Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish formal terms of reference for the review of the Carr-Hill formula.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The review of the Carr-Hill formula will consider how health needs are reflected in the distribution of funding through the GP contract, drawing on a range of evidence and advice from experts.

Arrangements for the Carr-Hill review are being finalised. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the final report of the review into the Carr-Hill formula.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Arrangements for the Carr-Hill review are being finalised. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the NHS treating complications arising from cosmetic surgery undertaken by British nationals abroad in the last three years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to measure the cost to the public purse of NHS expenditure on treating complications arising from cosmetic procedures undertaken abroad.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the average cost per patient to the NHS for treating complications from cosmetic surgery undertaken abroad.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.

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 retention rates for doctors.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later in 2025 setting out how we will ensure staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.

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.

We have made significant progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes agreeing an improved exception reporting system which will ensure doctors are compensated fairly for the additional work that they do and reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training.

NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts.

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 his international counterparts to improve patient safety for UK residents undergoing cosmetic surgery abroad.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department maintains a dialogue with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office colleagues in countries of interest to improve patient safety for United Kingdom residents undergoing cosmetic surgery abroad, as well as strengthening our bilateral engagement through discussions with health official counterparts in destination countries to improve patient pathways.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to (a) maximise the output of existing wind turbines and (b) avoid payments for curtailment of generation.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Reformed National Pricing package will ensure a more strategic approach to the energy system which improves operational efficiency, including how existing wind turbines are utilised. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system and managing curtailment payments. Curtailment payments are part of operating an efficient electricity system. Government is working to reduce these costs by accelerating build of electricity network infrastructure to increase system capacity. The Reformed National Pricing package will also address these costs through improved strategic planning and market reforms. An update on these reforms will be published later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish guidance for (a) local authorities and (b) health services on working together to deliver local neighbourhood hubs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.

That is why over the course of our 10 Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health.

Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most. More details will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish a strategy for delivering the 250-300 neighbourhood hubs by 2035.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.

That is why over the course of our 10 Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health.

Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most. More details will be confirmed in due course.

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 merits of increasing funding for (a) vaccines and (b) the wider medtech sector in the context of the US Government’s decision on mRNA vaccine research.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Vaccines are an important tool for preventing and lessening the impacts of disease. The Department invests in vaccine research through several routes, targeting interventions in areas essential for health resilience, such as mRNA vaccine technology. For instance, the Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which includes the UK Vaccine Innovation Pathway to support the rapid set up and delivery of clinical trials in the United Kingdom, including the UK’s first norovirus mRNA vaccine trial. The Department also established the Official Development Assistance-funded UK Vaccine Network Project in 2015 and has funded the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations since 2018.

More widely, the Government is partnering with industry to drive forward mRNA vaccine research and development. Through its ten-year strategic partnership with the Government, signed in 2022, Moderna will invest over £1 billion in mRNA research and development in the UK, strengthening the UK's vaccine manufacturing capacity through construction of the Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre. Additionally, the Government's strategic partnership with BioNTech will see 10,000 National Health Service patients provided with personalised cancer immunotherapies, including mRNA cancer vaccines, by 2030, ensuring that UK patients have early access to these innovative new treatments.

Supporting research into vaccines is critical to improving pandemic preparedness and delivering the global 100 Days Mission, which the UK has supported since its establishment. The mission aims to have safe and effective diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines available and equitably accessible in the first 100 days of a pandemic threat being identified. The £520 million Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund backs UK manufacturing and will bring globally mobile manufacturing investments, including vaccines and medical technology (MedTech), to the UK, strengthening the UK’s economy and generating high-skill, high-wage jobs.

The Government is also committed to supporting the MedTech industry, which is a central pillar in the UK’s life sciences sector and will help build an NHS that is fit for the future. The Government has recently set out its plans for life sciences in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, which includes enhancing support for MedTech small and medium-sized enterprises through UK Research and Innovation and NIHR.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department’s policies of the level of harvest yields in 2025.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy.

We continue to engage and work closely with industry and to monitor domestic food production, including harvest. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), which was established under the Devolution Framework, brings Defra and Devolved Governments together to monitor the UK market across all key agricultural commodities.

Found: Labour; Chelsea and Fulham) Dr Beccy Cooper (Labour; Worthing West) Jen Craft (Labour; Thurrock) Josh Fenton-Glynn

Found: Health and Social Care Committee member also present: Josh Fenton-Glynn.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Danny Beales; Dr Beccy Cooper; Jen Craft; Josh Fenton- Glynn; Andrew

Found: Q18 Josh Fenton-Glynn: Thank you for being with us.