagnosis and ongoing care for people with Crohn’s disease and Colitis in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for ensuring that appropriate treatment and support is available for people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, in their areas. In Surrey Heath, this responsibility sits with either the NHS Frimley ICB or the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB, with national improvement programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare driving change. Together, these programmes help deliver consistent, high-quality diagnostic processes and ongoing care and support across the National Health Service in England.

The GIRFT national report on gastroenterology recommends rapid access to specialist review within four weeks, personalised care plans, increased endoscopy capacity, the standardised use of diagnostic tests such as endoscopy and imaging, and early involvement of multidisciplinary teams, including IBD specialist nurses, gastroenterologists, surgeons, dietitians, and mental health professionals.

In November 2025, GIRFT published a new handbook, ‘Optimising care for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease’ in addition to an updated IBD pathway. This handbook provides practical advice, key actions, and examples of innovative practices to improve the care of NHS patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

‘Hannah’s story’, published by NHS England as part of its RightCare scenario series, is a fictional case study designed to show the difference between a suboptimal and an optimal care pathway for someone living with Crohn’s disease. This scenario underlines the importance of integrated services, proactive treatment planning, and consistent adherence to IBD Standards to reduce variation and improve outcomes for patients across England.

Gastroenterology is a high-volume specialty identified as a top priority for reform in the Elective Reform Plan due to its waiting list challenges. Specific action in gastroenterology includes developing an integrated pathway across primary, community, and secondary care for common gastroenterology conditions. We will also drive rapid adoption of remote monitoring in appropriate gastroenterology pathways.

We are also introducing an ‘online hospital’ through NHS Online. This will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times. IBD is amongst nine initial conditions for online referrals from 2027.

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 support available to people living with Crohn’s disease and Colitis in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for ensuring that appropriate treatment and support is available for people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, in their areas. In Surrey Heath, this responsibility sits with either the NHS Frimley ICB or the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB, with national improvement programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare driving change. Together, these programmes help deliver consistent, high-quality diagnostic processes and ongoing care and support across the National Health Service in England.

The GIRFT national report on gastroenterology recommends rapid access to specialist review within four weeks, personalised care plans, increased endoscopy capacity, the standardised use of diagnostic tests such as endoscopy and imaging, and early involvement of multidisciplinary teams, including IBD specialist nurses, gastroenterologists, surgeons, dietitians, and mental health professionals.

In November 2025, GIRFT published a new handbook, ‘Optimising care for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease’ in addition to an updated IBD pathway. This handbook provides practical advice, key actions, and examples of innovative practices to improve the care of NHS patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

‘Hannah’s story’, published by NHS England as part of its RightCare scenario series, is a fictional case study designed to show the difference between a suboptimal and an optimal care pathway for someone living with Crohn’s disease. This scenario underlines the importance of integrated services, proactive treatment planning, and consistent adherence to IBD Standards to reduce variation and improve outcomes for patients across England.

Gastroenterology is a high-volume specialty identified as a top priority for reform in the Elective Reform Plan due to its waiting list challenges. Specific action in gastroenterology includes developing an integrated pathway across primary, community, and secondary care for common gastroenterology conditions. We will also drive rapid adoption of remote monitoring in appropriate gastroenterology pathways.

We are also introducing an ‘online hospital’ through NHS Online. This will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times. IBD is amongst nine initial conditions for online referrals from 2027.

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 quality of life for people being diagnosed, treated for or living with cancer under the National Cancer Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan for England will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care in England to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.

The plan will aim to improve how, in England, the physical and psychosocial needs of people with cancer can be met, with a focus on personalised care to improve quality of life. It will address how the experience of care can be improved for those diagnosed, treated, and living with and beyond cancer in England.

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 address regional disparities in whooping cough vaccination uptake among pregnant women.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The latest published data for September 2025 shows that prenatal pertussis vaccination coverage has improved in all seven NHS England regions when compared to September 2024.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) report shows monthly prenatal pertussis vaccination coverage followed an increasing trend since April 2024. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pertussis-immunisation-in-pregnancy-vaccine-coverage-estimates-in-england-october-2013-to-march-2014/prenatal-pertussis-vaccination-coverage-in-england-from-january-to-march-2025-and-annual-coverage-for-2024-to-2025

To support continued improvements, NHS England has developed and implemented a vaccination in pregnancy improvement plan. Actions delivered to date include:

