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 he is taking to establish women's health hubs in NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) supports the national ambition to improve access to neighbourhood women’s health services.
Locally, this builds on women’s health hub activity already established across the system, including early adopter sites and primary care network (PCN)-led models delivering a range of core services.
Work is underway to further develop a broader women’s health neighbourhood offer that builds on existing provision, PCN-led innovation and community partnerships.
Existing hub-related activity includes PCN-led women’s health provision in areas such as Wrekin, with workforce upskilling to expand access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and pessary care. Since April 2025, 62 PCN-led LARC clinics have been delivered.
The local model also includes menopause group consultations, community open-day approaches, schools-based menstrual health education, targeted outreach, and data-led work to improve screening uptake and engagement in areas of higher deprivation.
The ICB is progressing a comprehensive women’s health needs assessment using population health management approaches. This will identify priorities for women and girls across the life course and inform the development of future hub models, ensuring services reflect local need, including addressing health inequalities and the challenges of access across a predominantly rural geography.
In parallel, the ICB is exploring opportunities to strengthen prevention and improve coordination across services. This includes work on preconception health, including an education pilot funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing, and strengthening links between abortion services and sexual and reproductive health commissioning through a local forum focused on service coordination and shared learning.
The ICB’s approach is to continue strengthening current women’s health hub activity while using needs assessment findings and engagement with primary care, local authorities, NHS and independent providers, and the voluntary and community sector to determine the most appropriate future model. The ambition is to develop a broader, integrated offer that improves access to contraception, menopause support, menstrual health, preconception care and other priority areas identified by women and girls locally.
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, in reference to the Department’s written statement on Prostate Cancer Screening on the 2nd June, what specific process the Department will use to update the UK National Screening Committee’s prostate cancer screening model as new peer reviewed evidence becomes available.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Prostate Cancer Screening Model, used by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) to make its recommendation, was commissioned from modelling experts at the Sheffield Centre of Health and Related Research (SCHARR). SCHARR has been commissioned and funded by the Government to maintain the model and continue to work with the UK NSC on developing it for a further three years. This means that new data and evidence can be considered and included in the model throughout the life of the contract.
The model uses data and evidence from a variety of sources, some of which, for example epidemiological data and National Health Service costs, will need to be kept updated throughout the three-year period to ensure that the most up-to-date and relevant data is used in the model before new analyses are run.
The team at SCHARR is already working with the UK NSC Secretariat to identify and consider new evidence. This includes, for example, whether the definition of family history can be refined and whether there is robust additional evidence that can be put into the model.
The UK NSC and SCHARR are also preparing to examine evidence relating to risk algorithms and biomarkers, for example, the Stockholm3 tool. The underpinning evidence on these will be examined in a large evidence review. If the evidence is compelling, then the model will be adjusted to allow varying pathways, risk stratification, for men depending on the results of multiple tests.
In addition, the UK NSC Secretariat is liaising with the research team running the TRANSFORM trial and will work with SCHARR to update the model in the light of any significant information from the trial, especially on Black men.
Furthermore, the UK NSC Secretariat will continue to horizon scan for other relevant evidence. The UK NSC launched an open call for screening topics to be put forward on 1 July, and this is open until 30 September, with further information available at the following link:
This may yield submissions related to prostate cancer screening that will be considered and fed into the model as appropriate.
All the potential scenarios and options built into the model will be based on the best available evidence and will be considered carefully to ensure the best use of the resources allocated and to optimise timely and useful outputs to the committee.
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 outline the expected timeline for incorporating new evidence, including on the Stockholm3 test, into the UK National Screening Committee’s prostate cancer screening model.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Prostate Cancer Screening Model, used by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) to make its recommendation, was commissioned from modelling experts at the Sheffield Centre of Health and Related Research (SCHARR). SCHARR has been commissioned and funded by the Government to maintain the model and continue to work with the UK NSC on developing it for a further three years. This means that new data and evidence can be considered and included in the model throughout the life of the contract.
The model uses data and evidence from a variety of sources, some of which, for example epidemiological data and National Health Service costs, will need to be kept updated throughout the three-year period to ensure that the most up-to-date and relevant data is used in the model before new analyses are run.
The team at SCHARR is already working with the UK NSC Secretariat to identify and consider new evidence. This includes, for example, whether the definition of family history can be refined and whether there is robust additional evidence that can be put into the model.
The UK NSC and SCHARR are also preparing to examine evidence relating to risk algorithms and biomarkers, for example, the Stockholm3 tool. The underpinning evidence on these will be examined in a large evidence review. If the evidence is compelling, then the model will be adjusted to allow varying pathways, risk stratification, for men depending on the results of multiple tests.
In addition, the UK NSC Secretariat is liaising with the research team running the TRANSFORM trial and will work with SCHARR to update the model in the light of any significant information from the trial, especially on Black men.
