Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns within the medical community about potential risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence chatbots by individuals seeking emotional support and companionship when experiencing loneliness.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

While no such assessment has been made, this Government recognises the importance of exploring innovative approaches to tackle loneliness, whilst protecting people's safety and wellbeing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered permitting the term probiotic to be used in mandatory food labelling.

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

Under existing legislation, the Department considers the term ‘probiotic’ to constitute a health claim as it implies that consuming a food or food supplement containing these bacteria may provide a health benefit. Health claims may only be used if they have been scientifically substantiated and authorised in accordance with nutrition and health claims legislation.

There is an established process for authorising health claims, which requires industry to submit detailed scientific evidence for assessment. Since the exit of the European Union, the Department has not received any applications for new health claims relating to probiotics or specific bacterial strains. As no claims are authorised, ‘probiotics’ should not be used as a claim on food labels.

The term ‘probiotic’ could only be used on food labels if a specific authorised health claim existed for the particular strain of live bacteria used. The authorisation process remains available to industry, and any future applications would be considered in line with the requirements to ensure that health claims used on food are accurate, evidence‑based, and not misleading for consumers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered the impact of the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU on additives in vitamins, including the Healthy Start Vitamins.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have begun negotiations with the EU on an SPS agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing barriers to trade for British producers and retailers. While negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement are underway, we will not be providing a running commentary of discussions.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the introduction of a transition period for products with a shelf life of three to five years that will be affected by the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU to prevent waste.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, and helping to reduce the pressure on prices and increase choice in the shops.

We are working closely with businesses to assess the implementation impacts of the Agreement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of regional variation in breast cancer screening uptake, particularly in areas where uptake is significantly below the national average.

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

This Government is committed to improving the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) and addressing regional variation in uptake.

To improve uptake and address inequalities, this year, NHS England is planning to publish a Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Review.

This will include a review of actions taken at a national level by the NHS BSP so far, as well as setting out where the focus will be going forward, to support local services to drive uptake even further.

The review supports breast screening service providers with national solutions such as:

• introducing digital options for sending out invitations and managing appointments;

• raising awareness of the importance of screening through the media; and

• facilitating learning and gathering evidence to inform programme policy, pathway changes and guidance.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the forthcoming national cancer plan for England will consider expanding access to non-genomic biomarker testing, in addition to genomic testing, to determine eligibility for cancer precision medicines.

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

The Department is currently developing the National Cancer Plan for England, which will be published shortly. The plan will build on the commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to provide comprehensive molecular profiling of all cancers. Genomic testing is a key element of molecular profiling.

We also recognise the important role that nongenomic biomarkers play in identifying the most effective treatments for individual patients. The plan will consider how to ensure access to high-quality treatment, including access to testing that determines eligibility for precision testing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government which organisations with instances and tenancies are included in the NHS England Federated Data Platform.

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

As of 13 January 2026, the NHS England Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) includes live instances and tenancies across 149 National Health Service organisations. The following table shows these organisations sorted by organisation type:

The organisations listed in the document attached have an active NHS FDP instance or tenancy and are operating within the platform in line with their respective data controller responsibilities and the NHS FDP governance framework.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government which use cases or purposes are currently active in the national instances of the NHS England Federated Data Platform; and what is the number of users currently able to access each purpose, as defined by Palantir on 4 December 2020, Purpose-based Access Controls at Palantir.

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

The NHS Federated Data Platform, including the national instance, provides trusts and integrated care boards with a set of core capabilities and nationally commissioned locally developed products to support five key National Health Service priorities:

- Population Health and Person Insight;

- Care Coordination;

- Supply Chain;

- Vaccination and Immunisation; and

- Elective Recovery.

There are currently 28,732 active accounts on the Federated Data Platform's National tenant, and access to data is managed by dataset and product-specific access controls. This figure does not include the number of accounts across local tenants.

The information on the number of users currently able to access each purpose is not routinely collected, as user stats are aligned to products.

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 December 2025 (HL12801), when they will publish the advice to ministers by David Lock KC on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence.

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

David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office report.

The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the five-year survival rates for brain cancer.

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

Improving outcomes and survival rates remain a firm priority for the Government across all cancer types. However, we recognise that for rarer cancers, such as brain cancers, which are harder to diagnose and treat, survival rates are too low, and this needs to drastically change.

Research is vital in improving survival rates, which is why in December 2025 the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer. The NIHR is investing an initial £13.7 million, with significant further funding due to be awarded early in the new year.

Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer will be a key aim of the National Cancer Plan for England, which is due to be published shortly. The plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including brain cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Closing the Gap: A roadmap for equitable access to genomic testing and precision medical trials for all patients with a brain tumour in the UK published by the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in September 2024.

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

As part of the National Cancer Plan, officials have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including brain cancer clinical experts and charities, as well as receiving this report. The Department received over 11,000 responses to the Call for Evidence, which have been analysed to support the development the plan.

On 24 October 2025, NHS England published the Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29. This sets out that all National Health Service providers must support embedding research as part of everyday care, meet the site-specific timeframes of the Government’s 150-day clinical trial set-up target, and for research activity and income to be reported to boards on a six-monthly basis.

