Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, when implementing the recommendations of the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, to ensure that integrated care boards are properly scrutinised by an independent patient body when they propose a major change to their services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has accepted the Dash review recommendations and will abolish Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch (LHW) in their current form.
We are proposing to place responsibility for the health function of LHW with integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs will ensure the functions are incorporated in provider organisations alongside existing patient engagement work such as Patient Participation Groups. Local authorities will be responsible for the social care LHW functions.
However, the abolition of Healthwatch England and LHW arrangements will require primary legislation and is subject to the will of Parliament. Details of how any proposed changes will impact ICBs will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, when implementing the recommendations of the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, published on 7 July, to ensure that each integrated care board (ICB) appoints an executive director who is responsible for patient experience and is directly accountable to the chair of an ICB.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has accepted the Dash review recommendations and will abolish Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch (LHW) in their current form.
We are proposing to place responsibility for the health function of LHW with integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs will ensure the functions are incorporated in provider organisations alongside existing patient engagement work such as Patient Participation Groups. Local authorities will be responsible for the social care LHW functions.
However, the abolition of Healthwatch England and LHW arrangements will require primary legislation and is subject to the will of Parliament. Details of how any proposed changes will impact ICBs will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that a nationally-determined and ring-fenced budget is maintained for each integrated care board, to fund community and user input, when they implement the recommendations of the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape in relation to local Healthwatch.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has accepted the Dash review recommendations and will abolish Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch (LHW) in their current form.
We are proposing to place responsibility for the health function of LHW with integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs will ensure the functions are incorporated in provider organisations alongside existing patient engagement work such as Patient Participation Groups. Local authorities will be responsible for the social care LHW functions.
However, the abolition of Healthwatch England and LHW arrangements will require primary legislation and is subject to the will of Parliament. Details of how any proposed changes will impact ICBs will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, when they implement the recommendations of the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape in relation to local Healthwatch, to ensure that concerns about the quality of care can be raised with the Care Quality Commission.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) currently gathers views through the Give Feedback on Care section on the CQC website, which allows people who use services or staff to submit experiences or concerns about a service.
The feedback gathered helps to shape the CQC’s regulatory activity and allows them to identify issues and themes in the quality of care. During their inspections, the CQC will consider information from a variety of sources, which includes feedback received from members of the public regarding their experience of a service, or the experience of someone they represent.
We are not proposing to change this as part of the implementation of the recommendations in the report on the review of patient safety across the health and care landscape.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, when they implement the recommendations of the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape in relation to Healthwatch England, to ensure that there is an independent voice for patients at a national level.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Dash Report and the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the strategic functions of Healthwatch England will transfer to a new directorate for patient experience within the Department.
We are committed to ensuring that the patient voice is not only heard but embedded at the highest levels of our leadership and decision-making structures. By creating clear routes for patient insight, feedback, and lived experience to directly influence senior leaders at the national level, we will ensure that policies, strategic priorities, and service design will be shaped by what matters most to the people who use health services.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (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 extent to which patients and their families have been engaged in NICE's project to appraise the effectiveness of vorasidenib.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS on the basis of an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE develops its guidance through extensive engagement with interested parties, including patient groups.
NICE is currently evaluating vorasidenib for treating astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with IDH1 or IDH2 mutations after surgery in people 12 years old and over. As part of the appraisal process, NICE’s independent committee was provided with evidence submissions from three patient groups. The committee also heard expert personal perspectives from two patient experts.
The draft guidance was shared with all stakeholders as well as being published on the NICE website for public comment as part of the consultation which took place between 15 October and 4 November 2025. The committee reviewed the consultation comments at the committee meeting on 20 November 2025. NICE currently expects to publish final guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (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 7 November (HL11405), what monitoring processes are in place to ensure that the national sample handling guidance for the whole genome sequencing of solid tumours is being implemented fully.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The performance of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service is monitored quarterly through an assurance framework, which ensures all seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs are operating to national quality standards. This identifies and minimises any potential variation and ensures consistent delivery of the criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that more research and clinical trials are undertaken into the causes and treatment of brain cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and is committed to furthering our investment and driving scientific advancements in research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours. Between 2018/19 and 2023/24, the NIHR invested £11.8 million, and UK Research and Innovation invested £46.8 million in this area.
During the same period, the NIHR’s wider investments of approximately £37.5 million in research infrastructure and the research workforce have enabled the delivery of an additional 261 brain tumour research studies, allowing over 11,400 more people to participate in brain tumour research. NIHR infrastructure provides world-class research expertise, specialist facilities, a research delivery workforce, and support services to enable and deliver research across the National Health Service and wider health and care system.
In September 2024 the NIHR launched a package of support to deliver a step-change in brain cancer research by establishing a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium to bring together researchers from different disciplines to drive scientific advancements in how to prevent, detect, manage, and treat brain tumours. We will announce funding decisions this year, including a dedicated funding call for research into care, support, and rehabilitation for people living with brain tumours, as well as the Allied Health Professionals Brain Tumour Research Fellowship programme, a partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.
These funding calls mark an innovative collaboration between charities, research funders, and the Government to listen and consult with the brain tumour community to increase and accelerate research into brain tumours. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including brain tumours.
To improve clinical trial access for brain tumour patients, the 10-Year Health Plan outlines how the Department will fast-track clinical trial set-up time to 150 days by March 2026. We are building capacity to deliver clinical trials through 21 new Commercial Research Delivery Centres across the United Kingdom, and we also support the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. Once implemented, this bill will make it easier for brain tumour patients to be recruited to clinical trials.
Additionally, the National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, including access to genetic testing to support treatment.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 3 November, what is their target reduction in the rate of cyclists and pedestrians killed and seriously injured.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, is seeking the views of stakeholders on a national vision, statutory objectives and underlying performance indicators. The shape of the final strategy, intended to be published next year including targets, will be informed by the responses to the consultation.
The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. We intend to publish the Strategy this year.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to measure the key performance indicators in the third cycling and walking investment strategy, specifically for women and girls.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, is seeking the views of stakeholders on a national vision, statutory objectives and underlying performance indicators. The shape of the final strategy, intended to be published next year including key performance indicators, will be informed by the responses to the consultation.
The Government is committed to halving violence against women and girls within a decade through prevention and overhauling society’s response to these crimes. As part of this, we are working closely with the Home Office on their cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which is due to be published later this year.