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 economic impact on UK businesses of any restriction or ban on ashwagandha food supplements; and whether that impact has been considered as part of the Food Standards Agency's risk management process.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not assessed the economic impact on United Kingdom businesses of any restriction or ban on ashwagandha for use in food supplements. Legislation on the addition of vitamins and minerals and of certain other substances to foods sets out the legal framework for the use of substances such as ashwagandha in food supplements, with further information available at the following link:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006R1925-20190515
Scientific assessments of food safety risks are carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The FSA has asked its expert committee, the Committee on Toxicity (COT), to assess the available scientific evidence on the safety of food supplements containing ashwagandha. This work is ongoing and focuses on potential risks to human health. It is outside the remit of COT to look at economic impact.
A subsequent risk management decision would be informed by this scientific evidence and would consider actions that are proportionate and necessary to protect public health. This would be a matter for the Department and the devolved administrations to consider together once that scientific advice is available.
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 his Department is taking to ensure that any risk management decision on ashwagandha food supplements is proportionate to the available evidence and preserves consumer access to a herb with thousands of years of documented safe use.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not assessed the economic impact on United Kingdom businesses of any restriction or ban on ashwagandha for use in food supplements. Legislation on the addition of vitamins and minerals and of certain other substances to foods sets out the legal framework for the use of substances such as ashwagandha in food supplements, with further information available at the following link:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006R1925-20190515
Scientific assessments of food safety risks are carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The FSA has asked its expert committee, the Committee on Toxicity (COT), to assess the available scientific evidence on the safety of food supplements containing ashwagandha. This work is ongoing and focuses on potential risks to human health. It is outside the remit of COT to look at economic impact.
A subsequent risk management decision would be informed by this scientific evidence and would consider actions that are proportionate and necessary to protect public health. This would be a matter for the Department and the devolved administrations to consider together once that scientific advice is available.
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, if he will make it his policy to set a target for reducing smoking among people living in social housing.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a smoke-free United Kingdom where no one is left behind. We are supporting current smokers to quit, particularly amongst priority groups such as those living in social housing, where smoking prevalence remains higher. We are investing an additional £260 million over three years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in local Stop Smoking Services through the Public Health Grant, meaning at least £153 million per year will be ringfenced for these services.
As part of the conditions of the Public Health Grant, local authorities are expected to meet a minimum standard of delivery by aiming to support at least 5% of their local smoking population to quit, ensuring effective reach across priority groups, including people living in social housing.
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, if he will make it his policy to support smokers who live in social housing to quit.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a smoke-free United Kingdom where no one is left behind. We are supporting current smokers to quit, particularly amongst priority groups such as those living in social housing, where smoking prevalence remains higher. We are investing an additional £260 million over three years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in local Stop Smoking Services through the Public Health Grant, meaning at least £153 million per year will be ringfenced for these services.
As part of the conditions of the Public Health Grant, local authorities are expected to meet a minimum standard of delivery by aiming to support at least 5% of their local smoking population to quit, ensuring effective reach across priority groups, including people living in social housing.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85312 on Chemicals: Health and Wildlife, when the UK Health Security Agency plans to publish biomonitoring data on the exposure of UK citizens to flame retardants.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As a result of the Human Biomonitoring for Europe work carried out by the UK Health Security Agency in collaboration with Imperial College London, a human biomonitoring module was implemented into the NHS Health Survey for England 2022-2023 programme. Samples collected in this study are currently being analysed to ascertain exposure within England to a number of priority substances.
Data on background levels of flame retardants in the population samples are expected to be published in Autumn 2026.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of current funding levels for the School Milk Subsidy Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As this is a devolved matter, this answer applies to England only. 48% of eligible schools in England participated in the School Milk Subsidy Scheme in the school year 2024 to 2025. The allocated funding is regularly reviewed to ensure it is sufficient to cover the subsidy likely to be provided to those choosing to access the scheme.
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 his Department is taking to improve rates of bowel cancer diagnosis through screening.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many people are still suffering and dying from bowel cancer. We have already taken steps to address this, including expanding the eligible age range for screening so it is now available from age 50 to 74.
And, from this year, we are improving the sensitivity of the screening test. By 2028, each year over 600 more cancers will be detected and 2000 cancers prevented by identifying and removing pre-cancerous polyps.
While uptake of bowel cancer screening has increased, we know that some groups struggle with barriers to engagement, leaving them at risk. We are providing £200m funding for Cancer Alliances, to reduce inequalities in communities among groups where screening uptake is lower.
To further increase coverage, NHS England:
is delivering new approaches to communicating with people about screening through the NHS App;
is incorporating the reasonable adjustment flag into screening to ensure people get information in the way they want and adjustments are made to support people at appointments;
has recently updated the bowel cancer screening leaflets and are updating the bowel cancer screening letters to improve accessibility;
and has made the bowel cancer screening FIT kit more accessible for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has contingency plans for supporting British citizens' foreign national relatives in UAE subject to travel bans in the event that British citizens are repatriated from that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We consider all requests for consular assistance on a case-by-case basis. British nationals abroad should continue to monitor our Travel Advice for the latest information on the support available to them, in a crisis scenario or otherwise. Immigration matters, including exit controls, are the responsibility of individual states.
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 he has to ensure the 4.9 million smokers in Great Britain have equitable access to smoking cessation advice, support and tools to start their quit journey.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Alongside our Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we remain committed to supporting current smokers to quit.
The Government has invested an additional £70 million in both 2024/25 and 2025/26 to support local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England to help people quit. We are already seeing the impact this has made, with the first year of additional funding for 2024/25 having resulted in a 23% increase in the number of people supported to quit compared to the previous year.
From April 2026, we will ring-fence all funding for smoking cessation services within the Public Health Grant, meaning at least £153 million, increasing to £155 million in 2028/29, will be protected for these services. The additional funding will ensure there is a comprehensive offer across local authorities in England, with funding weighted toward local authorities with the highest smoking rates. The Better Health Website is also available and contains comprehensive cessation advice to support individuals to find the right approach for them.
In addition, the 10-Year Health Plan for England restated our commitment to integrate opt-out smoking cessation interventions into routine care within all hospitals. As of quarter three of 2025/26, 99% of eligible maternity services and 92% of eligible in-patient services had an opt-out tobacco dependence treatment offer.
As health is a devolved matter, local stop smoking support in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
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 impact of migraine on the level of demand for NHS services, including repeat GP appointments, referrals and hospital admissions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the substantial economic and National Health Service burden of migraine, alongside the personal impacts. We know that there are an estimated 16,500 emergency admissions per year for migraine that could be avoided, costing the NHS £11.5 million.
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with migraine such as the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme.
The Neurology Transformation Programme is strengthening integrated headache pathways, supporting integrated care boards to deliver consistent, timely migraine care closer to home. The RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit also gives systems a clear blueprint for earlier diagnosis, better long‑term management, and reducing unwarranted variation.
The GIRFT Programme is also working to standardise care, promote better use of preventive treatments, and reduce reliance on accident and emergency for migraine crises by empowering general practices to manage headache disorders effectively.