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 his Department plans to support the domestic (a) collection and (b) processing of (i) blood, (ii) plasma, (iii) cells and (iv) tissues.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England and also manages the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR), which includes tissue donation for the supply of human tissue grafts for use in surgery. The Department provides Grant in Aid and seed funding to support NHSBT to grow and diversify donor bases, as well as its capacity to process collections.
Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, NHSBT met 99.9% of hospital demand for red cells from domestic collections; the remaining 0.01% of units were imported from other United Kingdom blood services.
The Department, NHSBT and NHS England worked together since 2021 to deliver an end-to-end domestic supply chain for plasma-based medicines, enabling UK plasma to be processed into lifesaving medications in specialist facilities in Europe. Since March 2025, this has increased self-sufficiency from 0% to 25% for immunoglobulins and from 0% to 80% for albumin.
The Department’s stem cell programme supports diverse recruitment of UK donors onto the UK Stem Cell Register. A global pool of donors is needed to cover the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) diversity of the population so NHSBT works with international stem cell registries to meet patient demand.
NHSBT works to encourage people to consider signing the ODR including during the upcoming Organ Donation Week between 22 and 26 September 2025. However, there is no mandate for National Health Service establishments to acquire tissue from NHSBT therefore they can acquire from other sources, such as non-UK tissue banks.
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 his Department plans to (a) bring forward modernised UK-specific legislative proposals for Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) and (b) (i) adopt and (ii) adapt relevant elements of the EU’s updated SoHO legislation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) Regulation Review Programme launched in 2024 to consider recent changes that the European Union has made to its SoHO Regulation ((EU) 2024/1938) as well as stakeholder proposals for legislation in this area. It is reviewing: patient safety; intra-United Kingdom and UK-EU supply of SoHO; innovation within the sector; and health inequalities.
A key principle of the review is to maintain compatible high levels of minimum safety and quality standards for blood, blood components, tissues and cells, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota and blood preparations that are not used for transfusion, to support public health and the movement of SoHO. A targeted consultation, planned to launch by the end of 2025, will give stakeholders the opportunity to share views and highlight key issues and opportunities.
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 report entitled Why Should Our Rage be Tidy, published in November 2024, what steps his Department has taken to help tackle the mental health impacts of violence and abuse on Black and minoritised survivors of violence against women and girls.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Imkaan’s report reinforces the fact that too many people, including Black and minoritised survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long. We are determined to change that, which is why we have chosen to prioritise funding to expand NHS Talking Therapies. Survivors can access help and support through their general practitioner or by self-referring.
Protecting and supporting victims and survivors of sexual abuse is a core priority for NHS England, delivered through a network of 48 specialist sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) across the country. NHS England commissions SARCs through a distinct national service specification including working with specialist support services, ensuring that children and young people up to the age of 18 years old receive trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate care and safeguarding support, and that adults receive tailored care that reflects their needs and rights, with clear referral pathways to health, justice, and specialist support services. This is in addition to support services commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
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, when his Department plans to consult on reforms to the UK’s Substances of Human Origin; and whether that consultation will include proposals on (a) innovation, (b) patient safety and (c) donor protection.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) Regulation Review Programme launched in 2024 to consider recent changes that the European Union has made to its SoHO Regulation ((EU) 2024/1938) as well as stakeholder proposals for legislation in this area. It is reviewing: patient safety; intra-United Kingdom and UK-EU supply of SoHO; innovation within the sector; and health inequalities.
A key principle of the review is to maintain compatible high levels of minimum safety and quality standards for blood, blood components, tissues and cells, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota and blood preparations that are not used for transfusion, to support public health and the movement of SoHO. A targeted consultation, planned to launch by the end of 2025, will give stakeholders the opportunity to share views and highlight key issues and opportunities.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the petition on international law violations by the UK in Palestine between 1917 and 1948 submitted to the Government, dated September 2025, if she will meet the (a) petitioners and (b) legal advisers.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government will respond to this petition in the normal way in due course.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the Government will respond to a petition on international law violations by the UK in Palestine between 1917 and 1948.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government will respond to this petition in the normal way 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, how many sickle cell patients who had complications due to sickle cell listed as their cause of death experienced haemolysis in the period before their death in the last 12 months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information. NHS England does not hold or have access to data that would accurately represent the number of sickle cell patients that have died due to complications due to sickle cell in the last 12 months, or how many of those patients experienced haemolysis in the period before their death in the last 12 months.
The National Disease Registration Service, part of NHS England, is expanding its rare disease collection to include patients with sickle cell disorder (SCD) in England. This will form a comprehensive national dataset to enable improved understanding of patient pathways for SCD, support planning and commissioning of services and improve patient outcomes.
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 have died due to complications due to sickle cell in the last 12 months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold this information. NHS England does not hold or have access to data that would accurately represent the number of sickle cell patients that have died due to complications due to sickle cell disorder (SCD) in the last 12 months
The National Disease Registration Service, part of NHS England, is expanding its rare disease collection to include patients with SCD in England. This will form a comprehensive national dataset to enable improved understanding of patient pathways for SCD, support planning and commissioning of services and improve patient outcomes.
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 recent discussions he has had with the NHS on its policy of informing Sickle Cell patients when they are not given Ro matched blood.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
DHSC are working in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant, NHS England and the National Blood Transfusion Committee to deliver on the recommendations detailed in the infected blood inquiry, which includes improving digital patient records and communications for patients receiving transfusions. A blood genotyping programme has also been introduced, enabling detection of previously undetectable antibodies that could cause complications. To meet the clinical need to provide better matched blood for patients with conditions like sickle cell disorder, NHS Blood and Transplant is actively recruiting donors from Black heritage backgrounds.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure climate adaptation plans are in place across all sectors to prevent adverse impacts on (a) women’s health and (b) pregnancy outcomes.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the Government produces a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years, followed by a National Adaptation Programme, setting out actions by relevant government departments to address the risks identified in the latest risk assessment. The third National Adaptation Programme, published in 2023, outlines the policies and actions that departments are taking to manage climate impacts on a range of sectors, including health outcomes.
Amplifying the voices of those whose views are often most marginalised, empowering them as decision-makers, advocates and leaders, is critical for an effective climate and nature response. Climate change mitigation, adaptation and environmental protection also provide opportunities for equality and empowerment. To tackle climate change effectively, in the UK and around the world, it is vital to address gendered inequalities in the distribution of resources and to promote rapid gains in women’s economic empowerment.