Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the capped VPAG rate referred to in the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal will only apply to pharmaceutical products of US origin.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The capped rate applies to all newer medicines, not just pharmaceutical products originating from the United States.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the UK is (a) excluded from, (b) partially exempted from and (c) otherwise subject to special treatment under the United States’ Most Favoured Nation drug pricing policy.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Thanks to strong United Kingdom support for innovation, the UK has secured mitigations under the United States’ ‘Most Favoured Nation’ drug pricing initiative so that we will continue to ensure access to the latest treatments. This will encourage pharmaceutical companies from around the world to prioritise the UK for early launches of their new medicines, meaning British patients could be among the first globally to access breakthrough treatments.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 impact of the 25% net increase in prices for new medicines and the 15% VPAG repayment cap on annual NHS medicines spend.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every patient deserves access to the best possible treatment. This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our National Health Service and world leading life sciences sector.
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. However, the final costs will clearly depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these. This is not something that we can pre-empt at this time as it depends on which drugs come to market, and which are assessed as approved for use on the NHS accordingly.
At the Spending Review we delivered a record real terms increase for day-to-day spending for the NHS in England up to April 2029. This deal will be funded by allocations made at the Spending Review, where front line services will remain protected through the record funding secured.
Future year funding will be settled at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, from which Department’s budget the additional NHS medicines spend following the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal will be funded.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every patient deserves access to the best possible treatment. This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our National Health Service and world leading life sciences sector.
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. However, the final costs will clearly depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these. This is not something that we can pre-empt at this time as it depends on which drugs come to market, and which are assessed as approved for use on the NHS accordingly.
At the Spending Review we delivered a record real terms increase for day-to-day spending for the NHS in England up to April 2029. This deal will be funded by allocations made at the Spending Review, where front line services will remain protected through the record funding secured.
Future year funding will be settled at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 (a) the effect of no national oversight relating to the quality of vision rehabilitation services for patients in England and (b) the experiences of those with sight loss when it comes to being able to use those services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have the duty to shape their care market and to commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes encouraging a wide range of service provision to ensure that people, including those with sight loss, have a choice of appropriate services and equipment that maximises independence.
Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is not currently required to assess vision rehabilitation services, as regulated activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, do form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care.
CQC assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, in their delivery of their duties under part 1 of the Care Act. This facilitates the sharing of good practice and helps us to target support where it is most needed. The CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 recent trends in the number of patients receiving timely access to vision rehabilitation services in line with industry best practice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is now assessing how local authorities are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. These assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, facilitating the sharing of good practice, and helping us to target support where it is most needed. This means that sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 secure a sustainable future for the vision rehabilitation workforce.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are progressing towards a National Care Service, and this includes expanding career opportunities through the Care Workforce Pathway, and investing £12 million in learning, development, and new qualifications. The Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate and the Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care equip staff with the knowledge on how to adapt communication methods and make reasonable adjustments for individuals with vision impairments.
The qualifications cover sensory loss, communication needs, and the use of assistive technologies, where appropriate. The Care Workforce Pathway reinforces these principles across role categories, particularly within the Enhanced Care Worker role, which includes developing skills needed to support people with sensory impairments.
The Learning and Development Support Scheme enables eligible employers to access funding for these qualifications, including those mentioned above, as well as over 200 other training courses and qualifications.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 ensure the continuation of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme following the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A central mission of the Government is to build a health and care system fit for the future. To achieve this, it is crucial that we tackle preventable ill health, such as type 2 diabetes.
The highly effective NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme continues to be delivered. Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 ensure the continuation of the Type 2 Diabetes in the Young programme following the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we work to bring NHS England and the Department together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.
The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.
A central mission of the Government is to build a health and care system that is fit for the future. Tackling preventable ill health such as type 2 diabetes is crucial. Shifting the focus from treatment to prevention is one of three shifts for the Government’s mission for a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and is a cornerstone of supporting people to live healthier lives.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating pilots.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we work to bring NHS England and the Department together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care. For 2025/26, national funding has been made available to support delivery of Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) services up to 31 March 2026 in the five current pilot site areas based in Coventry and Warwickshire, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, Humber and North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Mersey, and Norfolk and Waveney.
The funding allocated to the relevant integrated care boards (ICBs) has been ring fenced which means that the funding should be protected for T1DE in 2025/26 rather than reallocated to cover other costs.
Funding for the T1DE pilot programme has been provided to sites on a pump prime basis, to allow the services to establish, feed into the national evaluation and generate the evidence that would be required to attract longer term sustainable local funding, following this initial period of national investment.
NHS England is undertaking a national evaluation of the five pilot services and to support local teams to make the case to the relevant ICB for longer term continuation of services, will provide an evaluation report in summer 2025. This will include data on patient outcomes, insight into staff and patient experience and analysis of National Health Service costs and savings to run the services, alongside supportive resources such as a model business case and commissioning support tool.