Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 with the Northern Ireland Executive to help improve the supply of ADHD drugs to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has overall responsibility for the continuity of medicine supply in the United Kingdom and crown dependences, including shortages management. However, responsibility for managing the impact of shortages is devolved for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
We regularly share information about higher impact and critical medicine shortages with the devolved administrations to support management of medicine supply issues across the UK.
The Department has made significant progress in improving the availability of medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), working closely with industry and key stakeholders to overcome previous supply challenges. Through intensive collaboration with industry, NHS England, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, supply issues have now been fully resolved. All ADHD medicines, across all formulations and strengths, are readily available for prescribing.
We continue to work closely with ADHD medicine suppliers to address any challenges promptly and to strengthen the resilience of the supply chain. This includes securing additional stock, expediting deliveries, and broadening the UK supplier base to meet future demand. To ensure a robust and sustainable supply, we are partnering with NHS England’s ADHD taskforce to develop growth forecasts and share them with industry, enabling effective planning and continuity of supply.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 specific challenges that face adults with learning difficulties in accessing health services; and what actions he is taking to ensure that they receive an acceptable level of service.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A learning difficulty is a reduced ability for a specific form of learning and includes conditions such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. These are life-long conditions.
Under the Equality Act 2010, public sector organisations are required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people as well as to everybody else.
Reasonable adjustments can make a real difference to people’s care and are based on physical or mental impairment, not on diagnosis. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag is being rolled out across health and care services to ensure that disabled people’s reasonable adjustments are recorded and shared, enabling support to be tailored appropriately. This is supported by e-learning for all health and social care staff. All organisations that provide National Health Service care or adult social care must also follow the Accessible Information Standard.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population. Further information on specific learning difficulties can be found on the NHS website.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
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 access to clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department funds research and research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into cancers.
NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across the country. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials, on for example pancreatic cancer, to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 December 2025 to Question 99967, whether he will place copies of the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, and the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset, in the Library of the House of Commons.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to place the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, or the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset, in the library of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2025 to WPQ 96699, if he will provide a hyperlink to that information.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Guidance on how to submit data about consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset is available at the following link:
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 21 March 2025 to Question 36392, if he will provide an update on funding for lobular breast cancer research.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer. We remain committed to the role of research in driving a stronger collective understanding of the biology behind lobular breast cancer and to improve outcomes for women.
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between Department for Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council.
In November 2025, the NIHR issued a highlight notice encouraging applications for new research into lobular breast cancer, to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term surveillance of patients.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including lobular breast cancer.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 allergy care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), co-chaired by the Department and the National Allergy Strategy Group, meets regularly to bring together stakeholders across the Government, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, professional bodies, and patient representative groups, to consider how allergy care and support could be improved. The purpose of the EAGA is to inform policymaking, and to identify priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies. The EAGA last met on 3 December2025.
In July 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency licensed a new adrenaline nasal spray, EURneffy, for use in the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis. The Government welcomes the approval of needle free delivery methods of adrenaline, recognising the potential to benefit to those who suffer from allergies.
More widely, there are a number of policies outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan which should have a positive impact on care for patients with allergy. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of technology will all support people to manage allergies closer to home.
Neighbourhood Health Services will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings with multi-disciplinary teams who can provide wrap-around support services to people with allergies or other long-term conditions.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 Crohn’s disease and Colitis in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving awareness and understanding of Crohn’s disease and colitis across England, including in the Surrey Heath constituency.
The NHS.UK website provides comprehensive, clinically assured information on Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, and advice on when to seek help. It also signposts to specialist services and support organisations. The National Health Service website receives approximately 650 million visits annually and is maintained to ensure content reflects the latest clinical guidance and best practice.
The enhanced NHS App, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, will improve awareness of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis by providing easy access to clinically assured information from the NHS website, personalised care tools, and signposting to trusted support organisations. New features such as My Health and My Medicines will help patients track symptoms and manage treatment, while integrated resources and self-referral options will empower individuals to understand their condition and seek timely care. By combining reliable guidance with digital engagement, the app will raise public awareness and support better self-management for those living with these conditions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve outcomes for cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress towards this ambition, we will publish a cardiovascular disease (CVD) Modern Service Framework later this year. The framework will support consistent, high quality and equitable care whist fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.
Alongside this, work is underway to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check, which is a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks and strokes a year.
To improve access and to give patients more flexibility and choice, we are developing an NHS Health Check Online service that people can use at home at a time and place convenient to them, to understand and act on their CVD risk. Community pharmacies continue to strengthen prevention efforts, and since 2021 they have delivered nearly 4.2 million blood pressure checks, supporting earlier detection and management of key CVD risk factors.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many registered organ donors there are, listed by (a) religious and (b) ethnic group.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the United Kingdom, including managing the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). The following table shows the number of registered organ donors by religion, as of 8 January 2026:
Religion | Number of ‘opt-in’ organ donor registrations |
Christian | 1055179 |
Hindu | 35986 |
Muslim | 27555 |
Jewish | 9851 |
Sikh | 12083 |
Buddhist | 16822 |
Other religion | 44959 |
No religion | 1566903 |
Not stated/reported | 32375474 |
Total | 35144812 |
Source: NHSBT
Note: this data reflects the total number of ‘opt-in’ ODR registrations by religion and ethnic group, including duplicates when individuals have registered more than once and those who have since passed away, this means the total number of reported potential donors in any one group may be overestimated.
In addition, the following table shows the number of registered organ donors by ethnic group:
Ethnicity | Number of ‘opt-in’ organ donor registrations |
White - British | 7062158 |
White - Irish | 174375 |
White - Other | 343510 |
Asian - Indian | 127393 |
Asian - Pakistani | 18508 |
Asian - Bangladeshi | 4936 |
Asian - Chinese | 21307 |
Asian - Other | 46251 |
Black - Caribbean | 25536 |
Black - African | 25707 |
Black - Other | 5467 |
Mixed - White/Black African | 15277 |
Mixed - White/Black Caribbean | 36071 |
Mixed - White/Asian | 39363 |
Mixed - Other | 33825 |
Other | 30976 |
Not reported | 27134152 |
Total | 35144812 |
For further details on ethnic differences in organ donor registration, see the Annual Report on Ethnicity Differences in Organ Donation and Transplantation, which is avaiable at the following link: