Lord Kamall

NHS England is trialling home testing for kidney disease through urine tests. Kits have been sent to individuals considered to be most at risk including people with diabetes, hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics. Further information on the work ongoing across the Government is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.

The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLOS drone use cases for the National Health Service. Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and the Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.

The Department of Health and Social Care has not conducted a formal cost-effectiveness assessment of drone versus traditional delivery methods. Outside of trials, drones are not currently integrated into NHS logistics or emergency response frameworks.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics. Further information on the work ongoing across the Government is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.

The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLOS drone use cases for the National Health Service. Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and the Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.

The Department of Health and Social Care has not conducted a formal cost-effectiveness assessment of drone versus traditional delivery methods. Outside of trials, drones are not currently integrated into NHS logistics or emergency response frameworks.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics. Further information on the work ongoing across the Government is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.

The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLOS drone use cases for the National Health Service. Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and the Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.

The Department of Health and Social Care has not conducted a formal cost-effectiveness assessment of drone versus traditional delivery methods. Outside of trials, drones are not currently integrated into NHS logistics or emergency response frameworks.

Multi-disciplinary teams are essential to the delivery of holistic care, including for complex conditions such as cardio-renal-metabolic diseases. Multi-disciplinary teams, which enable care to be centred around patients and increasingly delivered in the community rather than in hospital settings, are a key part of delivering the radical shifts set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England

The potential for the National Health Service number to be used as a single unique identifier (SUI) for children is being explored in a series of pilots, which will include consideration of risk. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill does not specify the use of the NHS number as an SUI, but allows regulations to do so, if it is appropriate.

There is no expectation that the NHS will need to issue new NHS numbers in bulk. Misuse of personally identifiable information is guarded against via governance processes that are the responsibility of data controllers and processors.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, with further information available on the GOV.UK website in an online only format, and work is ongoing across Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority, to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics.

The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas. Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care, working in collaboration with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation, supported five pilot projects, allocating them a total of £500,000, to explore the use of drones in the National Health Service. Given the potential of drones to improve how the NHS delivers patient care, the Department of Health and Social Care is supportive of trials that explore the use of drones in medical logistics.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, with further information available on the GOV.UK website in an online only format, and work is ongoing across Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority, to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics.

The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas. Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care, working in collaboration with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation, supported five pilot projects, allocating them a total of £500,000, to explore the use of drones in the National Health Service. Given the potential of drones to improve how the NHS delivers patient care, the Department of Health and Social Care is supportive of trials that explore the use of drones in medical logistics.

We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department is £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise was implemented in April 2025.

The Government committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) in primary care networks (PCNs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to secure the future pipeline of GPs, with over 1,000 doctors otherwise likely to graduate into unemployment in 2024/25. Data on the number of recently qualified GPs for which PCNs are claiming reimbursement via the ARRS show that since 1 October 2024, over 2,000 GPs were recruited through the scheme. Newly qualified GPs employed under the ARRS will continue to receive support under the scheme in the coming year as part of the 2025/26 contract. A number of changes have been confirmed to increase the flexibility of the ARRS. This includes GPs and practice nurses included in the main ARRS funding pot, an uplift of the maximum reimbursable rate for GPs in the scheme, and no caps on the number of GPs that can be employed through the scheme.

We are boosting practice finances by investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest cash increase in over a decade, and aims to support GPs to build capacity, reduce bureaucracy, and deliver more care in the community.

Primary care providers, including GPs, are valued independent contractors who provide nearly £20 billion worth of NHS services. Every year we consult with each sector both about what services they provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract.

NHS England has published statutory guidance on palliative and end of life care and a service specification for children and young people. This sets out the expectations and responsibilities placed on integrated care boards (ICBs) in relation to the commissioning of children’s palliative care.

The NHS Futures platform offers ICB commissioners the opportunity to share examples of best practice amongst each other and with healthcare professionals and researchers. The NHS Futures platform also offers access to upcoming and past webinars and a clinical excellence workstream, among other resources, to support ICB commissioners and clinical staff to support outstanding clinical care based on the best available evidence.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas, including the North East London ICB and the North Central London ICB. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative care and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department with responsibility for the regulation of medicinal products in the United Kingdom. The MHRA ensures that medicines are efficacious and acceptably safe, and that information to aid the safe use of a medicine, including possible side effects, is appropriately described in the authorised product information.

The MHRA’s approved patient information leaflets for the most commonly prescribed antidepressants contain warnings about sexual side effects whilst taking the drug, and for some antidepressants there is a warning about sexual side effects which may continue after stopping the medicine. These warnings are under review by an expert working group of the Commission on Human Medicines, and the findings of this review are due to report in the Autumn.

Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) is not specifically listed as a possible side effect in the patient information leaflets for any antidepressants. PGAD remains poorly defined and requires research into several proposed causal factors.

