Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 on the potential impact of abolishing NHS England on the availability of (a) abiraterone and (b) other similar drugs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will work collaboratively to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety. Throughout the organisational change, NHS England will continue to undertake all its statutory functions, until parliamentary time allows for legislative changes to be made.
Responsible commissioners will continue to be required to fund medicines for eligible patients in line with recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 the availability of availability of cancer drugs is maintained during the reorganisation of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will work collaboratively to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety. Throughout the organisational change, NHS England will continue to undertake all its statutory functions, until parliamentary time allows for legislative changes to be made.
Responsible commissioners will continue to be required to fund medicines for eligible patients in line with recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) general practice surgeries and (b) other non-domestic organisations by sector have (i) applied for and (ii) received support through the boiler upgrade scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not have data specifying the nature of the business or a sector-level breakdown for non-domestic installations under the scheme. From May 2022 to April 2025, the scheme has received 394 non-domestic voucher applications, with 250 non-domestic grants paid.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme update and publish monthly statistics here, which includes number of grants paid by whether the property is domestic or non-domestic and technology type (tab 1.5), with further information on number of grants paid by whether the property is domestic or non-domestic broken down by financial year (tab A1.4).
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase uptake of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme among (a) GP practices and (b) other small non-domestic buildings.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme continues to provide grants of up to £7,500 for small non-domestic property owners, with the threshold for single heat pump installations set at 45kWh. The grants are in addition to the 0% rate of VAT on the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers, currently up until March 2027.
To support uptake, the Government is performing communications targeted at non-domestic consumers to increase awareness and knowledge of the scheme and are continuing to engage with stakeholders to understand more about how to reduce barriers to heat pump deployment in these buildings. The approach to decarbonising non-domestic buildings more broadly will be set out in October this year.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of targeted screening for chronic kidney disease high-risk populations.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) previously examined the evidence for a population screening programme for kidney disease in 2011 and recommended that a national screening programme should not be introduced. This was because, amongst other things, there was no evidence that screening would be effective at improving outcomes for those with a positive result, and programmes in other countries have not been found to be clinically or cost effective.
Following the expansion of the UK NSC’s remit in 2022 to consider targeted and risk-stratified screening alongside population screening, the committee has not received a request to examine the evidence for a targeted screening programme for chronic kidney disease in high-risk populations. The UK NSC does however run an annual call whereby members of the public and stakeholders are encouraged to submit proposals to the UK NSC to consider either new screening programmes, modifications to existing screening programmes, request for an early update or consider stopping a screening programme. More information is available on the UK NSC website at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-national-screening-committee
The NHS Health Check is a free check-up of one’s overall health for people aged between 40 and 74 years old. As part of the health check, kidney disease is one of the conditions that is looked at to inform the individual as to whether they may be at a higher risk of getting certain health problems such as:
- heart disease;
- diabetes;
- kidney disease; and
- stroke.
During the check-up, there is a discussion about how to reduce one’s risk of these conditions.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 the reorganisation of NHS England into his Department on the provision of cancer screening programmes in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 May 2025 to Question 53355.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 fund a single digital tracking system for cancer tissue samples provided for genomic testing, so that that they may be tracked at every point of their journey.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS). A central feature of the NHS GMS is the National Genomic Test Directory. The Test Directory outlines the full range of genomic tests that are commissioned and sets out the technology by which tests are available.
NHS GMS provides a national Genomics Unit which is responsible for strategic oversight, direction, commissioning and funding and performance monitoring of genomics service.
As the Department focuses on shifting from analogue to digital, we will continue to review opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence and digital innovations to speed up diagnostic performance, including for genomic testing, and bring down waiting times that will ultimately improve patient care and outcomes. Furthermore, to support more extensive cancer genomic testing, NHS England is working to ensure collaboration between pathology and genomics networks to address issues including capacity, networking and optimisation of cancer tissue pathways.
Additionally, the National Cancer Plan, due for publishing later in 2025, will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care- as well as prevention, research and innovation, including for genomic testing pathways.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to require Genomic Laboratory Hubs to adopt standardised reporting templates for genomics reports.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Professional groups, including the Association for Clinical Genomic Science, produce best practice guidance and standard templates for members on reporting genomic results to clinicians. Further information on the Association for Clinical Genomic Science is available at the following link:
In line with the data and digital elements in the NHS Genomics Strategy, moving forward, National Health Service Genomic Laboratory Hubs will be mandated to provide standardised reporting and structured data. Further information on the NHS Genomics Strategy is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/genomics/genomics-strategy/
This would support a consistent approach to reporting genomic data and enable the development of a Unified Genomic Record. This would enable patients to access insights from their genomic data where and when they are needed, as well as facilitating access to clinical trials, supporting other research and informing population health initiatives.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS plans to take to improve (a) awareness and (b) training for (i) GPs and (ii) frontline healthcare professionals to help (A) recognise and (B) refer suspected cases of cancer in teenagers and young adults.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster to improve survival rates, including for children and young people. To achieve this, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.
All registered doctors in the United Kingdom are also expected to meet the professional standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC). In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation, which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice.
The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. The RCGP provides several resources on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and care for GPs, relevant for the primary care setting.
On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer. The taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of cancer patients who will stop receiving personal independence payments following proposed welfare reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.
The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP in future. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment as conditions change over time.
Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I am leading, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.