Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure the provision of specialist training for healthcare professionals on (a) the symptoms of, (b) complications arising from and (c) available support for people affected by Foetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder.

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

NHS England is exploring options for strengthening the provision of specialist training for healthcare professionals when supporting people impacted by sodium valproate through its Fetal Exposure to Medicine Pilot project. The pilot project is being led by the Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The pilot project started in December 2024 and will run for 18 months, and provides assessment and expertise to support diagnosis and treatment planning for people impacted by sodium valproate and other anti-seizure medication. The pilot project will be presenting initial learning and key themes, including staff development and training recommendations for healthcare professionals, to NHS England at the end of September. This will inform wider discussions about service delivery models and wider coverage across England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to support people affected by foetal valproate spectrum disorder.

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

Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies.

To improve the support available to children and adults impacted by sodium valproate, NHS England commissioned a Fetal Exposure to Medicine Pilot project. The pilot project is being led by the Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The pilot project started in December 2024 and will run for 18 months, and provides assessment, expert advice, and treatment planning for people impacted by sodium valproate and other anti-seizure medication. The pilot project will be presenting initial learning and key themes to NHS England at the end of September to inform discussions about future service delivery models and options for wider coverage across England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of prescriptions for sodium valproate given to women between the ages of 18 and 52 in 2024.

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

The number of prescription items prescribed in England to women between the ages of 18 to 52 years old for sodium valproate in the calendar year 2024 was 201,834.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times their Department has accepted in full the position of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s (a) findings and (b) recommendations on (i) issuing an apology and (ii) other forms of redress in the last 10 years.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will (a) have discussions with Cabinet colleagues and (b) make it her policy to implement mandatory health screenings for people engaged in (a) professional and (b) semi-professional sports.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and professional sports leagues where applicable are responsible for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. NGBs and sports leagues are independent of Government, but the Government expects them to make the health and safety of players their top priority.

The Government will continue to discuss athlete safety with sports and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone can take part in sport as safely as possible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times their Department has accepted in full the position of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s (a) findings and (b) recommendations on (i) issuing an apology and (ii) other forms of redress in the last 10 years.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) tracks compliance with its recommendations, but its records only go back to 2020/21. The department’s complaints team’s records only go back to June 2021. It is not therefore possible to provide comprehensive data about the government’s compliance with the PHSO’s recommendations on (a) issuing an apology and (b) other forms of redress in the last 10 years.

Our complaints team have had one recommendation, “closed complied with” since June 2021.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on (a) the numbers of Palestinians detained without charge or trial, (b) the conditions of Israeli detention centres and (c) the treatment of prisoners under international law.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are deeply concerned by reports of the mistreatment of detainees. The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and we continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out their important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to detainees to deliver on their independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

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 appropriate funding is allocated for (a) early diagnosis and (b) effective monitoring of foetal valproate spectrum disorder.

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

Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies.

Early diagnosis and the effective monitoring of foetal valproate syndrome is being considered as part of NHS England’s commissioned Fetal Exposure to Medicine Pilot project. The pilot project is being led by the Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The pilot project started in December 2024 and will run for 18 months, and provides assessment, expert advice, and treatment planning for people impacted by sodium valproate and other anti-seizure medications. The pilot project will be presenting initial learning and key themes, including any additional investment requirements identified, to NHS England at the end of September to inform discussions about future service delivery models and options for wider coverage across England.

Commissioners will consider additional funding requests, alongside the need to maintain all existing services and other statutory funding duties.

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 level of awareness amongst medical professional of (a) youth sudden cardiac death, (b) the symptoms of cardiac conditions in the young and (c) the referral pathways for people who have lost a relative under the age of 35 to a cardiac condition.

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

The Department expects National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the use of electrocardiograms for young people presenting with certain symptoms to be followed.

To stop sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people, the current consensus is to focus on the rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD due to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. NHS England is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of this review including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation. The Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

These documents describe the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients. They cover all paediatric cardiac activity, including both surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, which are Level 1 services, the Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, Level 2 services, and the Local Children’s Cardiac Centres, Level 3 services, including activity undertaken by the specialist centres on an outreach basis, where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring that all patient care is of a consistently high quality.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance on health screening for people who have had a family member die from sudden cardiac death under the age of 35.

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

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), which covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and is delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/

A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit, while delivering value for money for the NHS. Further information on this process is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/genomics/the-national-genomic-test-directory/

Genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing, as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, such as testing for familial hypercholesteremia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others.

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 reduce misdiagnoses of people under the age of 35 with cardiac symptoms.

