Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had discussions with Nuvation Bio about bringing clinical trials of Safusidenib to the UK for patients with IDH1-mutant Astrocytomas who have previously received radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting engagement with commercial sponsors of clinical trials through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Life Sciences Industry Hub. The NIHR Industry Hub provides a single, nationally coordinated pathway for research sponsors like Nuvation Bio to engage with, to set up and deliver commercial clinical trials.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of curent levels of access to omaveloxolone for patients with Friedreich's ataxia on NHS costs.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was unable to complete its appraisal of omaveloxolone after the company withdrew its evidence submission and it is not therefore routinely funded for National Health Service patients. NICE will reopen the appraisal if the company makes a new evidence submission.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to people who have been advised to avoid folic acid, including people with coronary stents, on how to identify and avoid foods containing folic-acid-fortified flour when eating food prepared by restaurants, cafés, bakeries and other food businesses.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For food sold in restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and other out-of-home settings, consumers who have specific dietary requirements or medical concerns can ask the food business for information about ingredients used in the preparation of food.
On the wider issues raised, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 18201.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 potential impact of increases in registration fees charged by the General Pharmaceutical Council on the pharmacy workforce; and if she will hold discussions with the Council on the potential merits of introducing more flexible monthly payment options for registrants.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is independent of Government and is funded by fees charged to its registrants. The council is responsible for setting its own fees and determining flexible payment methods.
The GPhC currently offers the option for registrants to pay their fees in quarterly instalments and provides information regarding how pharmacists may be able to claim tax relief.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 ensure that NHS hospital trusts are able to maintain minimum safe staffing levels in maternity services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a record number of midwives working in the National Health Service this year, with over 600 more than a year ago. We are also investing £10.6 million in an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The Government has invested over £16 million in additional funding for obstetricians in England since 2023/24. As of June 2026, there were 100 more obstetrics and gynaecology consultants than a year earlier. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the NHS will have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We will publish a single national action plan by the end of the year to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. Ensuring that services have the right workforce to deliver safe care for all women and babies is central to this work.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 standardise guidance on safe staffing levels in maternity care between NHS hospital trusts.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a record number of midwives working in the National Health Service this year, with over 600 more than a year ago. We are also investing £10.6 million in an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The Government has invested over £16 million in additional funding for obstetricians in England since 2023/24. As of June 2026, there were 100 more obstetrics and gynaecology consultants than a year earlier. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the NHS will have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We will publish a single national action plan by the end of the year to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. Ensuring that services have the right workforce to deliver safe care for all women and babies is central to this work.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 tackle the shortage of gynaecologists and obstetricians in the NHS.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a record number of midwives working in the National Health Service this year, with over 600 more than a year ago. We are also investing £10.6 million in an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The Government has invested over £16 million in additional funding for obstetricians in England since 2023/24. As of June 2026, there were 100 more obstetrics and gynaecology consultants than a year earlier. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the NHS will have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We will publish a single national action plan by the end of the year to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. Ensuring that services have the right workforce to deliver safe care for all women and babies is central to this work.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) transitional protections and (b) alternative arrangements for long-serving NHS employees who retired, accessed their NHS pension and subsequently returned to NHS employment in circumstances where they were not made aware that doing so could substantially reduce their contractual redundancy entitlement.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing transitional protections or alternative arrangements for staff who have previously claimed pension benefits.
Redundancy terms for National Health Service staff on the Agenda for Change contract in England are set out under Section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, a set of terms collectively agreed by national collective bargaining structures including the NHS Staff Council. This also applies to other NHS staff whose redundancy terms refer to Section 16 of the Agenda for Change contract in England.
Claiming pension benefits, such as via retire and return, does not mean that NHS staff are ineligible for redundancy payments. However, taking pension benefits may change the way in which contractual redundancy payments are calculated.
The handbook states that service used for the purposes of calculating previous pension benefits will not count for the calculation of a contractual redundancy payment. Statutory redundancy entitlements are unaffected.
The Department commissions NHS Employers to provide guidance for employers on a range of topics, including NHS redundancy arrangements and retirement options, which they can then use to communicate with their staff.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to (a) NHS employees considering retire-and-return arrangements regarding the potential effect of accessing their NHS pension on their future contractual redundancy entitlement and (b) to NHS employers on ensuring that staff are informed of any significant reduction in redundancy protection before making a decision to retire and return.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing transitional protections or alternative arrangements for staff who have previously claimed pension benefits.
Redundancy terms for National Health Service staff on the Agenda for Change contract in England are set out under Section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, a set of terms collectively agreed by national collective bargaining structures including the NHS Staff Council. This also applies to other NHS staff whose redundancy terms refer to Section 16 of the Agenda for Change contract in England.
Claiming pension benefits, such as via retire and return, does not mean that NHS staff are ineligible for redundancy payments. However, taking pension benefits may change the way in which contractual redundancy payments are calculated.
The handbook states that service used for the purposes of calculating previous pension benefits will not count for the calculation of a contractual redundancy payment. Statutory redundancy entitlements are unaffected.
The Department commissions NHS Employers to provide guidance for employers on a range of topics, including NHS redundancy arrangements and retirement options, which they can then use to communicate with their staff.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 effectiveness of Newborn Behavioural Observations and the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale within NHS maternity, health visiting and perinatal mental health services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale (NBAS) and Newborn Behavioural Observations (NBO) are tools used to observe newborn behaviour. The NBAS is a more detailed assessment, while the NBO is more commonly used to support parent-infant relationships by helping parents understand their baby’s cues, communication, and capabilities.
The evidence base is small and of limited quality, although it suggests potential benefits for parental confidence, responsiveness, and early bonding. A Cochrane review concluded that further research is needed before wider recommendation.
It is for individual National Health Service trusts to decide whether staff should use and be trained in these tools, therefore no assessment has been made of their use within the NHS.