Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to ensure that (a) families and (b) carers of cell therapy patients can access (i) mental health and wellbeing and (ii) bereavement support.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to ensuring that families and carers have the support they need.

Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including mental health and wellbeing support for families and carers.

The Government also recognises how important it is for grieving families and friends who have lost loved ones to have access to the support they need, when they need it. Bereavement support is commissioned locally, to meet the needs of the local population. NHS England has developed guidance for integrated care boards which requires local commissioners to ensure there is sufficient access to bereavement support services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS podiatry services in Mid Sussex constituency are adequately resourced.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service podiatry and orthotics service provided by the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust is made up of registered podiatrists, orthotists, nurses, and health care assistants who provide a comprehensive foot health service to adults and children across West Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

The service works with general practice (GP) services if prescriptions are required, and with local hospital trusts to provide treatment for patients who need specialist support.

To access the service an individual will need to be referred by their GP, a nurse, or an allied health professional. Children also need to be referred by a healthcare professional which may be a GP, a dentist, a school nurse, or community and specialist nurse. All referrals are assessed on the day of receipt and if a case is urgent, the service will contact the person within 48 hours to book an appointment.

Most appointments are face to face but they do offer home visits if a patient is housebound and meets set criteria. Some appointments can be performed via a telephone consultation.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning the majority of health and care services, including podiatry services in England. ICBs arrange healthcare services to meet the needs of their local population within the available resources, and to reduce inequalities in access to, and outcomes from, healthcare services.

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 ensure that the rollout of whole genome sequencing services is (a) efficient and (b) consistent between regions.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) and is delivered by a national network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing, and sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing.

NHS England, supported by a Genomics Clinical Reference Group and expert Test Evaluation Working Groups, review the test directory to keep pace with scientific and technological advances, while delivering value for money for the NHS. A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit. As part of the NHS GMS testing strategy, there is increasing use of cutting edge, high throughput comprehensive sequencing technologies to ensure efficiency.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to provide psychological support for patients with (a) sickle cell and (b) other non-malignant conditions considering stem cell transplants.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England stipulates in the blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) service specification that BMT services, which include stem cell transplants, should ensure that there is a full range of psychological support, as well as support staff including social workers, physiotherapy, pharmacy, and radiology support for stem cell transplant recipients. BMT service providers are also expected to be accredited by the Joint Accreditation Committee of the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, known jointly as JACIE, and the requirement for psychology support staff is also reflected in the eighth edition of the JACIE standards.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England worked on the 10 year plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

66 people from the Department and NHS England were solely employed on the development of the 10-Year Health Plan. In addition, a wide range of people across both organisations have been involved as part of their regular work.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to (a) develop and (b) implement policies for infant and young child feeding in emergency preparedness (i) planning and (ii) responses.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government prepares for a range of risks and understands that families can face additional challenges around infant feeding during emergencies. The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs work closely with the Cabinet Office and other departments, ensuring food supply and infant feeding is incorporated into emergency preparedness planning, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to implement the findings of the four nation Optimal Infant Feeding Data Framework project.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department commissioned a survey of infant feeding practices in England in 2021. Data collection was completed in 2024, and a report is being prepared for publication in autumn 2025. The Infant Feeding Survey approach is largely consistent with what the Optimal Infant Feeding Quantitative Data Framework article has proposed, including points in relation to feeding intentions, exclusive and any breastfeeding at key developmental points, particularly birth, two weeks, six weeks and six months, formula feeding, mixed feeding and introduction of solid foods. These indicators are in line with United Kingdom advice and consistent with requirements for comparison with international data set out by the World Health Organization.

The Department held discussions with the Devolved Governments to ensure comparable data where possible. The Department will consider the findings of the four nation Optimal Infant Feeding Data Framework project at the planning stage for further Infant Feeding Surveys.

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 ensure that all (a) parents and (b) caregivers are provided with accurate and unbiased (i) information and (ii) support for infant feeding.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is important that all parents and caregivers receive accurate and unbiased information and support on infant feeding to help them make the right choice for them.

Most families will receive infant feeding information and support from midwives and health visitors. We are taking action to strengthen these services. We are taking further steps, including investing £18.5 million through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26, to improve infant feeding support across 75 local authorities in England. We are also investing in the National Breastfeeding Helpline which provides United Kingdom wide support.

