Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to support educators, supervisors, mentors and trainers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan and work with employers to increase capacity for medical education and training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of specialty training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these specialty training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. Our door remains open, and this Government is determined to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption. On 8 January 2026, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with the BMA RDC to kick off a series of talks to resolve the dispute.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. It will include modelling of the potential size and shape of the future workforce and implications for major professions.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process, including universities and higher education institutes. A number of organisations with expertise in higher education were invited to and attended a ministerially led partner event on 5 November. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients and organisations across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the 10 Year Workforce Plan will expand the number of medical specialty training places to meet population demand, beyond the 1,000 proposed in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of specialty training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these specialty training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. Our door remains open, and this Government is determined to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption. On 8 January 2026, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with the BMA RDC to kick off a series of talks to resolve the dispute.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. It will include modelling of the potential size and shape of the future workforce and implications for major professions.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process, including universities and higher education institutes. A number of organisations with expertise in higher education were invited to and attended a ministerially led partner event on 5 November. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients and organisations across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the level of overdiagnosis arising from opportunistic PSA testing in England in the latest period for which data is available; and whether this was modelled in the comparator arm of the UK National Screening Committee’s economic analysis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Drawing on the available peer reviewed evidence, the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) has undertaken economic analysis on behalf of the UK National Screening Committee.
In their modelling, in line with best practice and the standard academic approach to assessing a new screening proposal, the SCHARR team has included the best available information on current care and compared this to a number of possible scenarios for a new prostate cancer screening programme. This includes the best estimate of current opportunistic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
There is little published data available that can determine between PSAs sought by asymptomatic males at their general practices (GPs), opportunistic PSA testing, and other types of PSAs in use which can include testing for symptomatic males where this could support a diagnosis and for men who are on a range of treatment pathways for known prostate cancer.
A prostate cancer screening programme would be most likely to add to the number of PSA tests because GPs have the right to offer a PSA test in line with their clinical judgement and this would continue outside of any screening programme. This is consistent with other screening programmes including, for example, access to the faecal immunochemical tests outside of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
The risk of overdiagnosis identified in the SCHARR model is in line with other international evidence-based prostate screening models which have been developed by academics in line with standard academic approaches and are underpinned by high quality published evidence.
New data on PSA uptake was published after the completion of the modelling report and will be incorporated into further model iterations before the completion of the consultation period.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the UK National Screening Committee’s modelling assumes that the introduction of a prostate cancer screening programme would be additional to, or would partially replace, existing opportunistic PSA testing in primary care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Drawing on the available peer reviewed evidence, the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) has undertaken economic analysis on behalf of the UK National Screening Committee.
In their modelling, in line with best practice and the standard academic approach to assessing a new screening proposal, the SCHARR team has included the best available information on current care and compared this to a number of possible scenarios for a new prostate cancer screening programme. This includes the best estimate of current opportunistic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
There is little published data available that can determine between PSAs sought by asymptomatic males at their general practices (GPs), opportunistic PSA testing, and other types of PSAs in use which can include testing for symptomatic males where this could support a diagnosis and for men who are on a range of treatment pathways for known prostate cancer.
A prostate cancer screening programme would be most likely to add to the number of PSA tests because GPs have the right to offer a PSA test in line with their clinical judgement and this would continue outside of any screening programme. This is consistent with other screening programmes including, for example, access to the faecal immunochemical tests outside of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.
The risk of overdiagnosis identified in the SCHARR model is in line with other international evidence-based prostate screening models which have been developed by academics in line with standard academic approaches and are underpinned by high quality published evidence.
New data on PSA uptake was published after the completion of the modelling report and will be incorporated into further model iterations before the completion of the consultation period.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 use of fax machines by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has instructed National Health Service trusts to stop using fax machines for anything other than business continuity. The trust has informed NHS England that they currently only use fax machines for administrative tasks.
NHS England will be meeting with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to work with them on their decommissioning plans. As such, there is currently no date set for when fax machines will be phased out.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects fax machines to be phased out of use in Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has instructed National Health Service trusts to stop using fax machines for anything other than business continuity. The trust has informed NHS England that they currently only use fax machines for administrative tasks.
NHS England will be meeting with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust to work with them on their decommissioning plans. As such, there is currently no date set for when fax machines will be phased out.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will answer questions 96886, 96959 and 96965 tabled on 3 December 2025 on the UK-US pharmaceutical deal.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 January 2026 to Questions 96886, 96959 and 96965.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 support the provision of care for people with Parkinson’s disease outside specialist hospital settings, including measures to enable care to be delivered closer to patients’ homes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want people with Parkinson’s to receive high‑quality care as close to home as possible, and many aspects of Parkinson’s care, such as medication management, routine monitoring, rehabilitation therapies, and community nursing, can be delivered outside specialist settings, provided that strong local pathways and sufficient specialist workforce support are in place.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with Parkinson’s disease.
ICBs have access to a range of resources that support the delivery of Parkinson’s services closer to home. NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated, community‑linked neurology pathways, helping ICBs design services that provide timely, coordinated care outside hospital settings.
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers evidence‑based recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and medicine optimisation, ensuring that local services deliver consistent, high‑quality Parkinson’s care.
In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation, improve multidisciplinary working, and strengthen community‑based support. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs in community settings.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed the adequacy of the current model of care for people with Parkinson’s disease, including which services may be appropriately delivered outside specialist centres.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want people with Parkinson’s to receive high‑quality care as close to home as possible, and many aspects of Parkinson’s care, such as medication management, routine monitoring, rehabilitation therapies, and community nursing, can be delivered outside specialist settings, provided that strong local pathways and sufficient specialist workforce support are in place.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with Parkinson’s disease.
ICBs have access to a range of resources that support the delivery of Parkinson’s services closer to home. NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated, community‑linked neurology pathways, helping ICBs design services that provide timely, coordinated care outside hospital settings.
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers evidence‑based recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and medicine optimisation, ensuring that local services deliver consistent, high‑quality Parkinson’s care.
In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation, improve multidisciplinary working, and strengthen community‑based support. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs in community settings.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) the Chief Executive of NICE and (b) other NICE officials on them meeting United States Ambassador to the UK.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The former National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Chief Executive, Dr Sam Roberts, met with the United States’ ambassador in October 2025. NICE’s current Chief Executive is due to meet with the US ambassador soon. The Department was notified of these meetings.