Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 65769, when her Department will publish its study on the causal association between alcohol marketing and related attitudes and consumption.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The study in question is being undertaken by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Policy Research Unit. Updates and publications will be published by the NIHR when available at the following link:

https://www.phpru.online/projects/current-projects/examining-the-causal-association-between-alcohol-marketing-and-alcohol-related-attitudes-and-consumption-a-longitudinal-cohort-study-with-adults-in-the-united-kingdom.html

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of recent safeguarding changes affecting DBS checks on employers’ willingness to offer work experience to under-16s; and when her Department will issue clear guidance to schools and employers.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Safeguarding children must always be a key priority. Recent changes to regulated activity, introduced by the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which remove the supervision exemption, have brought more activities into scope of regulated activity. The department is aware that this change has created concerns amongst employers, schools and work experience providers about when an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with children's barred list information might be suitable for staff supervising under-16 work experience placements. We are actively considering these concerns to ensure young people can benefit from work experience placements and feel confident about their next step, equipped with the skills and experience they need to succeed.

DBS has published guidance on changes to regulated activity and is hosting Disclosure and Eligibility Workshops for organisations that are unsure about how the removal of the supervision exemption may affect their workforce.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made on giving community pharmacists the ability to amend prescriptions in response to medicines shortages.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has consulted on proposals that would enable community pharmacists, in certain circumstances, to supply an alternative strength and/or formulation of a prescribed medicine without obtaining a new prescription. However, the proposed flexibilities would not apply, except in limited exceptions, when there is a known serious shortage of the medicine prescribed or the alternative to be supplied. This is to avoid the risk of causing knock-on shortages and disruption to the medicine supply chain. The consultation, ‘Enabling pharmacist flexibilities when dispensing medicines’, closed in December 2025 and the Government intends to publish its response in the coming weeks. Further information on the consultation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/enabling-pharmacist-flexibilities-when-dispensing-medicines/enabling-pharmacist-flexibilities-when-dispensing-medicines

Separately, Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) remain available to manage and mitigate shortages of medicines. An SSP enables a community pharmacist to supply a specified medicine in accordance with a protocol, without the patient needing to return to the prescriber.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress she has made on the review of the surplus-sharing arrangements for the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme; and when she expects that review to conclude.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has had constructive discussions with the Trustees of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme and hopes to be able to make an announcement shortly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her department has taken to develop and publish a national implementation plan for the full rollout of Fracture Liaison Services across England by 2030.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 September in response to Question HL2030.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Question 15645, when he expects the initial wave of Modern Service Frameworks to be completed; and what the National Quality Board’s timeline is for determining conditions to prioritise for new Modern Service Frameworks.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Modern service frameworks define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. The first wave of priorities has included cardiovascular disease, sepsis, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.

Progress on these frameworks is at different stages. Some have already been delivered, namely sepsis and cardiovascular disease, with the Government expecting the remainder of the initial wave to be delivered before the end of 2026 or in 2027.

The Government has asked the National Quality Board to consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, based on an assessment of the potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. We will update Parliament on the results of that process in the usual way in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the potential cost of uprating the social care capital limit in line with CPI since 2010/11.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No estimate of the kind referred to in Question 31431 has been made, but on Question 32622, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 4030.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to uprate the social care capital limit for 2027-28.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No estimate of the kind referred to in Question 31431 has been made, but on Question 32622, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 4030.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to respond to the Stroke Association's report entitled Unlocking Potential: A Bold Vision for Stroke Care in England.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 September 2025 in response to Question 71502. The published Modern Service Framework on cardiovascular disease is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cardiovascular-disease-modern-service-framework

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of changes to levels of overseas development assistance on the (a) treatment and (b) elimination of neglected tropical diseases.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK supports the World Health Organisation's Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021-2030 including through our Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in Africa (ELFA) programme which has supported elimination efforts in eleven African countries since 2024. The UK also supports research and development for neglected tropical diseases including through funding to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative which has helped develop thirteen new treatments for six diseases.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on the number of working-age adults who received long term local authority funded social care support in 2024/25 at ages (a) 18-25 and (b) 26-35.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information is not held in the format requested.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to exempt savings held in the proposed First-Time Buyer ISA from the means tests for adult social care; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on that matter.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Eligibility for financial support with adult social care costs is determined under the adult social care charging framework, which is the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care. Financial assessments take account of an individual’s capital and savings in accordance with that framework.

The Government has no plans to exempt savings held in a First-Time Buyer ISA from adult social care means tests.

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