Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 (a) clinical leadership and (b) specialist networks currently hosted by NHS England are maintained during and after its abolition.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clinical leaders and networks of specialists across the country play a vital role in providing advice, catalysing change, and improving care. Following the announcement that NHS England will be abolished as an arm’s length body and replaced by a new Department of Health and Social Care, work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.
The new Department will operate in a leaner, more agile, and more efficient way and will empower staff at all levels of the health system, including local clinical systems, to deliver better care for patients, drive productivity up, and get waiting times down. This change will set local National Health Service providers free to innovate, develop new productive ways of working, and focus on what matters most.
A new Joint Executive Structure came into effect on 3 November, providing unified leadership across the Department and NHS England to deliver the 10-Year Health Plan and oversee the transition to a single, integrated Department. The executive structure includes the Chief Medical Officer, national medical directors, and the Chief Nursing Officer, and they will play a key role in ensuring that the right infrastructure is in place to provide clinical leadership and advice.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps will be taken to avoid disruption to frontline services (a) during and (b) after the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our commitment to the delivery of frontline services for patients underpins the transformation. We will simplify the National Health Service and remove layers of unnecessary bureaucracy, which will allow us to reinvest more into the frontline, so patients receive safe, timely care and are heard and listened to.
It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, and we will do this throughout. Ongoing assessment is part of the reform programme and evidence collected will inform the programme as appropriate and ensure our decisions focus on improving patient care. The Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcome.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned on (a) reproductive health incomes and (b) other long-term health effects of occupational exposure to hazardous medicinal products among nursing staff; and what assessment he has made of the costs to the NHS of sickness absence related to such exposure.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not commissioned any research on the reproductive health outcomes or long-term health effects of the occupational exposure of nursing staff to hazardous medicinal products. No assessment has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of sickness absence related to this.
Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have their own policies and procedures in place to manage and reduce sickness absence, including any reasonable adjustments to allow people to return to work and/or prevent future absence. It is important that employers across the NHS take a preventative and proactive approach to supporting their staff and keeping them healthy.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 (a) nurses and (b) other healthcare professionals exposed to hazardous medicinal products.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of (a) nurses and (b) other healthcare professionals exposed to hazardous medicinal products.
Any incidents involving staff exposure to hazardous medical products are reported and handled through local National Health Service body reporting procedures. Risk assessments should be undertaken routinely and mitigations put in place to minimise any environmental exposure to health care professionals (and others) relating to “hazardous medicinal products”.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 workforce planning maintains the full complement of (a) staffing and (b) skills needed to deliver the highly specialised sarcoma services commissioned by NHS England commissions across all fifteen Specialist Sarcoma Centres in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including for the delivery of cancer services. The plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it, including for patients with sarcoma. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Cancer Alliances are a valuable part of how we transform and improve cancer services across the country. The way that alliances work with primary care, trusts, and integrated care boards (ICBs) across their geography, as well as charity and other partners, gives them a unique perspective on the workforce. ICBs and trusts have primary responsibility for the workforce, but alliances can bring together expertise from across these different ICBs and trusts to deliver new training where there are specific skill gaps, championing the introduction of new roles, or transforming the way people or pathways work to improve productivity.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 maintain an NHS England commissioned specialist sarcoma service for people in Cornwall under the Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service at the Royal Cornwall Treliske Hospital in Truro.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service continues to provide cancer care to patients suspected of having or having been diagnosed with sarcoma at sites across Devon and Cornwall, including in the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro (RCHT). However, RCHT has notified NHS England that it is unable to continue to provide the commissioned service in its entirety due to consultant workforce issues that it has been unable to resolve.
NHS England recognises the concerns of sarcoma patients locally, and discussions are ongoing to agree a sustainable future service model. Further information will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England plans to take to maintain access to the Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service in Cornwall.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Peninsula Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service continues to provide cancer care to patients suspected of having or having been diagnosed with sarcoma at sites across Devon and Cornwall, including in the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro (RCHT). However, RCHT has notified NHS England that it is unable to continue to provide the commissioned service in its entirety due to consultant workforce issues that it has been unable to resolve.
NHS England recognises the concerns of sarcoma patients locally, and discussions are ongoing to agree a sustainable future service model. Further information will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has carried out an (a) impact, (b) equality, (c) risk and (d) other assessment of the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch organisations.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The abolition of local Healthwatch arrangements requires primary legislation which would be included in a Bill before Parliament. Timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament and will happen when parliamentary time allows.
A full impact assessment would be produced in line with HM Treasury's Green Book standards and published on the Government website when legislation is introduced in Parliament. No assessments have been made at this time, although the expertise of Dr Penny Dash and her critical review of patient safety will continue to guide the Government’s policy in this regard.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department has issued on (a) PPE, (b) testing and (c) post-exposure prophylaxis for workers exposed to animals infected with avian influenza; and whether she plans to provide financial support for workers required to self-isolate following exposure.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest guidance for those exposed to birds or other animals with influenza A(H5) was published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on 28 August 2025. It includes consideration of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, and post-exposure prophylaxis, and is available at the following link:
The UKHSA’s guidance refers to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance document about avoiding the risk of infection when working with poultry that is suspected of having H5 or H7 notifiable avian influenza. This recommends that PPE should be worn at all times when working in a potentially infected environment but does not require self-isolation if an individual is exposed to animals infected with influenza A(H5). The HSE guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/assets/docs/aisuspected.pdf
Information on benefits and financial support if someone is temporarily unable to work because they’re ill or self-isolating is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/unable-to-work
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of NHS and UKHSA laboratory surge capacity for testing suspected human infections with avian influenza in 2025–26.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While specific surge-throughput figures for 2025/26 are not published, the Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and NHS England continue to work together to ensure sufficient laboratory capacity, clear escalation routes, and rapid confirmatory testing for suspected human infections.
Where avian influenza is clinically suspected, testing is delivered through National Health Service medical microbiology services across England’s pathology networks, with confirmatory testing undertaken within the UKHSA’s laboratory system.
The UKHSA is the Government’s standing capability for developing and delivering diagnostic testing for emerging infectious diseases. Molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the primary method for detecting avian influenza A in human samples. Building on the capability scaled during the COVID-19 response, much of the PCR infrastructure, such as analyser platforms and containment spaces, and some of the workforce resilience has been retained across NHS laboratories, with further efforts under way to enhance resilience specifically within the UKHSA’s laboratory network, some of which are shared facilities with the NHS.
The UKHSA is currently developing additional capacity at Porton Down and other UKHSA laboratories. This aims to surge capacity to 25,000 PCR tests per day within a six-week timeframe. The UKHSA also has 47,600 multiplex lateral flow device tests available, which test for influenza A, influenza B, and COVID-19, with a further stock of 49,950 undergoing quality control.