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 fire safety in healthcare settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service has unique fire safety issues given the nature of its services and the patients it treats. These issues and related risks are analysed with risk reduction measures such as specific technical guidance updates and technical bulletins based on this data being developed and published where appropriate. Professional networking ensures that best practice is shared with the NHS via professional organisations such as National Fire Chiefs Council, the National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers, and the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management.
This specific fire safety guidance is provided to the NHS in the Health Technical Memorandum 05 generally referred to as Firecode. This guidance is being revised to fully reflect recent changes in legislation, technology, and policy, and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/fire-safety-in-the-nhs-health-technical-memorandum-05-03/
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 adequacy of the availability of specialist doctors and nurses for headaches.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an assessment of the adequacy of the number of specialist doctors and nurses for headaches employed in the National Health Service in England.
Patients presenting with headaches may be treated through multiple points of contact across primary, urgent, and secondary care, with input from different clinical teams depending on symptoms and severity.
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 help improve respite services for carers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.
In England, the Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. The Better Care Fund includes funding that can be used for carer support, including short breaks and respite services. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.
We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.
The Government is making around £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in England in 2028-29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements.
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 will take to increase availability of renal psychology services for kidney patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Mental health and psychosocial support, such as renal psychology services, for people living with kidney disease is a key priority within NHS England’s programme to improve renal care. The Renal Service Transformation Programme, published in 2023, provides a national framework for raising standards across the renal pathway, including a strengthened focus on supporting the emotional and psychological needs of patients.
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 his Department spent on legal costs in the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the total legal fees for the core Department per the audited annual reports from 2020/21 to 2024/25, rounded to the nearest thousand:
2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
£46,087 | £37,975 | £35,799 | £37,482 | £39,694 |
The legal fees for the departmental group can be found in the Annual Report and accounts in the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025#
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021
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 vaccine uptake in schools.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors uptake of childhood and adolescent vaccinations via the school-based programmes and publishes this in annual coverage reports. Uptake across the programmes has shown a decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, with some evidence of stabilisation during the academic year 2023/24. The reports are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake
NHS England, in conjunction with regional colleagues, has produced a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination school-aged immunisation improvement and uptake plan for internal operational National Health Service use, as part of their commitment to improving vaccine coverage.
In addition, NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS app, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.
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 ensure additional funding for community pharmacies to meet demand.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/2026. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.
The 2026/27 national community pharmacy funding arrangements will be subject to consultation with Community Pharmacy England, which will commence shortly.
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 raise awareness of blood donation events.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. In the last financial year, NHSBT delivered over 700 donor recruitment events, resulting in 17,000 new registrations and more than 8,000 blood donation appointments booked. Current activity to raise awareness of donation opportunities across England includes:
- high-profile campaigns aligned with events such as National Blood Week, World Blood Donor Day, Black History Month, Pride, and University Freshers’ Fairs. These are supported by radio, social media, billboards and bus stops, as well as through partnerships with commercial organisations, charities, and the public sector. NHSBT is also piloting advertising on TikTok to reach younger audiences who are under-represented in the donor base;
- targeted activities, including local donor recruitment events, community television, and radio advertising, and the Community Grants Programme which funds trusted local organisations to engage with communities where specific blood types are most needed. Further information on the Community Grants Programme is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/;
- direct marketing to previous donors, including phone calls, emails, and text messages, to raise awareness of local sessions and to encourage them to book appointments and return to donate; and
- a recent partnership between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and NHSBT to encourage learner drivers, especially much needed younger people, and motorists renewing their driving licences to sign up and become regular donors.
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 recorded incidents there have been involving scramblers in the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held in the format requested. NHS England publishes data on the cause of hospital admitted patient care activity. However, this does not distinguish between types of motorcycle vehicles. The following able shows the number of Finished Admission Episodes in each of the past three financial years specifically for injuries to motorcycle riders and pedestrians hit by motorcycles:
External cause | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Pedestrian injured in collision with two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle | 346 | 345 | 377 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with pedestrian or animal | 99 | 90 | 115 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with pedal cycle | 19 | 38 | 42 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle | 305 | 253 | 286 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with car, pick-up truck or van | 2,990 | 3,104 | 3,211 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with heavy transport vehicle or bus | 97 | 97 | 119 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with railway train or railway vehicle | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with other nonmotor vehicle | 21 | 18 | 17 |
Motorcycle rider injured in collision with fixed or stationary object | 806 | 876 | 946 |
Motorcycle rider injured in noncollision transport accident | 3,634 | 3,789 | 4,057 |
Motorcycle rider injured in other and unspecified transport accidents | 802 | 812 | 884 |
Total | 8,776 | 9,079 | 9,680 |
Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity, available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity
Note: this may not cover all incidents in which a motorcycle rider or pedestrian is injured, as these could also be recorded under more general transport-related causes such as: “Motor- or nonmotor-vehicle accident, type of vehicle unspecified”. This also does not include any admissions due to injuries in other vehicles which were involved in a collision with a motorcycle.
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 his Department has made of the adequacy of biopsy waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From February 2026, the percentage of histopathology cases reported within ten days will be published at national, regional, integrated care board, and National Health Service trust levels. These histopathology cases will include biopsies in the overall figures, but data is not collected by test type.