Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement a community pharmacist prescribing service.

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

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes our commitment to make prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework supports this ambition by instructing integrated care boards that they must introduce prescribing based services into community pharmacies during 2026/27 to support primary care access. From September 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers upon registration.

The Department is currently in consultation with Community Pharmacy England on the 2026/27 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. This consultation will consider any proposed changes to the reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2026/27, including considering the introduction of prescribing into community pharmacy services. Once this consultation has concluded, the results will be formally announced.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the potential benefits of offering prehabilitation to all patients on surgical waiting lists.

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

The Elective Reform Plan set out the reform and productivity efforts needed to reach the 92% referral to treatment standard by March 2029. As part of that, we will ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care. Improving perioperative care can increase productivity by reducing cancellations, reducing length of stay, and minimising postoperative complications.

Prehabilitation services will be offered to patients on admitted pathways who have been screened for modifiable risk factors which could be improved by prehabilitation services. In particular, NHS England will work through Cancer Alliances to support improvements in prehabilitation for people about to undergo cancer treatment. The level of prehabilitation offered will be dependent on both patient risk factors and surgical complexity, and is guided by the clinical evidence base on these factors on the application of appropriate universal or targeted interventions

There are no current plans to assess the potential merits of extending these services to all patients referred for surgery.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of medical specialty training posts available for doctors to apply for (1) this year, and (2) in the next two years.

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

There are currently approximately 9,500 specialty training places. We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts, with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.

The Government is committed to training the staff we need, including doctors, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed services set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what interim targets they have set to meet the commitment in the Life Sciences Sector Plan for the UK to become one of the three fastest countries in Europe for patient access to medicines by 2030.

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

The Life Sciences Sector Plan includes a broad range of commitments to support our ambitions to be one of the top three fastest places in Europe for patient access to medicines by 2030. This includes improving capacity and efficiency in delivering commercial clinical trials, investing in innovation, and supporting access and uptake across the system.

The target itself will be measured by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Waiting to Access Innovative Therapies indicator. The latest data shows that the median time between regulatory approval and patient availability for medicines launched between 2020 and 2023 was 310 days for England and 303 days for Scotland, compared to a European Union median of 518 days.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand new-born screening in line with its ambition in the 10 Year Health Plan to roll out whole genome sequencing by 2030; and what interim targets they have established to measure progress towards this ambition.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan set out an ambition to “implement universal genomic testing” within the next decade. Delivering against this ambition will be subject to evidence gathered through the Generation Study. This research programme is evaluating the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to test 100,000 newborns for genetic mutations associated with more than 200 rare genetic conditions. The sequencing of 100,000 newborns through the Generation Study will be completed by summer 2027. The evaluation part of the study will then be completed and presented to the UK National Screening Committee who will make a recommendation to Government ministers on whether newborn genomic screening should be offered in the National Health Service or whether more research is required. Subject to this, and appropriate funding being available, genomic testing could be available for all newborns by 2035.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the support provided to clinicians for post-deployment monitoring of new artificial intelligence tools introduced to local services.

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

The Government recognises that effective post‑deployment monitoring of artificial intelligence (AI) tools is essential to maintaining patient safety and supporting clinicians in their day‑to‑day practice.

The Government has not conducted a single, centralised assessment of post‑deployment support for all AI tools used in local services. Instead, responsibility for ensuring appropriate monitoring and clinical support sits with local National Health Service organisations, working within national regulatory and governance frameworks.

Nationally, NHS England and the Department have published guidance and regulatory support to help organisations safely deploy and oversee AI technologies. This guidance is currently provided through a combination of regulatory frameworks, clinical safety standards, and product specific national guidance, rather than a single consolidated framework. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan and the developing AI Strategic Roadmap, the Government is working towards a more coherent, end to end approach to supporting the safe adoption, monitoring, and governance of AI across health and care. This is being done in conjunction with regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Health Research Authority, and the Care Quality Commission.

Local adopters are expected to ensure that clinicians are supported through appropriate training, access to clinical safety expertise, and clearly defined monitoring arrangements proportionate to the risk and intended use of the AI tool. This includes maintaining oversight of real‑world performance and taking action where tools do not perform as intended.

The Government continues to work closely with NHS England, clinicians, and regulators to keep guidance under review and to identify where further support may be required, as the use of AI in health and care continues to evolve.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that AI tool vendors inform the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS trusts and clinicians when significant changes are made to their AI models.

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

On 26 September 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare (the National Commission).

