Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 potential merits of including nanopore sequencing-based brain tumour methylome classification in the National Genomic Test Directory.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funded the Cancer 2.0 initiative in 2021, delivered by Genomics England in close partnership with NHS England. The three-year programme demonstrated that nanopore sequencing-based brain tumour classification demonstrates significant promise for the National Genomic Test Directory. Full validation is required before full clinical implementation can be considered.
Other genomic testing for brain cancer is already included in the National Genomic Test Directory. This testing can be delivered using a range of technologies, including whole genome sequencing (WGS) or Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology, namely large cancer gene panels, to ensure that a patient receives the most appropriate genomic testing depending on their individual circumstances.
To date no application has been made to NHS England to evaluate nanopore sequencing-based brain tumour methylome classification. If an application were received, NHS England would assess the evidence in line with the Test Directory policy.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 support individuals living with Cauda Equina Syndrome with access to (a) treatment, (b) rehabilitation and (c) financial assistance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as cauda equina syndrome. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community: these include improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We remain committed to delivering under the Framework and published the annual England action plan in February 2025.
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change.
GIRFT has worked collaboratively with a multidisciplinary group of more than 60 health professionals to develop an interactive pathway for those patients with suspected cauda equina syndrome, designed to support clinical teams to diagnose and treat the condition without delay and improve patient outcomes. The pathway offers best practice along all stages of the patient pathway, including post-operative care and best practice for surgical techniques, pain control and other post-operative support, which includes a section on finances. More information is available at the following link:
https://girft-interactivepathways.org.uk/cauda-equina-1/
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 communication systems between GP surgeries and pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of effective communication between general practice (GP) surgeries and pharmacies, to ensure safe and coordinated patient care. Over recent years, several digital initiatives have been introduced to reduce the reliance on fax and paper, and to enhance this communication, including NHSmail, the Electronic Prescription Service, and the Summary Care Record. These systems allow pharmacists to access patient information and support prescription processing.
GP Connect is a national service introduced in 2018, and further strengthened in the 2025/26 GP Contract, that allows authorised health and social care workers in a variety of care settings to access their patients' GP records. The aim of GP Connect is to support better, more joined-up clinical care by opening up information and data held within GP IT systems, so that registered community pharmacists can view and update records. This initiative supports the Pharmacy First service, which empowers pharmacists to offer a full consultation and provide treatment for seven common health conditions.
The Community Pharmacy Information Standard informed the plan to recover access to primary care published in May 2023. This set out a range of actions to improve communication between GP surgeries and community pharmacies, harnessing digital technology to streamline referrals, increase access to clinical information to support patient care and update the patient record in an efficient and timely way. The Government remains committed to strengthening primary care integration and to fixing the front door of the National Health Service.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of patent lengths on research into treatments for glioblastoma.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom are not condition specific. The Government considers the UK’s current patent system to strike the right balance between incentivising research and innovation and supporting access to medicines for the National Health Service.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescription prepayment certificates have been issued in (a) England and (b) Mid Derbyshire in the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are issued by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on behalf of the Department. The following table shows the number of three and 12 month PPCs issued in England over the last five years, as well as the current financial year up to 27 February 2025:
Financial year | Certificate type | Certificate count |
2019/2020 | PPC | 2,521,102 |
2020/2021 | PPC | 2,505,297 |
2021/2022 | PPC | 2,685,102 |
2022/2023 | PPC | 2,900,859 |
2023/2024 | PPC | 3,000,387 |
2024/2025 | PPC | 2,872,956 |
Total | PPC | 16,485,703 |
It has not been possible to collate data for the Mid Derbyshire area alone, as this would require the NHSBSA to hold postcodes for all addresses in this area, which it does not have. However, the following table shows the number of PPCs issued in the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) over the last five years, as well as the current financial year up to 27 February 2025:
Financial year | Certificate type | Certificate count |
2019/2020 | PPC | 54,650 |
2020/2021 | PPC | 54,013 |
2021/2022 | PPC | 57,515 |
2022/2023 | PPC | 62,034 |
2023/2024 | PPC | 64,229 |
2024/2025 | PPC | 61,550 |
Total | PPC | 353,991 |
In addition, the following two tables show the number of hormone replacement therapy PPCs issued since its launch, in England and the NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB, respectively, for the financial year 2023/24 and the current financial year up to 27 February 2025:
Financial year | Certificate count |
2023/2024 | 565,754 |
2024/2025 | 498,767 |
Total | 1,064,521 |
Financial year | Certificate count |
2023/2024 | 12,414 |
2024/2025 | 10,668 |
Total | 23,082 |
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff are absent from work due to musculoskeletal health issues; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of fast-tracking treatment for such staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data published by NHS England shows that during the month of October 2024, there were 317,167 full time equivalent days lost due to musculoskeletal health issues for National Health Service staff. These account for 13% of all sickness absences over the month. The published data does not allow for the identification of the specific number of staff absent from work due to musculoskeletal health issues.
