Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a regional breakdown of the number of Mesothelioma cases.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service publishes regional breakdowns of cancer cases, including mesothelioma. Data by region and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/
The Office for National Statistics publishes regional breakdowns of cancer deaths, including mesothelioma. Data by geography and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/mortsa
The Health and Safety Executive publish statistics on Mesothelioma deaths and cases and causes. The latest published statistics for Great Britain are for 2025, and are available at the following link:
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a regional breakdown of deaths attributed to Mesothelioma.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service publishes regional breakdowns of cancer cases, including mesothelioma. Data by region and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/
The Office for National Statistics publishes regional breakdowns of cancer deaths, including mesothelioma. Data by geography and cancer type can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/mortsa
The Health and Safety Executive publish statistics on Mesothelioma deaths and cases and causes. The latest published statistics for Great Britain are for 2025, and are available at the following link:
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to (a) the treatment of asbestos-related illnesses and b) research into asbestos-related illnesses.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no pre-allocated funding amount for the treatment of asbestos-related health conditions. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes applications on any aspect of health and care, including research into asbestos-related illnesses.
Between the 2020/21 and 2024/25 financial years, through the NIHR, the Department committed over £8.6 million for new research projects alongside supporting infrastructure into asbestos-related illnesses. Research supported by the NIHR is improving our understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning lung diseases caused by asbestos, including mesothelioma and interstitial lung disease, as well as investigating novel diagnostics and treatment. Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, the NIHR’s Research Delivery Network supported 22 new studies on asbestos-related illnesses, which recruited over 2,900 participants.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides guidance on the health effects and toxicology of asbestos, including advice to support incident response for the general public and inform wider public health management. This published guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asbestos-properties-incident-management-and-toxicology/asbestos-general-information
UKHSA also provides scientific support to other Government departments, including contributions to risk assessment work on asbestos in consumer products.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
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 the potential merits of a Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme replacement.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our deepest sympathies are with those who have experienced harm following vaccination, as well as their families.
The Government recognises that concerns have been raised in relation to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), including during Module 4 of the COVID-19 inquiry. Following the publication of the COVID-19 Inquiry’s Module 4 report on vaccines and therapeutics on 16 April 2026, the Government will carefully consider its recommendations, including on the reform of the VDPS, and will respond formally in due course.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the NHS Business Services Authority will begin writing proactively to eligible families about their NHS Healthy Start entitlement, encouraging them to apply and offering them support with the application process.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to work with the NHS Business Services Authority on ways to encourage those eligible to apply for the Healthy Start Scheme to apply.
The Department keeps the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start Scheme under continuous review. There are no current plans to change the eligibility for the scheme.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
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 merits of revising the eligibility criteria for NHS Healthy Start cards.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to work with the NHS Business Services Authority on ways to encourage those eligible to apply for the Healthy Start Scheme to apply.
The Department keeps the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start Scheme under continuous review. There are no current plans to change the eligibility for the scheme.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of families are eligible to participate in the Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not hold data on the proportion of families eligible to participate in the Healthy Start Scheme. As of 26 March 2026, there were 354,989 people on the digital scheme across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The data is based on individual people and is not the same as the number of families or households as there could be multiple beneficiaries living within one household.
The data includes the number of people on the digital scheme, formerly entitled beneficiaries, who have been accepted onto the scheme through an online application and issued a prepaid card at a specific point in time. This includes the number of children under the age of four years old and the number of pregnancies over ten weeks.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the uptake figures were for the Healthy Start scheme in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not hold data on the proportion of families eligible to participate in the Healthy Start Scheme. As of 26 March 2026, there were 354,989 people on the digital scheme across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The data is based on individual people and is not the same as the number of families or households as there could be multiple beneficiaries living within one household.
The data includes the number of people on the digital scheme, formerly entitled beneficiaries, who have been accepted onto the scheme through an online application and issued a prepaid card at a specific point in time. This includes the number of children under the age of four years old and the number of pregnancies over ten weeks.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in South Shields constituency compared with national averages; what steps he is taking to ensure that respiratory health is prioritised; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs for South Shields and England where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
South Shields | 1030 | 890 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for South Tyneside can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
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 merits of a respiratory Modern Service Framework, in the context of (a) NHS winter pressures and (b) health outcomes for long-term respiratory conditions and short-term respiratory illnesses such as flu.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.