Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the conclusions of the review of VAT for public bodies under Section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Under Section 41 of the VAT Act 1994 Government departments, NHS Trusts and some wider public bodies can claim VAT refunds on certain outsourced services. Their remaining irrecoverable VAT is funded through Departmental Expenditure Limits. The Government is exploring reforming this system into a ‘Full Refund Model’ which would enable Section 41 bodies to recover VAT on all goods and services incurred during the course of non-business activities.

To ensure the reform is fiscally neutral, the departmental budgets of Section 41 bodies must be adjusted by an amount corresponding to the additional VAT they will be refunded for. HM Treasury is currently analysing data provided by Section 41 bodies on their irrecoverable VAT and will set out the next steps to the reforms in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what threshold NHS England applies when determining whether to take action against an integrated care board under section 14Z61 of the National Health Service Act 2006.

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

NHS England’s published enforcement guidance sets out how it uses its enforcement powers and the regulatory and statutory processes in the event of enforcement action. The guidance states that directions under section 14Z61 should only be issued as a last resort where voluntary action has not proved possible and NHS England must be satisfied that the integrated care board is failing or has failed to discharge its functions, or that there is a significant risk it will do so.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will require NHS England to use its powers under section 14Z61 of the National Health Service Act 2006 to ensure that integrated care boards allow the prescription of liothyronine where clinically appropriate.

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

Decisions about prescribing liothyronine are made by the responsible clinician. NHS England guidance, which aligns with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the assessment and management of thyroid disease, is clear that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed in primary care. Where clinically appropriate, liothyronine should only be initiated by a National Health Service consultant endocrinologist, and only where no clinically appropriate alternative treatment is available.

Integrated care boards are responsible for local commissioning arrangements and for supporting the application of national guidance, but it is for clinicians, working with their patients, to decide on the most appropriate treatment in line with that guidance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Action 6(iii) in the report, A Bolder, Braver Approach for Organ Donation in the UK, published by the Organ Donation Joint Working Group on 21 January, to change the Human Tissue Authority Code of Practice and NHS Blood and Transplant processes so that families are approached for information to support donation proceeding using affirmative language.

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

The Department has not held discussions with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) regarding the final report of the Evaluation of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019.

The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly chaired by the Department and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), made recommendations which ministers have noted, and which action owners are working together to implement. As part of this work, the Department, NHSBT, and HTA have met to discuss the report’s findings and actions. The HTA is currently at an early stage of reviewing its current statutory codes of practice and will revise them where necessary to ensure they remain clear, up to date, and effective.

NHSBT is actively progressing work to ensure that their family approach processes use clear, affirmative language that supports a family’s understanding of their loved one’s recorded donation decision. As part of this, NHSBT are reviewing their operational guidance and training materials for specialist nurses in organ donation to strengthen support offered to families by focussing on building trust and rapport with the family to explore the patient’s beliefs and values as a central reference point for the donation decision, rather than focusing on any last known expressed wishes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Human Tissue Authority regarding the final report of the Evaluation of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019, published by McLaughlin et al on 1 January 2024.

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

The Department has not held discussions with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) regarding the final report of the Evaluation of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019.

The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly chaired by the Department and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), made recommendations which ministers have noted, and which action owners are working together to implement. As part of this work, the Department, NHSBT, and HTA have met to discuss the report’s findings and actions. The HTA is currently at an early stage of reviewing its current statutory codes of practice and will revise them where necessary to ensure they remain clear, up to date, and effective.

NHSBT is actively progressing work to ensure that their family approach processes use clear, affirmative language that supports a family’s understanding of their loved one’s recorded donation decision. As part of this, NHSBT are reviewing their operational guidance and training materials for specialist nurses in organ donation to strengthen support offered to families by focussing on building trust and rapport with the family to explore the patient’s beliefs and values as a central reference point for the donation decision, rather than focusing on any last known expressed wishes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board did not increase the units of dental activity (UDA) value of contracts awarded through its March 2024 procurement by the same percentage their regional UDA values increased by, following two separate increases to the minimum UDA value for existing contract holders; and what assessment they have made of the potential impact of this decision on the financial viability of those newly tendered contracts, particularly given their requirement to treat new patients with higher treatment needs.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, of the 11 new NHS dental contracts procured by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board in March 2024 to address shortages in NHS dentistry in the region, how many were successfully awarded; and how many are now operational.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board awarded dental contracts subsequent to its March 2024 procurement outside of a formal procurement process without transparently offering all NHS contract holders the opportunity to apply; if so, what assessment they have made of these awards; and if commissioning flexibility has been applied in such cases, why similar flexibility has not been extended to contracts awarded through the March 2024 procurement.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal for a system for equitable distribution of general medical practitioners in England, submitted to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care on 22 February by John G Gooderham.

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

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. This workforce plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.

We are investing £485 million in general practices (GPs) in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26. As part of the 26/27 GP Contract, we are increasing flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner.

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

We know that the way core GP funding is allocated across England is considered outdated and we recognise the importance of ensuring funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country. This is why we are currently reviewing the GP funding formula, the Carr-Hill formula, to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.

