Found: Correspondence from Baroness Merron re Black Maternal Health Correspondence

Found: Baroness Merron: We would be happy to.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 June (HL8647), whether they plan to include in their statistics abortions undertaken through abortion pills by post, and if so, how.

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

It is a legal requirement that all abortions performed in England and Wales, including early medical abortions (EMA) at home, are notified to the Chief Medical Officers for England and Wales respectively, within 14 days of the procedure via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The HSA4 form captures information on where the EMA pills were taken, but not whether they were delivered by post or collected from the clinic.

Statistics on home use of EMA pills for residents of England and Wales are already published by the Department in the annual Abortion Statistics for England and Wales publication. These statistics are published in the main commentary and the additional data tables of the publication. From 2019 to 2022, the statistics on home use of EMA pills were derived using the place of termination information on the HSA4.

In 2022, Parliament voted to permanently approve use of one or both pills for EMA up to 10 weeks at home, following a telephone or e-consultation with a clinician for residents in England and Wales. Following this, in April 2023, new questions were added to the HSA4 form, to capture information on where the abortion medications were taken. Statistics on home use of EMA pills in future publications, from 2023 onwards, will be based on these new questions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 16 July (HL8983), which Minister took the decision to make the "Assisted Dying Bill" a major priority of the Government, when they took that decision and why.

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

I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement (HLWS875) which was made to the House on 22 July 2025, which stated:

“It has been brought to my attention that a written answer given to Lord Scriven contained inaccurate information related to the work of the Department for Health and Social Care.

The reply to written Parliamentary Question HL8983, tabled by Lord Scriven on 30 June 2025, stated that “the Department’s staff numbers have needed to increase to ensure the right skills and capability to deliver several of the Government’s major priorities.” The answer then went on to list a number of areas which have required additional staff resource within the Department. The Assisted Dying Bill has required additional resource but should not have been referred to as a Government priority given the Government’s neutrality on the issue.

For clarity, the answer should read:

“The Department’s total paybill and staffing costs have not risen by £20 million since July 2024; rather, they have risen, but by £2.5 million in that time.

Since the General Election, the Department’s staff numbers have needed to increase to ensure the right skills and capability to deliver several of the Government’s major priorities. During this period, payroll costs have also increased because of annual pay increases.

Given the scale of the challenges facing the health and social care system, as part of the Spending Review, the Department is working on reducing its headcount down to pre-election levels during 2025/26. This is a key step towards a streamlined centre, to support continued prioritisation towards front-line services.”

I would like to apologise for any confusion.”

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 July (HL9109), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, where the first 10 Neighbourhood Health Centres will be located, and when will those centres open.

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

The Department and NHS England have written to integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to invite applications from local places to participate in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP). As part of this, we have requested initial information on local assets that could host neighbourhood health centres (NHCs). ICBs will be key here as strategic commissioners in identifying where NHCs are required and defining their requirements in the context of other supporting infrastructure in the local area.

Applications should be submitted by 8 August 2025; our 10-Year Health Plan sets out we will start in some of the communities where healthy life expectancy is lowest, delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 14 July (HL8966), what are the reasons for not allowing patients to directly nominate a distance selling pharmacy from within the NHS App.

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

There are no current plans to allow patients to directly nominate a distance selling pharmacy (DSP) from within the NHS App. A discovery exercise completed in January 2025 explored this option and concluded that within the current landscape of DSPs there are several challenges that could impact user experience and timely access to medicines. This has been communicated to relevant DSP stakeholders.

The NHS App supports seamless pharmacy services by allowing patients to order repeat prescriptions, nominate their preferred pharmacy, and manage their medication. A new prescription tracker feature means that nearly 1,500 pharmacies are now offering the new prescription tracking service through the NHS App, which provides updates on when prescriptions are ready to be collected. Work has also commenced on an ‘in App’ notification which will enhance this feature further.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 18 July (HL9450), why no assessment has been made of the impact on patient safety of the wait times for each accident and emergency department in the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

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

All patients who attend accident and emergency departments, including in the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, are prioritised based on clinical need, which ensures that people are seen by the right service in a timely way.

The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has implemented a number of initiatives to improve patient flow and patient waiting times, including introducing a Same Day Emergency Care service which has recently been reviewed by NHS England’s Getting It Right First-Time team.

In June 2025, the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust’s accident and emergency four-hour performance was 83.5%.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 June (HL8217), whether they have considered the recommendation from the European Food Safety Authority to the European Commission in March 2023 to revise the maximum levels of nitrites allowed in food down to a "safe" level of 0.07mg per kg of body weight per day.

