Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 research to identify a cure for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and invests over £1.8 billion a year on applied health and care research. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and clinical trials for therapeutics. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Since 2002, the NIHR has made available over £43 million of funding for research to address key evidence gaps on variant CJD including the development of a treatment for variant CJD, a diagnostic test for sub-clinical variant CJD, and decontamination of surgical instruments.
Recognising the devasting impact of CJD on patients and their loved ones as well as the current lack of a treatment, Department officials met with the Director of the Medical Research Council’s Prion Unit in October 2024 to discuss possible clinical trials for a candidate therapeutic, namely prion protein monoclonal antibody therapy, for CJD. The researchers were advised to explore the NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme as a route of funding.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2026 to Question 15445 on Department of Health and Social Care: Public Expenditure, if she will set out which capital programmes have been identified as having flexibility for the redeployment of capital funding; and whether she will provide a breakdown of any such programmes with reference to the capital spending allocations for (a) NHS Providers (net) and (b) DHSC Programme and Administration expenditure shown under Voted Expenditure on page 45 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2026–27.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Capital budgets are managed flexibly within the Department's overall capital expenditure limits to maximise delivery against agreed priorities and outcomes.
The Department does not routinely identify specific programmes in advance for the redeployment of capital funding. Decisions are taken in-year based on delivery performance, emerging pressures, and departmental priorities. Where there is a need to reprofile expenditure between financial years, this must be considered and agreed with HM Treasury through the Supplementary Estimates process.
The Central Government Supply Estimates set out the budgets approved by Parliament, including the net budget for NHS Providers and the Department’s Programme and Administration expenditure. The Department has no plans to publish any additional breakdown beyond that information.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
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 has made of the potential merits of introducing Enhertu for use in the NHS.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock on 29 June 2026 to Question 11564.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with AstraZeneca and Diiachi Sankyo on making Enhertu breast cancer drugs viable for introduction to the NHS.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock on 29 June 2026 to Question 11564.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to make Enhertu breast cancer drugs available to the NHS.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock on 29 June 2026 to Question 11564.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Defence Investment Plan Funding Explainer published on 30 June 2026, which projects will be affected by the reduction in his department’s capital budget in (I) 2026-27 (II) 2027-28 (iii) 2028-29 and (ii) 2029-30.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our contribution to the Defence Investment Plan will have no impact on frontline National Health Services, patient safety, investment in technology, or the delivery of the New Hospital Programme.
Capital programmes are designed to be flexible because projects develop at different speeds and funding needs change over time. That flexibility means we can redeploy some funding to defence without affecting the delivery of ongoing programmes.
More broadly, the capital budget for health is due to increase to £15 billion by 2029/30, over 30% higher than 2024/25.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon Member for North West Norfolk of 10 June 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the hon. Member’s correspondence of 10 June regarding Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 6 July.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2026 to Question 6636 on Dental Services: Norfolk, what estimate his Department has made of the median travel time for adult patients to access an NHS dental practice currently accepting new patients in North West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
No estimate has been made on the median travel time for adult patients to access a National Health Service dental practice in the constituency of North West Norfolk.
The ‘Find a Dentist’ website can be used to determine the locations of NHS practices accepting new adult patients, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist/
Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements.
NHS dentists are required to keep their NHS.UK profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS dental practices are accepting new adult NHS patients in (a) North West Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
As of 5 June 2026, the latest data available, none of the National Health Service dental practices in the North West Norfolk constituency were showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’. For the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB), nine of the NHS dental practices were showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’. This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards across England. The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it, and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country.
1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election, nearly half of which were delivered to children.
From April 2026, we began introducing a package of reforms which will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups. We will also make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments, and better oral health.
We are also committed to fundamentally reforming the dental contract by the end of the Parliament, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if it is his policy to make interim payments to valporate and pelvic mesh victims this calendar year.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out recommendations for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including options for interim payments.
The Government has deep sympathy for all those affected and recognises the profound impact that these harms have had on individuals and their families.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that he wants to make meaningful progress during this Parliament, although a decision to provide compensation has not yet been made. We recognise how difficult and disappointing this uncertainty is for those affected, and will ensure that the public is kept informed as soon as any decision on redress is made.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes since I have been in post, and had a very productive discussion about the ongoing health initiatives led by the Department regarding sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Details of the Government’s work to date are set out in recent letters to the Dr Hughes, which are published on her website.