Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Action 25 of the National Cancer Plan, which NHS trusts have been identified as requiring additional oncology training places; and what proportion of those areas are in rural versus non-rural communities.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing inequalities in cancer care is a priority for this Government. As part of the National Cancer Plan for England, the Government committed to creating additional training places for cancer consultants in areas with the greatest workforce need, including rural and coastal communities. NHS England is currently working through implementation arrangements.
Work is progressing on the expansion of 4,500 resident doctor posts, and is currently for the initial 1,000, although it is not intended specifically to address Action 25 set out in the National Cancer Plan. NHS England uses an allocations methodology that recommends the establishment of additional posts in geographies that are relatively under-resourced. As rural geographies tend to have fewer postgraduate medical training posts per need-adjusted population than urban ones, such geographies would be prioritised for expansion when we increased numbers of training opportunities.
NHS England is currently working with regional colleagues, Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education and trusts to identify additional resident doctor posts. NHS England cannot yet confirm how many of these additional posts will be in clinical oncology or medical oncology, as trusts have yet to send a complete list of expressions of interest in each training programme. Following receipt of the expressions of interest supporting the initial 1,000 posts, we will be able to assess that expansion and provide additional advice for the expansion of the remaining 3,500 posts which will follow in 2028 and 2029.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data sources her Department is using to assess whether smoking prevalence among people aged 14 to 30 years is on track to reach the modelled level of near-zero by 2050; and whether she has plans to publish smoking prevalence data for that age group to enable external assessment of progress.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department used a range of data sources to estimate and model smoking prevalence among those aged 14 to 30 years old. The main data sources used were Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England by NHS England Digital, Adult smoking habits in the UK by the Office for National Statistics, and the University College London Smoking Toolkit Study, all three of which are available at the following links:
https://www.smokinginengland.info/graphs/top-line-findings
These data sources are publicly available, and while no single source provides smoking prevalence for those aged 14 to 30, the Department will monitor these data sources and any others we think are appropriate to evaluate the impact of the smoke-free generation policy.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for each of the last five financial years, what data is available on the uptake of a) the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service, and b) the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme among patients living in rural versus non-rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No data is centrally held on the uptake of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service provision. The following table shows the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme’s uptake over the last five financial years:
2021/22 | 12,763 |
2022/23 | 13,817 |
2023/24 | 12,930 |
2024/25 | 10,315 |
2025/26 | 10,344 |
The usage of the schemes cannot be disaggregated by rural/non-rural areas as the data is not collected in this way.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of the national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services (2023) on a) the quality of autism assessments and b) the average waiting time for autism assessments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a system of quality control for autism assessments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that autism assessments are a) comprehensive and b) completed in a timely manner.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging autism assessment providers to conduct face-to-face autism assessments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of face-to-face rather than remote autism assessments on the quality of such assessments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that the National Institute for Health and Social Care Excellence recommendation of an autism assessment within 3 months of referral is fulfilled.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure that all autism assessments result in a detailed report of the assessment, to allow sufficient evidence for a second opinion.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Hon Member has highlighted a number of key issues for the Department which cannot adequately be summarised in a single answer. However, he can find regular updates on that work by following our news feed on the GOV.UK website, or by attending sessions of departmental questions.