Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for completing its assessment of the provision of NHS-commissioned fertility services currently in place across Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government recognises that access to National Health Service funded fertility services is variable in England and is looking into achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services. This includes understanding the offer made by fertility services across the country with a view to assess the data collected from integrated care boards to evaluate next steps in due course, working to ensure there is equitable access.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to complete the assessment of NHS commissioned fertility services announced in the Women’s health strategy.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government published the Women's Health Strategy on 15 April, which commits to ensuring that every woman can easily access fertility services, and we are currently working to assess the current provision of National Health Service commissioned fertility services as a baseline to inform supporting material for every integrated care board to implement the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline in full.
The Government recognises that access to NHS-funded fertility services is variable in England and is looking into achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services. This includes understanding the offer made by fertility services across the country with a view to assess the data collected from integrated care boards to evaluate next steps in due course, working to ensure there is equitable access.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) new product labelling standards, including the proportion by weight of dominant food compounds such as salt and sugar and (b) developing new guidance to ensure that product descriptions, advertising and presentation on packaging give an accurate impression of ingredient balance on consumers.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Food labelling legislation requires that pre-packaged food and drinks include a nutrition declaration, which provides information on key nutrients, including salt and sugar. In addition, voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling, most commonly the multiple traffic light scheme, is widely used in the United Kingdom and provides clear, at-a-glance information on levels of energy, fat, saturates, sugar, and salt to support consumer understanding.
Ingredients must also be listed on the label in descending order by weight, giving consumers an indication of the relative proportion of ingredients in a product. There are currently no plans to introduce new labelling standards related to the proportion by weight of specific ingredients such as salt or sugar beyond existing requirements, but the Government keeps the evidence on how food labelling impacts the choices and consumption habits of consumers under review.
Legislation already requires that food labelling must not be misleading, particularly as to the nature, composition or characteristics of the food. This applies to product descriptions, advertising and presentation on packaging, and is intended to ensure consumers are not given an inaccurate impression of a product’s composition or ingredient balance. Separate legislation covers the use of nutrition and health claims, requiring that any such claims are substantiated, clear, and not misleading.
The Government has guidance in place to support compliance with food labelling requirements, including on nutrition and health claims, and keeps this under review.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) supply and (b) availability of mefenamic acid for people in (i) the East of England and (ii) England.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Department has a responsibility to work with United Kingdom medicine license holders to help ensure continuity of supply. We monitor and manage medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand and therefore measures are not specific to the east of England.
We are aware of a supply issue with mefenamic acid 50 milligram/5 millilitre oral suspension which is expected to resolve in December 2025. Alternative formulations of mefenamic acid remain available, including capsules and tablets.
The Department will continue to work closely with the manufacturer to resolve the issue as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines. Any patient who is worried about their condition should speak to their clinician in the first instance.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve adult mental health services in Norfolk.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Long waits for mental health services are being driven by increasing demand in a system in desperate need of change, including in Norfolk
The Government is piloting innovative models of care in the community, including six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and which bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.
We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas.
Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths linked to synthetic opioids in the last three years, by region.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department published the below regional breakdown of deaths linked to nitazenes recorded within national surveillance processes in the first twelve months of monitoring by the Department and the National Crime Agency (NCA) in October 2024. There were no deaths recorded as linked to potent synthetic opioids that did not involve nitazenes in that period. Further information is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/deaths-linked-to-potent-synthetic-opioids
The Department and the NCA began tracking these deaths in June 2023 in response to an increased threat of potent synthetic opioids, and equivalent surveillance data is not available from before that point. More recent data will be published by the Department in due course.
The following table shows the number of deaths confirmed as involving nitazenes by English region, from June 2023 to May 2024:
Region | Deaths |
East Midlands | 29 |
East of England | 33 |
London | 18 |
North East | 3 |
North West | 12 |
South East | 16 |
South West | 22 |
West Midlands | 21 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 25 |
Total | 179 |
Data is also collected and published annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales, and the ONS’s latest published analysis of deaths related to drug poisoning by selected substances includes historic trends in the numbers of deaths related to drug poisoning involving nitazenes and fentanyl analogues by country. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve women's health.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are taking tangible action to transform women's health, including tackling gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan and providing free emergency hormonal contraception at pharmacies from October. There are a record 25,000 full time equivalent midwives in post – 1,400 more than July 2024
These examples demonstrate we are acting on the commitments in the women’s health strategy and listening to women’s experiences.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have accessed NHS funded IVF treatment in each year since 2021; and how many people have accessed privately funded IVF treatment in each year since 2021.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of National Health Service funded and privately funded in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients each year since 2021 for which information is published:
Year of treatment | NHS-funded IVF patients | Private funded IVF patients |
2022 | 15,212 | 38,555 |
2021 | 15,543 | 38,706 |
Source: provided by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Register.
Notes:
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cycles of NHS funded IVF treatment as recommended by NICE guidelines are provided in each integrated care board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information about integrated care board commissioning policy for National Health Service funded fertility services is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 30835 on Miscarriages: databases, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on including a question on experiences of miscarriage in the annual health survey for England as a way of capturing miscarriage data (a) in healthcare settings and (b) outside of healthcare settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not held discussions with NHS England on specifically including a question on experiences of miscarriage in the annual health survey for England, as a way of capturing miscarriage data, either in healthcare settings or outside of healthcare settings.
The reproductive health survey conducted by the Department in 2023 included a question on the experience of pregnancy loss, which including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or stillbirth. The survey reached 52,000 women, and showed that among those between 30 and 40 years old, more than one in 10 reported experience of pregnancy loss or infertility in the last year. The Department will update on plans to conduct the survey again in due course.