Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his Department's policy that babies in the third trimester that have been removed from their mother after her death should not be (a) recognised and (b) recorded as stillborn.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The definition of a stillborn child in England and Wales is contained in the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 section 41, and was amended by the Stillbirth (Definition) Act 1992 section 1(1). This act defines a stillbirth as ‘a child which has issued forth from its mother after the 24th week of pregnancy and which did not at any time breathe or show any other signs of life’.
It is expected that babies are recognised and recorded as stillborn in accordance with this definition.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 potential merits of making women with endometriosis eligible for flu vaccinations.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Eligibility for the seasonal influenza vaccination programme is based, each year, on the expert advice and recommendations of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) with the aim to protect those most at risk of serious illness and hospitalisation. This advice is kept under regular review.
The latest JCVI advice for the 2025/26 flu season is available at the following link:
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 make Sleepio accessible to NHS patients in Lambeth.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Sleepio is available for local commissioning by integrated care systems should they choose to commission this product, as part of local insomnia care and treatment pathways.
No central assessments relating to funding or availability of this product are currently planned.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 his policies of trends in the level of alcohol harm; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a national alcohol strategy.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths. In light of the recent data, this plan is being revised to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths and responding to these. Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths to prevent future deaths. Additionally, OHID has published the guidance, Commissioning Quality Standard: alcohol and drug services, for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services.
In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.
Under the health mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to enable people to live longer, healthier lives.
The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the National Prostate Cancer Audit's report entitled NPCA State of the Nation Report 2024, published January 2025, what steps he is taking to tackle inequalities preventing Black men from (a) receiving early diagnosis and (b) accessing NICE recommended treatments following advanced prostate cancer diagnosis.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer earlier, we have invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms. This research will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis by targeting black men in trial recruitment, ensuring that one in ten participants are black men.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve access to treatments and outcomes for all tumour types, including prostate cancer. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be. We will provide updates on this in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to set a target of reducing overall cancer mortality in the UK by 15% by 2040.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Professor Lord Darzi’s report set out that the United Kingdom has higher mortality from cancer than neighbouring countries, the Nordic countries, and other English-speaking countries, using data published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The Government’s Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future and reducing lives lost to the biggest killers, including cancer. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and make it fit for the future. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention and will be co-designed with the public, staff, and patients.
My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that there should be a National Cancer Plan. The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, by speeding up diagnosis and treatment and ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. We are now in discussions about what form that Plan should take, what the overarching goal should be, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 NHS preparedness for the next generation of blood cancer treatments.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
We are committed to implementing the recommendations of the Lord O'Shaughnessy review into commercial clinical trials, to ensure that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to National Health Service patients, including those with blood cancer.
The Government has also stated that £70 million will be spent on new radiotherapy machines, which will help ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to patients who need it.
In September 2024, Lord Darzi concluded an immediate and independent investigation of the NHS. These findings will help to support improvements across the healthcare system, including through the new 10-Year Health Plan. A core part of this will be our workforce, including the cancer workforce, and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
In addition, we will develop a new national cancer plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including blood cancer.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to tackle (a) delays to diagnosis and (b) emergency presentation rates for blood cancer patients.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam on 2 December 2024 to Question 16329.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 impact of blood donation rules on iron levels on the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women unable to donate blood.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) tests for haemoglobin levels rather than iron levels ahead of blood donation. If the test shows that the haemoglobin is low, the donor is deferred and information is provided on how they can increase haemoglobin levels through altering their diet, and book an appointment with their general practitioner if levels are particularly low. On average, 7% to 11% of donors are deferred because of low haemoglobin levels, but this rises to 12% of black heritage donors and to 25% of female black heritage donors. These deferrals impact on donor retention, as donors deferred for low haemoglobin are less likely to return.
Currently there are no plans to review minimum haemoglobin levels to donate blood. Donors whose haemoglobin levels are below safe levels to donate are deferred in accordance with the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 and the guidance issued by the Joint UK Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) which states ‘taking a donation from a person with a haemoglobin concentration below the recommended value may make them anaemic’.
Increasing diversity in the donor base is a priority for NHSBT, so they can provide matched blood for more patients, including those with rare blood types commonly found in black, Asian, and minority ethnic women. NHSBT provides grants to community and faith groups to encourage donation, including in black, Asian, and minority ethnic communicates. The Department provided seed funding for NHSBT to increase its collection capacity, particularly in diverse areas where higher proportions of the population have rare blood types, including Brixton and Brighton.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 potential impact of blood donation rules on (a) iron levels in and (b) the adequacy of the supply of rare blood types commonly found in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) tests for haemoglobin levels rather than iron levels ahead of blood donation. If the test shows that the haemoglobin is low, the donor is deferred and information is provided on how they can increase haemoglobin levels through altering their diet, and book an appointment with their general practitioner if levels are particularly low. On average, 7% to 11% of donors are deferred because of low haemoglobin levels, but this rises to 12% of black heritage donors and to 25% of female black heritage donors. These deferrals impact on donor retention, as donors deferred for low haemoglobin are less likely to return.
Currently there are no plans to review minimum haemoglobin levels to donate blood. Donors whose haemoglobin levels are below safe levels to donate are deferred in accordance with the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 and the guidance issued by the Joint UK Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) which states ‘taking a donation from a person with a haemoglobin concentration below the recommended value may make them anaemic’.
Increasing diversity in the donor base is a priority for NHSBT, so they can provide matched blood for more patients, including those with rare blood types commonly found in black, Asian, and minority ethnic women. NHSBT provides grants to community and faith groups to encourage donation, including in black, Asian, and minority ethnic communicates. The Department provided seed funding for NHSBT to increase its collection capacity, particularly in diverse areas where higher proportions of the population have rare blood types, including Brixton and Brighton.