Oral Answers to Questions

Ashley Dalton Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

1. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the vaccine damage payment scheme.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

I reiterate my deepest sympathies to all those who have experienced harm following vaccination and to their families. I recognise many of the concerns that campaigners have raised regarding the vaccine damage payment scheme. Their input will shape our ongoing consideration of reforms to the scheme and I will keep Parliament updated as appropriate.

[Mr Bedford]

My constituent Kelly Hatfield sadly lost her father Ken Purnell as a result of the covid-19 vaccination. The family received a vaccine damage payment, yet the sum, which has not increased since 2007, falls short of the loss, trauma and long-term financial impact on these families. Will the Minister explain why that one-off payment has not been inflation-adjusted and will she commit to reviewing its adequacy and fairness?

[Ashley Dalton]

The vaccine damage payment scheme is not a compensation scheme but a one-off payment. It is important to state that. As I have said, we recognise that there are concerns, which campaigners have raised, and their input is shaping our ongoing consideration of reforms to the scheme. All vaccines in the UK are authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which is an independent body recognised globally for its high safety standards. This Labour Government base our decisions on scientific fact, unlike Reform, which has still not apologised for platforming dangerous anti-vax conspiracy theories. I can only assume that it is less interested in protecting people than it is in alarming folk for political advantage.

[Shaun Davies (Telford) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to help improve the performance of the most underperforming NHS trusts.

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[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

8. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

This Government are investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS, opening up community diagnostic centres at evenings and weekends and delivering 5 million more appointments to catch cancer earlier. We are making progress: 135,000 more patients have already had cancer diagnosed or ruled out within the 28-day target compared with the previous year—a lot done, and a lot more to do.

[Dr Sullivan]

A local teacher went to her GP with clear symptoms of a facial tumour but was told it was simply the effects of age. It took almost two years to receive a confirmed diagnosis, including eight months lost in the system after an urgent referral. Does the Minister agree that reducing times for cancer diagnosis must start with strengthening systems to support early recognition and follow-up, so that no one is left waiting? I wish the Minister well with her own cancer battle and thank her for bravely sharing her experience of living with cancer.

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and her well wishes. We are taking cancer detection seriously in general practice, and there is work to do. It is why we have recently launched Jess’s rule, which is a patient safety initiative that means when patients return three times with worsening or undiagnosed symptoms, GPs must reflect, review and rethink. That could include a second opinion, episodic continuity of care or ordering additional tests. I wish her constituent the very best and offer her my sympathies in her diagnosis.

[Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)]

The Government claim that they wish to reduce NHS waiting times, but I have written confirmation from the Government that they have slashed funding for community diagnostic centres. The consequences of Labour’s funding cuts mean that brand new facilities, such as those at Queen Mary’s hospital in Sidcup, for which I secured £9.6 million of funding from the last Conservative Government, can now open only two days per week. Will the Minister urgently review that funding cut, so that more patients in Bexley and across the UK can get their diagnostics quicker?

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, but I think he might be mistaken. We are opening more CDCs than ever before—I have lost count of the amount of CDCs we have been invited to open—and we are making sure that people have access to diagnostics in their community, from hospital to community, with the most access that there has been for some years.

[Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)]

9. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer’s national insurance contributions on general practices.

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[Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)]

10. What steps his Department is taking to support people with acute myeloid leukaemia.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

This Government are committed to improving survival for blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukaemia. We are raising awareness, delivering more research, and improving early diagnosis. Blood cancer is the third biggest cancer killer, and the fifth most common cancer in the UK. That is why we are committed to developing a national cancer plan, with patients at its heart, covering the cancer plan from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care. Having consulted with key stakeholders and patient groups, I confirm that that plan will be published early in the new year.

[Sir Gavin Williamson]

I thank the Minister for her response. My constituent Ruth Wake, who lives in Brewood, was tragically diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in January last year. She has gone through chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, and while she has made good process and is in remission, sadly the stem cell transplant has failed after nine and a half months. Under the current rules, if it fails in under a year she cannot have a second stem cell transplant. I know the pressures that the Minister is under in terms of her time, but my constituent has so little time. Could she look at this particular case, and also look at guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which were written over 12 years ago? Science and treatment have moved so rapidly, and I wonder if the Minister could look at both those points.

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question and offer my best wishes to his constituent Ruth in her treatment. I thank him for bringing her story to my attention. I really do appreciate—perhaps more than most—the urgency of the matter. Although I am unable to comment on individual cases, I understand that one of my ministerial colleagues will be writing to the right hon. Gentleman directly on this matter in the very near future.

[Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)]

This week we learned about the incredible results of the Galleri trials, which allow the early identification of many tumours by looking at DNA circulating in the blood. Indeed, I was a volunteer in this trial. Will the Secretary of State join me in recognising the central importance of medical research?

[Ashley Dalton]

Absolutely. The new progress, particularly around circulating tumour DNA, is really interesting, and we are moving forward with more investment in research so that we can bring forward more such treatment.

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[Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)]

As a migraine sufferer, I am afflicted about once a week by debilitating symptoms, which always include partial blindness, and sometimes include numbness in my fingers, nausea, brain fog, sensitivity to light and sound, a pounding headache and even an inability to speak—heartbreaking for a politician. I am very lucky, though, that my migraines generally only last half an hour; other people’s can be much worse and last days. What steps is the Minister taking to improve support for migraine sufferers like me?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

At national level, a number of initiatives support service improvement and better care for patients with migraine. The Getting It Right First Time neurology programme published a national specialty report that made several recommendations to improve recognition and diagnosis of migraine by GPs. Additionally, the RightCare toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraine, including correct identification and diagnosis, and NHS England has established a multi-year, clinically led neurology transformation programme—so, lots.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

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[Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)]

Jules Fielder is a young woman from Hastings who has tragically been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer after doctors repeatedly missed the early symptoms. Jules is now channelling her personal tragedy into action and campaigning to raise awareness of early symptoms, and she wants shops like Boots and Superdrug to use their shelf space to raise awareness. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to Jules’s amazing campaigning work?

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, and I offer my sympathy and best wishes to Jules and her family. Of course, I commend her awareness-raising work, which is really important. Her experience is one of the reasons why we are rolling out targeted lung screening and starting to use artificial intelligence to detect discrepancies in screening.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

Children in Runnymede and Weybridge are waiting on average two years to get a diagnosis of autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS foundation trust. The trust is deviating from national guidance on new developmental pathways, and waiting times are even greater if children need medication. Does the Secretary of State share my concerns, and will he investigate the trust and make sure that children and families get the support that they need?