Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The Government recognises how important it is that patients with rare diseases can benefit from access to effective new medicines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of medicines it evaluates for use in the National Health Service, including medicines for the treatment of rare diseases. The recently announced increase to the cost-effectiveness threshold will, alongside measures announced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, increase both the speed and breadth of patient access to innovative medicines.

Data from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence shows that between 2021/22 and 2025/26, the total number of appraisals that were terminated was 100. Over the past five years, 41% of terminated appraisals related to rare disease medicines.

The Government recognises the challenges faced by heart and lung transplant services, as highlighted in the BBC File on 4 Investigates programme. Clinical teams have continued to improve activity and patient outcomes, reflecting their expertise and commitment. However, challenges remain and further work is needed to address variation in access, workforce pressures, and the complexity of organ acceptance and allocation.

NHS England is working closely with the Department, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), and transplant centres to address these issues. The concerns raised in the programme are consistent with challenges previously identified by the Organ Utilisation Group and explored through the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This has informed NHS England’s clinically led national improvement programme for heart and lung transplant services, which brings together clinicians, patients, and patient organisations to co-design solutions to improve services in these key areas.

In parallel, NHSBT is delivering a Department funded programme of Assessment and Recovery Centres (ARC), including lung ARC pilot schemes launched in February 2026, to improve the preservation and utilisation of donor organs for transplantation.

While it is encouraging that activity has increased and waiting lists have reduced, the Government recognises that continued work is needed to ensure services are consistently accessible and resilient. Work will continue with patients, partners, and local centres to ensure care is personalised, equitable, and sustainable, and to address challenges facing the transplant workforce.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

The report will be considered as part of the wider work underway on future engagement models.

The removal of councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making.

While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million.

The exact amount paid as of March 2026 is £50,000, which was paid to the contractor on 31 December 2025. This payment was made to support start up activities for the consortium. The NIHR does not currently hold up-to-date expenditure, or a detailed breakdown of how this funding has been spent. This information is currently held by the research team of the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and will be provided to the NIHR in the future as part of the project’s annual financial returns.

For all awards, contracting and further payments are contingent upon teams submitting and reviewing detailed costs and, if applicable, agreeing to the suggested amendments and requests for clarification which are currently in progress.

Future payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to 10 years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between the NIHR and the consortium.

Information on all awards will be made publicly available in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible. Oversight of the Brain Tumour Research Consortium is the responsibility of the NIHR.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million.

The exact amount paid as of March 2026 is £50,000, which was paid to the contractor on 31 December 2025. This payment was made to support start up activities for the consortium. The NIHR does not currently hold up-to-date expenditure, or a detailed breakdown of how this funding has been spent. This information is currently held by the research team of the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and will be provided to the NIHR in the future as part of the project’s annual financial returns.

For all awards, contracting and further payments are contingent upon teams submitting and reviewing detailed costs and, if applicable, agreeing to the suggested amendments and requests for clarification which are currently in progress.

Future payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to 10 years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between the NIHR and the consortium.

Information on all awards will be made publicly available in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible. Oversight of the Brain Tumour Research Consortium is the responsibility of the NIHR.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.7 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In December 2025, the NIHR announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the Brain Tumour Research Consortium. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the consortium through funding of work packages. This brings the total investment to over £25 million.

The exact amount paid as of March 2026 is £50,000, which was paid to the contractor on 31 December 2025. This payment was made to support start up activities for the consortium. The NIHR does not currently hold up-to-date expenditure, or a detailed breakdown of how this funding has been spent. This information is currently held by the research team of the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium and will be provided to the NIHR in the future as part of the project’s annual financial returns.

For all awards, contracting and further payments are contingent upon teams submitting and reviewing detailed costs and, if applicable, agreeing to the suggested amendments and requests for clarification which are currently in progress.

Future payments will be issued over the period of the award contracts which range from five to 10 years, as per the schedule of payments agreed between the NIHR and the consortium.

Information on all awards will be made publicly available in due course. The NIHR is working to ensure that new investments can get up and running as soon as possible. Oversight of the Brain Tumour Research Consortium is the responsibility of the NIHR.

In addition, the NIHR continues to strongly encourages brain cancer research applications through its regular funding opportunities.

NHS England’s policy guidance and prescribing advice on liothyronine reflects the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s recommendations and the evidence on liothyronine. That guidance recommends that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed, because it is not clinically or cost-effective, but sets out the exceptions where it may be an appropriate consideration for prescribers.

