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 NHS dental appointments have been (a) delivered and (b) cancelled in Lincolnshire in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of National Health Service dental treatments delivered in the first seven months of the 2025/26 financial year, in the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board:
Financial year | Number of NHS dental treatments delivered in the first 7 months of the financial year |
2025/26 | 282,676 (partial year) |
Source: Monthly National Dental Activity data – England July 2023 to October 2025, available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dental-activity-data-england-july-2023-to-october-2025
In addition, the following table shows the available data for the number of NHS dental treatments delivered in 2023/24 and 2024/25, in the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board:
Financial year | Number of NHS dental treatments delivered |
2024/25 | 434,558 |
2023/24 | 423,868 |
Source: dental statistics for England 2024/25 and 2023/24, available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202425
Data for dentistry is measured in courses of treatment, not appointments. One course of treatment can be more than one appointment. Data on the number of NHS dental appointments cancelled is not held.
The data for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are not directly comparable with the 2025/26 data due to the 2025/26 data being provisional. Final data for 2025/26 will be published in August 2026. Furthermore, the 2025/26 data covers 7 months of activity, but the 2023/24 and 2024/25 data covers the full 12-month period.
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 ensure that decisions to section individuals are based on the merits of the case in question and not on ethnicity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions to detain patients under the Mental Health Act should not be based on ethnicity. The reforms under the Mental Health Act 2025 ensure that detention is used when absolutely necessary for patient and public safety. The planned reforms will not change the fundamental powers and purpose of the act, which is to detain and treat people when they are so unwell they become a risk to themselves or others.
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 help improve access to whole genome sequencing for diagnosis of brain tumours.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will support England to be a world leader on cancer research and innovation. The Department’s actions will support patients in England to get access to the latest breakthroughs in care and treatment. This will aid the health and care system to prevent, detect, and better treat and manage a wider range of cancers contributing to improved survival rates enabling 320,000 lives to be saved by 2035.
Every cancer patient who would benefit from a genomic test, including patients with brain cancer, will receive one in a clinically relevant timeframe, supported by expanded genomic testing capacity through new NHS Genomic Medicine Service Lead Provider contracts from April 2026. This is in addition to increasing the use of whole genome sequencing in routine clinical practice for children with cancer or rare diseases.
Furthermore, Genomic testing will support access to clinical trials, with plans to expand ctDNA and other biomarker testing to a wider range of cancers by 2030, enabling personalised treatment pathways for rare cancers such as brain tumours.
Investment in four new aseptic medicines production hubs, operational by 2027, will expand national capacity for systemic anticancer therapies, including immunotherapies. To support improved outcomes for rare cancer patients, they will benefit from a move to specialist multi-disciplinary teams, that cover multiple providers. This will allow them to benefit from the input of specialist centres and so access to the best evidence care. This will be underpinned by continued engagement with rare cancer charities to ensure patients receive the right support after treatment.
Rare cancers, including brain tumours, are an explicit research and access priority in the National Cancer Plan, supported by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) investment, such as the £13.7 million NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and measures to accelerate breakthroughs in diagnostics and treatment.
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 help improve access to immunotherapy for brain tumour patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will support England to be a world leader on cancer research and innovation. The Department’s actions will support patients in England to get access to the latest breakthroughs in care and treatment. This will aid the health and care system to prevent, detect, and better treat and manage a wider range of cancers contributing to improved survival rates enabling 320,000 lives to be saved by 2035.
Every cancer patient who would benefit from a genomic test, including patients with brain cancer, will receive one in a clinically relevant timeframe, supported by expanded genomic testing capacity through new NHS Genomic Medicine Service Lead Provider contracts from April 2026. This is in addition to increasing the use of whole genome sequencing in routine clinical practice for children with cancer or rare diseases.
Furthermore, Genomic testing will support access to clinical trials, with plans to expand ctDNA and other biomarker testing to a wider range of cancers by 2030, enabling personalised treatment pathways for rare cancers such as brain tumours.
Investment in four new aseptic medicines production hubs, operational by 2027, will expand national capacity for systemic anticancer therapies, including immunotherapies. To support improved outcomes for rare cancer patients, they will benefit from a move to specialist multi-disciplinary teams, that cover multiple providers. This will allow them to benefit from the input of specialist centres and so access to the best evidence care. This will be underpinned by continued engagement with rare cancer charities to ensure patients receive the right support after treatment.
Rare cancers, including brain tumours, are an explicit research and access priority in the National Cancer Plan, supported by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) investment, such as the £13.7 million NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and measures to accelerate breakthroughs in diagnostics and treatment.
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 increase early diagnosis for child brain tumours.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive, including children with brain tumours.
Early diagnosis of cancers is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. The Government is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity.
Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committed to speeding up the detection and diagnosis of cancer in children and young people, ensuring their needs are embedded into the design of the neighborhood health service, improving access to specialist support and ensuring safe use of artificial intelligence based decision tools. This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.
To improve the outcomes and experience of children and young people with cancer, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce on 4 February 2025. Since its launch, the taskforce has brought together experts across a range of sectors to identify tangible improvements across four areas: early detection and diagnosis; genomic testing and treatment; research and innovation; and patient experience, considering both clinical and non-clinical care. The taskforce ensured that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer were carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England.
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 increase research and development on child brain tumours.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.
We are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress and build scientific capacity to do research on brain cancer.
In January 2026, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.
The NIHR has also announced a new partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK), with approximately £3 million to co-fund Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence, which includes the Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence. This investment will accelerate the move from foundational research to delivering innovative treatments for patients.
In addition, the NIHR is actively engaged with CRUK alongside the health departments of the devolved administrations, through joint funding of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre network, a United Kingdom-wide consortium of specialist centres dedicated to early phase clinical trials and translational cancer research, including those for brain tumours. They have both an adult and a paediatric network.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including paediatric brain cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
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 has been made of the impact of recent changes to the dental contract on patients’ access to routine dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The reforms will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups. An impact assessment will be published on the reforms from April 2026.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on recall intervals states that a healthy adult with good oral health needs to see a dentist once every two years, and a child once every year.
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 he has had recent discussions with abortion practitioners to discuss what steps they are taking to prevent abortions taking place on the basis of sex.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s guidance, which was issued on 23 May 2014, states clearly that abortion on the grounds of sex alone is illegal. Sex is not itself a lawful ground for termination of pregnancy in England and Wales under the Abortion Act.
Whilst we have not had any recent discussions with abortion practitioners, we continue to work with abortion providers, NHS England, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure abortions are only performed in accordance with the legal grounds set out by the Abortion Act.
All independent sector clinics must be registered with and inspected by the CQC. The CQC assists my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in his functions by inspecting against all of the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures (RSOPs) when it inspects an independent sector provider. The CQC has a wide set of powers that allow them to protect the public and hold registered providers and managers to account.
We are aware that such cases can be complex. Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and all abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults, in compliance with RSOPs.
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 has he made of the trends in the level of consistency of NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments across (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Surrey Heath on 30 December 2025 to Question 99029.
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 and what proportion of people eligible for winter flu vaccinations received them in 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
For England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes provisional vaccine uptake data throughout the flu season. Weekly national level data for general practice (GP) patients is available from October to January, at the following link:
Monthly national and regional level data for GP patients, school-aged children, and frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) is available from October to January. The latest monthly data for the 2025 to 2026 season includes all vaccinations given between 1 September to 30 November 2025, and is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures
Up to 4 January 2026, over 18 million people eligible for the national programme had been vaccinated so far this season.