A total of 13 reports that describe PGAD suspected to be associated with an antidepressant have been received through the Yellow Cared scheme. The reports were received between 2017 and 2025 for sertraline, with six reports, citalopram, with three reports, fluoxetine, with three reports, and reboxetine, with one report.

The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of these medicines. However, the data currently available is considered insufficient to list PGAD as a possible side effect of antidepressants. Any emerging data will be carefully considered and regulatory action taken as needed.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions.

It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean that it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental. The number of reports received cannot be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.

The MHRA can confirm that it has received 124 spontaneous suspected United Kingdom Adverse Drug Reaction reports from 1 January 2014 to, and including, 18 September 2025, where a reaction term within the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities’ (MedDRA) High-Level Term "Sexual Arousal Disorders” was reported. MedDRA is a clinically validated international medical terminology dictionary. It’s organised by System Organ Class, divided into High-Level Group Terms, High-Level Terms, Preferred Terms, and finally into Lowest Level Terms.

The following table shows the number of UK spontaneous suspected Adverse Drug Reaction reports where a reaction within the High-Level Term “Sexual Arousal Disorders” was reported, from 1 January 2014 to, and including, 18 September 2025, by year:

In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of these reports by suspect medicine, for all suspect substances for which we received two or more reports:

Note: please be aware that reports received via the Yellow Card scheme can contain more than one suspect medicine and as such the numbers in the table cannot be summed up to the total number of reports.

Suspect substances for which a single report was received were amitriptyline, amoxycillin, atomoxetine, canagliflozin, candesartan, ciprofloxacin, clavulanic acid, clobetasol, clonazepam, diazepam, donepezil, doxycycline, drospirenone, dutasteride, elasomeran, estradiol, etonogestrel, flucloxacillin, flupenthixol, ibutamoren, levonorgestrel, linagliptin, mefloquine, methylphenidate, metronidazole, minoxidil, norelgestromin, pramipexole, propranolol, quetiapine, reboxetine, risperidone, ropinirole, sildenafil, solifenacin, teriparatide, tirzepatide, tramadol, ulipristal, and varenicline.

The Minister of State for Care is currently having discussions with NHS England and Department officials about the funding arrangements for children and young people’s hospices in 2026/27. We hope to be able to provide further communication on this later in the year.

Locally employed doctor (LED) is a catch-all term used to refer to doctors employed by a National Health Service trust that are not on one of the nationally negotiated contracts. LEDs do not work in formal or approved training posts and as such are not funded centrally by NHS England for any specialty.

There are some individual NHS trusts that support LEDs through alternative training pathways, mainly in core training in medicine, anaesthetics and surgery. Data on this would only be available at trust level and is not collected or held centrally.

NHS England has published the LED Blueprint for Change. This outlines a set of targeted high impact actions for Trusts to use to enhance opportunities for training, skills improvement, career pathways and progression to support professional development for LEDs. It has been shaped by LEDs and other key stakeholders including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, General Medical Council, NHS Employers and British Medical Association.

Locally employed doctor (LED) is a catch-all term used to refer to doctors employed by a National Health Service trust that are not on one of the nationally negotiated contracts. LEDs do not work in formal or approved training posts and as such are not funded centrally by NHS England for any specialty.

There are some individual NHS trusts that support LEDs through alternative training pathways, mainly in core training in medicine, anaesthetics and surgery. Data on this would only be available at trust level and is not collected or held centrally.

NHS England has published the LED Blueprint for Change. This outlines a set of targeted high impact actions for Trusts to use to enhance opportunities for training, skills improvement, career pathways and progression to support professional development for LEDs. It has been shaped by LEDs and other key stakeholders including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, General Medical Council, NHS Employers and British Medical Association.

Keeping data safe and secure and ensuring patient and public privacy remain key principles of the Health Data Research Service (HDRS). The public will retain a right to opt out of specific uses of their data beyond their direct care, and these opt-outs will be respected with the implementation of HDRS.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for undertaking health needs assessments, including any data collection, to understand the health and wellbeing needs of their local populations, including identifying inequalities and planning services accordingly. NHS England has issued guidance to ICBs on developing an intelligence function to ensure locally tailored, evidence-based decisions are made that address health inequalities and support personalised, population-focused care planning.

The 10 Year Health Plan shifts care from hospitals into communities, with neighbourhood health services led by multidisciplinary teams offering preventative and personalised support closer to where people live with increased access to services and information for people with allergies and long-term health conditions.

The plan also commits expanding the use of digital technology. By 2035, two thirds of outpatient care will take place digitally or in the community closer to home, with patients, including those with allergies and long-term conditions, able to access the best of their local hospital in a much more responsive way at home via their phones.

