Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of appointing a brain cancer lead in her Department.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 25 June in response to Question 9944, I refer the Hon. Members to the press release published on GOV.UK on 14 October concerning new action the Government is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brain-cancer-patients-to-see-faster-development-of-new-treatments
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support carers who take care of people with rare cancers.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 25 June in response to Question 9944, I refer the Hon. Members to the press release published on GOV.UK on 14 October concerning new action the Government is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brain-cancer-patients-to-see-faster-development-of-new-treatments
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the means to improve diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 25 June in response to Question 9944, I refer the Hon. Members to the press release published on GOV.UK on 14 October concerning new action the Government is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brain-cancer-patients-to-see-faster-development-of-new-treatments
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve innovation and technology for brain cancer treatment.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 25 June in response to Question 9944, I refer the Hon. Members to the press release published on GOV.UK on 14 October concerning new action the Government is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brain-cancer-patients-to-see-faster-development-of-new-treatments
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the use of clinical trials for research into pancreatic cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 July in response to Question 16704.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when newborn screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy will be available to families in Oxfordshire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the announcement made on the evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy by the Department on 16 July, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/every-baby-in-england-to-get-life-saving-genetic-test-from-birth
In addition, the newborn heel prick test is routinely carried out by health visitors or community midwives on day five after birth.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will direct NHS England and the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) to permit NHS Trusts to appoint provisionally registered doctors who are currently without an NHS Foundation Year doctor post to any such posts that become available after the closure of the allocation process by UKFPO.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested for Question 29058 is not held centrally in the format requested.
Recruitment to the 2026 UK Foundation Programme has now concluded. Total numbers of Foundation Programme places in the United Kingdom are agreed through a four-nation workforce planning process and take into account the fact that a proportion of applicants withdraw from the Foundation Programme each year. The Government therefore has no plans to backfill any vacant posts that may arise for 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many foundation year doctor posts were unavailable to newly appointed foundation doctors this year because they were occupied by doctors granted extensions to complete training competencies; and how many such posts are scheduled to become vacant from 1 December 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested for Question 29058 is not held centrally in the format requested.
Recruitment to the 2026 UK Foundation Programme has now concluded. Total numbers of Foundation Programme places in the United Kingdom are agreed through a four-nation workforce planning process and take into account the fact that a proportion of applicants withdraw from the Foundation Programme each year. The Government therefore has no plans to backfill any vacant posts that may arise for 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 improve the availability of local in-person support services for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, particularly within the Henley and Thame constituency.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government is committed to ensuring that people experiencing a mental health crisis can access timely, high-quality support close to home.
Significant progress has also been made in strengthening the mental health crisis care pathway. This includes the NHS 111 mental health option, the expansion of crisis cafés, sanctuaries and crisis houses, the rollout of crisis text services across England, the delivery of 88 Mental Health Response Vehicles across local systems, and full national coverage of 24/7 liaison mental health teams in acute hospitals.
In addition, £473 million of capital funding over four years is supporting the development of new models of care, including community-based mental health centres and mental health emergency departments, helping to shift care closer to home and improve access to timely support.
Decisions about the configuration and delivery of local mental health services, including crisis support available to people in the Henley and Thame constituency, are the responsibility of the local integrated care board, which is best placed to assess the needs of its local population and commission services accordingly.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 28 May 2026 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame on the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 28 May 2026 and will reply in due course.