- system level oversight and leadership of programme commissioning and delivery, to strengthen the offer process and tackle factors contributing to low vaccine uptake;

- ensuring commissioned providers are aware of their responsibilities within the vaccination in pregnancy programmes and are working to strengthen the vaccination offer and ensure consistency in delivery approach;

- commissioning community pharmacy providers in areas of low uptake and high deprivation to deliver National Health Service pertussis vaccinations to pregnant women opportunistically or on request;

- revised governance arrangements for vaccination in pregnancy programmes, with regional and national colleagues meeting regularly to share learning and good practice from local systems; and

- improved vaccination recording and accurate data collection to monitor programme effectiveness, allowing regional teams and their partner integrated care boards to access timely NHS operational data. This informs targeted action to increase uptake and reduce inequalities.

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 proportion of pregnant women who are not offered the whooping cough vaccine by 20 weeks’ gestation; and what steps are being taken to improve timely access.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

All pregnant women in England should be offered the pertussis vaccination in every pregnancy, around the time of the mid-pregnancy scan, usually 20 weeks, and ideally before 32 weeks.

Recent data shows maternal pertussis vaccination coverage from July to September 2025 was 71.9%, which was 7.5% higher than the equivalent period in 2025. The data is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pertussis-immunisation-in-pregnancy-vaccine-coverage-estimates-in-england-october-2013-to-march-2014/prenatal-pertussis-vaccination-coverage-in-england-from-july-to-september-2025

NHS England has implemented a range of measures to ensure timely access to the pertussis vaccination programme, including NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency having developed a joint maternal vaccines toolkit and campaign to promote timely uptake of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and flu vaccines during pregnancy, highlighting the protection provided to newborns.

NHS England has commissioned community pharmacies in the North West, Midlands, London, and the East of England to deliver pertussis and RSV vaccines, increasing convenience and capacity, particularly in areas of high deprivation and low uptake.

A maternal vaccination postcard has been translated into seven additional languages and distributed to 200 practices with lower uptake. Tailored communications are shared through community and faith-based channels, including radio, podcasts, and local publications.

NHS England regularly shares vaccination information with pregnancy and parenting organisations such as Tommy’s and the NCT, as well as community and faith groups, for use on their websites, newsletters, and social media.

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 quality of life for people being diagnosed, treated for or living with cancer under the National Cancer Plan .

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.

The plan will aim to improve how the physical and psychosocial needs of people with cancer can be met, with a focus on personalised care to improve quality of life. It will address how the experience of care can be improved for those diagnosed, treated, and living with and beyond cancer. The plan will be published early this year.

Found: the Home Office (HO), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), 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: cqc.org.uk) Professor Meghana Pandit, Interim Medical Director, Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: We are very concerned that DHSC, with the HFEA, has twice sanctioned increasing ‘compensation’ payments

Found: action-on-sponsors-but-insufficient-protection-for-migrants-and-the-care-sector/> accessed 1 December 2025. 4 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: In social care the TUC and affiliates have long called for the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: is waived for those employing General Practitioners in the NHS or NHS England (shortly to become DHSC

Found: charge is waived for those employing General Practitioners in the NHS or NHS England (shortly to become DHSC

Found: is waived for those employing General Practitioners in the NHS or NHS England (shortly to become DHSC

Found: workplace-justice-visa-and-other-proposals-from-a-six-country-comparison/ 16 Home Office, Department of Health and Social Care

Found: It was pushed by the Department of Health and Social Care, forced on the Home Office and very badly

Found: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: Recommendations Recommendation 1: Integrate TRI with Keep Britain Working and NHS Pathways DBT, working with DHSC

Found: This is an example of government (both Defra and DHSC) bringing forward significant costly regulation

Found: (DHSC) has classified fruit and nut bars with over 50% fruits, nuts and seeds as “sweet

Found: (DHSC) has classified fruit and nut bars with over 50% fruits, nuts and seeds as “sweet

Found: This is an example of government (both Defra and DHSC) bringing forward significant costly regulation

Found: Article 5.3 in a June 2025 letter to the Cabinet Secretary, it was passed to the Department of Health and Social Care

Found:  Health-related policies from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), such as the NHS 10

Found: Policy relevant to food and drink sits across multiple government departments: DEFRA, DBT, DHSC in addition

Found: role to play in developing and implementing pro-growth policies, so too does the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The Premier League has provided evidence to the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) in its

Found: River Associates (CRA) in 2022 and NERA Economic Consulting in 2007 (both of which are quoted by DHSC