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

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers that the existing levels of nitrites, approved food additives, provide sufficient protection for consumers. The FSA is aware of the changes made by the European Union, but has no plans to alter the maximum levels currently in legislation, because they remain important preservatives in a range of foods. As with all food additives, they have undergone safety assessments before authorisation and have been subject to various reviews both at a national and international level.

The FSA continues to keep new evidence under review as part of our rolling surveillance for previously authorised food additives. A review of the safety of nitrates and nitrites as food additives has been recently commissioned and will report back any significant changes in the supporting evidence base.

Current Government advice on red and processed meat consumption is based on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report Iron and Health published in 2010. More recent studies demonstrating nitrites as a plausible mechanism for the correlation of red and processed meat intake and an increased risk of cancer have not yet been considered by the SACN. However, the committee is due to consider the topic of iron, which will likely include an assessment of the risks and benefits in relation to red and processed meat consumption.

In relation to processed foods more broadly, the SACN’s April 2025 rapid evidence update on processed foods and health found that the categories of processed food consistently associated with adverse health outcomes, including cancer, included meat and animal products. The SACN therefore reiterated its existing advice on processed foods, including avoiding high intakes of red and processed meat.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 June (HL8217), whether they have considered the findings of more recent studies demonstrating nitrites as a plausible mechanism for the correlation of red and processed meat intake and an increased risk of cancer.

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

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) considers that the existing levels of nitrites, approved food additives, provide sufficient protection for consumers. The FSA is aware of the changes made by the European Union, but has no plans to alter the maximum levels currently in legislation, because they remain important preservatives in a range of foods. As with all food additives, they have undergone safety assessments before authorisation and have been subject to various reviews both at a national and international level.

The FSA continues to keep new evidence under review as part of our rolling surveillance for previously authorised food additives. A review of the safety of nitrates and nitrites as food additives has been recently commissioned and will report back any significant changes in the supporting evidence base.

Current Government advice on red and processed meat consumption is based on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report Iron and Health published in 2010. More recent studies demonstrating nitrites as a plausible mechanism for the correlation of red and processed meat intake and an increased risk of cancer have not yet been considered by the SACN. However, the committee is due to consider the topic of iron, which will likely include an assessment of the risks and benefits in relation to red and processed meat consumption.

In relation to processed foods more broadly, the SACN’s April 2025 rapid evidence update on processed foods and health found that the categories of processed food consistently associated with adverse health outcomes, including cancer, included meat and animal products. The SACN therefore reiterated its existing advice on processed foods, including avoiding high intakes of red and processed meat.

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 Public Health and Prevention of 27 March 2025 in the debate on Hughes Report: First Anniversary, Official Report, column 472WH, if he will publish (a) her letter and (b) the response from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health.

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

Following the debate on Hughes Report: First Anniversary, I met and put on record my discussion with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron), who confirmed that the Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. The Department does not plan to publish the letter, and it did not require a response from Baroness Merron. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 7 July (HL8984), why Hertfordshire and West Essex integrated care board's planned elective hub at St Albans City Hospital will now only provide extra funding and capacity for two acute trusts, instead of three as originally intended.

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

The Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System was allocated funding from the national Elective Recovery Fund in 2025/26. Hertfordshire and West Essex’s Surgical Centre Programme Board undertook a full options appraisal to consider how to get the best use out of the new surgical centre facilities within their financial envelope for 2025/26.

The programme board agreed that when it first opens in November, the surgical centre will be used primarily by the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust for treating patients. The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust is also planning to use the facility to operate over the winter months.

The availability of the surgical centre for patients across Hertfordshire will continue to be reviewed alongside future funding announcements. Subject to future funding, the system will look to accelerate full opening in 2026/27.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 1 July (HL8570), whether any scientific studies authored by Michael Briggs were included in the Expert Working Group review, published in November 2017.

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

An Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Commission on Human Medicines reviewed the available evidence on the possible association between hormone pregnancy tests and adverse outcomes in pregnancy. Its review considered all available scientific evidence, including information collected from a public call for evidence.

The purpose of the EWG was to ascertain whether the available data could establish a causal association between the use of hormone pregnancy tests during early pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

One publication by Briggs was considered as part of the review of non-clinical evidence of reproductive and developmental toxicity for norethisterone acetate and ethinylestradiol and is therefore referenced on page 97 of this review. This publication is not cited within the text of the report as it did not contribute towards the final paper and its conclusions.

