Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
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 promoting the document entitled BS 30480 Suicide and the workplace: Intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide, published on 4 November 2025, to employers as part of workplace wellbeing initiatives.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I am grateful to the hon. Member for her tireless work on suicide prevention. Every suicide is a tragedy that leaves a profound and enduring impact on families, friends, and communities. Tackling suicide is one of the Government’s top priorities and we are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England with a range of partners.
Everyone has a part to play in preventing suicide and employers are essential to ensuring supportive workplace communities and to highlighting the importance of intervention, prevention, and support for people affected by suicide.
We have referenced BS 30480 in the Men’s Health Strategy, published on 19 November 2025, alongside our plans to invest up to £3.6 million over the next three years to deliver neighbourhood-based suicide prevention support pathfinders for middle-aged men, co-designed with experts and men with lived experience.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that hospitals follow NICE guidelines on (a) suicide and (b) self-harm risk assessment (i) tools and (ii) scales.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Improving risk management and safety planning for suicide and self-harm prevention is a priority in the Government’s suicide prevention strategy. The strategy highlights the importance of compliance with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on risk assessment. NHS England is taking forward work in this area.
We would expect health professionals to have regard to guidelines from the NICE, which state that risk assessment tools should not be used to predict future suicide or repetition of self-harm.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
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 automatically notifying women with neurofibromatosis type 1 before their 40th birthday that they are eligible to attend breast cancer screening from the age of 40 years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Currently women with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who are considered at moderate or high risk of breast cancer, can be referred through clinical professionals such as specialists in genetics or oncology for annual breast screening which is managed at a local level.
An assessment has not made of the potential merits of automatically notifying women with NF1 before they are 40 years old that they are eligible to attend breast cancer screening from the age of 40 years.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken with NHS England to help raise awareness by (a) patients and (b) GPs of the increased risk of breast cancer in people with neurofibromatosis type 1.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department works with NHS England to raise awareness of cancers, including for people with increased risk of cancer. In January 2024, NHS England relaunched the Help Us Help You cancer awareness campaign, designed to increase earlier diagnosis by encouraging people to come forward with suspected signs of cancers.
For individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), who are at increased risk of breast cancer, the National Health Service in England recommends breast screening from the age of 40 years old. It is important that awareness of this is widespread among patients and general practices (GPs). Treatment for NF1 involves regular monitoring, and if a patient develops complex problems, their GP can usually refer them to one of two specialist NHS centres, so that a treatment plan can be drawn up. These centres are at Guy’s and St Thomas’ in London, and at Manchester University Hospital.
We expect clinicians to keep themselves appraised of developments within conditions, and to refer to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance as part of their clinical decision-making process.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff were employed in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in public mental health national roles in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, (c) 2023 and (d) 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
National public mental health activity is delivered in a matrix, via a mixture of national and regional teams, drawing on public health, mental health, policy, project delivery, communication, marketing, and analytical expertise. The approach and scale of the contribution from the various teams in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department varies in line with the action being taken.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to (a) The Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health and (b) Every Mind Matters in each year since their inception.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Prevention Concordat programme has never been allocated funding. The funding for Better Health - Every Mind Matters, each year from 2019/20 to 2023/24, is as follows:
- £6,910,000 in 2019/20;
- £3,040,000 in 2020/21;
- £5,300,000 in 2021/22;
- £3,330,000 in 2022/23; and
- £3,350,000 in 2023/24.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon and Consett)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 1672 on Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's statement of 1 September 2023 on a respiratory syncytial virus immunisation programme for infants and older adults.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Officials across the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England are continuing to develop options and plans based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice, regarding expanded respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation programmes to protect infants and older adults.
This is taking into account clinical and operational factors, such as timing and coordination with other national immunisation programmes. As part of this work, the Government is engaging the market on its requirements for products that would enable RSV programmes to be implemented. A final decision on these programmes will be taken following the outcome of this process.