Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made trends in the level of waiting times for diagnostic tests across the NHS; and whether delays in receiving routine blood test results reflect a wider trend in diagnostic backlogs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring patients receive their diagnostic test results quickly is a priority for the Government. 70% of histopathology cases are expected to be completed within 10 days. For cases relating to cancer or suspected cancer, the expectation is 80% within 10 days.
The Government does not hold the data requested on integrated care systems’ turnaround times for blood tests. However, the Government is committed to improving access to pathology diagnostic services through the National Health Service’s 27 pathology networks. NHS laboratories deliver over 1.4 billion tests annually, including approximately 1.2 billion blood tests that require phlebotomy. While the Government does not currently hold national data on waiting times for access to blood sampling, capacity is being expanded. Phlebotomy services are now available through 119 community diagnostic centres, with 1.8 million tests delivered between April 2025 and the end of February 2026. More broadly, programmes are underway to improve access, resilience, and performance across pathology services, including targeted investment in digital technology and robotics, particularly within histopathology.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of waiting times for blood tests; and if he will publish data on current turnaround times by Integrated Care systems.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring patients receive their diagnostic test results quickly is a priority for the Government. 70% of histopathology cases are expected to be completed within 10 days. For cases relating to cancer or suspected cancer, the expectation is 80% within 10 days.
The Government does not hold the data requested on integrated care systems’ turnaround times for blood tests. However, the Government is committed to improving access to pathology diagnostic services through the National Health Service’s 27 pathology networks. NHS laboratories deliver over 1.4 billion tests annually, including approximately 1.2 billion blood tests that require phlebotomy. While the Government does not currently hold national data on waiting times for access to blood sampling, capacity is being expanded. Phlebotomy services are now available through 119 community diagnostic centres, with 1.8 million tests delivered between April 2025 and the end of February 2026. More broadly, programmes are underway to improve access, resilience, and performance across pathology services, including targeted investment in digital technology and robotics, particularly within histopathology.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 (a) average and (b) longest wait times for patients to receive blood test results; and what steps he is taking to reduce delays.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring patients receive their diagnostic test results quickly is a priority for the Government. 70% of histopathology cases are expected to be completed within 10 days. For cases relating to cancer or suspected cancer, the expectation is 80% within 10 days.
The Government does not hold the data requested on integrated care systems’ turnaround times for blood tests. However, the Government is committed to improving access to pathology diagnostic services through the National Health Service’s 27 pathology networks. NHS laboratories deliver over 1.4 billion tests annually, including approximately 1.2 billion blood tests that require phlebotomy. While the Government does not currently hold national data on waiting times for access to blood sampling, capacity is being expanded. Phlebotomy services are now available through 119 community diagnostic centres, with 1.8 million tests delivered between April 2025 and the end of February 2026. More broadly, programmes are underway to improve access, resilience, and performance across pathology services, including targeted investment in digital technology and robotics, particularly within histopathology.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether staff transferring from NHS England to his Department will have their existing terms and conditions, including pay protections, preserved; and whether the transfer will be conducted in line with TUPE principles.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We can confirm that we will follow Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) like principles, whether TUPE or another statutory transfer mechanism, in line with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice. This means that recognised trade unions will be formally consulted and engaged on measures related to the transfer with no changes to contractual terms and conditions made without proper consultation and engagement.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 reducing the workforce of integrated care boards by 50 per cent on the level of patient care and NHS system performance.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and reduce duplication of responsibilities within their structure with the expectation of achieving a reduction in their running cost allowance.
As such, NHS England has asked ICBs to reduce their running cost allowance to a cap of £19 per head of weighted population and enable savings to be reinvested in frontline services. ICBs have been supported in developing local plans for their future structures and remain accountable for delivering their statutory functions.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, ICBs’ role as strategic commissioners will be to improve their population’s health, reduce health inequalities, and improve access to consistently high-quality services.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when funding for Start for Life services will be confirmed for Sutton Council; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the absence of such funding on support for babies and new parents in Carshalton and Wallington constituency in 2025–26.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda on how we will improve the nation’s health by creating a new model of care that is fit for the future.
We recognise that local authorities such as Sutton Council are ambitious, seeking to deliver universal support to babies, children, and their families, and prevent escalating need. We are committed to delivering the 10-Year Health Plan’s ambition to match Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, to Best Start Family Hubs over the next decade.
Healthy Babies funding is helping families during the critical 1,001 days, and parents have said they are more confident in feeding their babies and have better perinatal mental health because of this support. We continue to assess how we can best support early-years service integration across the country and remain committed to working with delivery partners locally to achieve this.
Healthy Babies is one element of our broader commitment to supporting babies, children and families. From April 2026, Best Start Family Hubs will expand to every single local authority, including Sutton Council, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help all local authorities to integrate a range of statutory and non-statutory health and family services.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to increase funding for research on low‑grade gliomas and other rare brain tumours.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The NIHR is continuing to invest in brain tumour research. For example, in December 2025, the NIHR announced the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. NIHR is investing an initial £13.7 million in the consortium with significant further funding due to be awarded early in 2026. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.
Brain tumours are one of the toughest cancers to treat. This new NIHR investment will help researchers and clinicians understand the disease better, test new treatments earlier and make trials available to more adults and children closer to home.
The consortium brings together 48 organisations from across leading universities, National Health Service trusts, and charities, along with patients, to help deliver better research, faster. It is a coordinated national effort to improve the development and evaluation of treatments for brain tumours across adult and paediatric populations.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including low-grade glioma and other rare brain tumours.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with UKRI and the National Institute for Health and Care Research on supporting new and emerging treatments for low‑grade gliomas.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between Department for Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the NIHR, and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.
Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Science, Innovation and Technology officials meet regularly to discuss a range of research investments to drive the maximum collective research impact on policy, practice, and individual lives.
The NIHR is continuing to invest in brain tumour research. In December 2025, the NIHR announced the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. NIHR is investing an initial £13.7 million in the consortium, with significant further funding due to be awarded early in 2026. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including low-grade glioma.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 (a) transparency and (b) reporting on corridor care incidents in NHS trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.
We have started collecting data on the prevalence of corridor care and we will look to publish it once data quality improves.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department collects on the number of patients receiving care in corridors in NHS hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.
We have started collecting data on the prevalence of corridor care and we will look to publish it once data quality improves.