Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards will be required to demonstrate alignment with the renewed Women's Health Strategy in annual delivery plans; and what consequences will apply where they do not comply.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan set out our ambition for high autonomy to be the norm across every part of the country. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the healthcare needs of their local population and have the freedom to do so, including women’s health. The Government is backing ICBs to do this through record funding.
Whilst we have moved away from endless central targets through the planning guidance, we have been very clear with ICBs that we expect them to continue their prioritisation of women’s health services.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to using insights from what women are saying to improve how services respond. With patient power payments, an innovative pilot approach that will focus on specific gynaecology services as a first step, patients will be contacted after care and given a say on whether the full payment for the costs of their care should be released to the providers. Prioritising specific gynaecology services will provide a new mechanism to ensure providers are responsive to women’s voices.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
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 integration of NHS England functions into his Department on ring-fenced women's health funding being absorbed into wider NHS budgets; and what steps he is taking to mitigate that risk.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The integration of NHS England functions into the Department of Health and Social Care is intended to strengthen accountability and reduce duplication, supporting clearer ways of working across the health system.
The transformation does not involve reductions to frontline services, and no investment will be cut to the National Health Service frontline.
During this transformation, the Department will continue to evaluate impacts and work collaboratively to ensure continuity of care and to identify and minimise any risks to patient safety. The future Department will have a dedicated National Priority Director whose portfolio will include women’s health and maternity to ensure girls’ and women’s health is effectively prioritised.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published on 15 April 2026, commits to new investments of around £2.5m and is supported by significant investment already committed through the NHS, public health and wider government programmes. This includes funding for gynaecology recovery and maternity estates which will deliver tangible improvements in the areas that matter most to women. The funding announced for the new policies in the Strategy will not be affected by the integration of NHS England functions into the Department.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) start and (b) target completion date are for the redesign of clinical pathways for heavy menstrual bleeding, urogynaecology and menopause; and which body will be responsible for reporting progress.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published in April 2026, committed to redesigning clinical pathways for heavy menstrual bleeding, urogynaecology and menopause.
These redesigned pathways will create roadmaps for health systems to use and adapt for local needs that will enable women to move more quickly through the system and reach the level of care they need with fewer appointments.
They will also help systems to transform services, plan their workforce and consider where capacity is most usefully deployed so that hospitals can provide the specialist care they are designed to, and move more care where appropriate into the community.
The redesigned pathways will be published in the summer.
Progress will reported and monitored by the local integrated care boards by way of Improvement Plans to NHS England Women’s Health National Programme Board.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria will govern allocation of the FemTech Challenge Fund; whether successful innovations will be required to demonstrate a clear adoption pathway into NHS services beyond pilot sites before receiving funding; and which organisation will administer the fund and be responsible for evaluating outcomes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to investing £1.5m into a FemTech healthcare challenge. This investment will accelerate the deployment and spread of innovations that benefit women’s health, with a focus on community service models that address health inequalities. It will enable systems and developers to buy products, and critically to free up clinical and management capacity to transform pathways and ways of working to ensure innovations can be adopted to benefit women and support National Health Service activity. The Department is now developing the detailed delivery arrangements for the funding and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister or senior official holds named personal accountability for delivery of each of the four core commitments in the renewed Women's Health Strategy; and whether those accountability arrangements will be published.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published on the 15 April 2026, sets out 117 actions across four core commitments:
acting on women’s voices and choices;
transforming National Health Service performance in services that matter most to women;
supporting all women to lead healthier lives; and
creating an approach to research and development that works for and empowers women.
The renewed strategy contains a summary of the actions associated with each commitment, and which organisation(s) will be responsible for delivery of each one.
The Minister for Women’s Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron) and the Department will have overall responsibility for implementing the renewed strategy.
Change will be immediate and ongoing. Some actions are already underway or funded this year, others will be delivered over the next two to five years, and more fundamental reforms will be phased over the next decade, aligned with the 10-Year Health Plan. The renewed strategy sets out clear milestones and accountability to ensure progress continues.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
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 ensure the renewed Women’s Health Strategy is supported by clear implementation plans, timelines and measurable outcomes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, published on 15 April 2026, is designed to be implemented through clear actions with defined timelines, responsible delivery organisations and success measures.
The summary of actions tables found throughout the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy highlights clearly the responsible delivery organisation, and the planned timeframe, for all 117 actions to which the Department has committed. Change will be immediate and ongoing. Some actions are already underway or funded this year, others will be delivered over the next two to five years, and more fundamental reforms will be phased over the next decade, aligned with the 10-Year Health Plan. The renewed strategy sets out clear milestones and accountability to ensure progress continues.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with her EU counterparts on the potential impact of the 90-in-180-day rule on UK nationals since January 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before ProrogationAsked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support mechanisms exist for small businesses who lose stock or income due to crime where no insurance cover is available.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the significant challenges that crime and theft can pose for small businesses. There is a wide range of available insurance products, where cover is difficult to secure, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association can help identify specialist brokers.
The Government is also strengthening its response to retail crime and improving town centre safety through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Safer Streets mission, and the new High Streets Illegality Taskforce.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how police forces will be held accountable for improving response times, investigations and conviction rates following the introduction of new measures under the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces will be held accountable for improving response times and investigative outcomes through the new Police Performance System, which will provide a single, consistent picture of police performance across all forces, enable earlier identification of problems and provide targeted support to deliver better service for the public.
As set out in the Police Reform White Paper, we have committed to introducing clear national targets on response times. The Police Performance System will enable consistent assessment of contact and response, using nationally comparable data. This will strengthen the scrutiny of underperforming forces, enabling earlier and robust intervention, including performance improvement plans where necessary and statutory intervention powers.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are being taken to improve detection and prosecution rates for shoplifting offences.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
This bespoke offence will send a clear signal to perpetrators that assaults on retail workers are unacceptable and won’t go unpunished. It will also ensure that assaults on retail workers are separately recorded so that we know the true scale of the problem, enabling the police to respond accordingly.
The Government is also supporting the ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy’, which was jointly developed by the police and industry, providing a collaborative and evidence-based approach in preventing and detecting retail crime.
We are providing £7 million over a three‑year period covering 2025 to 2028, to tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Additionally, we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.