Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on rolling out defibrillators to state-funded schools in England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s defibrillator programme was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date. The programme provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.
The department is working with the British Heart Foundation to understand the impact the programme is having. Since our rollout, the number of school defibrillators registered on the national database, The Circuit, has risen by 252%, with 66% of all schools in England now having at least one device registered. Our evaluation shows that defibrillators we provided have been available for use and deployed in over 12,000 emergency situations, where there has been a suspected cardiac arrest.
The department continues to work with the British Heart Foundation to evaluate and understand the impact of our programme and support schools in registering their defibrillators on The Circuit.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding investment in mental health support and screening within PCOS treatment plans.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While we have no plans at present to make such an assessment, we know that more needs to be done to support women with gynaecological conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support and to provide the right support at the right time to the right people, including women with PCOS. We are transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies.
For 2025/26, mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift of £688 million in real terms spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year.
In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament. 6,700 of these workers have been recruited since July, meaning we are more than halfway towards our target.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered prioritising the integration of PCOS care into Women's Health Hubs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Women’s health hubs bring together healthcare professionals and existing services to provide integrated women’s health services in the community, centred on meeting women’s needs across their life course.
As set out in the core specification on the GOV.UK website, women’s health hubs should provide assessment and treatment for menstrual problems, including but not limited to care for heavy, painful, or irregular menstrual bleeding, and care for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome.
We are looking to integrated care boards to further expand their coverage of women’s health hubs to improve local delivery of services to women. We will support them in doing so, drawing on the learning from the existing women’s health hubs.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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 new NICE guidelines on PCOS are embedded in a nationally commissioned diagnostic pathway to reduce diagnostic delays.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published its clinical guideline on the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. The guideline is currently in development and NICE expects to publish the final guideline in November 2026. Once published, National Health Service commissioners will be expected to take the guideline fully into account in designing services that meet the needs of their local populations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with owners of defibrillators on encouraging them to register the defibrillators on The Circuit.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not held any discussions with the owners or guardians of defibrillators. Publicly accessible defibrillators owned by local community organisations are acquired through a variety of means. This can include applying for one from a charity operated fund, purchasing one directly from a charity, or purchasing one as a private purchase. It is not uncommon for charities supplying defibrillators through a fund to require those defibrillators to be registered on The Circuit. Defibrillator charities also promote The Circuit on their website.
There is no registry or database of defibrillator purchases in England, and it would not be appropriate for the Department to have access to the personal information of the people who purchase these devices. Therefore, it is not possible for the Department to contact people who have purchased a defibrillator privately, be it through a charity or from a private company.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the rate of community pharmacy closures in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.
There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.
For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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 support the long-term (a) financial and (b) operational sustainability of community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.
There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.
For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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 help ensure that patients have timely access to pharmacy services in areas where community pharmacies have closed.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.
There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.
For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination in drinking water in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works with other departments, regulators and devolved administrations to assess PFAS levels, their sources and potential risks, informing future policy and regulation.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance on PFAS since 2007, most recently updated in August 2024 and consolidated in March 2025. The guidance uses a tiered system with graduated responses based on concentrations detected in raw water.
In 2021 a guideline value of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/L) was adopted. Since August 2024, water companies must monitor for 48 PFAS in supplies, agreed with the UK Health Security Agency as safe levels with an appropriate margin. Any exceedance must be reported to the DWI, with actions taken to reduce levels. No exceedances have been found in UK supplies.
The DWI continues to review advice from World Health Organisation and the UK’s Committee on Toxicity, acting on emerging science to safeguard public health.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to support national expansion of the Yellowfish campaign to reduce drain contamination.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Yellow fish campaign is a targeted community-led engagement initiative that raises awareness of water pollution caused by contaminants such as chemicals, oils, detergents, and litter entering road drains. Where drainage has been identified as a pollution source, this campaign offers a practical, visible solution to support pollution reduction efforts. It aligns with policy goals on clean water, community engagement and sustainable infrastructure and is a solution that should be encouraged in appropriate locations.