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 requirement in the NHS England Commercial Framework for New Medicines for medicines to provide value at-or-below NICE’s cost-effectiveness threshold on access to treatments for (a) rare and (b) ultra-rare disease patients .
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answers my Rt Hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Health gave on 1 September 2025 to Questions 69240, 69241, and 69242.
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 ensure that the (a) pricing and (b) reimbursement system for multi-indication medicines does not disadvantage patients with (i) rare and (ii) ultra-rare conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answers my Rt Hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Health gave on 1 September 2025 to Questions 69240, 69241, and 69242.
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 plans to remove parental (a) income and (b) education levels as factors in cases of maternity clinical negligence.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experience of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point.
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 discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on pay.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Annual pay awards for staff on Agenda for Change contracts in England, including nurses, are decided by the Government following receipt of recommendations made by the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). The Government accepted the 2025/26 recommendations in full, and in July, the Government asked the NHSPRB to begin the 2026/27 pay round. Relevant stakeholders are invited to submit evidence to the NHSPRB to inform its deliberations.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has met with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on multiple occasions since taking office, as have I, to discuss working conditions for National Health Service staff, including pay, and is always open to talking to unions about how they can work with the Government to support the NHS workforce. Officials continue to engage with the RCN on pay and contractual matters through the NHS Staff Council.
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 the (a) health and (b) wellbeing of the NHS workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health and wellbeing of National Health Service staff is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out Staff Treatment Hubs to ensure all staff have access to high quality occupational health support, including for mental health. To further support this ambition, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism and sexual harassment in the 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 his Department is taking to build (a) robust and (b) sustainable partnerships with (i) cancer charities, (ii) community organisations and (iii) people with lived experience of cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 September 2025 to Question 69805.
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 tackle health inequalities through the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan has set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.
We know everyday life poses greater health risks to the most disadvantaged in society, and that the current model of care works least well for those who already experience disadvantage and are far more likely to have complex needs.
To help tackle this, we will distribute NHS funding more equally locally, so it is better aligned with health need. And we will establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, beginning with places where healthy life expectancy is lowest. Neighbourhood health centres will co-locate NHS, local authority and voluntary sector services, to help create an offer that meets population need.
Neighbourhood health will redesign and join up existing health and care services. General practice leaders will be pivotal in shaping and delivering these new services that require working across several different neighbourhoods, supported by two optional contracts to be introduced from 2026.
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, if he will take steps to update dental professional healthcare regulation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to modernising the regulatory frameworks for all healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom.
As a first step, we aim to consult on secondary legislation to modernise the General Medical Council’s regulatory framework in late 2025 and to lay this legislation before Parliament in 2026. This will be followed by further legislation which will modernise the governing legislation for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and for the Health and Care Professions Council, within the current Parliamentary session.
The Department will continue to work with regulators, the devolved governments and other key partners as we develop more consistent, efficient and effective regulatory frameworks.
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 proportion of Mounjaro (a) prescribing and (b) medication management services his Department plans to carry out digitally.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are not currently any specific targets for the proportions of prescribing and medication management activity of tirzepatide, also known as Mounjaro, including monitoring, follow-up, and review for tirzepatide that will be carried out digitally.
The National Health Service is in the process of making tirzepatide available for weight management in primary care, including developing and testing new models of care, like community-based services and digital technologies. NHS England is working with the Office for Life Sciences and other partners to develop digitally enabled care pathways, supported by behavioural interventions, with patient safety and clinical oversight at their core. These innovative pathways are being designed to bring together remote prescribing, personalised behavioural support, and ongoing clinical supervision, allowing patients to access high-quality care in a way that is convenient and tailored to their individual needs.
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 recent progress he has made in addressing increasing clinical negligence costs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last ten years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experience of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area.