Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 women's health pathways in providing structured nutritional and metabolic support to women experiencing early endocrine and metabolic symptoms before they meet the thresholds for diabetes prevention programmes and secondary care referral; and what steps he is taking to improve early intervention within those services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a specific assessment. However, the Government is committed to tackling preventable ill health such as type 2 diabetes. Referrals to digital weight management services are offered where appropriate, and lifestyle advice, diet, and weight management are offered to all women with prediabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome.
And, for women who have had diabetes or hypertension in pregnancy, an annual review of blood tests and blood pressure is encouraged to monitor and ensure the earliest interventions, if required.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what level of recurrent funding has been identified by NHS England to fund the recommendations of new treatments considered by NHS England’s next Clinical Priorities Advisory Group Prioritisation meeting in Spring 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is not able to provide the level of recurrent funding identified at this point to support the next Clinical Priorities Advisory Group prioritisation meeting. This would risk disclosing commercially confidential information.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if NHS England Specialised Commissioning will consider a second prioritisation meeting this year of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group to reduce the 20 treatments currently being considered, in addition to the meeting in Spring 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) prioritisation meetings are held annually and are aligned to NHS England's annual financial planning cycle.
The next prioritisation meeting is planned for spring 2026, where policies that are ready and require investment decisions will be considered. It is expected that up to 20 such policies will be considered at that meeting. CPAG also meets monthly to consider clinical policies and service specifications that are categorised as cost saving or cost neutral, enabling progress to be made outside of the annual prioritisation round.
There are currently no plans to hold an additional prioritisation meeting this year beyond the meeting scheduled for spring 2026.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many directors with responsibility for human resources are employed across their department and its executive agencies; and how many of those directors hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent professional bodies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and its executive agencies currently employ three people at director-level with responsibility for human resources (HR).
All three hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 ensure that endometriosis is adequately covered in the education and training of healthcare practitioners.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.
The Government also acknowledges the importance of ensuring healthcare professionals are adequately trained and educated on women’s health conditions, including endometriosis, and we have taken action to address this.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom. The content for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health including endometriosis.
Women's health is included the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) curriculum for trainee general practitioners (GPs), including gynaecology, sexual health, and breast health. The curriculum also covers the healthcare needs of women across all diseases seen in primary care as it is important women are treated holistically. This ensures that all future GPs receive education on women’s health.
The RCGP has also published a Women’s Health Library which brings together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health from the RCGP, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. This resource is continually updated to ensure GPs and other primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date advice to provide the best care for their patients.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has developed a women’s and reproductive health topic suite, and updated guidelines on endometriosis in 2024 to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis. These clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to provide care for women with endometriosis.
Generally, employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group Prioritisation meeting happens each year; and when the next meeting will be.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) meets monthly to consider policy and service specifications that are categorised as cost saving or cost neutral.
CPAG prioritisation meetings are held annually. The next prioritisation meeting is planned for spring 2026.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 the backlog for NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group Prioritisation meeting.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The next Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) prioritisation meeting is planned for spring 2026, where policies that are ready and require investment decisions to be taken will be considered. It is expected up to 20 such policies will be considered at the next meeting.
CPAG also continues to meet monthly to consider policy and service specifications that are categorised as cost saving or cost neutral.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what level of recurrent funding has been identified to fund new treatments through NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group Prioritisation meeting.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Clinical Priorities Advisory Group is an advisory committee that makes recommendations on the relative priority of treatments to be commissioned subject to the available discretionary funding. It is not a decision-making body and does not allocate funds or have a budget for approving new treatments. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/cpag/
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US Pharmaceuticals Deal concluded in December 2025 on (a) NHS procurement costs and (b) consumer access to affordable medicines before any provisions of that Deal take effect.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to publish an impact assessment or modelling on the United Kingdom and United States’ pharmaceutical trade deal. Further detail on the deal will be shared in due course.
Tens of thousands of National Health Service patients will benefit from this deal, which will secure and expand access to vital drugs, and thereby safeguard our medicines supply chain.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.
This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and world leading life sciences sector, without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NICE has been asked to evaluate Scrambler Therapy for the treatment of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not been asked to evaluate scrambler therapy for complex regional pain syndrome.
Topics for new or updated guidance are considered through the NICE prioritisation process and under this process, decisions as to whether NICE will create new, or update existing, guidance are overseen by an integrated, cross-organisational Prioritisation Board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer.
The Prioritisation Board has been made aware of scrambler therapy, and the topic is likely to be considered by the board in the first quarter of 2026. Any decision or updates will appear on the prioritisation pages of the NICE website in due course, with further information avaiable at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/what-nice-does/our-guidance/prioritising-our-guidance-topics