The EWG reported its findings in November 2017 and concluded that the totality of the available scientific data does not support a causal association between the use of hormone pregnancy tests during early pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency remains committed to reviewing any new scientific data which becomes available following the conclusion of the EWG.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron (HL7383), whether they plan to develop NHS App functionality to allow patients to nominate a distance selling pharmacy directly within the app.

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

There are no current plans to allow patients to directly nominate a distance selling pharmacy (DSP) from within the NHS App. Patients can continue to nominate a DSP through existing routes, which currently provide a more seamless patient experience.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 9 April (HL6370), what progress they have made in considering whether to expand the shingles vaccination offer to older adult cohorts; what specific factors are currently under review; and when they expect a decision on the implementation timeline to be made.

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

The Department continues to carefully consider the advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme for adults aged 80 years old and over. The Department will update in due course, as appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 June (HL8243), what specific actions they are taking in response to the rise in whooping cough infections.

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

Significant efforts have been made to raise awareness of the importance of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, vaccination. 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. NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency have launched a joint maternal vaccination campaign, supported by a comprehensive communications toolkit. This includes a maternal vaccine postcard translated into seven languages, which has been distributed to 200 general practices in areas with lower vaccine uptake.

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

Within the NHS, efforts are underway to enhance the recording and monitoring of vaccinations, ensuring accurate data collection to assess the programme’s effectiveness.

The NHS Public Health and Equalities team regularly produces articles that are shared through community and faith-based channels, including radio, podcasts, and local publications. Additionally, NHS England’s resources are disseminated through pregnancy and parenting forums such as Tommy’s and the National Childbirth Trust, as well as other community and faith organisations. These materials are used across websites, email newsletters, and social media platforms.

Recent data shows a consistent seven-month upward trend in maternal pertussis vaccination rates, rising from 59% in May 2024 to nearly 73% by March 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 July (HL8754), what was the breakdown of costs mentioned in the Answer for 2023–24 between products related to (1) colostomy, and (2) ileostomy.

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

Further to the previous answer of 4 July 2025 to Question HL8754, the breakdown of the total Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) figure is as follows:

• for colostomy, in 2023/24, there were a total of 491,601 items dispensed to patients in the community in England where the item prescribed was clearly named as a colostomy appliance for which no National Health Service charges were collected at the point of dispensing, with a total NIC of £110,834,133.28; and
• for ileostomy, in 2023/24, there were a total of 808,049 items dispensed to patients in the community in England where the item prescribed was clearly named as an ileostomy appliance for which no NHS charges were collected at the point of dispensing, with a total NIC of £128,445,887.47.

These figures exclude a large number of other stoma appliances that could not be clearly identified as colostomy or ileostomy from their name, although some of these other appliances will be used as colostomy or ileostomy appliances.

The NIC is the basic price of a product excluding VAT. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees and allowances paid to pharmacists and appliance contractors for the service they provide to the NHS, or prescription charge income received, where the single charge or Prescription Prepayment Certificate fee is paid, or foregone, where prescriptions are dispensed free of charge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), whether the commitment by advertisers and broadcasters to implement the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink in October 2025 is based on the February 2024 proposed guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority, or the updated guidance discussed in the consultation update on 13 January.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and deliver £2 billion in health benefits.

The Government received representations from a range of stakeholders in response to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) revised implementation guidance and prior to the written statement on 22 May announcing a revised approach to implementing the advertising restrictions. This included written correspondence from the food and drink industry and the advertising industry, however, representations did not reference legal action against the Government or the ASA. We listened carefully to the concerns raised by all stakeholders and worked with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to find a successful resolution.

The resolution was agreed on the basis that advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have made a unique and public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. The consistent position of the Government is that brand advertising is not in scope of the advertising restrictions, and this was clearly understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. We have engaged with industry stakeholders and understand that businesses are using the implementation guidance the ASA consulted on between December 2023 and February 2024 as a guide to comply with the restrictions.

Ofcom was appointed as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions, and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Following consultation, Ofcom appointed the ASA as the frontline regulator. The ASA is required by law to consult my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on its non-statutory implementation guidance ahead of publication.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what discussions they have had with OFCOM about the effectiveness of the Advertising Standards Authority in handling the non-statutory guidance for the regulations on the advertising of unhealthy food and drink on TV and online.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and deliver £2 billion in health benefits.

