Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 establish a national clinical pathway for the diagnosis and management of craniocervical instability in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he intends to use powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to prohibit the sale of vaping devices designed to operate with refill containers that, when attached, resulting in a total liquid capacity exceeding 2ml.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.
On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.
We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 implications for its policies on vaping regulation of vaping devices marketed as delivering tends of thousands of puffs.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.
On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.
We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 location restrictions for high fat, sugar and salt products on fruit and nut (a) bars and (b) bags; and what steps he is taking to ensure that regulation does not have unintended consequences for competition.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever.
Restrictions on the promotion by location of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products in stores and their equivalent places online have been in place since 2022. These restrictions apply to categories of products that impact most on childhood obesity, which were chosen following public consultation. Only fruit and nut bars and bags that are high in saturated fat, salt, or sugar are in scope of the restrictions. There are exceptions for certain coated nuts products. The products that are in and out of scope of the restrictions are set out in the Schedule to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 regulations and we have published guidance to support industry on complying with the restrictions.
We published a detailed impact assessment on the costs to industry and the benefits of this policy on the GOV.UK website. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the restrictions and will publish a Post Implementation Review within five years of the restrictions taking legal effect which would consider any unintended consequences of the policy.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff who had taken partial retirement were placed at risk of redundancy between 1 April 2024 and 31 January 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data held by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) confirms that the number of staff who applied for partial retirement between 1 April 2024 and 31 January 2026 and are in receipt of payment is 32,271. This number includes NHS Pension scheme members across England and Wales who are employed by National Health Service organisations, including general practices.
The Department does not hold data on the number of people who were also at risk of redundancy between this period. This data would be held at a local level by individual providers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards are in place to ensure that patients with a stoma are (a) offered a choice of dispensing provider and (b) actively involved in decisions relating to appliance selection; and how is compliance with those safeguards is monitored across Integrated Care Systems.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are a range of legislative and operational safeguards in place to support patient choice and facilitate co-decision between clinicians and patients regarding stoma appliances. In terms of legislation, the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 aim to ensure that pharmaceutical services are delivered in a manner that is not conflicted with inducements that may be provided.
Guidance on Managing conflicts of interest in the NHS, updated in 2024, outlines that in services like stoma, where staff may be sponsored by industry, then such post holders must not promote or favour the sponsor’s specific products, and information about alternative products and suppliers should be provided. In addition, the British Healthcare Trade Association agreed a Code of Practice with its members who are involved in the dispensing of these appliances. The code aims to ensure ethical conduct and to safeguard patient interests in the dispensing process.
How compliance with the safeguards is monitored is a decision for the integrated care systems. Some areas have introduced central prescribing hubs in order to avoid any undue influence from sponsored posts or the dispensing contractors. Under the prescribing hubs a patient can use any dispensing contractor, but the prescription cannot be changed by them.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 reduce the need for patients to contact GP practices at 8am in order to secure a same-day appointment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have pledged to end the 8:00am scramble by introducing a modern booking system. As part of this, we have introduced a new requirement for general practices to make online appointment requests available throughout the duration of core opening hours, which will help reduce pressure on phone lines for patients who prefer to call.
General practices are independent businesses that hold contracts with the National Health Service to provide essential services. The contracts are clear that patients must be offered an assessment of need or signposting to a different service on the day they contact their practice. This is to ensure that we move away from a ‘first come, first served’ approach to a more equitable one that benefits all patients.
NHS England published the Medium‑Term Planning Framework in October, setting a new requirement for all urgent appointments to be delivered on the same day, ensuring that patients needing urgent care are prioritised. Building on this, the 2026/27 GP Contract makes it explicit that any requests identified as clinically urgent, as determined by the general practice, must be dealt with on the same day.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 full cost to the NHS of preventable stoma management complications; and whether he will consider commissioning a national economic impact assessment of the potential savings associated with mandated annual specialist stoma reviews.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not specifically attempted to estimate the full costs to the National Health Service of preventable stoma management or the merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract. However, as part of work linked to reforms of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the Department is aware that patient experience varies, and through NHS England, is currently reviewing the provision of stoma products and stoma services.
The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems (ICS) in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up. However, through this work NHS England has been engaging ICSs to understand what impacts stoma care and to identify improvements.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not specifically attempted to estimate the full costs to the National Health Service of preventable stoma management or the merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract. However, as part of work linked to reforms of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the Department is aware that patient experience varies, and through NHS England, is currently reviewing the provision of stoma products and stoma services.
The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems (ICS) in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up. However, through this work NHS England has been engaging ICSs to understand what impacts stoma care and to identify improvements.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 variation between Integrated Care Systems in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not specifically attempted to estimate the full costs to the National Health Service of preventable stoma management or the merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract. However, as part of work linked to reforms of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the Department is aware that patient experience varies, and through NHS England, is currently reviewing the provision of stoma products and stoma services.
The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems (ICS) in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up. However, through this work NHS England has been engaging ICSs to understand what impacts stoma care and to identify improvements.