Found: process from FCDO, where we spoke to DSIT, DEFRA, DESNZ, the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: felt both by patients and by the companies who are delivering these innovations, the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: DfE and DHSC must work closely together to embed shared reading across early years education and health

Found: DCMS will continue to work with DfE, DHSC and councils further on work to increase reading for pleasure

Found: across a whole host of Departments—the MoD, the Home Office, MHCLG, the Department for Education, DHSC—all

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

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

Found: DHSC maintains ministerial accountability for the wider health system, including medicines pricing policy

Found: The DHSC is responsible for those and, again, under the road map on digital government we will set out

Found: As a manufacturer we are required to notify DHSC/NHSE as soon as we know there is a supply chain issue

Found: I have mentioned MHCLG, and we have benefited from Department of Health and Social Care funding, DFE

Found: Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care met with Scottish Government officials to discuss

Found: We all sit round the table with DHSC on the taskforce for licensing, for example, and creating the

Found: We all sit round the table with DHSC on the taskforce for licensing, for example, and creating the

Found: We all sit round the table with DHSC on the taskforce for licensing, for example, and creating the

Found: contact, but where there are very practical reasons for liaising directly with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: example, the Food Standards Agency might benefit from having some expertise from the Department of Health and Social Care

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on special measures for local authorities not meeting statutory requirements for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department publishes annual SEN2 data on education, health and care (EHC) plans and assessments, including timeliness. This informs performance monitoring and targeted support. Where a council does not meet its duties, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement, including through issuing improvement notices or statutory directions to drive urgent improvements.

The department works with NHS England, to support and intervene in areas of poor performance following inspection.

Recent changes to the Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) framework conducted by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, in consultation with the department and the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, include specifying which member of the partnership should take forward areas for improvement or areas for priority action. This would include areas for improvement and priority action being directed specifically to health where appropriate.

We will work together with all stakeholders to understand the impact of any SEND reforms on Area SEND inspections and changes needed as a result of these reforms.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that young disabled people can enter and stay in work.

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

Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 set out how we will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity, backed by £240 million investment, for which the Northern Ireland executive received consequential funding in the usual way.

Disabled people and people with health conditions, including young disabled people can face a wide range of unique, yet intersecting barriers, relating to not just their health, but their employment and circumstance (Work aspirations and support needs of health and disability customers: Final findings report - GOV.UK). We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres in Great Britain.

DWP set out our plan for the “Pathways to Work Guarantee” in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and we are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits in Great Britain. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding for the UK by the end of the decade, the Northern Ireland executive will receive their share of this funding in the usual way. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out in Great Britain, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.

In recognition of employers’ vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the independent Keep Britain Working Review across the UK. The Report was published on 5 November. In partnership with DBT and DHSC, we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting Sir Charlie’s key recommendations into action.

Additionally, the Joint Work and Health Directorate (JWHD) has developed a digital information service for employers and continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme in Great Britain where we have recently announced plans to make the scheme more robust.

Alan Milburn will author an independent report to tackle the persistently high numbers of young people out of work, education and training. The report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun. It will make recommendations for policy response to help young people access work, training or education, ensuring they are supported to thrive and are not sidelined.

In Northern Ireland, health, skills, careers and employment support are transferred matters. My officials work closely with those in the Northern Ireland Executive, sharing best practice in regard to providing employment support to disabled people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support disabled people who face the greatest barriers to work.

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

Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 set out how we will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity, backed by £240 million investment, for which the Northern Ireland executive received consequential funding in the usual way.

Disabled people and people with health conditions, including young disabled people can face a wide range of unique, yet intersecting barriers, relating to not just their health, but their employment and circumstance (Work aspirations and support needs of health and disability customers: Final findings report - GOV.UK). We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres in Great Britain.

DWP set out our plan for the “Pathways to Work Guarantee” in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and we are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits in Great Britain. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding for the UK by the end of the decade, the Northern Ireland executive will receive their share of this funding in the usual way. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out in Great Britain, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.

In recognition of employers’ vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the independent Keep Britain Working Review across the UK. The Report was published on 5 November. In partnership with DBT and DHSC, we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting Sir Charlie’s key recommendations into action.

Additionally, the Joint Work and Health Directorate (JWHD) has developed a digital information service for employers and continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme in Great Britain where we have recently announced plans to make the scheme more robust.

Alan Milburn will author an independent report to tackle the persistently high numbers of young people out of work, education and training. The report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun. It will make recommendations for policy response to help young people access work, training or education, ensuring they are supported to thrive and are not sidelined.

In Northern Ireland, health, skills, careers and employment support are transferred matters. My officials work closely with those in the Northern Ireland Executive, sharing best practice in regard to providing employment support to disabled people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on setting up the Workplace Health Intelligence Unit proposed in the Mayfield Review, and what its planned remit, governance arrangements, and timetable for operation are.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Work has commenced on the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase following publication of the review’s final report in November. We are working with Sir Charlie Mayfield, Vanguard employers and regions to mobilise and design this next phase of work and establish effective ways of working. The vanguards will play a pivotal role in shaping how health issues and disabilities are managed in the workplace, building an evidence base and understanding of what works through effective partnership with employers.

As part of the Vanguard Phase, Sir Charlie Mayfield has agreed to establish and lead a Vanguard Taskforce/advisory board in partnership with Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business and Trade, and Department of Health and Social Care. The Vanguard Taskforce will bring together a group of external experts from various sectors and organisations to provide external advice, and guidance to steer the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase. We are currently considering the Terms of Reference and potential membership of the taskforce.

The Workplace Health Intelligence Unit (WHIU) will serve as the central hub for delivery of the whole Vanguard Phase and to drive on-going work. We are currently working to establish the Intelligence Unit within Government and considering options for its design and details of its function. A comprehensive governance framework, incorporating the taskforce, will be established to ensure strategic oversight and accountability of the Unit as it is set up and developed.

Further information on the shape and remit of the Vanguard Taskforce and Workplace Health Intelligence Unit is expected in Spring 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on establishing the Vanguard taskforce proposed in the Mayfield Review, and when the taskforce is expected to start work.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Work has commenced on the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase following publication of the review’s final report in November. We are working with Sir Charlie Mayfield, Vanguard employers and regions to mobilise and design this next phase of work and establish effective ways of working. The vanguards will play a pivotal role in shaping how health issues and disabilities are managed in the workplace, building an evidence base and understanding of what works through effective partnership with employers.

As part of the Vanguard Phase, Sir Charlie Mayfield has agreed to establish and lead a Vanguard Taskforce/advisory board in partnership with Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business and Trade, and Department of Health and Social Care. The Vanguard Taskforce will bring together a group of external experts from various sectors and organisations to provide external advice, and guidance to steer the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase. We are currently considering the Terms of Reference and potential membership of the taskforce.

The Workplace Health Intelligence Unit (WHIU) will serve as the central hub for delivery of the whole Vanguard Phase and to drive on-going work. We are currently working to establish the Intelligence Unit within Government and considering options for its design and details of its function. A comprehensive governance framework, incorporating the taskforce, will be established to ensure strategic oversight and accountability of the Unit as it is set up and developed.

Further information on the shape and remit of the Vanguard Taskforce and Workplace Health Intelligence Unit is expected in Spring 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards are in place to protect individuals on the Health and Care Worker visa who report that they have been asked to pay additional sums to their employer in order to maintain their visa sponsorship and continue residing and working in the UK; and what steps are being taken to investigate and penalise employers unlawfully extracting such payments and ensure migrants in this situation can (a) report safely without fear of visa cancellation, (b) access alternative sponsorship or settlement options and (c) receive compensation or redress for exploitation.

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

All reports of H&C visa holders being forced to pay additional sums are investigated. The sponsor guidance expressly prohibits certain specific costs being passed onto workers. Since the introduction of care workers to the Health and Care Worker visa, UKVI have revoked the licence of more than 1000 sponsors who were operating in the social care sector.

The Home Office continues to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funded Regional Partnerships to support care workers, who have been impacted by exploitative employers.

DHSC are funding 15 regional hubs in England, made up of Local Authorities and Directors of Adult Social Services. UKVI work very closely with the Regional Partnerships in order to fund working together to support displaced workers gain new roles within the care sector and to respond to unethical practices. Where broader concerns are identified, these are referred to the relevant authorities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of employers not providing the work guaranteed under a visa sponsorship agreement on migrant care workers; what steps her Department is taking to ensure that such workers are not disadvantaged as a result of sponsor non-compliance; and how any changes to settlement requirements, including the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain, will take account of individuals who have been unable to work or accrue National Insurance contributions due to circumstances beyond their control.