The Government received representations from a range of stakeholders in response to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) revised implementation guidance and prior to the written statement on 22 May announcing a revised approach to implementing the advertising restrictions. This included written correspondence from the food and drink industry and the advertising industry, however, representations did not reference legal action against the Government or the ASA. We listened carefully to the concerns raised by all stakeholders and worked with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to find a successful resolution.

The resolution was agreed on the basis that advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have made a unique and public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. The consistent position of the Government is that brand advertising is not in scope of the advertising restrictions, and this was clearly understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. We have engaged with industry stakeholders and understand that businesses are using the implementation guidance the ASA consulted on between December 2023 and February 2024 as a guide to comply with the restrictions.

Ofcom was appointed as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions, and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Following consultation, Ofcom appointed the ASA as the frontline regulator. The ASA is required by law to consult my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on its non-statutory implementation guidance ahead of publication.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what representations they received from (1) the food and drink industry, and (2) the advertising industry; and whether those representations contained references to legal action against (a) His Majesty's Government, or (b) the Advertising Standards Authority.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and deliver £2 billion in health benefits.

The Government received representations from a range of stakeholders in response to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) revised implementation guidance and prior to the written statement on 22 May announcing a revised approach to implementing the advertising restrictions. This included written correspondence from the food and drink industry and the advertising industry, however, representations did not reference legal action against the Government or the ASA. We listened carefully to the concerns raised by all stakeholders and worked with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to find a successful resolution.

The resolution was agreed on the basis that advertisers and broadcasters, with the support of online platforms and publishers, have made a unique and public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. The consistent position of the Government is that brand advertising is not in scope of the advertising restrictions, and this was clearly understood by Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Bill. We have engaged with industry stakeholders and understand that businesses are using the implementation guidance the ASA consulted on between December 2023 and February 2024 as a guide to comply with the restrictions.

Ofcom was appointed as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions, and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Following consultation, Ofcom appointed the ASA as the frontline regulator. The ASA is required by law to consult my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on its non-statutory implementation guidance ahead of publication.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of sexual assaults on hospital sites in the last three years.

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

The Government is committed to tackling the appalling crimes of rape and sexual assault. NHS England has introduced a comprehensive package of measures to improve sexual safety across the National Health Service. The Department feels strongly about this matter, which is why the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Baroness Merron) met with Surviving in Scrubs in February 2025 and agreed further action to address issues of sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault including a focus on medical students. Actions include ensuring students know how to raise concerns, developing good practice on how investigations should be carried out and strengthening communications on the importance of protecting medical students on placements.

NHS providers have a mandatory duty to notify the Care Quality Commission of all incidents that affect the health, safety, and welfare of people who use services, including allegations of sexual abuse.

NHS England is investing in improving the collection and analysis of sexual violence data to support organisations to implement policies that reduce incidents of sexual misconduct in the NHS.

Data relating to rape and sexual assault would be held at NHS trust level. There is no single national dataset in the NHS which captures information on rape and sexual assault for all combinations of staff, patients or visitors to NHS hospitals. Local police forces hold data where there has been a report to the police of rape or sexual assault.

For assaults on staff, the NHS Staff Survey now includes questions about staff experiences of sexual misconduct. Results from the 2024 staff survey show 8.82% of staff received unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature from either patients, service-users or members of the public and 3.66% experienced unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature from colleagues.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer Baroness Merron on 30 May (HL7541), whether they will place a copy of the European Food Safety Authority assessment on the effects of chemical washes applied to chicken in the Library of the House.

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

Four reports by the European Food Safety Authority assessing the possible effects of chemical washes applied to chicken have been placed in the Library. These are:

- Report of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health (SCVPH) on Benefits and Limitations of Antimicrobial Treatments for Poultry Carcasses;

- Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health on the Evaluation of Antimicrobial Treatments for Poultry Carcasses;

- Opinion of the Scientific Panel on food additives, flavourings, processing aids and materials in contact with food (AFC) related to Treatment of poultry carcasses with chlorine dioxide, acidified sodium chlorite, trisodium phosphate and peroxyacids; and

- Assessment of the possible effect of the four antimicrobial treatment substances on the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 June (HL8130), what is the reason for the delay in publishing the next annual LeDeR report seven months later relative to the previous annual report.

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

We expect the report will be published shortly, and the delay has been due to practical data issues.