The Government is committed to ensuring that fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the 10-Year Health Plan sets out our intention to publish a CVD modern service framework in 2026. Work to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check programme is ongoing and will inform the development of the CVD modern service framework. This will set out the best evidenced interventions, clear quality standards, and a plan for innovation.

Department officials are carefully considering the recommendations from the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report, Progress in preventing cardiovascular disease, and we will respond to the four recommendations made by the NAO in their report by the end of this year.

The role of biomedical scientists is critical to the delivery of the Government’s overarching ambitions for National Health Service recovery, and to deliver on the strategic shift of moving care from the hospital to the community. The Government and NHS England have ensured that their views and input have been sought to inform the development and delivery of policy, including on diagnostic services.

The pathology professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, are key stakeholders in NHS England’s pathology transformation and diagnostics programmes. They are represented on programme boards and working groups, and there is a strong track record of joint working, including national engagement events on topics such as sustainability, modernising histopathology services, and digital transformation. This engagement is helping to shape policy and delivery, including the delivery of community diagnostic services, to ensure equitable access to high-quality diagnostics outside of hospital settings.

With more than 270,000 contributions, the engagement the Government undertook to inform the 10-Year Health Plan was the biggest ever national conversation in the history of the NHS. Organisations representing the biomedical science sector played an important part in it. We received consultation responses from a number of these organisations, including The Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal College of Pathologists, who we undertook specific engagement with through our Partners’ Council.

All of this input fed directly into our policy making process, and insights from the engagement are embedded throughout the plan. As NHS England prepares to deliver the Government’s health ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, professional bodies, alongside other key stakeholders, will continue to play an important role in informing the implementation of priority programmes.

Biomedical scientists are increasingly working at the top of their licence, supported by digital pathology and laboratory automation that improves workflow and turnaround times. They provide governance and quality oversight for community point-of-care testing, outside of hospital settings linked to community diagnostic centres and hub laboratories, with advanced and consultant-level roles developing where appropriate.

Decisions on the availability of trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. NHS England, and previously Health Education England, have, however, supported advanced specialist diplomas and other advanced training for biomedical scientists, with further information on this available on the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website, in an online only format.

The Government will be publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

The role of biomedical scientists is critical to the delivery of the Government’s overarching ambitions for National Health Service recovery, and to deliver on the strategic shift of moving care from the hospital to the community. The Government and NHS England have ensured that their views and input have been sought to inform the development and delivery of policy, including on diagnostic services.

The pathology professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, are key stakeholders in NHS England’s pathology transformation and diagnostics programmes. They are represented on programme boards and working groups, and there is a strong track record of joint working, including national engagement events on topics such as sustainability, modernising histopathology services, and digital transformation. This engagement is helping to shape policy and delivery, including the delivery of community diagnostic services, to ensure equitable access to high-quality diagnostics outside of hospital settings.

With more than 270,000 contributions, the engagement the Government undertook to inform the 10-Year Health Plan was the biggest ever national conversation in the history of the NHS. Organisations representing the biomedical science sector played an important part in it. We received consultation responses from a number of these organisations, including The Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal College of Pathologists, who we undertook specific engagement with through our Partners’ Council.

All of this input fed directly into our policy making process, and insights from the engagement are embedded throughout the plan. As NHS England prepares to deliver the Government’s health ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, professional bodies, alongside other key stakeholders, will continue to play an important role in informing the implementation of priority programmes.

Biomedical scientists are increasingly working at the top of their licence, supported by digital pathology and laboratory automation that improves workflow and turnaround times. They provide governance and quality oversight for community point-of-care testing, outside of hospital settings linked to community diagnostic centres and hub laboratories, with advanced and consultant-level roles developing where appropriate.

Decisions on the availability of trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. NHS England, and previously Health Education England, have, however, supported advanced specialist diplomas and other advanced training for biomedical scientists, with further information on this available on the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website, in an online only format.

The Government will be publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

The role of biomedical scientists is critical to the delivery of the Government’s overarching ambitions for National Health Service recovery, and to deliver on the strategic shift of moving care from the hospital to the community. The Government and NHS England have ensured that their views and input have been sought to inform the development and delivery of policy, including on diagnostic services.

The pathology professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science, are key stakeholders in NHS England’s pathology transformation and diagnostics programmes. They are represented on programme boards and working groups, and there is a strong track record of joint working, including national engagement events on topics such as sustainability, modernising histopathology services, and digital transformation. This engagement is helping to shape policy and delivery, including the delivery of community diagnostic services, to ensure equitable access to high-quality diagnostics outside of hospital settings.

With more than 270,000 contributions, the engagement the Government undertook to inform the 10-Year Health Plan was the biggest ever national conversation in the history of the NHS. Organisations representing the biomedical science sector played an important part in it. We received consultation responses from a number of these organisations, including The Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal College of Pathologists, who we undertook specific engagement with through our Partners’ Council.

