Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure that individuals who have signed an S1 certificate and reside abroad are correctly recorded as non-resident for NHS purposes; and what measures are in place to prevent or recoup costs for any routine NHS treatment received in the UK by such individuals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department publishes guidance for United Kingdom-issued S1 holders when moving and retiring abroad. UK-issued S1 holders should notify the relevant UK authorities, including their general practitioner, so their general practice registration can be removed. The full guidance can be found at the following link:
www.gov.uk/guidance/moving-living-or-retiring-abroad
The S1 scheme is part of Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements between the UK and European Economic Area/Switzerland. In England, people with a registered UK S1 residing abroad are exempt from charging under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 while on a temporary visit. The National Health Service is required to check for the S1 entitlement before applying this exemption. There are therefore no measures in place to prevent or recoup costs from people holding a UK-registered S1. In exchange for providing this additional benefit for UK S1 holders, the UK receives a discount to costs for their healthcare in the country where they live.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the duration of medical exemption certificates for people with (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) other lifelong conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical exemption certificates allow people with certain medical conditions to obtain their NHS prescriptions without charge, although not all the qualifying conditions which provide exemption are necessarily life-long.
The five-year duration ensures that a patient’s continued eligibility is confirmed by a health professional, whilst minimising the burden on the patient and healthcare staff and creating a check point at least once every five years on the accuracy of patient details for verification of claims for exemption and for fraud detection purposes.
Therefore, there are currently no plans to review the duration of medical exemption certificates for people with type 1 diabetes and other lifelong conditions.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 update families affected by sodium valproate on compensation following publication of the Hughes Report; and when families should expect to receive details of (a) interim and (b) main payments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 improve access to (a) gender identity and (b) trans healthcare services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has established NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services in London, the North-West, and the South-West in 2024. A fourth service is planned to open in the East England region in January 2026. Work remains ongoing to establish commissioned services that provide a pathway for children and young people with gender incongruence in the other regions, by March 2027, on a phased basis.
NHS England has increased the number of adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics in England from seven to 12, with the rollout of five new adult gender pilot clinics since July 2020. The rollout of these clinics is helping to tackle long waiting times.
NHS England is currently carrying out a review of adult gender services, with the aim of producing an updated service specification. The review, which is chaired by Dr David Levy, will examine the model of care and operating procedures of each service, and will carefully consider experiences, feedback, and outcomes from clinicians and patients.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 increase the number of funded anaesthetic specialty training places over the next three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, set out that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that the national commitment to fracture liaison services is supported by a clear rollout plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Stockton West on 13 October 2025 to Question 77186.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered adjusting prescription charges for partial emergency supplies of medication.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to adjust the prescription charge for emergency supplies of medicines. Under the Urgent Medicine Supply (UMS) element of the National Health Service Pharmacy First Service, NHS 111 can refer patients to a pharmacy to obtain an emergency supply of a medicine they regularly receive. Patients who receive an urgent supply under the UMS will be charged their usual prescription fee if they are not exempt. Where an emergency supply is made outside of the UMS, it is for the pharmacy to charge as they think is appropriate given that they will not be reimbursed by the NHS, as the medicine was not dispensed against an NHS prescription.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 review the (a) application process and (b) delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no immediate plans to review the application process or delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government Departments more widely on relevant issues.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 the potential impact of the use of covid vaccines on levels of (a) hospitalisations and (b) disability caused by long covid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.
To inform JCVI considerations, the last assessment of the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on hospitalisations was conducted by the UK Health Security Agency using data from the 2023 spring and autumn COVID-19 vaccination programmes. The next evaluation is planned to occur in the next few months.
Long term health consequences following COVID-19, including post-COVID syndromes such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 expedite decisions on access to new treatments for secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS is legally required to fund NICE recommended medicines, normally within three months of final guidance, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation.
NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing to ensure that patients are able to benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost effective new medicines. The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the measures we are taking that will mean that patients are able to access medicines three to six months faster, including improved alignment between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s decisions and NICE’s guidance publication. The Life Sciences Sector Plan is published and available at the following link: