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 extend funding for advice and guidance services for GPs to other parts of primary care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no plans to introduce funding for Advice and Guidance Enhanced Services for community pharmacy, dental practices, or opticians. Most referrals to specialist services come from general practices (GPs), who have a primary role in the management of patient health and care in the community.
In 2025/26, the Government introduced the General Practice Advice and Guidance Enhanced Service, which makes provision for GPs to claim a £20 fee for each new advice and guidance request, to recognise the key role they play in delivering on the Government’s commitments to shift care from hospital to community and to return to the 18-week Referral to Treatment constitutional standard by March 2029.
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 information his Department holds on the proportion of ambulance call-outs that were related to (a) drug and (b) alcohol use in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally.
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, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of NHS England providing formal agreements in principle to pharmaceutical companies that commercial flexibility may be granted for multi-indication medicines (a) prior to and (b) pending the outcome of NICE evaluations.
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 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 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.