The first phase of the review is expected to conclude in March 2026. Subject to ministerial decision, further work would be undertaken to technically develop and model any proposed changes to the formula. Findings from the review will be published in due course by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The proposal has been received and Government officials will assess it in the normal manner.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 18 March (HL15247), when they expect to reach a conclusion in their review of VAT for public bodies under section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury is currently analysing data provided by Section 41 bodies on their irrecoverable VAT and will set out the next steps to the reforms in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent report by NHS Providers Beyond Councils of Governors: rethinking public accountability, published 20 March, for future governance arrangements for NHS Foundation Trusts.

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

The report will be considered as part of the wider work underway on future engagement models.

The removal of councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making.

While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps have been taken by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to address shortages in access to NHS dentistry, and to increase the number of NHS dental practices in the region.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. The North East and North Cumbria ICB has implemented measures to improve access to dental services as part of the ICB’s Oral Health and Dental Strategy for 2025/27. Further information can be found on the NHS.UK website, in an online format.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS dental contracts have been handed back to NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since 2022; how many units of dental activity (UDAs) were associated with those contracts; and what the UDA value was for each contract handed back.

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

The following table shows the total number of general dental practice contracts, including the number of units of dental activity (UDA) and the total value, that were handed back in the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since it took over the delegated commissioning responsibility in April 2023:

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, given that NHS England’s 2023 guidance Liothyronine – advice for prescribers sets out a complete national prescribing pathway without including any requirement for local prior approval processes, if local prior approval was not included because it is not required.

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

NHS England’s policy guidance and prescribing advice on liothyronine reflects the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s recommendations and the evidence on liothyronine. That guidance recommends that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed, because it is not clinically or cost-effective, but sets out the exceptions where it may be an appropriate consideration for prescribers.

NHS England expects commissioners and prescribers to have due regard to its guidance. While integrated care boards may determine their own implementation arrangements, as part of the new operating model, regions will oversee commissioner and provider performance, including access to high quality care and the reduction of health inequalities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what payments have been made to the National Institute for Health and Care Research Brain Tumour Research Consortium; on what dates those payments were made; and what was the purpose of those payments.

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

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million.

The exact amount paid as of March 2026 is £50,000, which was paid to the contractor on 31 December 2025. This payment was made to support start up activities for the consortium. The NIHR does not currently hold up-to-date expenditure, or a detailed breakdown of how this funding has been spent. This information is currently held by the research team of the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and will be provided to the NIHR in the future as part of the project’s annual financial returns.

For all awards, contracting and further payments are contingent upon teams submitting and reviewing detailed costs and, if applicable, agreeing to the suggested amendments and requests for clarification which are currently in progress.

Future payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to 10 years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between the NIHR and the consortium.

Information on all awards will be made publicly available in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible. Oversight of the Brain Tumour Research Consortium is the responsibility of the NIHR.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether oversight of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Brain Tumour Research Consortium is in the responsible of an executive director of the NIHR.

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

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million.

The exact amount paid as of March 2026 is £50,000, which was paid to the contractor on 31 December 2025. This payment was made to support start up activities for the consortium. The NIHR does not currently hold up-to-date expenditure, or a detailed breakdown of how this funding has been spent. This information is currently held by the research team of the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and will be provided to the NIHR in the future as part of the project’s annual financial returns.

For all awards, contracting and further payments are contingent upon teams submitting and reviewing detailed costs and, if applicable, agreeing to the suggested amendments and requests for clarification which are currently in progress.

Future payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to 10 years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between the NIHR and the consortium.

Information on all awards will be made publicly available in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible. Oversight of the Brain Tumour Research Consortium is the responsibility of the NIHR.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what future payments they expect to make to the National Institute for Health and Care Research Brain Tumour Research Consortium.

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

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million.

The exact amount paid as of March 2026 is £50,000, which was paid to the contractor on 31 December 2025. This payment was made to support start up activities for the consortium. The NIHR does not currently hold up-to-date expenditure, or a detailed breakdown of how this funding has been spent. This information is currently held by the research team of the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and will be provided to the NIHR in the future as part of the project’s annual financial returns.

For all awards, contracting and further payments are contingent upon teams submitting and reviewing detailed costs and, if applicable, agreeing to the suggested amendments and requests for clarification which are currently in progress.

Future payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to 10 years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between the NIHR and the consortium.

Information on all awards will be made publicly available in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible. Oversight of the Brain Tumour Research Consortium is the responsibility of the NIHR.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, given that NHS England’s 2023 guidance Liothyronine – advice for prescribers sets out a complete national prescribing pathway without including any requirement for local prior approval processes, what steps are they taking to ensure that Integrated Care Boards act consistently with this guidance.

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

NHS England’s policy guidance and prescribing advice on liothyronine reflects the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s recommendations and the evidence on liothyronine. That guidance recommends that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed, because it is not clinically or cost-effective, but sets out the exceptions where it may be an appropriate consideration for prescribers.

NHS England expects commissioners and prescribers to have due regard to its guidance. While integrated care boards may determine their own implementation arrangements, as part of the new operating model, regions will oversee commissioner and provider performance, including access to high quality care and the reduction of health inequalities.

Found: Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Jeremy Pocklington as Accounting Officer for DESNZ, and Lord Hunt of Kings Heath