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 trends in the level of attacks on healthcare workers in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. Trends in violence towards NHS staff have generally stayed at the same levels in recent years.
Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including security, training, and emotional support, for staff affected by violence. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that there is zero tolerance of violence and harassment against NHS staff, and in April 2025 accepted all the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal. These measures will be strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan. These are likely to focus on areas such as improving staff health and wellbeing and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.
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 are being taken to improve the time taken for red flag referrals for breast cancer to be seen.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England.
The Department is responsible for healthcare in England and therefore has not made a formal assessment on the timescales for red flag referrals for breast cancer across the whole of the United Kingdom.
As the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and treatment in England, NHS England has delivered an extra 100,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week since the start of this administration. This is supported by an increase in capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
The Department recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis, and remains committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including breast cancer. To tackle late diagnoses, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type.
Reducing variation in cancer care in England, including the movement of patients through breast cancer care pathways, is a priority for the Government. To address this, NHS England funded audits into primary and metastatic breast cancer. Using routine data collected on patients diagnosed with breast cancer in an NHS setting, the audits bring together information to look at what is being done well, where it is being done well, and what needs to be done better. On 11 September 2025, the second State of the Nation report for primary and metastatic breast cancer was published by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre, and officials in the Department and NHS England are acting on the findings where appropriate.
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 has been made on the timescales for red flag referrals for breast cancer across the UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England.
The Department is responsible for healthcare in England and therefore has not made a formal assessment on the timescales for red flag referrals for breast cancer across the whole of the United Kingdom.
As the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and treatment in England, NHS England has delivered an extra 100,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week since the start of this administration. This is supported by an increase in capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
The Department recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis, and remains committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including breast cancer. To tackle late diagnoses, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type.
Reducing variation in cancer care in England, including the movement of patients through breast cancer care pathways, is a priority for the Government. To address this, NHS England funded audits into primary and metastatic breast cancer. Using routine data collected on patients diagnosed with breast cancer in an NHS setting, the audits bring together information to look at what is being done well, where it is being done well, and what needs to be done better. On 11 September 2025, the second State of the Nation report for primary and metastatic breast cancer was published by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre, and officials in the Department and NHS England are acting on the findings where appropriate.
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 funding his Department plans to provide for sexual health clinics in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department provides funding for sexual health services through the Public Health Grant, which is allocated to local authorities in England. Sexual health is one of a number of public health services funded through the Public Health Grant. The Department does not specify how much is spent on sexual health specifically; local authorities are responsible for commissioning sexual health services to meet the needs of their populations.
We will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing over £13.4 billion over the next three years through a consolidated ringfenced Public Health Grant. This will support a number of vital local health services, including sexual health services.
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 are being taken to decrease underage alcohol consumption rates.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In general, alcohol consumption among under 18 year olds has been declining over the last 20 years. The Chief Medical Officer for England’s guidance for healthcare professionals on alcohol consumption in children and young people is clear that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest option. The Department promotes this guidance through the alcohol and drug information and advice service ‘Talk to FRANK’ which can be accessed at the following link:
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 improve allergy care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), co-chaired by the Department and the National Allergy Strategy Group, meets regularly to bring together stakeholders across the Government, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, professional bodies, and patient representative groups, to consider how allergy care and support could be improved. The purpose of the EAGA is to inform policymaking, and to identify priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies. The EAGA last met on 3 December2025.
In July 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency licensed a new adrenaline nasal spray, EURneffy, for use in the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis. The Government welcomes the approval of needle free delivery methods of adrenaline, recognising the potential to benefit to those who suffer from allergies.
More widely, there are a number of policies outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan which should have a positive impact on care for patients with allergy. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of technology will all support people to manage allergies closer to home.
Neighbourhood Health Services will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings with multi-disciplinary teams who can provide wrap-around support services to people with allergies or other long-term conditions.
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 the National Cancer Plan will include specific actions to deliver neighbourhood cancer care close to home, particularly for those in rural or underserved areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bringing cancer care into the Neighbourhood Health Service is an important part of our forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, enabling cancer patients to be treated and cared for closer to home.
The National Cancer Plan, which will be published early this year, will seek to make cancer care easier, more local, and more responsive. Rather than requiring endless trips to hospitals, cancer care will happen as locally as it can. This means digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and in a hospital if necessary. As a larger proportion of England’s population survives cancer, this new model offers the potential for a higher quality of life, so that people in England to live longer, better lives after cancer diagnosis.
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 his Department is taking to meet cancer waiting time targets and ensure people living with and affected by cancer receive the timely care they need.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving cancer waiting times for patients is a high priority for the Government.
We will do this through the increased use of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) which will increase the available capacity and bring healthcare closer to the community. CDCs are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country with 103 of these being are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, offering at least one test in expanded hours, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around their busy working lives.
The National Cancer Plan, which is due to be published early this year, will set out how we will increase performance, speed up diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately provide better outcomes for cancer patients. It will ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and improve patient experience and outcomes.
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 his Department is taking to help improve outcomes for cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress towards this ambition, we will publish a cardiovascular disease (CVD) Modern Service Framework later this year. The framework will support consistent, high quality and equitable care whist fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.
Alongside this, work is underway to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check, which is a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks and strokes a year.
To improve access and to give patients more flexibility and choice, we are developing an NHS Health Check Online service that people can use at home at a time and place convenient to them, to understand and act on their CVD risk. Community pharmacies continue to strengthen prevention efforts, and since 2021 they have delivered nearly 4.2 million blood pressure checks, supporting earlier detection and management of key CVD risk factors.
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 plans to take with the Northern Ireland Executive to help improve the supply of ADHD drugs to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has overall responsibility for the continuity of medicine supply in the United Kingdom and crown dependences, including shortages management. However, responsibility for managing the impact of shortages is devolved for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
We regularly share information about higher impact and critical medicine shortages with the devolved administrations to support management of medicine supply issues across the UK.
The Department has made significant progress in improving the availability of medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), working closely with industry and key stakeholders to overcome previous supply challenges. Through intensive collaboration with industry, NHS England, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, supply issues have now been fully resolved. All ADHD medicines, across all formulations and strengths, are readily available for prescribing.
We continue to work closely with ADHD medicine suppliers to address any challenges promptly and to strengthen the resilience of the supply chain. This includes securing additional stock, expediting deliveries, and broadening the UK supplier base to meet future demand. To ensure a robust and sustainable supply, we are partnering with NHS England’s ADHD taskforce to develop growth forecasts and share them with industry, enabling effective planning and continuity of supply.