Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaths there have been of (a) women, (b) babies and (c) stillbirths where the termination of pregnancy through pills-by-post has been considered a contributory factor.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information requested is not routinely collected centrally.

The Department collects information on abortions in England and Wales via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The HSA4 form includes a section for recording the death of a woman within 14 days of an abortion, where this is known to abortion providers. This is not routinely published because the 14-day time frame limits the data’s usefulness for counting the total number of deaths amongst women following abortion. Also, it does not record whether the method of abortion, including home use of early medical abortion pills, was a contributory factor in a death.

Since 2020, zero deaths of women following an abortion have been reported to the department via the HSA4 form, rounded to the nearest five. Following the 2023 abortion statistics publication, all data is rounded to the nearest five. As a result of this change, counts of zero can mean no or a small number of procedures in the given field.

Information on the deaths of women, babies following a live birth, and stillbirths are recorded by the Office for National Statistics using data derived from information collected in death registrations. However, it is unusual for wider contextual factors such whether the deceased had taken early medical abortion pills at home to be recorded on the death certificate.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in her Department are eligible to receive Continuity of Education Allowance.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in her Department that are posted overseas receive Continuity of Education Allowance.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department are in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the renewed Women's Health Strategy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Work is ongoing to renew the Women’s Health Strategy, which we aim to publish this Spring. In the meantime, we are committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, and strong progress has already been made in turning the commitments in the 2022 Women's Health Strategy into tangible action. 5.2 million extra appointments were delivered in the Government’s first year, we are tackling gynaecology waiting lists using the private sector, and we have made emergency hormonal contraception free in pharmacies across England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the number of data breaches of patient information in the NHS in the last year.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

This information is not collected centrally. There is no requirement for National Health Service organisations to report patient data breaches to the Department.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, if a personal data breach occurs, the responsible body must establish if there is a risk to people’s rights and freedoms, and if so, notify the Information Commissioner’s Office.

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 (a) smoking and (b) passive smoking on the risk of invasive meningococcal disease.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There is established evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of meningococcal disease. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of meningococcal carriage and meningococcal disease by damaging the nasopharyngeal mucosa and suppressing immune responses.

Vaping could plausibly carry similar risks for carriage but the association with increased risk of disease is unknown.

When either active or passive smoking occurs in an enclosed and intimate setting over a prolonged period, the risk of transmission is increased.

The highest risk of transmission is associated with prolonged exposure to droplets of saliva.

Where there has been repeated or prolonged salivary exposure in an enclosed and intimate venue such as a nightclub, the risk is higher.

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 of (a) vaping and (b) passive vaping on the risk of invasive meningococcal disease.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There is established evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of meningococcal disease. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of meningococcal carriage and meningococcal disease by damaging the nasopharyngeal mucosa and suppressing immune responses.

Vaping could plausibly carry similar risks for carriage but the association with increased risk of disease is unknown.

When either active or passive smoking occurs in an enclosed and intimate setting over a prolonged period, the risk of transmission is increased.

The highest risk of transmission is associated with prolonged exposure to droplets of saliva.

Where there has been repeated or prolonged salivary exposure in an enclosed and intimate venue such as a nightclub, the risk is higher.

Found: Chair) Jess Asato (Labour; Lowestoft) Sureena Brackenridge (Labour; Wolverhampton North East) Dr Caroline Johnson

Found:

Found: 2025 UCB To discuss life sciences and the UK commercial environment Dr Zubir Ahmed 12/11/2025 Caroline Johnson