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 that weight loss injections can only be prescribed following a face-to-face meeting with a GP who can determine that the patient (a) does not have too low a BMI and (b) signs of an eating disorder.

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

The Department is considering how the current prescribing system operates in relation to patient access to medicines through private, or non-National Health Service, routes. This includes online prescribing. A call for evidence was launched in August 2025 seeking feedback from individuals and organisations to ensure that the current systems remain fit for purpose.

The General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) updated guidance states that prescribers are expected to verify the information given to them by the patient to ensure that any medicines prescribed are appropriate. This could be through a video consultation, using a patient’s clinical record, or contacting the patient’s general practitioner. This helps to safeguard vulnerable patients.

If anyone has concerns about prescribing decisions or believes a medicine has been prescribed inappropriately, they can raise concerns with the prescriber’s professional regulator, for instance the General Medical Council or GPhC, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns/supporting-you-with-your-concern

In addition to the duty of the prescriber, patients themselves must be honest when providing information to an online prescriber so that they receive advice and medicines which are appropriate for them, so that risks can be managed.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an economic assessment of the potential impact of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate's current voluntary exit scheme on the regional economy in (a) Wales (b) the North West (c) Scotland and (d) the South West.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The NDA remains committed to supporting communities in each of these areas to build a resilient, inclusive future by investing in skills, wellbeing, infrastructure, and economic diversification that create lasting opportunities beyond decommissioning.

The voluntary exit schemes are part of NDA’s commitment to delivering maximum value for public money while maintaining focus on its mission and supporting its people through change. The NDA is actively exploring opportunities to improve how it operates - this includes corporate restructuring, greater sharing of services, and enhanced efficiencies across enabling functions.

The outcome of the recent SR Settlement reflects the government’s recognition of the NDA’s critical role in safeguarding the UK’s nuclear legacy. This funding ensures safe and secure decommissioning while driving efficiencies and maximising the benefits of working as a group.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate's current voluntary exit scheme on the achievement of that organisation's mission.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The outcome of the recent Spending Review settlement reflects the government’s recognition of the NDA’s critical role in safeguarding the UK’s nuclear legacy. This funding will enable the NDA to continue to perform its core mission, ensuring safe and secure decommissioning while driving efficiencies and maximising the benefits of working as a group.

The voluntary exit schemes are part of NDA’s commitment to delivering maximum value for public money while maintaining focus on its mission and supporting its people through change. The NDA is actively exploring opportunities to improve how it operates - this includes corporate restructuring, greater sharing of services, and enhanced efficiencies across enabling functions.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is the estimated cost to the public purse of the current voluntary exit scheme at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's estate.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The cost of the voluntary exit schemes across the NDA group will vary according to the level of exits mutually agreed between employers and members of staff.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the rate for (a) approval of claims, (b) claims overturned at review and (c) payout has been for the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme since March 2022.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.

As of 12 November 2025, data from NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA), the administrators of the VDPS, shows that since March 2022 there have been (a) 249 successful claims made through the scheme. Of these 249 successful claims, (b) 31 were as a result of the decision being overturned after review. The 249 successful claims amounted to a total of (c) £29,880,000 in payments.

Information on COVID-19 claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is published on a quarterly basis by NHSBSA. Further information is available at the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the potential impact of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate's voluntary exit scheme on the (a) delivery of objectives and (b) trends in the level of operating costs at the former Trawsfynydd nuclear power station.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) remains focused on delivering its statutory mission to keep former nuclear sites safe and secure while progressing decommissioning and managing waste. To achieve this efficiently, the NDA has introduced voluntary exit schemes as part of wider organisational restructuring and cost management measures. These schemes are designed to ensure resources are directed to front-line hazard reduction and decommissioning, while maintaining safe operations at all sites, including Trawsfynydd.

The NDA continues to monitor delivery against objectives and operating costs as part of its normal governance processes, alongside its commitment to supporting people and communities through investment in skills and economic diversification.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he had with the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the implementation of that organisation's voluntary exit scheme before it was introduced; and whether he approved the implementation of the voluntary exit scheme.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

As part of this approach, the NDA has introduced voluntary exit schemes across its group to support organisational restructuring and create efficiencies. All NDA MAVE schemes received the appropriate Government approval.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the medical experience requirements are for caseworkers handling vaccine damage payment claims.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Caseworkers supporting the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) are administrative staff who are not involved in the assessment of claims. Their role is to provide claimants with a consistent point of contact, manage the administrative progress of claims, communicate updates, and ensure all necessary documentation is gathered. No medical experience is required for this supportive administrative function.

All clinical assessments under the VDPS are conducted solely by medical assessors. Medical assessors are General Medical Council registered doctors who have licences to practise and at least five years' experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department is undertaking into side affects of the AstraZenica covid vaccine; through what process his Department are recognising emerging side effects; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.

The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.

Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is undertaking research into (a) damage and (b) lasting effects from the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.

The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.

Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of approval rates for covid-19 vaccine injury claims in (a) the UK and (b) other jurisdictions for which figures are available.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No specific assessment has been made. All claims made through the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are assessed on a case-by-case basis by independent medical assessors. Medical assessors must be General Medical Council registered doctors with a licence to practise and at least five years’ experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.

Medical assessors will consider the claim form, the clinical research, the epidemiological evidence, the current consensus of expert medical opinion, and the claimant’s full medical records. The assessment, once complete, will then undergo assurance review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to make (a) apheresis and (b) immunoabsorption treatments available for vaccine damage patients when doctors feel it would be beneficial.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care and treatment will be managed by National Health Service local specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice, with any treatment dependent on the individual’s clinical needs.

The Government remains committed to research to improve the diagnosis and treatment in those rare cases where individuals may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Since the start of the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR, to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19.

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 (a) approve and (b) fund specialist treatments for AstraZeneca vaccine damage.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care and treatment will be managed by National Health Service local specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice, with any treatment dependent on the individual’s clinical needs.

The Government remains committed to research to improve the diagnosis and treatment in those rare cases where individuals may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Since the start of the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR, to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine as a class B drug on (a) the rate of its usage among (i) 16 to 59-year-olds and (ii) 16 to 24-year-olds, (b) the average street price of ketamine and (d) its illicit availability in each year since 2015.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

My reply to my honourable friend's previous questions as to what assessment the Home Office had made of the potential impact of the reclassification of ketamine on these four matters confirmed that we had not carried out such an exercise and that the drivers of the availability, market price and prevalence of drugs are complex.

As to any future assessments, in January 2025 my predecessor asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to provide an updated assessment on the harms of ketamine, and I would expect its report to provide an holistic assessment of that drug.