Furthermore, the UK NSC Secretariat will continue to horizon scan for other relevant evidence. The UK NSC launched an open call for screening topics to be put forward on 1 July, and this is open until 30 September, with further information available at the following link:
This may yield submissions related to prostate cancer screening that will be considered and fed into the model as appropriate.
All the potential scenarios and options built into the model will be based on the best available evidence and will be considered carefully to ensure the best use of the resources allocated and to optimise timely and useful outputs to the committee.
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 the budget for Community Dental Services in England was, net of patient charges, in each year since 2010/11.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Community Dental Services (CDS) provide specialised dental services to people with additional needs and are available in a variety of places to ensure everyone can have access to dental care.
In 2024/25, we invested £3.7 billion in primary and community dental services across England. There is no national budget specifically for CDS in England. Instead, overall dental funding allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) is ringfenced, covering spend on primary, community, and secondary care commissioning. ICBs make their own decisions about the relative prioritisation within this ringfence, in order to best meet the needs of their population.
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, by what percentage the Community Dental Service Whole Time Equivalent workforce in England has changed in the last 10 years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
In 2024, NHS England introduced the annual Dental Workforce Survey to improve understanding of the National Health Service dental workforce. NHS England has published this survey, and it is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/dental-workforce/
This survey includes a subset of data for Community Dental Services. As this collection was only commenced in 2024, we do not hold the previous 10 years’ data to be able to assess the percentage level of change within the Community Dental Service whole time equivalent workforce.
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 the current a) average and b) maximum wait is for those with domiciliary care needs to access the Community Dental Service in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
We do not hold data on the wait times for domiciliary care or the number of appointments carried out by Community Dental Services (CDS).
Domiciliary dental services are commissioned locally by integrated care boards to support those who are unable to access high street dental practices due to medical, physical, or psychological conditions. This is largely through CDSs, which carry the required expertise and equipment to treat individuals who are housebound or living in care 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, how many domiciliary dental visits were undertaken by the Community Dental Service in England in each year since 2010/11.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
We do not hold data on the wait times for domiciliary care or the number of appointments carried out by Community Dental Services (CDS).
Domiciliary dental services are commissioned locally by integrated care boards to support those who are unable to access high street dental practices due to medical, physical, or psychological conditions. This is largely through CDSs, which carry the required expertise and equipment to treat individuals who are housebound or living in care 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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of an organised prostate cancer screening programme on levels of PSA testing.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Through the introduction of England's first ever targeted prostate cancer screening programme, and through the major package of investment of over £20 million to expand research and improve treatment announced on 2 June 2026, the Government is taking an important step forward in tackling prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in England with approximately 10,000 men a year dying from this condition. Over 56,000 men a year are diagnosed with prostate cancer in England.
It is estimated that the cohort of men known to have a BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, pancreatic, ovarian, or prostate cancer is currently approximately 1,500 men. These men are already entitled to annual prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests under UK Cancer Genetics Group guidance. They can continue to ask for a PSA test in the years that they are not called for screening. It is unclear how many men take up this annual offer, and we anticipate that a systematic call and recall system used for a screening programme will have higher engagement. However, it is not anticipated that the roll out of the targeted screening programme will have a significant increase in the number of PSA tests being offered.
While the publicity around the screening programme may have increased in the number of PSA tests being offered, the excellent awareness raising work of campaign groups such as Prostate Cancer UK has already contributed to an increase in PSA testing year on year and we anticipate this increase may continue.
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, how many major reviews into NHS maternity services have been undertaken since 2000.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
There have been six widely recognised major reviews into National Health Service maternity services since 2000, with the caveat that there is no definition of "major review”, which are as follows:
- the Morecambe Bay Investigation led by Bill Kirkup in 2015;
- National Maternity Review ("Better Births") led by Julia Cumberlege, 2015/16;
- the independent review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, led by Donna Ockenden, 2017 to 2022;
- East Kent Investigation ("Reading the Signals") led by Bill Kirkup, 2020 to 2022;
- Nottingham Maternity Review led by Donna Ockenden, 2022 to present; and
- the independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, led by Baroness Amos, 2025 to present.
There have also been two further reviews commissioned by the Government, which will be chaired by Donna Ockenden and underway this year:
- the independent review into maternity and neonatal care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and
- the independent review into maternity and neonatal services at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.
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 the NHS Business Services Authority's planned timetable is for publishing the Community Dental Services waiting times data.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
We recognise that certain groups of patients may be particularly vulnerable to oral health problems and may find it difficult to access dental care. Specialised dental services are in place to provide dental treatment and are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs).
The January 2025 Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report on Community Dental Service (CDS) highlighted several known challenges in the operation and monitoring of CDS and offered recommendations for improvements. The majority of recommendations in the GIRFT report related to operational considerations for individual ICBs to address, which varies according to local arrangements, priorities, and needs.
NHS England and the Department have taken the recommendations on board and are working to improve the data reporting process to increase oversight of CDS activity, including current waiting lists and performance reporting. An amended waiting list data collection was implemented in August 2025 and will improve oversight of the current waiting lists and waiting times for adults and children.