NHS England commissions Kings College London and its partners to analyse data from Learning from Lives and Deaths, reviews about people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR). The LeDeR report is published by Kings College London, who are currently working on the next report, and will publish it soon. The last report was published in November 2023, a copy of which has been placed in the Library due to the size of the document.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 15 May (HL7354), what factors the UK Health Security Agency's forum has identified impacting the decline in uptake; and what immediate actions the forum has suggested to improve access to services and to address other potential barriers.

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

In 2023, at the request of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a forum for the four nations of the United Kingdom on inequalities and declining coverage across the routine immunisation programmes was set up. This time-limited group brought together relevant stakeholders from across the UK nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Ten deep dives took place in total, ending in June 2025.

These forums facilitated sharing experiences and learning within and across each nation. They explored possible contributing factors to declining coverage across the UK routine immunisation programmes. Areas for further activity included data collection systems, attitudinal work, delivery models, system leadership and coordination, commonalities and difference with other public health programmes.

Immediate actions have included expanding annual attitudinal surveys of parents of infants from England to UK wide, to further strengthen understanding of barriers and facilitators to vaccination uptake. Updating and strengthening training and quality standards for healthcare professionals providing clear expectations and guidance. Sharing expertise to improve data systems and data collection as well as strengthening collaboration with the Department of Education to improve uptake in educational settings.

A final report from the outputs of the UK Forum will be compiled and presented to a future JCVI meeting.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 15 May (HL7354), how many meetings the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) forum will have in 2025–26; and what engagement UKHSA has planned with stakeholders.

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

In 2023, at the request of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a forum for the four nations of the United Kingdom on inequalities and declining coverage across the routine immunisation programmes was set up. This time-limited group brought together relevant stakeholders from across the UK nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Ten deep dives took place in total, ending in June 2025.

These forums facilitated sharing experiences and learning within and across each nation. They explored possible contributing factors to declining coverage across the UK routine immunisation programmes. Areas for further activity included data collection systems, attitudinal work, delivery models, system leadership and coordination, commonalities and difference with other public health programmes.

Immediate actions have included expanding annual attitudinal surveys of parents of infants from England to UK wide, to further strengthen understanding of barriers and facilitators to vaccination uptake. Updating and strengthening training and quality standards for healthcare professionals providing clear expectations and guidance. Sharing expertise to improve data systems and data collection as well as strengthening collaboration with the Department of Education to improve uptake in educational settings.

A final report from the outputs of the UK Forum will be compiled and presented to a future JCVI meeting.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will designate a Minister in his Department to (a) have responsibility for the field of cell and gene therapies and (b) chair his Department's Advanced Therapies Medicinal Products Coordination Group.

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

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health, Baroness Merron, is the Minister with responsibility for life sciences and innovation, and cell and gene therapies are included in this remit.

In September 2024, the Department stood up an advanced therapies co-ordination group which aims to create a joined-up ecosystem that will support the development, regulation, and delivery of advanced therapy medicinal products in the United Kingdom. This group is chaired at the Senior Civil Service Grade 1 level. We note the recent report from the Cell and Gene Collective, titled Tomorrow’s Science, Today’s NHS, including the ask for a Minister to chair the group, and we will consider the report’s recommendations in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), whether they consulted or informed any public health organisations of the decision to delay the legislation to regulate unhealthy food and drink advertisements on TV and online before publishing that statement.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 14 May (HL6764), whether (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, and (2) NHS England’s Workforce, Training and Education Directorate, either (a) hold data on the number of individual applicants for medical speciality training places, or (b) can extract such data from their existing systems.

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

NHS England holds data based on the application process for medical specialty training, which allows for the identification of unique applicants. The following data is part of management information systems summarising information supplied in historic medical specialty training cycles and has not been quality assured for routine publication purposes. Applicants may have chosen to only apply to one specialty programme or may have made multiple applications within any year. The following table shows the data held on the number of unique applicants in rounds one and two of medical specialty training for each of the years 2020 to 2024 across the United Kingdom:

Source: NHS England Medical Specialty Programme Applications Data.

Round one of the medical specialty application process includes applications to first year specialty training and core training programmes, often referred to as ST1 and CT1, and some ‘higher’ medical specialty training programmes, usually at year three, often referred to as ST3. Round two is for entry to most ‘higher’ medical specialty training programmes, often referred to as ST3 or ST4. There will be a limited number of doctors who apply in a year to both rounds one and two, and therefore they will appear twice in the aggregated final column of this data.