On 1 March 2025, the Government and Nuffield Health announced access for 4,000 NHS staff to Nuffield Health’s Joint Pain Programme. The programme is aimed at those staff who are off work due to chronic joint pain or who are struggling with pain whilst at work.
Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have policies and procedures to manage attendance and reduce sickness absence. Employers should develop local policies and procedures in line with Annex 26 of the NHS staff terms and conditions of service (Agenda for Change) handbook and should access NHS England’s Employer’s Sickness Absence Toolkit.
In 2023, NHS England published a strategy for the NHS and partner organisations to work together to develop and invest in occupational health and wellbeing services for NHS staff over the next five years. NHS England is currently leading a comprehensive review, the Staff Treatment Access Review, of how to deliver a more equitable and consistent offer to staff that supports their wellbeing.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on supporting NHS trusts to meet their annual sickness absence targets.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data published by NHS England shows that during the month of October 2024, there were 317,167 full time equivalent days lost due to musculoskeletal health issues for National Health Service staff. These account for 13% of all sickness absences over the month. The published data does not allow for the identification of the specific number of staff absent from work due to musculoskeletal health issues.
On 1 March 2025, the Government and Nuffield Health announced access for 4,000 NHS staff to Nuffield Health’s Joint Pain Programme. The programme is aimed at those staff who are off work due to chronic joint pain or who are struggling with pain whilst at work.
Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have policies and procedures to manage attendance and reduce sickness absence. Employers should develop local policies and procedures in line with Annex 26 of the NHS staff terms and conditions of service (Agenda for Change) handbook and should access NHS England’s Employer’s Sickness Absence Toolkit.
In 2023, NHS England published a strategy for the NHS and partner organisations to work together to develop and invest in occupational health and wellbeing services for NHS staff over the next five years. NHS England is currently leading a comprehensive review, the Staff Treatment Access Review, of how to deliver a more equitable and consistent offer to staff that supports their wellbeing.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 prostate cancer screenings.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, called the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm some men, as many would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects, for example sexual dysfunction and incontinence.
The UK NSC regularly reviews its recommendations. The evidence review for prostate cancer screening is underway and will conclude at the end of 2025.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 tackle shortages of ADHD medication.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.
We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues, where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We expect supply to improve in the UK throughout the rest of 2024. However, we anticipate supply to be limited for some strengths, and we continue to work with all suppliers to ensure the remaining issues are resolved as soon as possible. To improve supply chain resiliency, we are also working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK supplier base.
We are supporting an ADHD taskforce that NHS England is establishing to examine ADHD service provision. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand. In collaboration with NHS England’s national ADHD data improvement plan, we plan to combine modelling for future growth forecasts, which will be shared with industry to improve demand forecasting for ADHD medicines.
To minimise the impact of the shortages on patients, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the NHS, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinions for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further we have widely disseminated our communications and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Sipavibart can be provided through the NHS to immunosuppressed people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the routine availability of licensed medicines for National Health Service patients in England are made on the basis of recommendations by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE plays an important role in ensuring that medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources before they are routinely funded. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of final guidance.
NICE aims wherever possible to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the point of licensing and started its appraisal of the medicine sipavibart for preventing COVID-19 ahead of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s decision. NICE’s appraisal process is however currently suspended as the manufacturer, AstraZeneca, has been unable to provide an evidence submission as planned. NICE is currently awaiting notification from AstraZeneca on when it can make a submission and will update stakeholders in due course.