Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 (a) the potential merits of adding fluoride to drinking water and (b) the potential impact of this on oral health for children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Water fluoridation is an evidence based, effective public health intervention for improving the oral health of children and adults. The 2022 Health Monitoring Report showed that five-year-olds were less likely to experience dental caries, and less likely to experience caries of high severity, in areas with a fluoridation scheme. Further information is available at the following link:
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our plans to expand water fluoridation in the north east of England by 2030, and that we will assess further rollout in areas where oral health outcomes are worst.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take with the Department for Education to monitor the potential impact of the (a) expansion of free school meal eligibility and (b) changes to School Food Standards on children's health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Free school meals offer a critical nutritional safety net to those children who require it most. Expanding the eligibility criteria to all families in receipt of universal credit will provide 500,000 more children with access to a nutritious lunchtime meal each school day from September 2026. The Government is now considering how best to monitor the impact of the expansion of free school meal eligibility and the update the School Food Standards on child health.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible families were in receipt of Healthy Start in Southampton Itchen constituency on 9 June 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start and does not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for Healthy Start. The NHSBSA does not hold data on local constituencies. The table below shows the number of people on the digital scheme in the relevant local authorities as of 23 May 2025:
Local authority | Number of people on the digital scheme |
Blackpool | 1,434 |
City of Bristol | 2,778 |
County of Herefordshire | 736 |
Southampton | 1,677 |
Worthing | 348 |
Brighton and Hove | 1,041 |
East Suffolk | 1,129 |
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 adequate availability of Premarin in the NHS; and what steps he is taking to support patients who are unable to access it.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Premarin tablets remain available. However, the supplier of Premarin has debranded this product, which means the product's brand name, Premarin, has been removed and it is now available and known under its generic name, which is conjugated oestrogens tablets.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to update NHS commissioning policy to include funding for Selective Internal Radiation Therapy for patients with neuroendocrine tumours with liver metastases.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the need to offer patients the most suitable treatment, including the use of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT).
NHS England is currently in the early stages of policy development for SIRT as an additional treatment option for patients with neuroendocrine tumours with liver metastases. NHS England, through its specialised commissioning function, is responsible for setting national service standards, and for the development of clinical commissioning policies for prescribed specialised services. Should NHS England’s Clinical Panel consider that the evidence is robust enough to warrant making the treatment routinely available across the National Health Service in England, it will require further consideration through relative prioritisation and investment.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential feasibility of extending free prescriptions to care leavers aged 18 to 25.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to make an assessment of the feasibility of extending free prescriptions to care leavers aged 18 to 25 years old.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement a national breast cancer screening awareness campaign to encourage people to attend appointments.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The NHS Breast Screening Programme has high levels of activity, however NHS England has advised that some women are simply not coming forward for screening. To address this, NHS England is carrying out research into the best approaches to target specific groups that are not coming forward for screening. Evidence suggests approaches such as personalised appointments from a general practitioner (GP), fixed appointment with a date and time, and text messaging reminders are the best ways to engage underserved communities.
In addition, The Help Us Help You national campaign helps to raise awareness of early diagnosis of cancer and encourages people to see their GP sooner. The campaign activity is designed to increase earlier diagnosis of cancer by reducing barriers to seeking earlier help, and by increasing body vigilance and knowledge of key red flag symptoms.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will (a) review evidence on the health impacts of Primodos and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a financial redress scheme for people affected by Primodos.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
We are hugely sympathetic to the families who believe that they have suffered because of using Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs). Currently, the available scientific evidence does not support a causal association between the use HPTs during early pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, together with the wider Government, has committed to review any new scientific evidence which comes to light since the conclusions of the 2017 independent Expert Working Group convened by the Commission on Human Medicines.
Due to the unavailability of scientific evidence supporting a causal association between the use of HPTs and adverse pregnancy outcomes, options for financial redress have not been considered further.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 adequacy of the number of NHS prescribers for ADHD medication.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Commission for Human Medicines has made on its review of how the risk of sexual dysfunction is communicated to patients; and whether that review includes the potential effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The first meeting of the Expert Working Group (EWG) on antidepressant risk minimisation convened by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, on the advice of the Commission on Human Medicines, was held on 4 July 2024.
At the initial meeting of the EWG, the terms of reference, scope of work, additional expertise, and plans for patient engagement were discussed. The EWG will consider whether the patient information can be improved and whether additional risk minimisation measures are required for all antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.