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

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. NHS England is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of this review including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation. The Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

These documents describe the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients. They cover all paediatric cardiac activity, including both surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, which are Level 1 services, the Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, Level 2 services, and the Local Children’s Cardiac Centres, Level 3 services, including activity undertaken by the specialist centres on an outreach basis, where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring that all patient care is of a consistently high quality.

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 adequacy of (a) specialist bereavement support and (b) familial screening services for the family members of a person who died from a cardiac condition under the age of 35.

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

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), which covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and is delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/

A robust and evidence-based process and policy is in place to routinely review the Test Directory to ensure that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit, while delivering value for money for the NHS. Further information on this process is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/genomics/the-national-genomic-test-directory/

Genomics has an important role to play in diagnosing and supporting the treatment and management of a number of cardiac conditions. The Test Directory sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing, as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used, and this includes genomic testing for a number of conditions which affect the heart, such as testing for familial hypercholesteremia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and others.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on the killing of (a) medical workers and (b) journalists in Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Gaza remains the deadliest place for humanitarians, and we continue to urge that humanitarian workers must be protected, and medical and aid workers must be able to do their jobs safely.

The Foreign Secretary and I have also both paid tribute to journalists risking their lives to report in Gaza. Journalists covering conflicts and medical workers in conflict zones are afforded protection under humanitarian law. The media have a right to report freely, and we urge all parties to permit journalists to carry out their crucial role. The UK remains committed to media freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society and there must be safe access for journalists to conflict situations in order to independently cover events. We continue to engage with our Israeli counterparts on these issues, including when the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 21 July to stress the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to implement a specialist pathway for people under the age of 35 with a cardiac abnormality detected on electrocardiogram.

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

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.

There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.

Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics-compendium-2024-v3.pdf?rev=c72e2593b0ac4f2b999ad2f5999d8c07&hash=7DCC7E6832AA9495B0F5E720357DB9FB

NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:

Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Notes:

1. the 2020 figure is survival to discharge from hospital rather than survival at 30 days, and may be incomplete;
2. during the COVID-19 pandemic, data suppliers in some hospitals were moved to other duties, making data on survival harder to obtain than data on deaths; and
3. due to a trust-wide outage of the Electronic Patient Clinical Record, data is unavailable from 1 April to 30 September 2023 for the Isle of Wight, and incomplete for the South Central Ambulance Service from July to September 2023.

Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people aged 14 to 35 who die each year as a result of a primarily cardiac health condition.

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

NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. This describes the service model and mandated guidelines and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. Further information on the Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages) service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for congenital heart disease, which define the standards of care expected from all organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital cardiac problems.

There are no plans to publish further specific information on people under the age of 35 years old with cardiac abnormalities, over and above those who would be covered by the service specifications referenced above.

Data shows that in 2022, there were 939 people under the age of 35 years old who died due to heart and circulatory conditions. Further information, including historic data and a breakdown of death by high level condition, is available on the British Heart Failure website, at the following link:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/for-professionals/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics-compendium-2024-v3.pdf?rev=c72e2593b0ac4f2b999ad2f5999d8c07&hash=7DCC7E6832AA9495B0F5E720357DB9FB

NHS England does not hold the data for the number of deaths following out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs). The following table shows the number of cardiac arrest patients in England receiving an organised emergency medical services response, whether resuscitation was attempted, continued, terminated, or not attempted, the number where resuscitation was commenced or continued by an ambulance service, and the number of those with survival at 30 days, from 2020 to 2024:

Source: NHS England’s Ambulance Quality Indicators, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Notes:

1. the 2020 figure is survival to discharge from hospital rather than survival at 30 days, and may be incomplete;
2. during the COVID-19 pandemic, data suppliers in some hospitals were moved to other duties, making data on survival harder to obtain than data on deaths; and
3. due to a trust-wide outage of the Electronic Patient Clinical Record, data is unavailable from 1 April to 30 September 2023 for the Isle of Wight, and incomplete for the South Central Ambulance Service from July to September 2023.

Publicly available data on OHCAs can also be found on the University of Warwick’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes website, at the following link:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ctu/trials/ohcao/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether sudden cardiac death in young men is being considered as part of the Men's Health Strategy.

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

We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, and which will be informed by a call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The call for evidence closed on 17 July 2025 and we are now analysing the responses to inform the development of the strategy. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is currently examining the evidence for screening for sudden cardiac death in people under 39 years old. This will consider screening the whole population under 39 years old and will therefore include young men. The UK NSC will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to Questions (a) 58600 and (b) 58602 tabled by the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on 10 June 2025.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member's written parliamentary questions. I issued responses to the hon. Member on 4 and 6 of August 2025.

Found: ANNEX F Interministerial Group Meeting with Jeremy Miles, Mike Nesbitt, Wes Streeting and Andrew Gwynne