Better Health Start for Life communications provide advice and support to parents and caregivers on infant feeding via a website, an email programme, and supporting literature for local authorities and healthcare professionals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that (a) NHS (i) guidance and (ii) resources on HIV and infant feeding follow British HIV Association guidelines and (b) trusts, (c) boards and (d) local authorities provide (A) tailored and (B) specialist lactation support to women with HIV that (1) is informed by evidence and (2) avoids stigma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 and is developing the new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year. The plan’s key objectives will include ensuring equitable access and uptake of HIV prevention programmes, improving quality of life for people living with HIV, and addressing stigma, and we are also considering how best to ensure mothers living with HIV can feed their children.

Whilst guidelines issued by professional bodies such as the British HIV Association are highly regarded in the provision of HIV care, these are non-mandated and it is the responsibility of local authorities to decide how best to implement the recommendations, in line with the needs of their local populations. The Government will continue to support local authorities through advice and guidance, informed by evidence, to ensure they provide the best possible HIV services to everyone and avoid stigma.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing primary legislation to give those in care settings the right for (a) their loved ones and (b) others to visit.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Secondary legislation was introduced in December 2023 to create a new Care Quality Commission (CQC) Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A), which came into force on 6 April 2024. This requires CQC registered care homes, hospitals, and hospices to facilitate visiting and accompanying unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean that it is not safe to do so. Visits can be from anyone the resident would like to visit with.

In April 2025, we launched a review of CQC Regulation 9A to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. Depending on the outcome of the review, we will consider whether further action is needed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce legislation to facilitate a right to a Care Supporter for people in care settings.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen requirements for CQC registered care homes, hospitals, and hospices to facilitate visiting, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean that it is not safe to do so. This can be a visit from a family member, a friend, or a person visiting to provide companionship or support, for example, a care supporter.

In April 2025, we launched a review of the CQC’s Regulation 9A to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. Depending on the outcome of the review, we will consider whether further action is needed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of recent changes to NHS smear tests on (a) women's health and (b) uptake of cervical cancer screening.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation to change the cervical screening intervals from three to five years for women aged between 25 and 49 years old was made in 2019. The evidence and consultation responses supporting the recommendation is available at the following link:

https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/cervical-cancer/

The decision to make the changes was based on what is best for women. The more accurate human papillomavirus (HPV) test requires less frequent screening, and changing the frequency eliminates the unnecessary over-screening of the population.

The IT system supporting the national cervical screening programme was updated in July 2024 and can now enable the changes that were recommended.

A full impact assessment and equality impact assessment were considered before the changes were agreed by the Government. We will publish these shortly.

The Department undertook an impact assessment and an equality impact assessment into the introduction of HPV self-sampling in under-screened populations, which will also be published shortly.

The self-testing kits which detect HPV, which is a group of viruses that can lead to cervical cancer, allow women to carry out this testing in the privacy and convenience of their own homes.

The programme specifically targets those groups consistently missing vital appointments, with younger women, ethnic minority communities facing cultural hurdles, people with a disability, and LGBT+ people all set to benefit.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his response to the hon. Member for Mid Sussex of 10 July 2025 during his Oral Statement on Resident Doctors: Industrial Action, Official Report, column 1152, when he plans to begin publishing data on corridor care.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to tackling the unacceptable practice of corridor care in our National Health Service. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June, set out steps we are taking, including the commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care.

NHS England has been working with trusts since 2024 to put in place new reporting arrangements related to the use of temporary escalation spaces, to drive improvement. Subject to a review of data quality, this information will be published shortly, and we will consider how this data could be published on a more regular basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England work in communications.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

At the end of June 2025, the Department had 90 full-time equivalent staff working in the Communications Directorate.

In NHS England, there are 328.8 full-time equivalent staff sitting under Communications in the Strategy Directorate. These individuals cover a wide range of communication roles and support functions, including business operations, system and stakeholder engagement, events and visit teams, and Parliamentary briefing and Freedom of Information management. There are a further six members of staff, who work in ‘Communications’ or ‘Comms’ teams in the wider business, which includes individuals working in Freedom of Information management and Parliamentary business.

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