Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NICE positive recommendations in each year since 2023 were issued as optimised decisions; and what proportion of the eligible patient population was able to access those medicines on the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations since 2023 that have been issued as optimised decisions:
Year | Number | Percentage of all publications excluding terminations |
2023/24 | 37 | 48% |
2024/25 | 33 | 43% |
2025/26 | 21 | 44% |
Source: NICE
Notes:
The Government does not hold data on the proportion of the eligible patient population able to access those medicines on the National Health Service. Some data may be available via the innovation scorecard and estimates report, avaiable at the following link:
This is a publication which reports on the use of medicines and medicine groupings in the NHS in England which have been positively appraised by NICE, including some NICE optimised decisions.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the annual efficiency savings projected for 2028–29 depends on efficiencies from National Highways’ Road Investment Strategy 3 which have not yet been finalised.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The forecasted efficiencies for 28/29 set out in the Departmental Efficiency Plan do not currently assume any efficiency savings from National Highways. National Highways’ efficiency target for the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS) will be confirmed when the RIS is published in March 2026.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what actions her Department will be taking to increase the number of unannounced inspections of establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is fully committed to continuous improvement in regulation and strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in science and innovation. As part of this, the Home Office is in the final stages of delivering a comprehensive programme of regulatory reform to strengthen the Animals in Science Regulation Unit to retain confidence and maintain robust compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).
As part of this programme, the number of inspectors will increase from 14.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at the end of 2017 to 22 FTE positions by March 2026.
Audit is based on assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance. The Regulator’s audit programme for compliance assurance purposes is delivered in accordance with the requirements defined in ASPA.
As part of the regulatory reform programme, the Regulator will be updating its audit programme, which is scheduled for release later in 2026.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many HMOs on the Isle of Wight are currently licensed for use as asylum accommodation; what the capacity of each is; and how many asylum seekers are currently housed in each property.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement actions have been taken against providers of HMOs used for asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight in the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on all Home Office contractors and subcontractors operating HMOs for asylum accommodation on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not currently using HMOs on the Isle of Wight to accommodate asylum accommodation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commit to publishing regular, local authority–level data on asylum accommodation in HMOs, including numbers, capacity and duration of use.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the location, size and occupancy of HMOs used for asylum accommodation by local authority area.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 quality of life for people being diagnosed, treated for or living with cancer under the National Cancer Plan .
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.
The plan will aim to improve how the physical and psychosocial needs of people with cancer can be met, with a focus on personalised care to improve quality of life. It will address how the experience of care can be improved for those diagnosed, treated, and living with and beyond cancer. The plan will be published early this year.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 month-by-month progress that will be needed to be compliant with the NHS' 92 per cent 18-week target by March 2029; and what progress has been made to date in 2025-26.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment.
NHS England’s 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance sets a national target to:
The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework sets out plans for 2026/27 to 28/29, with the expectation that local NHS organisations improve access and performance standards across core services over the next three years. This includes a target that 70% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2027.
A number of providers have already made significant improvements in their referral to treatment performance according to published data, including within 2025/26, which demonstrates the progress we asked the system to deliver is possible.