We are also embedding genomic testing as routine practice within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and its workforce. This includes seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs delivering comprehensive genomic testing and analysis, such as whole genome sequencing, as part of routine care. The Genomics Education Programme is responsible for upskilling the entire multi-professional, multi-specialty NHS workforce in genomics.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand brain cancer trials in the UK.

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

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with brain cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for brain cancer.

In December 2025, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. Significant further funding is due to be awarded shortly. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the size of the probiotics market in the UK, and (2) its potential for growth.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The size of the probiotics market in the United Kingdom was £1.07 billion in 2024 (table 1, Euromonitor International*). The UK market value for probiotic products grew by 19% between 2019 and 2024 (in 2024 prices) and 41% by sales volumes. Recent growth in the probiotic market has been attributed to the increasing popularity of probiotic dairy products like Kefir.

Table 1 – UK probiotic product retail sales (GBP million, Euromonitor)

Euromonitor have considered growth in the wider UK diary and dairy alternatives market and forecast that the value of probiotic dairy market will grow by 14% up to 2029, to £1.2 billn. There is no forecast for the overall probiotics market, but as probiotic dairy products make up 99% of the market by volume, this forecast is sufficient for the market overall.

*Although Euromonitor aims to correct inaccuracies of which it is aware, it does not warrant that the Intelligence will be accurate, up-to-date or complete as the accuracy and completeness of the data and other content available in respect of different parts of the Content will vary depending on the availability and quality of sources on which each part is based. Euromonitor accepts no liability in regard to the derived data which has been presented here and furthermore, Euromonitor does not warrant that the Intelligence will be/is fit for any particular purpose(s) for which they are used as Euromonitor does not have any knowledge of, nor control over, those purposes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ringfence funding for brain cancer research.

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 £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

Too little is known about how to prevent, diagnose, and manage brain tumours. They remain one of the hardest cancers to treat and a challenging area for research. That is why we are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress.

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. Significant further funding is due to be awarded shortly. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including brain cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on brain cancer to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what steps they are taking to identify regulatory barriers and evaluate reimbursement policies for brain cancer therapies.

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

The Government recognises that there are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with cancerous brain tumours and recognises the significant impact this rare cancer can have on patients, carers, and their families. All new licensed medicines, including medicines for brain cancer, are evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether they represent a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. NICE is actively evaluating a number of new medicines for potential use in the treatment of brain cancers.

NICE works closely with companies and the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and aims to issue guidance on new medicines as close as possible to the time of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE and funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund is available for cancer medicines from the point of a draft positive NICE recommendation, bringing forward patient access by up to five months.

The MHRA has several pathways which facilitate rapid assessment of medicines. This includes international collaborations such as Project Orbis and the Access Consortium. The MHRA has also introduced the International Recognition Pathway, which allows the MHRA to take into account the expertise and decision-making of trusted regulatory partners, and the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway scheme, focussed on getting new and transformative medicines to patients in the UK health system more quickly. Recently, the MHRA also issued new regulations to make it faster and easier for cutting-edge cancer treatments and personalised gene therapies to be made right where patients are treated.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of reference pricing for drugs on long-term system capacity and the ability of clinicians to tailor treatments to complex patient profiles within ophthalmology services.

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

No specific assessment has been made.

The intention of the reference pricing is to support long term capacity in ophthalmology by enabling trusts to reinvest realised savings directly into local services, including workforce, equipment, and service redesign. Clinical autonomy is maintained, and clinicians will continue to be able to tailor treatments to individual patient needs, including complex cases, where this is clinically indicated.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the ranking methodology for the proposed single national formulary will include (1) workforce productivity, (2) equitable patient access, and (3) quality of life outcomes.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan for England set out a commitment to move towards a Single National Formulary (SNF) for medicines within the next two years. The plan details that the SNF will include sequencing of products within clinical pathways based on clinical and cost effectiveness, overseen by a new formulary oversight board supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE guidance will be used for the underpinning clinical and cost effectiveness evidence, including resource implications, to guide these decisions. The SNF will be a key enabler to support fair and equitable patient access to NICE-approved medicines across the country.

Work is already underway to deliver the SNF through a phased approach. We are already working closely and collaboratively with key stakeholders including NICE and the pharmaceutical industry and medical royal colleges, to develop and design the implementation of the SNF. We will continue to utilise local expertise to ensure the SNF is successfully implemented, and local system support, particularly from pharmacy and medicines formulary teams, will be essential to successful delivery of the SNF, which is why joint activity has already started early in the process.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what mitigations they have secured under the United States' "Most Favoured Nation" drug pricing initiative as part of the UK–US Economic Prosperity Deal.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The US has committed to ensuring that access to medicines and launches of new innovative medicines in the UK are not inadvertently impacted by the US’s ‘Most Favoured Nation’ policy, thereby reducing the risk to the UK where the NHS has managed to secure lower prices for medicines.

Further work to finalise underpinning details is ongoing.

Found: Letter dated 30/01/2026 from Baroness Merron to Lord Kamall, Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, Baroness Finlay

Found: Letter dated 09/01/2026 from Baroness Blake of Leeds to Lord Kamall regarding an issue raised during

Found: In recognition of these findings by NICE, Lord Kamall asked, given that the 2022 review concluded that

Found: Letter dated 15/01/2026 from Baroness Merron to Lord Kamall regarding questions raised during the Terminally