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

This Government is acutely aware of the levels of sponsor non-compliance in the care sector and this includes failing to provide adequate paid work. In response, we have revoked the licenses of more than 1000 care providers who are now no longer able to sponsor migrant workers.

The Home Office continues to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funded Regional Partnerships to support care workers, who have been impacted by exploitative employers. DHSC are funding 15 regional hubs in England, made up of Local Authorities and Directors of Adult Social Services, working together to support displaced workers into new roles within the care sector. These regional hubs have received £12.5 million this financial year to support them to prevent and respond to unethical practices in the sector.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It also set out mandatory requirements for settlement, including a minimum level of National Insurance contributions. A public consultation was launched on 20 November 2025 and is open until 12 February 2026. The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the independent report Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2025: infections, published on 4 December 2025, what action they plan to take in response to the specific additional recommendation about the link between agricultural use of novel fungicides and the spread of resistant strains of fungi with the capacity to cause serious disease.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government recognises the importance of carefully managing pesticide use, including fungicides, to protect the environment and human health and address the risks of resistance.

During the plant protection product approvals process, the Health and Safety Executive considers the potential for resistance development in the target pest organism. Where resistance is known or anticipated, limitations are placed on product use to mitigate resistance developing. Defra is also funding work by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board which provides farmers best practice to minimise the risk of resistance emerging.

Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department of Health and Social Care has provided over £12 million in funding over the last five years for research into fungal infections and tackling antifungal resistance. Defra has also co-funded a research programme for UK Research and Innovation on ‘Transdisciplinary research to tackle antimicrobial resistance’.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is routinely monitoring threats from antifungal resistance. The National Mycology Reference Laboratory performs antifungal susceptibility testing of fungi from human infections from across the UK. UKHSA also monitors antifungal susceptibility testing data for fungal yeast pathogens isolated from blood samples from local microbiology laboratories in England. Trends are published annually.

Found: At the time of writing, it had received over 3,770 signatures. 77 DHSC, Medical Training (Prioritisation

Found: Department of Health and Social Care 2024-25

Found: Department of Health and Social Care 2024-25

Found: DHSC estimates that total capital funding of £56 billion is required.

Found: DHSC has overall responsibility for the NHP and NHSE is responsible for its delivery.

Found: to downloads In 2020, following years of under-investment, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC

Found: Combined update: - Devolved Administrations - Local Government - DHSC - NAO FRAB 157 (14) 18

Found: Those outstanding are three Ministerial Departments (Defra, DHSC and NIO), three non-Ministerial Departments

Found: Combined Updates: Devolved Administrations Local Government DHSC NAO FRAB 156 (14)

Found: on the board: Charlotte Goodrich (HM Treasury), Kim Jenkins (Welsh Government), Vanessa Singleton (DHSC

Found: Department of Health and Social Care: 12.1. NHS Business Services Authority; 12.2.

Found: www.gov.uk/government/collections/algorithmic- transparency-recording-standard-hub 27 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: In line with HMG’s mission approach, The Ten Year Health Plan outlines that DESNZ will work with DHSC

Found: In line with HMG’s mission approach, The Ten Year Health Plan outlines that DESNZ will work with DHSC

Found: In line with HMG’s mission approach, The Ten Year Health Plan outlines that DESNZ will work with DHSC

Found: the long-term safety of our drinking water, we will work in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: the long-term safety of our drinking water, we will work in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target

Found: Department of Health and Social Care. 355 OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Davis, C.

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

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

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

Found: The new Jess’s Rule posters were co-designed by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England

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

Found: www.gov.uk/government/collections/algorithmic- transparency-recording-standard-hub 27 Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Infections (ARI) Team or EPRR will share information with the relevant UKHSA Director, the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), a part of the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: OHID was officially launched in October 2021 as a part of the Department of Health and Social Care,

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

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

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

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

Found: Reviews Others Arthritis Action Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) Department of Health and Social Care

Found: NICE is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care

Found: Reviews Others Arthritis Action Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) Department of Health and Social Care

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

Found: lazertinib for untreated EGFR mutation-positive advanced non-small- cell lung cancer The Department of Health and Social Care

Found: adults (2012; updated 2019) NICE quality standard 17 Related National Policy Department of Health and Social Care

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

Found: adults (2012; updated 2019) NICE quality standard 17 Related National Policy Department of Health and Social Care

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

Found: government response to the M1 report, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC

Found: Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme interim payments which are funded from the UK Department of Health and Social Care