Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to integrate approaches to adapting to climate change in (1) the Land Use Framework, (2) the Environmental Improvement Plan, (3) the 25-year farming road map, and (4) the food strategy, in line with recommendations made by the Climate Change Committee in the report Progress in adapting to climate change: 2025 report to Parliament, published on 30 April.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We welcome the Climate Change Committee's latest report and are carefully considering its recommendations. The Government is required under the Climate Change Act to respond by 15 October that same year. The Government response, led by Defra will include input from 12 departments addressing the 57 sectoral recommendations in the report.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation from the Climate Change Committee in the report Progress in adapting to climate change: 2025 report to Parliament, published on 30 April, to restore coastal marine habitats by regulating bottom trawling and improving protection of marine protected areas.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We welcome the Climate Change Committee's latest report and are carefully considering its recommendations. The Government is required under the Climate Change Act to respond by 15 October that same year. The Government response, led by Defra will include input from 12 departments addressing the 57 sectoral recommendations in the report.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reporting by the i Paper on 14 December 2024 that 53 per cent of NHS trusts providing continence care cap the number of continence products which they provide to patients on a daily basis, rather than on the basis of need; and what steps they intend to take in response.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients deserve the very best health and care, and by developing a 10-Year Health Plan, we will deliver the three shifts needed to get the health service and the nation’s health thriving once again. We are committed to ensuring that the National Health Service is managed in a way that prioritises patient care and which delivers the best possible outcomes.
NHS England published Excellence in Continence Care, a copy of which is attached, on 23 July 2018, bringing together evidence-based resources and research for guidance for commissioners, providers, and health and social care staff. This guidance covers both urinary and bowel, also known as faecal, incontinence. The guidance states that “…pathways of care should be commissioned that ensure early assessment, effective management of incontinence, along with other bladder and bowel problems such as constipation and urinary tract infections and their impact on social, physical and mental well-being”. NHS England will consider the next steps for Excellence in Continence Care.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on the management of faecal incontinence in adults, which healthcare professionals and commissioners are expected to take fully into account when delivering services for people with bowel incontinence. The guidance aims to improve the physical and mental health and quality of life of people with faecal incontinence.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what practical steps are being taken to help raise awareness of (1) patient dignity, and (2) patient choice, in continence care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients deserve the very best health and care, and by developing a 10-Year Health Plan, we will deliver the three shifts needed to get the health service and the nation’s health thriving once again. We are committed to ensuring that the National Health Service is managed in a way that prioritises patient care and which delivers the best possible outcomes.
NHS England published Excellence in Continence Care, a copy of which is attached, on 23 July 2018, bringing together evidence-based resources and research for guidance for commissioners, providers, and health and social care staff. This guidance covers both urinary and bowel, also known as faecal, incontinence. The guidance states that “…pathways of care should be commissioned that ensure early assessment, effective management of incontinence, along with other bladder and bowel problems such as constipation and urinary tract infections and their impact on social, physical and mental well-being”. NHS England will consider the next steps for Excellence in Continence Care.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on the management of faecal incontinence in adults, which healthcare professionals and commissioners are expected to take fully into account when delivering services for people with bowel incontinence. The guidance aims to improve the physical and mental health and quality of life of people with faecal incontinence.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of prioritising patient dignity and choice in continence care as part of the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients deserve the very best health and care, and by developing a 10-Year Health Plan, we will deliver the three shifts needed to get the health service and the nation’s health thriving once again. We are committed to ensuring that the National Health Service is managed in a way that prioritises patient care and which delivers the best possible outcomes.
NHS England published Excellence in Continence Care, a copy of which is attached, on 23 July 2018, bringing together evidence-based resources and research for guidance for commissioners, providers, and health and social care staff. This guidance covers both urinary and bowel, also known as faecal, incontinence. The guidance states that “…pathways of care should be commissioned that ensure early assessment, effective management of incontinence, along with other bladder and bowel problems such as constipation and urinary tract infections and their impact on social, physical and mental well-being”. NHS England will consider the next steps for Excellence in Continence Care.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on the management of faecal incontinence in adults, which healthcare professionals and commissioners are expected to take fully into account when delivering services for people with bowel incontinence. The guidance aims to improve the physical and mental health and quality of life of people with faecal incontinence.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the data set of the UK Health Security Agency underpinning the article “Effectiveness of autumn 2023 COVID-19 vaccination and residual protection of prior doses against hospitalisation in England, estimated using a test-negative case-control study” published in May 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not plan to publish the dataset for this article.
This work is carried out under Regulation 3 of The Health Service (Control of Patient Information; Secretary of State for Health, 2002) using patient identification information without individual patient consent. This is part of the UKHSA’s legal requirement for public health surveillance and vaccine monitoring. The full regulation is available on the GOV.UK website.
As such, authors cannot release the underlying dataset publicly for ethical and legal reasons. However, all the data used for this analysis is included as aggregated data in the manuscript tables and appendix. The full manuscript is available on the UKHSA Research Portal, on the UKHSA’s website.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
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 (HL7332), whether they plan to explore establishing contractual provisions for community pharmacies to support delivery of the childhood flu national immunisation programme.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has identified key opportunities to further improve uptake, which include strengthening the childhood vaccination offer by exploring the use of other providers to enhance convenience, including community pharmacies. This work is ongoing in collaboration with the Department, NHS England, and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
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 (HL7332), what steps they are taking to increase the role of health visitors in delivering vaccinations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To increase the role of health visitors in delivering vaccinations, we are piloting the delivery of childhood vaccinations during health visits from 2025/26. This aims to improve access for families who may face challenges attending general practice appointments, helping to increase uptake and reduce barriers to vaccinations.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they made on the development of value-based procurement for purchasing medical devices and consumables; and what plans will be undertaken to promote this approach, particularly in continence care.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working with NHS England and the NHS Supply Chain to develop and promote Value Based Procurement (VBP) Standard Guidance for the National Health Service to consistently assess value when procuring medical technologies, including continence products. The Department has now developed draft VBP Standard Guidance and is testing its usability with procurement teams. The aim is to publish the guidance in early 2026.
The Department is engaging medical technology trade associations, including the Urology Trade Association, suppliers, as well as broader networks of patient forums, financial teams, clinicians, and NHS procurement professionals, to co-develop and promote this approach. Departmental officials hosted two market engagement sessions in May 2025. These were attended by over 450 suppliers, including suppliers of continence products.
In addition, because prescriptions in primary and community care are an important route of supply for incontinence consumables, the Department is building VBP principles into its plans to update Part IX Drug Tariff assessments of medical devices and consumables, where appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the commissioning of vaccination services is not adversely affected by the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Whilst this transformation takes place, we are putting plans in place to ensure that there is no risk to continuity of care and that service delivery is maintained. Outside of the planned organisational changes at national level, there are already established plans, as set out in the NHS Vaccination Strategy 2023, to delegate the commissioning of vaccination services from NHS England to the integrated care boards, starting from April 2026. This will strengthen the ownership of local systems of vaccination and enable innovation in delivery models, to maximise uptake and coverage across local populations.