Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to produce an annual report on the state of NHS dentistry in England.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At present, NHS England reports on progress against its objectives for National Health Service dentistry as part of its annual report to Parliament. We will keep options for reporting progress in this area under review.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department monitors the amount of food waste generated by its offices each month.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the sections of the Department’s annual report covering Sustainability, and Greening Government, which cover the Department’s monitoring and performance across a range of environmental measures, including food waste.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 increased participation in bowel cancer screening in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Lincolnshire, coverage amongst people aged between 60 and 74 years old is above the national average of 72.9% and currently stands at 75.5%. Nationally, coverage of bowel cancer screening has been increasing in recent years, with a marked increase from 2019 of 12.4% since the faecal immunochemical test was rolled out as the primary test in the screening programme.
Partners are working to increase participation in bowel cancer screening in Lincolnshire through a range of initiatives focused on improving access, awareness, and early diagnosis, including expanding eligibility for bowel cancer screening to include people aged over 50, enabling more residents to be screened, and working in partnership with the University of Lincoln's Lincolnshire Institute of Rural and Coastal Health to better understand barriers to screening participation and to develop evidence-based interventions to increase it.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will act on the recommendations in the Taskforce for Lung Health’s report entitled Breathing Life into the NHS and introduce a respiratory Modern Service Framework.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 July by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Sharon Hodgson MP) in response to Question 17694.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has appointed staff from outside the civil service other than special advisers since July 2024.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Both before and after July 2024, the Department has appointed a number of staff from outside the Civil Service, including appointments made through fair and open competition where external candidates were successful.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many agency staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Information on the Department’s workforce is published monthly on the GOV.UK website, and can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information
The following table shows the number of non-payroll staff recorded in the relevant Monthly Workforce Management Information categories for the Department, in line with published Monthly Workforce Management Information and excluding agencies, at the end of March in each of the last five years:
Year | Headcount |
2022 | 193 |
2023 | 58 |
2024 | 42 |
2025 | 14 |
2026 | 20 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 volume of preventable deaths in the UK due to respiratory diseases.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Data held for England shows that in 2024 there were 9,609 deaths in people aged under 75 years old where the death was due to respiratory disease and considered preventable. This data is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/respiratory-disease/data
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of respiratory disease and respiratory death. The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.
The Government is also improving access to earlier diagnosis of respiratory disease through community diagnostic centres, helping more people to access respiratory testing closer to home.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 guarantee access to Whole Genome Sequencing for all brain cancer patients.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
NHS England is responsible for commissioning the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) in England. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is available through the NHS GMS for all brain cancer patients where expert review indicates genomic testing is needed to support diagnosis, treatment decisions, or clinical trial access. The number of brain cancer patients receiving WGS has increased over the past 12 months.
NHS England is also exploring alternative technological approaches to brain cancer genomic testing, in order to support more timely and scalable genomic testing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 reduce cardiology waiting lists in Lincolnshire.
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 across all specialties, including cardiology. As a first step towards achieving this, we delivered on our interim target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026.
Since coming into office, the Government has improved cardiology waiting times nationally, with a waiting list reduction of almost 31,000 and an 8.1% improvement in the proportion of waits below 18 weeks. The Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board has 70.5% of its cardiology waiting list below 18 weeks, over 2% better than the national average.
As set out in the Elective Reform Plan we are investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care. These actions will improve waiting times for all patients, and specifically cardiology as a priority speciality.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 how the needs of specialised services for cystic fibrosis will be assessed under the new proposals as set out in the NHS Modernisation Bill.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to ensuring that patients who rely on specialised services continue to receive high-quality, equitable care. Under the proposals in the NHS Modernisation Bill, specialised services will continue to be clearly defined within the statutory commissioning framework, with commissioning arrangements informed by clinical evidence, population need, national service specifications, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, quality standards, and patient outcomes.
We recognise that cystic fibrosis services are specialised in nature and, since April 2025, these services are commissioned by integrated care boards and underpinned by national service specifications, clinical commissioning policies, and NICE technology appraisal guidance.
As part of the wider programme of health and care system reform, we are clear of the need to retain the integrity of specialised services and continue to support high-quality, equitable care for patients with rare and complex conditions such as cystic fibrosis. We recognise the importance of ensuring that clinical networks, service standards, and outcomes are preserved and strengthened through any transition.
Patient and public involvement will also continue to be a core part of specialised commissioning, with the NHS Modernisation Bill strengthening responsibilities at both national and local levels to ensure patient feedback informs decision-making and service planning. Any future commissioning decisions relating to specialised services will continue to be taken with appropriate clinical advice and engagement with patients, charities and other stakeholders, with the aim of maintaining equitable access and improving outcomes for patients with rare and complex conditions.