The National Commission is an independent, non-statutory advisory group, responsible for advising the MHRA on the creation of a new regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI) products in healthcare, supporting our goal to make Great Britain the fastest and safest place to regulate AI and software as a medical device in the world. The Commission is looking into a range of topics relating to the regulation of AI in healthcare, including but not limited to Post-Market Surveillance, the role of different actors, developers, providers, and professionals throughout the adoption cycle of AI as a medical device, and the liability implications of AI technology.

The Commission will publish its recommendations for the new regulatory framework for AI in healthcare in Summer 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new regulatory framework for AI and software as a medical device will define where medical liability will lie in cases where AI tools fail to perform as expected in the NHS.

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

On 26 September 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare (the National Commission).

The National Commission is an independent, non-statutory advisory group, responsible for advising the MHRA on the creation of a new regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI) products in healthcare, supporting our goal to make Great Britain the fastest and safest place to regulate AI and software as a medical device in the world. The Commission is looking into a range of topics relating to the regulation of AI in healthcare, including but not limited to Post-Market Surveillance, the role of different actors, developers, providers, and professionals throughout the adoption cycle of AI as a medical device, and the liability implications of AI technology.

The Commission will publish its recommendations for the new regulatory framework for AI in healthcare in Summer 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the daily average of 13,823 medically fit patients who remained in hospital in January, in particular in regard to social care capacity.

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

The Government is taking a range of steps to reduce the number of medically fit patients who remain in hospital and recognises that timely discharge is essential for improving patient outcomes and freeing up capacity. Through the Better Care Fund (BCF), £9 billion is available in 2025/26 and a further £9 billion has been committed in 2026/27, which is being pooled to strengthen social care capacity, deliver more joined‑up support, and reduce delays to discharge.

A central aim of the BCF is to support services that help people regain independence, prevent avoidable admissions, and enable timely discharge, with greater emphasis on intermediate care services that can meet both step‑up and step‑down needs.

The BCF also requires systems to set goals to reduce non‑elective admissions for people aged 65 years old and over and discharge delays, ensuring BCF‑funded activity directly supports improved hospital flow.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation in the report by the UK BioIndustry Association From innovation to impact: unlocking patient access to innovative rare disease medicines, published on 4 December 2025, to develop a separate evaluation pathway for innovative orphan medicines where a cost-effectiveness based evaluation is not appropriate, and of its implementation.

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

There are no plans to introduce a separate evaluation process for orphan medicines. Most medicines, including orphan medicines, are assessed through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) standard technology appraisal programme, with a small number of treatments for very rare and severe conditions considered through the highly specialised technologies programme, which applies a higher cost-effectiveness threshold.

NICE’s methods are suitable for evaluating rare disease medicines where prices are set fairly. Approval rates for rare disease medicines are in line with overall NICE recommendations, and between April 2024 and April 2025 NICE recommended all 15 rare disease medicines assessed through the standard programme.

We are also investing approximately 25% more in innovative treatments through an increase to NICE’s cost-effectiveness threshold and changes to how health benefits are valued. This will support access to medicines delivering significant health benefits, including for rare diseases, that may previously have been declined on cost-effectiveness grounds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the community pharmacy sector's funding gap has changed since the publication of Economic analysis of NHS pharmaceutical services in England on 31 March 2025.

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

In 2025/26, the funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Additional funding was also made available, for example, for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

On 25 February, the Department began the 2026/27 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework consultation with Community Pharmacy England, to consider any proposed changes to the reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2026/27.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to include provisions to encourage the adoption of point-of-care testing to support early detection of cardiovascular disease in the Modern Service Framework for Cardiovascular Disease.

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

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, to accelerate progress on the ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) later this year.

The Department and NHS England are engaging widely throughout the development of the CVD MSF to support consistent, high quality and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the CVD pathway, including considering the adoption of point-of-care testing.

Beyond action in the CVD MSF, the Government and NHS England have invested heavily in point of care testing; including through the hypertension case-finding service for those over 40 in community pharmacies and the NHS Blood Pressure @Home initiative.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from Baroness Merron to Lord Kamall on 19 February (DEP2026-0132), by what date they expect to conclude negotiations with the British Medical Association resident doctors committee about helping doctors with the up-front cost of their training.

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

The Government remains committed to working constructively with trade unions and improving the working conditions for all our hardworking National Health Service staff. Since 8 January 2026, the Government has been engaging in intensive and constructive discussions with the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee, exploring various measures aimed at improving the working lives of resident doctors.

Given the nature of negotiations, we cannot at this time provide a specific date by which we expect talks to have concluded. We hope that these talks result in an agreement that works for everyone and avoids further unnecessary disruption for patients and NHS staff.