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 and what proportion of blood donors with Ro blood type have had their donations deferred in the last 12 months; and what was the reason for those deferrals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between 1 June 2024 and 31 May 2025, the number of Ro blood type donor attendances was 59,655. Of those, 9,978, or 16.7%, were deferred. The following table show the number of Ro donor deferrals, the percentage of Ro donor attendances, and the percentage of total Ro deferrals, broken down by the reason for deferral:
Reason | Number of Ro donor deferrals | Percentage of Ro donor attendances | Percentage of total Ro deferrals |
Administrative | 284 | 0.5% | 2.8% |
Blood Pressure | 53 | 0.1% | 0.5% |
Clinical | 89 | 0.1% | 0.9% |
Haemoglobin | 6,806 | 11.4% | 68.2% |
Infection / contact | 509 | 0.9% | 5.1% |
Medical | 1,393 | 2.3% | 14.0% |
Other | 40 | 0.1% | 0.4% |
Skin piercing | 239 | 0.4% | 2.4% |
Surgery | 113 | 0.2% | 1.1% |
Travel | 183 | 0.3% | 1.8% |
Vaccination | 46 | 0.1% | 0.5% |
No suitable vein | 223 | 0.4% | 2.2% |
Total | 9,978 | 16.7% | 100% |
Note: this data refers to whole blood donors only and does not include plasma or platelet donors.
The codes that are given above are used to group together a range of more specific reasons for deferral, particularly the “medical” deferral code. It is not possible to provide a more detailed breakdown of this code without accessing individual donor records.
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 sickle cell patients (a) with and (b) without the Ro subtype were unable to receive a matching transfusion due to low supplies in the last 12 months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant is responsible for collection of blood donations and supply of blood and blood products to hospitals to meet patient need in England.
Data is not held centrally on the purpose for which each blood product is requested and supplied.
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 and what proportion of blood donors have had their appointment deferred due to (a) low haemoglobin, (b) recent travel, (c) activities that increase risk of HIV infection, (d) anaemia, (e) hepatitis exposure, (f) hypertension, (g) medications, (h) pregnancy, (i) recent vaccination, (j) no viable vein and (k) any other reason for deferral by (i) ethnicity, (ii) gender, (iii) age and (iv) other identity markers in the last 12 months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for collecting blood donations across England, in order to fulfil hospital requests to meet patient need.
From 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, a total of 1,734,2851 appointments were attended. Of those, a total of 291,011, or 16.8%, were deferred.
Codes are used to group together various reasons for deferral, particularly the “medical” deferral code. It is not possible to break down the reason for the deferrals further without accessing individual donor records. Anaemia is not distinguished from low haemoglobin during a session as a donor may be deferred when their haemoglobin is too low to donate, but is within “normal range” for other purposes.
The following table shows the number and percentage of appointment deferrals, the deferral reason, and the percentage of attendances:
Deferral reason | Number deferred | Percentage of attendances (%) | Percentage of total deferrals (%) |
Administrative | 8,392 | 0.5 | 2.9 |
Blood Pressure | 1,900 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
Clinical | 8,956 | 0.5 | 3.1 |
Haemoglobin | 173,574 | 10 | 59.6 |
Infection/Contact | 16,876 | 1 | 5.8 |
Medical | 53,746 | 3.1 | 18.5 |
Other | 1,761 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
Skin Piercing | 7,877 | 0.5 | 2.7 |
Surgery | 3,847 | 0.2 | 1.3 |
Travel | 4,493 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
Vaccination | 1,369 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
No Suitable Vein | 8,220 | 0.5 | 2.8 |
Total | 291,011 | 16.8 | 100.0 |
Source: NHSBT’s centrally held administrative systems, extracted 27 June 2025
Notes:
This data refers to whole blood donors only and does not include data on platelet and plasma donations. Tables showing further breakdowns by ethnicity, gender, age, and main blood group are attached, due to the size of the data.
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 through (a) dietary guidelines, (b) public health policy and (c) food strategies to (i) promote and (ii) help improve public access to (A) whole and (B) minimally processed foods.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is promoting access to healthy food through dietary guidelines which are presented to the public through the Government’s Eatwell Guide. The terms ‘whole’ and ‘minimally processed’ are not used because they are difficult to define and could be interpreted as including foods that we are advised to eat less often and/or in small amounts, such as butter. The Eatwell Guide already advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables, and more wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat, and less food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.
The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns. For example, the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme, which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.
Policies to promote and improve public access to whole and minimally processed foods include:
- the Healthy Start scheme, which supported over 361,000 people in April 2025;
- the Nursery Milk Scheme, which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers in England and Wales for a daily 1/3 pint portion of milk to children and babies; and
- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, which provides approximately 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.
The Government has announced a new cross-Government Food Strategy. The Food Strategy aims to provide more easily accessible and affordable, safe, nutritious, healthy food to tackle diet-related ill health, helping to give children the best start in life and helping adults live longer, healthier lives.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 33072 on Stem Cell: Donors, if he will make it his policy to help develop a (a) sustainable and (b) resilient supply of stem cells from UK based donors; and whether he will commission an independent review of the (i) supply and (ii) use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between 2022 and 2025, the Department’s Stem Cell Programme has provided £2.4 million of funding to Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant for a three-year targeted stem cell donor recruitment campaign. The approach has focused on increasing the sustainability and resilience of the United Kingdom’s stem cell supply by recruiting donors most likely to donate, those being male donors aged 16 to 30 years old, and addressing health inequalities, with targeted campaigns to recruit donors from ethnic minorities. Funding to both organisations has been extended by one year, to 2025/26.
The Department recognises the need to ensure stem cell supply and use for transplantation is optimised. However, there are no imminent plans to undertake an independent review.
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 support internationally educated nurses in financial hardship who are ineligible for public funds.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National advice and guidance on financial wellbeing is available for National Health Service employers and staff, including those experiencing financial hardship. The NHS Employers’ financial wellbeing webpage helps employers to develop a robust approach to support their staff, including those from overseas, with financial wellbeing in the workplace. The financial wellbeing webpage is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/financial-education-and-wellbeing
NHS England also provides resources and signposting to support NHS workers with financial wellbeing, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/supporting-our-nhs-people/support-now/financial-support/
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 an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Royal College of Nursing entitled Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, published on 15 May 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience and expertise. We are committed to providing high-quality support to internationally educated nursing staff to help their integration into the National Health Service workforce and to creating a compassionate and inclusive work culture that has a focus on staff health and wellbeing.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, on levels of retention of internationally educated nursing staff in the NHS. This government remains committed to developing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The Immigration White Paper set out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training and the labour market to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
The report by the Royal College of Nursing, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, touches on some important issues, including on support and retention of internationally educated nursing staff. The Department will reflect further on the report and its recommendations, as we strive to continuously improve on the measures we already have in place, set out below, to support internationally recruited healthcare staff.
On specific measures, the NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan includes a High Impact Action that addresses the importance of ensuring that internationally recruited healthcare staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career.
Successful induction processes and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance to retain newly recruited international staff so that they receive clear communication, guidance and support around their conditions of employment. The NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award scheme was set up to recognise a commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives at every stage of recruitment and beyond. As well as helping to standardise the quality and delivery of pastoral care, this award is an opportunity for trusts to have their work recognised and to demonstrate their commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives.
NHS Employers has also published the International Retention Toolkit which outlines the actions employers can take to ensure internationally recruited staff will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in the NHS. The toolkit is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/international-retention-toolkit
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 the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 13 May 2025, on levels of retention of internationally-educated nursing staff in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience and expertise. We are committed to providing high-quality support to internationally educated nursing staff to help their integration into the National Health Service workforce and to creating a compassionate and inclusive work culture that has a focus on staff health and wellbeing.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, on levels of retention of internationally educated nursing staff in the NHS. This government remains committed to developing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The Immigration White Paper set out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training and the labour market to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
The report by the Royal College of Nursing, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, touches on some important issues, including on support and retention of internationally educated nursing staff. The Department will reflect further on the report and its recommendations, as we strive to continuously improve on the measures we already have in place, set out below, to support internationally recruited healthcare staff.
On specific measures, the NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan includes a High Impact Action that addresses the importance of ensuring that internationally recruited healthcare staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career.
Successful induction processes and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance to retain newly recruited international staff so that they receive clear communication, guidance and support around their conditions of employment. The NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award scheme was set up to recognise a commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives at every stage of recruitment and beyond. As well as helping to standardise the quality and delivery of pastoral care, this award is an opportunity for trusts to have their work recognised and to demonstrate their commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives.
NHS Employers has also published the International Retention Toolkit which outlines the actions employers can take to ensure internationally recruited staff will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in the NHS. The toolkit is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/international-retention-toolkit
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 is taking to support internationally educated nursing staff during their first years in the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience and expertise. We are committed to providing high-quality support to internationally educated nursing staff to help their integration into the National Health Service workforce and to creating a compassionate and inclusive work culture that has a focus on staff health and wellbeing.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, on levels of retention of internationally educated nursing staff in the NHS. This government remains committed to developing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The Immigration White Paper set out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training and the labour market to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
The report by the Royal College of Nursing, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, touches on some important issues, including on support and retention of internationally educated nursing staff. The Department will reflect further on the report and its recommendations, as we strive to continuously improve on the measures we already have in place, set out below, to support internationally recruited healthcare staff.
On specific measures, the NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan includes a High Impact Action that addresses the importance of ensuring that internationally recruited healthcare staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career.
Successful induction processes and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance to retain newly recruited international staff so that they receive clear communication, guidance and support around their conditions of employment. The NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award scheme was set up to recognise a commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives at every stage of recruitment and beyond. As well as helping to standardise the quality and delivery of pastoral care, this award is an opportunity for trusts to have their work recognised and to demonstrate their commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives.
NHS Employers has also published the International Retention Toolkit which outlines the actions employers can take to ensure internationally recruited staff will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in the NHS. The toolkit is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/international-retention-toolkit
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 Serco performed against key performance indicators at the most recent performance review of the Forth Valley Royal Hospital contract.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter in Scotland. The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are responsible for the National Health Service in Scotland, including legislation, funding, and overall management.