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 potential merits of using uropathogen infection testing for diagnosing urinary tract infections.

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

The Department has not made a specific assessment. There are several sources of guidance regarding the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs), including from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the UK Health Security Agency.

The TOUCAN study was part-commissioned by NHS England as an assessment of future more timely diagnostics, including various point of care tests for UTIs in primary care.

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 support research on vaccinations against recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds, supports, and carries out high-quality research to improve health outcomes and care services. Over the last five financial years, the Department has provided over £22 million in programme research funding for urinary tract infection (UTI) research, including research on improved treatment for recurrent and chronic UTIs. In addition, NIHR infrastructure is supporting Phase 3 trials on vaccines against Escherichia coli infection in older adults who have a history of UTI, delivered by the NIHR Bristol Clinical Research Facility and the NIHR Wellcome Trust Manchester Clinical Research Facility.

The NIHR also funds the James Lind Alliance, which has run a Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) focused on chronic and recurrent UTIs. This PSP, funded by AMR Action UK and delivered in partnership with Bladder Health UK and The Urology Foundation, has identified the top 10 research priorities in this area. A rolling funding opportunity is available for research projects that align with priorities aligning with PSPs.

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 potential impact of medical (a) gender inequality and (b) misogyny on the (i) diagnostics and (ii) treatment of urinary tract infections.

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

The Department has not made a specific assessment. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines, such as those for the diagnosis and management of urinary tract infections, are subject to equality impact assessments as part of NICE’s governance processes, which mean that protected characteristics, including sex, are considered as part of the guideline's development.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to introduce a definition for chronic urinary tract infections.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence‑based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice in the care and treatment of patients with specific conditions.

NICE does not ordinarily define specific clinical conditions. NICE has no current plans to develop guidance on chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) at this time, and the topic has not been considered by its prioritisation board. However, NICE has produced a clinical guideline on antimicrobial prescribing for recurrent UTIs which provides recommendations on treatments and self-care for the prevention of recurrent UTIs. This guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng112

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 help ensure the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended diabetes care guidelines are adhered to.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines provide recommendations on best practice in terms of both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions and services. Guidelines describe best practice and National Health Service organisations are expected to take them fully into account in designing services that meet the needs of their local populations.

NICE guidance is not mandatory because it is designed as evidence-based advice to inform, rather than replace, clinical judgment, allowing for tailored care for individual patients. Guidelines cannot cover every unique patient scenario, and clinicians must maintain responsibility for treatment decisions.

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 potential impact of phage medicines on tackling (a) recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections and (b) associated antimicrobial resistance.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises bacteriophage, or phage, medicines as a promising complementary option for difficult bacterial infections, including recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), and as a potential tool to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

However, phage therapy is not yet used routinely in the National Health Service. Although case reports and small studies show benefit in hard-to-treat infections, there is still insufficient largescale, high-quality clinical trial evidence to support widespread adoption.

For UTIs specifically, there is currently no evidence of benefit of phage therapy from randomised controlled trials, the only trial to date showed no effect. The proposed UK Clinical Phage Service will help generate further clinical evidence and support individual patient use where treatment options are limited.

As a result, phage therapy in the United Kingdom is generally accessed only through specialist or compassionate use pathways, typically when conventional antibiotics have failed and expert clinical teams judge it appropriate. This cautious approach ensures appropriate safety, efficacy, and regulatory oversight before routine use.

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 awareness and understanding of Type 1 Diabetes across the Health and Social Care system.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As I reaffirmed in the Westminster Hall debate on type 1 diabetes on 9 March 2026, the Government is committed to improving awareness of type 1 diabetes. NHS England carried out communications activity to coincide with World Diabetes Day in November 2025, with a focus on the “4Ts” symptoms of type 1 diabetes, namely thirst, tired, thinning, and toileting, meaning increased urine output. This included messaging to the public via social media, and the cascade of information via clinical networks.

NHS England is currently engaging and coordinating with other national organisations on supportive action, raising awareness of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes, improving training and education, and exploring what supportive tools may be available to further support healthcare professionals to identify type 1 diabetes.

Support for the ceramics industry

Found: Emily Darlington (Labour; Milton Keynes Central) George Freeman (Conservative; Mid Norfolk) Dr Allison Gardner

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Chi Onwurah; Emily Darlington; Dr Allison Gardner; Kit Malthouse

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Chi Onwurah; Emily Darlington; Dr Allison Gardner; Kit Malthouse

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Chi Onwurah; Emily Darlington; Dr Allison Gardner; Kit Malthouse

Exposure to digital technologies is an everyday experience for children, in how they play, learn, and connect with their families, friends and wider society. This exposure results in a complex picture of benefits and risks related to children’s physical and cognitive development and physical and mental health. There is a lot of data about device use and online habits but how the use of a wide range of digital devices affects development in childhood and adolescence is less clear.