Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on meeting the 18-week treatment target in the Elective Reform Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Elective Reform plan set out that the Government is committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, by March 2029. Additionally, NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 set a target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by the end of March 2026.
To achieve this, we expect the size of the total waiting list to reduce and have already made significant progress. As of December 2025, the waiting list had reduced by over 330,000 since the Government came into office. This is despite 31.7 million referrals onto the waiting list. Performance against the referral to treatment standard had improved by 2.7% over the same period, reaching 61.5%.
This has been supported by the delivery of 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025 compared to the previous year, more than double the Government’s pledge of two million. This marked a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 support NHS dentists to tackle waiting lists.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service 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 and no national waiting list. 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. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS 111.
The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments 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 2024 to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December, we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. More information is available from the following website:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of greater reference to blood cancer diagnosis and treatment pathways in upcoming cancer policy documents.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan for England, released on 4 February 2026, sets out a commitment to diagnose cancers earlier and ensure people receive timely, effective treatment. The government is committed to helping the National Health Service to detect cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and provide faster treatment to improve outcomes.
While there has been no separate assessment of the benefits of including blood cancer pathways in future policy documents, the National Cancer Plan for England outlines actions to improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those diagnosed with blood cancer. These include expanding faster access to diagnostic tests, improving treatment turnaround times, and ensuring patients benefit from the latest innovations and technologies.
The NHS in England now uses non‑specific symptom pathways for people presenting with symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue or general illness that do not point to a particular cancer type. These pathways are especially important for detecting blood cancers, which often present with vague or non‑specific symptoms.
In addition, ongoing investment in diagnostic capacity, including new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners, will support the NHS in England to diagnose all cancers, including blood cancers, earlier and ensure patients can begin treatment as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have spent on (i) Part IX, Value-Based Procurement and (ii) the MedTech Commercial Strategy reforms.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have spent:
These figures do not include the Department and NHS England staff time.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people living in England are (a) blind and (b) partially sighted, broken down by age.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific data requested is not held centrally, however the Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People data collection provides national statistics on individuals in England with a Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) who are on local authority registers. A CVI formally certifies someone as sight impaired or as severely sight impaired. The latest figures are from 2022/23 and can be found at the following link:
As of 31 March 2023, there were 268,500 people registered as blind and partially sighted in England. The following table shows the number of people registered as blind/severely sight impaired, as of 31 March 2023, broken down by age:
0 to 4 | 5 to 17 | 18 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 to 74 | 75 and over |
420 | 3,730 | 18,530 | 19,725 | 15,100 | 75,810 |
In addition, the following table shows the number of people registered as partial sight/sight impaired persons, as of 31 March 2023, broken down by age:
0 to 4 | 5 to 17 | 18 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 to 74 | 75 and over |
430 | 5,920 | 17,650 | 16,920 | 14,115 | 80,150 |
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who the members are of the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework Task and Finish Group.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are two appointed co-chairs to the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) Task and Finish Group, namely Dr. Jessica Randall-Carrick and Sir Andrew Goddard.
The membership of the group comprises of a wide range of representatives from 31 stakeholder organisations, including, charities, professional bodies, patient, and public voices, the Department, and NHS England, related to cardiovascular disease and associated conditions.
The Department and NHS England are engaging widely with stakeholders to co-produce the CVD MSF, ensuring that experts, people, and communities are at the heart of its development.
The CVD MSF will be published later this year and will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the cardiovascular disease pathway.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 long-term financial and psychological impact of blood cancer on patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government and the National Health Service to support people who are living with cancer, and for those people who have been through cancer treatment.
Through the National Cancer Plan, we will improve experiences and outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer. Every cancer patient will receive a tailored support plan, covering treatment, mental health, and employment support. Every patient will also have a named neighbourhood care lead to coordinate their care and support after treatment. We will support patients to stay in and return to work through Health and Growth Accelerators and a new employer collaborative, in partnership with cancer charities, the NHS, and the Government.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 merits of extending the free school milk entitlement through the Nursery Milk Scheme to the end of the academic year in which a child turns five.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursery Milk Scheme (NMS) is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five years old who attend a setting for two or more hours per day.
The NHS Business Services Authority, which delivers the NMS on behalf of the Department, does not hold data relating to the number of children who became ineligible for free milk as a result of the age eligibility cut-off of the NMS.
There are no plans to extend eligibility for the NMS to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. However, the School Food Standards provide that milk must be available in schools for those who want it at least once a day during school hours. Separate legislation allows pupils who are eligible for free school meals to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old. Free school meal eligibility will be expanded from September 2026 to more disadvantaged children, leading to higher attainment, improved behaviour, and better outcomes. As eligibility widens, more children will be able to access free milk.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children became ineligible for free school milk as a result of the age eligibility cut-off of the Nursery Milk Scheme in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursery Milk Scheme (NMS) is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five years old who attend a setting for two or more hours per day.
The NHS Business Services Authority, which delivers the NMS on behalf of the Department, does not hold data relating to the number of children who became ineligible for free milk as a result of the age eligibility cut-off of the NMS.
There are no plans to extend eligibility for the NMS to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. However, the School Food Standards provide that milk must be available in schools for those who want it at least once a day during school hours. Separate legislation allows pupils who are eligible for free school meals to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old. Free school meal eligibility will be expanded from September 2026 to more disadvantaged children, leading to higher attainment, improved behaviour, and better outcomes. As eligibility widens, more children will be able to access free milk.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 age-based eligibility criteria for free school milk on (a) educational and (b) health inequalities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursery Milk Scheme (NMS) is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five years old who attend a setting for two or more hours per day.
The NHS Business Services Authority, which delivers the NMS on behalf of the Department, does not hold data relating to the number of children who became ineligible for free milk as a result of the age eligibility cut-off of the NMS.
There are no plans to extend eligibility for the NMS to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. However, the School Food Standards provide that milk must be available in schools for those who want it at least once a day during school hours. Separate legislation allows pupils who are eligible for free school meals to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old. Free school meal eligibility will be expanded from September 2026 to more disadvantaged children, leading to higher attainment, improved behaviour, and better outcomes. As eligibility widens, more children will be able to access free milk.