Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with radiotherapy professionals on the upcoming national cancer plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have been working closely with radiotherapy professionals and the national clinical adviser for radiotherapy, throughout the development the National Cancer Plan to understand the specific challenges that radiotherapy services face. We will continue to work with professionals to identify how we can reduce barriers to access, cut waiting lists, and improve outcomes for cancer patients who require radiotherapy services. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.
All key evidence from clinicians, stakeholders and parliamentarians has been considered in the plan's development, as well as over 11,000 responses, many of which were from clinicians to our Call for Evidence. We are grateful for everyone's involvement in this important work.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 changes to the funding for statutory gambling levy harms-related programme from April 2026 on treatment providers; and what specific steps his Department is taking to (a) support those providers with workforce retention, (b) help reduce the potential impact of the time taken to implement that programme and (c) help ensure the quality of treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In April 2025, the new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm. NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) are working collaboratively on the development of their respective gambling treatment and prevention programmes in England during this transition period.
To maintain continuity, commissioners are working with GambleAware on a managed transition, which includes the extension of GambleAware’s system stabilisation funding until March 2026, ensuring existing charities can continue to support people seeking help.
National Health Service regional gambling services currently receive over 1,000 referrals each quarter, with plans to extend capacity.
NHS England is working at pace to develop a grant funding scheme for voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) treatment and support services. This will ensure that that those affected by gambling-related harms can continue to access much-needed third sector services, whilst integrated care boards look to implement longer-term commissioning arrangements.
Ultimately, the shift to NHS and VCSE gambling harms services having a shared commissioner will allow for improved access to services, greater integration of pathways, and better data sharing, positively impacting patient care.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement UIN HCWS1118, of 2 December 2025, and the transition to the statutory gambling levy system and consequential changes in April 2026, what steps he is taking to safeguard charities providing gambling harm reduction and treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In April, the new statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm. NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) are working collaboratively on the development of their respective gambling treatment and prevention programmes in England during this transition period.
To maintain continuity, commissioners are working with GambleAware on a managed transition, which includes the extension of GambleAware’s system stabilisation funding until March 2026, ensuring existing charities can continue to support people seeking help.
In January 2026, OHID will formally launch its Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Gambling Harms Prevention and Resilience grant for those voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations wishing to deliver prevention activity over the next two years, following a market engagement process which will end in the new year. Funding will be released from April 2026.
National Health Service regional gambling services currently receive over 1,000 referrals each quarter, with plans to extend capacity. NHS England intends to run a grant funding scheme for voluntary, community, and social enterprise treatment and support services. This will ensure that those affected by gambling-related harms can continue to access much-needed third sector services, whilst integrated care boards look to implement longer-term commissioning arrangements.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist residential drug and alcohol treatment in (a) England and (b) the North East.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, including residential treatment, and commissioning services to meet these needs. The Department set an ambition that 2% of the drug and alcohol treatment population should be accessing residential treatment. We remain committed to this ambition and continue to work with the sector to achieve this.
Earlier this year, the Department launched the self-assessment toolkit to help local areas to improve the residential drug and alcohol treatment that they commission, which is available at the following link:
The Department facilitates a residential treatment provider forum and engages in annual planning for local authorities and partners, including target-setting for residential episodes. The Department also maintains regular engagement with the English Substance Use Commissioners Group and holds joint meetings with the Ministry of Justice to explore improved pathways from the criminal justice system into residential treatment.
In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Government is providing the North East with £29,432,782 in further targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. This additional funding has provided opportunity for local authorities in the North East to enhance access to out of area facilities and bolster community models of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery support, including quasi residential rehabilitation and dayhab models.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 implications for his policies of the report by the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG entitled Action on Alcohol Harm – Priorities for Policymakers, published on 10 July 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has noted the publication of the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG report, ‘Action on alcohol harm: prioritise for policymakers’.
The Government is committed to taking action to prevent the harms caused by alcohol and illicit drugs, and work is underway to progress several of the priorities highlighted.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful and dependent drinking, we will shortly publish the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment and inpatient detoxification. Our 10-Year Health Plan commits to continued expansion of Individual Placement and Support schemes for people with alcohol addiction to find good work.
The Government is also progressing plan to introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department made of the potential barriers that prevent disabled people from accessing lifesaving medical equipment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, and responsibility for providing medical equipment to disabled people typically falls to the National Health Service and local authorities.
We expect ICBs to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2022, NICE published relevant guidance in relation to children, which is available at the following link:
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty, including under the Care Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Responsibility for managing the market for these services, including commissioning and oversight of delivery, rests with local authorities.
More broadly, the Government wants disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs. Our 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out to tackle health inequalities, and specifically identifies disabled people as a priority group for neighbourhood health teams, which will offer more holistic on-going support.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many band 5 nurse role were advertised for internal applicants in (a) 2024, (b) 2023 and (c) 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many band 5 nurse roles were advertised for external applicants in (a) 2024, (b) 2023 and (c) 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 ensure that (a) divers and (b) other emergency patients in the North East have access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy within clinically recommended times after October 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for anyone who requires hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This will be achieved through the commissioning of six geographically dispersed services across England. Three preferred providers have been identified to date, and a further procurement exercise will take place to identify the three remaining centres.
The contract for HBOT services, also known as recompression, was reviewed in 2024, as existing contract terms expired. This included an update of the service specification using the published full methods process, and a public consultation on the proposal to reduce the number of commissioned providers in England from eight to six centres. Further information on the service specification, the published full methods process, and the consultation is available, respectively, at the following three links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/methods-national-service-specifications/
The updates to the specification seek to ensure timely access to treatment for the most acutely unwell patients with the specification requiring:
The geographical scope of the six services will ensure that there are no more than four hours travelling time by road from coastal locations, from the furthest borders, or between neighbouring commissioned HBOT centres, which is in line with good practice guidelines. The published Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment sets out an evaluation, including access to services and where appropriate action was taken to ensure fair access to any patient who requires this service. Further information on the Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2.1-Hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-equality-and-health-inequalities-impact-assessment.pdf
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 timely access to emergency hyperbaric oxygen therapy for patients in the North East.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for anyone who requires hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This will be achieved through the commissioning of six geographically dispersed services across England. Three preferred providers have been identified to date, and a further procurement exercise will take place to identify the three remaining centres.
The contract for HBOT services, also known as recompression, was reviewed in 2024, as existing contract terms expired. This included an update of the service specification using the published full methods process, and a public consultation on the proposal to reduce the number of commissioned providers in England from eight to six centres. Further information on the service specification, the published full methods process, and the consultation is available, respectively, at the following three links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/methods-national-service-specifications/
The updates to the specification seek to ensure timely access to treatment for the most acutely unwell patients with the specification requiring:
The geographical scope of the six services will ensure that there are no more than four hours travelling time by road from coastal locations, from the furthest borders, or between neighbouring commissioned HBOT centres, which is in line with good practice guidelines. The published Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment sets out an evaluation, including access to services and where appropriate action was taken to ensure fair access to any patient who requires this service. Further information on the Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2.1-Hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-equality-and-health-inequalities-impact-assessment.pdf