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 he has taken steps in response to the recommendation issued by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in January 2025 on removing stigma, informational and technological barriers to access to health for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
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: 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 Imkaan’s research paper, Out of Sight Out Of Mind, published in March 2026, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that Integrated Care Boards tackle health inequalities faced by Black and minoritised survivors of VAWG through commissioning by and for services.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, the Department has committed to roll-out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service, Steps to Safety, across all integrated care boards (ICBs) by 2029. This will ensure that all clinical and non-clinical staff in general practices in every area of England can connect victims and survivors with specialist services.
The Department launched the call for the expressions of interest for the first year of the roll out of Steps to Safety on 15 April. To secure funding, ICBs have been asked for evidence of how the local Steps to Safety service they plan to commission will be inclusive, including how it will serve victims and survivors who experience social exclusion and disadvantage, such as Black and minoritised victims and survivors.
The hon. Member for Lowestoft, Jess Asato, has been appointed as the adviser to the Department on VAWG, to advise on transforming the commissioning of VAWG services across the health system so that any victim or survivor of VAWG can access health support whenever and wherever they need it.
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 vitamin D guidelines on maternal and infant health outcomes in Black and South Asian communities.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is currently conducting a rapid review of whether current vitamin D recommendations for vitamin D intake and status are adequate for Black and South Asian communities. The review includes infants, and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The SACN is reviewing relevant evidence and discussions are ongoing. The SACN aims to publish conclusions of the review later in 2026.
Advice for everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, to consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D during the autumn and winter is available on the National Health Service website. For people at risk of not receiving enough vitamin D during the summer months, including those with African, African-Caribbean, or South Asian backgrounds, the Government recommends they consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year. For all children aged between one and four years old, and all babies, unless they are having more than 500 millilitres of infant formula a day, the Government recommends they should take a daily supplement throughout the year.
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, how many completed blood donation appointments took place in past 12 months; and if he will provide the ethnic and gender breakdown of donors.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need.
NHSBT collects donor’s sex assigned at birth and gender identity; a donors’ sex is recorded as the ways in which blood products are donated and processed differ between those assigned male and female at birth. The following table shows the total number of completed blood donations broken down by sex assigned at birth between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026:
Sex assigned at birth | Total Donations |
Female | 683,725 |
Male | 737,260 |
Total | 1,420,985 |
Source: NHSBT Monthly Collections Dashboard
The following table shows the total number of completed blood donations between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026 by ethnicity:
Ethnicity | Total Donations |
Any other Asian background | 14,748 |
Asian Bangladeshi | 2,742 |
Asian Indian | 27,785 |
Asian Pakistani | 7,073 |
Chinese | 7,231 |
Any other Black/African/Caribbean background | 1,644 |
Black- African | 11,337 |
Black- Caribbean | 9,530 |
Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background | 7,888 |
Mixed White and Asian | 8,867 |
Mixed White and Black African | 2,802 |
Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 7,539 |
Any other White background | 76,272 |
English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British | 1,197,745 |
White Irish | 17,026 |
Any other ethnic group | 5,929 |
Arab | 4,385 |
Not Disclosed | 7,284 |
Unknown | 3,158 |
Total | 1,420,985 |
Source: NHSBT Monthly Collections Dashboard
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 discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on its decision not to exercise urgent powers under section 31 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust following the inspections of 2025.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an independent regulator, and decisions about enforcement action are a matter for the CQC, exercised in line with its statutory remit and published enforcement policy. The Department has been informed of the CQC’s approach in this case.
Following inspections of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in 2025, including community mental health services and the health-based place of safety, the CQC identified regulatory breaches relating to patient safety, governance and the application of the Mental Health Act.
Regarding the community-based mental health services for adults of working age at the Lambeth Single Point of Access team, the CQC considered its enforcement options in line with its policy and determined that urgent action under section 31 was not required because immediate assurances were provided by the trust.
For the regulatory breaches, the CQC required the trust to set out an action plan for how improvements would be made, with progress monitored through ongoing regulatory oversight and engagement.
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 Care Quality Commission processes to record, retrieve and act upon safety intelligence submitted by members of the public about NHS trust services previously rated as requires improvement.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has established systems and processes to receive, record, assess, and act on safety intelligence about providers submitted by members of the public, employees of registered providers, people using services and their family members and carers, and partner organisations.
All information of concern is reviewed and triangulated with inspection findings, provider-submitted data, and partner information. Where necessary, concerns are followed up directly with National Health Service trusts and incorporated into the CQC’s assessment of risk, informing decisions about further regulatory action.
The Department holds regular accountability meetings with the CQC to assess the CQC’s performance, including clearing a backlog of information of concern cases following technical issues.
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 he has considered the merits of increasing funding for training of NHS administrative staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for the training of National Health Service administrative staff generally sits with local NHS employers. In most cases, training arrangements for these staff, particularly non-clinical training, are determined locally by NHS employers and may vary between organisations.
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 (a) training, (b) hiring, (c) management and (d) performance of NHS administrative staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not centrally oversee the training, recruitment, management, and performance of National Health Service administrative staff in individual organisations. These matters are primarily the responsibility of local NHS organisations, which are best placed to determine the administrative roles they require and to ensure staff are recruited, trained, and managed appropriately to support the delivery of services.
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 he has considered the potential merits of reviewing the training framework for NHS administrative staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is not currently planning a review of the training framework for National Health Service administrative staff. In most cases, training arrangements for these staff, particularly non-clinical training, are determined by local NHS employers, which are responsible for ensuring staff are appropriately supported and developed for their roles, and may vary between organisations.
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 has been made of the potential impact of the enhanced pre-donation testing process pilot on reducing the number of deferrals for low haemoglobin levels.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England. NHSBT tests donors’ haemoglobin (Hb) to ensure they are at sufficient levels to safely donate.
NHSBT rolled out a second line of Hb testing, venous HemoCue, between April and September 2025. This is undertaken if the first line finger prick and blood drop test using copper sulphate is failed. This is a more accurate test that is not subject to environmental effects, like the weather, or operator error. If passed, a donor can donate. If failed, a donor is deferred to ensure they can replenish low iron stores to allow their Hb to improve back to safe donation thresholds.
Since roll out, low Hb deferrals fell from more than 12% to 4.1% in the six weeks prior to full roll out, up to January 2026, and levels have remained stable since, resulting in improved collections. Low Hb deferrals are higher in Black Heritage donors and have fallen from more than 24% to 15.3% for the same period. The reasons for the difference between donor groups are not fully understood but are likely to be multifactorial; NHSBT continues to assess the factors that may contribute to the differences.