The Department also has access to information held in the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) which is managed jointly by the General Medical Council and the Medical Schools Council. NHS England submits specialty medical recruitment data to the UKMED. This includes more information on individual historical applications to medical specialty training, which underpins the data presented above.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what representations they received from (1) the food and drink industry, and (2) the advertising industry, about the regulations to restrict the advertising of unhealthy food; and whether those representations were a factor in the decision to delay those regulations.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), on what date the food and media companies that signed the letter published on the Advertising Association's website were informed of the decision to delay regulations on TV and online advertising of unhealthy food.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statements by Baroness Merron on 22 April (HLWS587) and 22 May (HLWS662), what were the developments that led to the decision to delay the regulation of unhealthy food advertising in the time between those statements.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), whether they considered alternatives to delaying the regulation of the advertising of unhealthy food on TV and online.

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

The Government is committed to implementing advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online, as part of its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.  The decision to exempt brand advertising from these restrictions was made following consultation and was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021.

The consistent position of the Government, as re-confirmed in a written statement in this House on 22 April 2025, is that brand advertising is not captured by the restrictions, as the legislation only restricts adverts that could reasonably be considered to be for identifiable less healthy products.

Industry raised significant concerns in response to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) draft implementation guidance published for consultation in February 2025. We are aware that many brands have prepared advertising campaigns in good faith ahead of the previous coming into force date of 1 October 2025 and were concerned about how these adverts would be affected by the ASA’s implementation guidance.

There were several meetings between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to discuss a wide range of options for resolving this issue. This culminated in the successful resolution set out in the written ministerial statement on 22 May 2025. This announced that the Government will lay legislation to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the advertising restrictions. Providing legal clarification on the existing policy intention will provide certainty to industry and support businesses to invest in advertising with confidence, while ensuring that we deliver our commitment to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising and the lifelong harms of obesity.

Industry stakeholders were engaged shortly prior to the announcement so that they had sufficient time to agree their voluntary commitment to implement the restrictions from 1 October 2025. We informed other stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and will continue to engage with all stakeholders throughout the consultation on the draft regulations, which will be published soon.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 June (HL7528), whether the revised NHS constitution consultation will include the previous proposals about recognising biological sex and protecting single-sex spaces.

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

A consultation on the NHS Constitution, as part of a 10-year review, was launched by the previous administration in May 2024, and was superseded by the General Election in July 2024. The Government will launch a new consultation on the NHS Constitution, with the exact timings for this to be set out in due course.

The proposals that will be included within the upcoming consultation have been developed from a range of evidence, including feedback from the previous consultation, intelligence gathered as part of the 10-Year Health Plan engagement exercise, and the Government’s ambitions for the National Health Service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 20 May (HL7198), whether they have carried out an impact assessment of reducing staff costs by 50 per cent for NHS England, including on the regional impacts; and if not, when an impact assessment will be carried out and published.

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

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. These ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.

The Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure that the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 12 March (HL Deb col 700), what consideration they have given to reviewing the priorities of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and its role with digital clinics.

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

Digital clinics do not currently fall within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act and therefore are out outside of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) remit at present.

The HFEA published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which made a number of recommendations for legislative change, including around its regulatory powers.

Ministers have met with the HFEA Chair and discussed the emerging regulatory challenges. The Government is considering the HFEA’s priorities for changing the law and will decide how to take this forward at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Merron on 22 May (HLWS662), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Advertising Standards Authority in its role as the frontline regulator of the measures in the Health and Care Act 2022 about the advertising of unhealthy food and drink on TV and online.

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

The Government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, and will take action to address the childhood obesity crisis. As part of this, we are committed to implementing the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink on television and online.

The Government appointed Ofcom as the statutory regulator for the advertising restrictions and this was set out in primary legislation via the Health and Care Act 2022. Ofcom appointed the Advertising Standards Authority as the frontline regulator of the advertising restrictions, using powers in the Communications Act 2003. It consulted on this appointment and published the statement, Regulation of advertising for less healthy food and drink: Implementation of new statutory restrictions, following the consultation in July 2023.

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Found: Divestment and engagement and agree shared priorities David Lawson 09/01/2025 Roche Joint meeting with Baroness Merron

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Found: Policing and Crime Prevention 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home Baroness Merron

Found: From: Home Office, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Baroness Merron and The Rt Hon Dame Diana

Found: In December, the patient safety minister Baroness Merron pledged to work at pace on financial redress

Found: Policing and Crime Prevention 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home Baroness Merron

Found: From: Home Office, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Baroness Merron and The Rt Hon Dame Diana

Found: Health Minister, Baroness Merron, said: “AI has huge potential to improve healthcare, and we need to