Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 June 2025 to Question 61726, if he will publish: (a) the data source for the reported 8.9% increase in doctors working in clinical oncology between 2021 and 2023, (b) the number and percentage increase in consultant clinical oncologists over that same period and (c) the number of consultant clinical ncologists per capita by Integrated Care System or NHS Trust area, including identification of the five areas with the lowest consultant-to-population ratios.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes monthly data on the number of staff employed by National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) in England, which is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
It should be noted that the change in doctors working in the specialty of clinical oncology is between February 2024 and February 2025, the latest period for which data is available.
As of February 2025, there were over 1,800 full time equivalent doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is almost 150, or 8.9%, more than in 2024.
The change in the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of clinical oncology employed by NHS trusts and ICBs in England between 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2023 was 14.1%; the change over the same period in consultant clinical oncologists was 12.2%.
The following table shows the number of FTE consultant clinical oncologists employed by NHS trusts or ICBs per million population by ICB area for February 2025:
ICB | Consultant Clinical Oncologists – FTE, February 2025 | ONS Projected Population, June 2025 | Consultant Oncologists (per 1,000,000 population) |
Mid and South Essex | - | 1,232,502 | - |
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin | - | 533,260 | - |
Humber and North Yorkshire | 1.1 | 1,744,824 | 0.6 |
South West London | 5.8 | 1,557,624 | 3.7 |
Frimley | 3.0 | 791,237 | 3.8 |
West Yorkshire | 23.2 | 2,497,926 | 9.3 |
Coventry and Warwickshire | 9.6 | 1,016,366 | 9.4 |
Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire | 9.7 | 980,250 | 9.9 |
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent | 11.8 | 1,167,873 | 10.1 |
Somerset | 6.0 | 590,928 | 10.2 |
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes | 11.1 | 1,060,963 | 10.5 |
Black Country | 13.9 | 1,249,119 | 11.1 |
Sussex | 20.5 | 1,768,736 | 11.6 |
Northamptonshire | 9.5 | 817,757 | 11.6 |
North East London | 25.6 | 2,147,223 | 11.9 |
Lancashire and South Cumbria | 21.3 | 1,779,694 | 12.0 |
North Central London | 18.0 | 1,485,975 | 12.1 |
Cheshire and Merseyside | 36.4 | 2,620,678 | 13.9 |
Lincolnshire | 11.2 | 795,667 | 14.1 |
North East and North Cumbria | 46.0 | 3,070,741 | 15.0 |
Norfolk and Waveney | 17.5 | 1,071,923 | 16.3 |
Derby and Derbyshire | 17.9 | 1,091,150 | 16.4 |
Herefordshire and Worcestershire | 13.6 | 815,030 | 16.7 |
Suffolk and North East Essex | 17.8 | 1,028,298 | 17.3 |
Greater Manchester | 52.2 | 3,008,589 | 17.4 |
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | 10.7 | 596,108 | 17.9 |
Gloucestershire | 12.4 | 671,296 | 18.5 |
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire | 24.4 | 1,198,878 | 20.4 |
Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 39.3 | 1,893,635 | 20.8 |
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland | 25.3 | 1,184,050 | 21.4 |
Kent and Medway | 42.0 | 1,932,162 | 21.8 |
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West | 42.3 | 1,870,248 | 22.6 |
South East London | 42.1 | 1,861,345 | 22.6 |
North West London | 52.9 | 2,222,784 | 23.8 |
Dorset | 19.7 | 802,632 | 24.6 |
South Yorkshire | 36.0 | 1,432,349 | 25.1 |
Surrey Heartlands | 28.0 | 1,085,724 | 25.7 |
Birmingham and Solihull | 36.5 | 1,407,053 | 26.0 |
Hertfordshire and West Essex | 44.0 | 1,540,310 | 28.6 |
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 27.8 | 964,041 | 28.8 |
Devon | 37.4 | 1,268,832 | 29.5 |
Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire | 33.5 | 1,037,500 | 32.3 |
England | 957.1 | 58,893,277 | 16.3 |
Source: NHS England
Notes:
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will include targets to improve timely diagnosis of (a) myeloma and (b) other blood cancers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.
To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies comply with section 830 of the Companies Act 2006 on dividend payments; and whether he plans to (a) strengthen enforcement and (b) introduce disclosure requirements.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under section 830, companies may only pay a dividend if they have sufficient accumulated realised profits to make the payment. The Government intends to give the audit regulator responsibility for issuing guidance on how companies calculate their realised profits for such purposes as part of wider plans to introduce an Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill when Parliamentary time allows. Additionally, the Government intends in the coming months to consult on options to modernise the corporate reporting framework, which will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to give feedback on how to simplify and reduce reporting as well on possible additional disclosure requirements around realised profits.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to include dementia specialist nurses in the Neighbourhood Health Service model; and what steps he is taking to ensure access to dementia specialist nurses in every community.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and so they could include dementia specialist nurses. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services may look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.
Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses/admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.
Under the 10-year plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to revise the document entitled The Principles governing intelligence sharing to include an explicit prohibition on authorising cooperation where there is a real risk of torture, published on 18 July 2025.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Your question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department has been passed to me for reply. ‘The Principles relating to the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees’ (‘The Principles’) came into force on 1 January 2020 and includes a commitment for the guidance to be reviewed every five years. That review is underway and the Government will update the House on the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she has considered the potential merits of requiring schools to have (a) allergy policies, (b) staff training on allergy management and (c) adrenaline auto-injectors available on site.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Policies should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
Schools can purchase spare adrenaline auto-injectors from a pharmacy without a prescription and for use in an emergency situation.
The department intends to consult on updated statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions later this year. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending transitional protection under Universal Credit to include couples who form a household which becomes eligible for Universal Credit and consequently (a) reduce the overall level of welfare expenditure and (b) free up social housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Transitional Protection was introduced as part of the Move to UC journey to ensure legacy benefit customers maintain the same level of entitlement on moving to UC at the point of transition.
Transitional protection is considered for both single and couple households that manage migrate to UC. It is not extended to customers in receipt of the transitional element that have a significant change of circumstances or where a couple forms and makes a new claim to UC.
The Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 made provision for transitional protection. DWP has no plans to amend the regulations to extend transitional protection to include couples who form a household after they have moved to Universal Credit.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support an international agreement that includes targets to reduce plastic production ahead of the next round of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in August 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to reaching an agreement on a global legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution when negotiations resume in August 2025. At the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on a treaty to end plastic pollution, the UK endorsed a statement calling for all countries to commit to achieving sustainable levels of primary plastic production and for a global target. Ahead of negotiations we are engaging with other countries to push for an effective treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including sustainable production and consumption.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce legislative proposals to extend the ban on pavement parking outside of London.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department held a consultation on pavement parking in 2020 and has been considering all the views expressed in response to the consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with the Office for Product Safety and Standards on the enforcement of standards for e-bike (a) batteries and (b) conversion kits.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under existing UK product safety law, all consumer products, including e-bike batteries and conversion kits, must meet legal requirements for safety when placed on the market. Tackling unsafe e-bikes is a priority for the Office for Product Safety and Standards, in my Department. They and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to enforce the law including removing non-compliant products from sale. OPSS has prohibited the supply of certain models of unsafe e-bike batteries, and published 22 separate product recalls for non-compliant e-bikes and similar products since 2022.