NHS England expects commissioners and prescribers to have due regard to its guidance. While integrated care boards may determine their own implementation arrangements, as part of the new operating model, regions will oversee commissioner and provider performance, including access to high quality care and the reduction of health inequalities.

NHS England’s policy guidance and prescribing advice on liothyronine reflects the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s recommendations and the evidence on liothyronine. That guidance recommends that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed, because it is not clinically or cost-effective, but sets out the exceptions where it may be an appropriate consideration for prescribers.

NHS England expects commissioners and prescribers to have due regard to its guidance. While integrated care boards may determine their own implementation arrangements, as part of the new operating model, regions will oversee commissioner and provider performance, including access to high quality care and the reduction of health inequalities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

The following table shows the total number of general dental practice contracts, including the number of units of dental activity (UDA) and the total value, that were handed back in the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since it took over the delegated commissioning responsibility in April 2023:

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. The North East and North Cumbria ICB has implemented measures to improve access to dental services as part of the ICB’s Oral Health and Dental Strategy for 2025/27. Further information can be found on the NHS.UK website, in an online format.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

NHS England’s published enforcement guidance sets out how it uses its enforcement powers and the regulatory and statutory processes in the event of enforcement action. The guidance states that directions under section 14Z61 should only be issued as a last resort where voluntary action has not proved possible and NHS England must be satisfied that the integrated care board is failing or has failed to discharge its functions, or that there is a significant risk it will do so.

The Department has not held discussions with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) regarding the final report of the Evaluation of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019.

The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly chaired by the Department and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), made recommendations which ministers have noted, and which action owners are working together to implement. As part of this work, the Department, NHSBT, and HTA have met to discuss the report’s findings and actions. The HTA is currently at an early stage of reviewing its current statutory codes of practice and will revise them where necessary to ensure they remain clear, up to date, and effective.

NHSBT is actively progressing work to ensure that their family approach processes use clear, affirmative language that supports a family’s understanding of their loved one’s recorded donation decision. As part of this, NHSBT are reviewing their operational guidance and training materials for specialist nurses in organ donation to strengthen support offered to families by focussing on building trust and rapport with the family to explore the patient’s beliefs and values as a central reference point for the donation decision, rather than focusing on any last known expressed wishes.

The Department has not held discussions with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) regarding the final report of the Evaluation of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019.

The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly chaired by the Department and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), made recommendations which ministers have noted, and which action owners are working together to implement. As part of this work, the Department, NHSBT, and HTA have met to discuss the report’s findings and actions. The HTA is currently at an early stage of reviewing its current statutory codes of practice and will revise them where necessary to ensure they remain clear, up to date, and effective.

NHSBT is actively progressing work to ensure that their family approach processes use clear, affirmative language that supports a family’s understanding of their loved one’s recorded donation decision. As part of this, NHSBT are reviewing their operational guidance and training materials for specialist nurses in organ donation to strengthen support offered to families by focussing on building trust and rapport with the family to explore the patient’s beliefs and values as a central reference point for the donation decision, rather than focusing on any last known expressed wishes.

Decisions about prescribing liothyronine are made by the responsible clinician. NHS England guidance, which aligns with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the assessment and management of thyroid disease, is clear that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed in primary care. Where clinically appropriate, liothyronine should only be initiated by a National Health Service consultant endocrinologist, and only where no clinically appropriate alternative treatment is available.

Integrated care boards are responsible for local commissioning arrangements and for supporting the application of national guidance, but it is for clinicians, working with their patients, to decide on the most appropriate treatment in line with that guidance.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. This workforce plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.

We are investing £485 million in general practices (GPs) in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26. As part of the 26/27 GP Contract, we are increasing flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner.

Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme which ring-fences and repurposes £292 million of funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions with existing GPs to improve access in practices. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment.

We know that the way core GP funding is allocated across England is considered outdated and we recognise the importance of ensuring funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country. This is why we are currently reviewing the GP funding formula, the Carr-Hill formula, to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.

The first phase of the review is expected to conclude in March 2026. Subject to ministerial decision, further work would be undertaken to technically develop and model any proposed changes to the formula. Findings from the review will be published in due course by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The proposal has been received and Government officials will assess it in the normal manner.

As the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is operationally independent, the Government has not made its own assessment of individual CQC assessments.

The CQC has advised that its 8 January 2026 assessment of Orchard Nursing Home, Huyton included consideration of how residents and family members were supported to raise concerns and share their experiences, with inspectors finding a positive culture in which people felt able to speak up and confident that issues would be listened to and addressed. The CQC took into full account concerns raised about the care people received and noted improvements the service had made under new management.

