Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for banning heated tobacco adverts following the Royal Assent of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward that ban.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has completed its Second Reading in the House of Lords, and Committee Stage will take place as soon as parliamentary time allows. We expect the bill to complete its passage within this parliamentary session.
The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products. It is the Government’s position that heated tobacco advertising is already prohibited under this legislation. To ensure clarity on the scope of legislation and to ensure it covers all current and future tobacco products, we are updating the definition of a “tobacco product” to include the wording “or consumed in any other way”. As currently drafted, the bill will bring this into force two months after Royal Assent.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to receive Royal Assent.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill has completed its Second Reading in the House of Lords, and Committee Stage will take place as soon as parliamentary time allows. We expect the bill to complete its passage within this parliamentary session.
The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products. It is the Government’s position that heated tobacco advertising is already prohibited under this legislation. To ensure clarity on the scope of legislation and to ensure it covers all current and future tobacco products, we are updating the definition of a “tobacco product” to include the wording “or consumed in any other way”. As currently drafted, the bill will bring this into force two months after Royal Assent.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have (a) been screened, (b) been diagnosed with lung cancer and (c) had an incidental finding of emphysema through the Targeted Lung Health Check programme since its launch in 2019.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Lung Cancer Screening Programme is a National Health Service screening programme designed to identify cancers at an earlier stage. It is aimed at high-risk individuals or people with a history of smoking between the ages of 55 to 74 years old.
From the programme’s start to April 2025, data from NHS England shows that 1,268,938 lung health checks have been attended in England. As a result of this, 7,462 cases of lung cancer have been diagnosed, and there have been 100,845 incidental findings of emphysema.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease's 2025 annual report on Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is aware of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease that sits among other welcome approaches to improving care and outcomes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). NHS England clinical policy for people with COPD is largely formed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and professional society recommendations such as from the British Thoracic Society and Primary Care Respiratory Society. Broader initiatives and evidence may be considered where appropriate.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 its policies of the work of the Lung Health Check programme at the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is aware of the interesting data originating from Hull, which demonstrates that an appreciable number of people can be identified as having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through a targeted approach to those that have been through lung cancer screening. This work is informing policy considerations.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of the recommended NHS pay awards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Last year’s pay awards for NHS staff were among the biggest across the public sector. This year, we have announced above inflation, fully funded pay increases across all staff groups for a second year in a row. These thoroughly deserved pay rises demonstrate how this Government wants to work with staff in our shared ambition to rebuild the NHS. We have been able to fully fund these pay award thanks to the reforms we’ve made, including cuts to bureaucratic duplication and central running costs.Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many babies were born with conditions not picked up during screening tests in each of the last ten years for which data is available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. There is no specific field in the Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS) to capture screening results. Screening tests offered during pregnancy can be captured in MSDS via SNOMED codes, however information relating to screenings tests is not routinely collected or published. Therefore, data recorded in the MSDS via SNOMED codes is currently unlikely to cover screening test results, and mainly either describes whether the screening test was offered or took place, or whether it is entirely absent. Everyone who is eligible is invited to undertake antenatal screening during pregnancy. However, the offer relies on informed consent. Some parents may choose not to undertake screening tests. The current opt in rate is relatively high at around 70%.
No screening test is 100% accurate and they can have false positive and false negative results. In England, any laboratory undertaking screening tests as part of the National Health Service’s antenatal and newborn screening programmes is required to adhere to rigorous testing processes in line with individual screening programme handbooks and must also be accredited by the UK Accreditation Service to the International Organization for Standardization’s requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories, ISO 15189:2022, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.iso.org/standard/76677.html
The UK National Screening Committee keeps all screening programmes under review. Work is ongoing to look at tests that could be included in antenatal screening programmes to increase detection or reduce the need for further invasive diagnostic tests.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 reduce the number of people with lower gastrointestinal cancers waiting beyond 62 days from urgent referral for their first definitive treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, including those with bowel cancer. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people, including those with bowel cancer, getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months. We have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with lower gastrointestinal cancers cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve survival rates for bowel cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, including those with bowel cancer. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people, including those with bowel cancer, getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months. We have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with lower gastrointestinal cancers cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the allocated budget is for the smokefree pregnancy incentive scheme for the year 2025-26.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Smoke-free Pregnancy Incentives Scheme has a budget of £5.8 million for the financial year 2025/26, with future settlements being considered as part of the Spending Review process.