The assessment also found evidence that care plans had improved, with personalised care plans developed before admission, routinely monitored, and reviewed regularly to reflect people’s needs and preferences.

In addition, inspectors considered how complaints were identified, investigated and responded to. A complaints policy was in place, information on how to raise concerns was accessible, and complaints were taken seriously, investigated appropriately, and used to support learning and ongoing improvement.

As the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is operationally independent, the Government has not made its own assessment of individual CQC assessments.

The CQC has advised that its 8 January 2026 assessment of Orchard Nursing Home, Huyton included consideration of how residents and family members were supported to raise concerns and share their experiences, with inspectors finding a positive culture in which people felt able to speak up and confident that issues would be listened to and addressed. The CQC took into full account concerns raised about the care people received and noted improvements the service had made under new management.

The assessment also found evidence that care plans had improved, with personalised care plans developed before admission, routinely monitored, and reviewed regularly to reflect people’s needs and preferences.

In addition, inspectors considered how complaints were identified, investigated and responded to. A complaints policy was in place, information on how to raise concerns was accessible, and complaints were taken seriously, investigated appropriately, and used to support learning and ongoing improvement.

The Department has no current plans to meet representatives of Thyroid UK and The Thyroid Trust to discuss the prescribing of liothyronine in primary care.

The inclusion of liothyronine in the guidance will be reviewed only if there is a significant change in the evidence, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on the assessment and management of thyroid disease, which currently aligns with the policy guidance recommendations.

No assessment of integrated care boards’ adherence to guidance has been made. Regions cascaded the ‘items that should not be prescribed in primary care’ policy guidance to systems who are responsible for ensuring prescribing is in line with the available guidance.

The Department and NHS England do not collect or hold this data, as integrated care boards make exceptional funding requests for liothyronine, and therefore the information would be held by individual integrated care boards.

The inclusion of liothyronine in the guidance will be reviewed only if there is a significant change in the evidence, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on the assessment and management of thyroid disease, which currently aligns with the policy guidance recommendations.

No assessment of integrated care boards’ adherence to guidance has been made. Regions cascaded the ‘items that should not be prescribed in primary care’ policy guidance to systems who are responsible for ensuring prescribing is in line with the available guidance.

The Department and NHS England do not collect or hold this data, as integrated care boards make exceptional funding requests for liothyronine, and therefore the information would be held by individual integrated care boards.

The inclusion of liothyronine in the guidance will be reviewed only if there is a significant change in the evidence, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on the assessment and management of thyroid disease, which currently aligns with the policy guidance recommendations.

No assessment of integrated care boards’ adherence to guidance has been made. Regions cascaded the ‘items that should not be prescribed in primary care’ policy guidance to systems who are responsible for ensuring prescribing is in line with the available guidance.

The Department and NHS England do not collect or hold this data, as integrated care boards make exceptional funding requests for liothyronine, and therefore the information would be held by individual integrated care boards.

Community health services are a fundamental part of the health and care system and an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service.

We know people are waiting too long for community services. That is why, for the first time, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits in NHS England’s Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The Medium Term Planning Framework outlines how integrated care boards (ICBs) should strengthen community services in line with the left shift ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. Specifically, it asks that in 2026/27 all ICBs:

- increase community health service capacity to meet growth in demand, expected to be approximately 3% nationally per year;

- actively manage long waits for community health services, reducing the proportion of waits over 18 weeks and developing a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.

As part of the medium term planning process, ICBs should ensure community health services are adequately funded to meet these targets, and must submit plans which set out how they will implement this ambition. NHS England is currently in the process of assuring these plans and will continue to monitor their implementation.

To support the shift to neighbourhood health, we published in 2025 an overview of the core community health services, called Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of the core components of community health services for ICBs. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity. It will also help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community-based settings.

Community health services are a fundamental part of the health and care system and an essential building block in developing a neighborhood health service.

We know people are waiting too long for community services. That is why, for the first time, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits in NHS England’s Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The Medium Term Planning Framework outlines how integrated care boards (ICBs) should strengthen community services in line with the left shift ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. Specifically, it asks that in 2026/27 all ICBs:

- increase community health service capacity to meet growth in demand, expected to be approximately 3% nationally per year; and

- actively manage long waits for community health services, reducing the proportion of waits over 18 weeks and developing a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.

As part of the medium term planning process, and to hold the system to account, ICBs have to submit plans which set out how they will implement this ambition. NHS England is currently in the process of assuring these plans and will continue to monitor their implementation.

To support the shift to neighbourhood health, we published in 2025 an overview of the core community health services, called Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of the core components of community health services for ICBs. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity. It will also help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community-based settings.