All of this input fed directly into our policy making process, and insights from the engagement are embedded throughout the plan. As NHS England prepares to deliver the Government’s health ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, professional bodies, alongside other key stakeholders, will continue to play an important role in informing the implementation of priority programmes.

Biomedical scientists are increasingly working at the top of their licence, supported by digital pathology and laboratory automation that improves workflow and turnaround times. They provide governance and quality oversight for community point-of-care testing, outside of hospital settings linked to community diagnostic centres and hub laboratories, with advanced and consultant-level roles developing where appropriate.

Decisions on the availability of trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. NHS England, and previously Health Education England, have, however, supported advanced specialist diplomas and other advanced training for biomedical scientists, with further information on this available on the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website, in an online only format.

The Government will be publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. Whilst no specific assessment has been made regarding dementia diagnosis rates, we expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and/or deprived inner cities.

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

The Department is committed to funding health and care research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) across England, to ensure that the research we support is inclusive and representative of the populations we serve.

In 2024, the NIHR made equity, diversity, and inclusion a condition of funding for all domestic research awards. This means applicants must demonstrate how their research will contribute towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities, with a focus on participant inclusion from diverse populations of the United Kingdom.

NIHR research infrastructure has national coverage across the whole of England. Our infrastructure schemes aim to build research capacity and capability across the country, across all geographies and settings. In line with prior commitments, the Department has increased funding for NIHR research infrastructure schemes delivering cancer research outside the Greater South East, including Biomedical Research Centres, Clinical Research Facilities, and HealthTech Research Centres.

Through the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN), the NIHR provides funding to 100% of National Health Service trusts in England to deliver research, operating across 12 regions throughout the country. From 2026/27, the RDN will adopt a new national funding model for NHS support costs and research delivery. This will be a consistent, nationally agreed funding distribution model across all regions of England and will reduce regional variation in health research delivery investment. This aims to reduce inequity in research delivery across all therapy and geography areas, including in underserved areas and settings.

The NIHR also provides an online service called Be Part of Research which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.

NHS England wrote to the National Health Service providers’ chief financial officers and research and development directors on 30 May 2025, requiring them to ensure all commercial trial activities are invoiced in a timely manner. A copy of this correspondence is attached.

NHS England is currently holding a series of round tables to explore the challenges facing some NHS providers in maintaining good financial management for research, and this includes invoicing. The outcome of these roundtables will be the revision and strengthening of NHS England’s Research Finance Guidance, which was first published in 2024.

The Government publishes United Kingdom-wide data on clinical research delivery performance through the Department’s UK Clinical Research Delivery (UKCRD) Key Performance Indicator Report. This monthly report brings together data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to monitor system-wide progress in the delivery of globally competitive clinical research across the UK. Alongside this reporting, the Department also publishes National Health Service trust level data on the study set-up performance of sites in England.

The Health and Care Act 2022 sets legal duties for integrated care boards (ICBs) in relation to research, and these duties include requirements to include research in ICB joint forward plans and reports. The Department and NHS England are currently developing plans for the future structure and functions of ICBs and regions and this includes consideration of where governance for research will sit. In May, NHS England wrote a letter to NHS providers requiring board-level reporting of research activity and income, with scrutiny of the UKCRD programme’s site-level performance metrics for study set-up. A copy of this correspondence is attached. NHS England will publish revised guidance on financial management for research later in 2025.

Regional pilots such as the Targeted Lung Health Check can be used to build an evidence base and inform decisions regarding screening. However, the Department is guided on screening policy by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). This is an independent scientific advisory committee and makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process.

Regional screening initiatives would only be rolled out nationally when they followed a UK NSC recommendation based on scientific evidence that showed the programme would do more good than harm at reasonable cost.

The Department and NHS England are taking a number of steps to support the National Health Service to deliver cost-effective, lifesaving prehabilitation and rehabilitation services.

Local planning for prehabilitation and rehabilitation services is a matter for NHS trusts and Cancer Alliances to take forward in their local areas. NHS England has highlighted the positive impact of efficient prehabilitation and rehabilitation on cancer outcomes and the potential to lead to cost savings. The ‘PRosPer’ Cancer Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation learning programme, launched in partnership between NHS England and Macmillan Cancer support, aims to support allied health professionals and the wider healthcare workforce in developing their skills in providing prehabilitation and rehabilitation, including in areas such as exercise, nutrition, and wellbeing support.

The Government and NHS England recognise that for most people living with long term conditions, including people living with cancer, physical activity is safe and can support recovery after treatment and promote quality of life. The NHS is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients in England have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support.

Our 10-Year Health Plan for England has set out a series of national actions to address the major risk factors associated with cancer. The National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The plan will seek to reduce cancer risk factors, including smoking, and will include further detail about how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients.

The 10-Year Health Plan also committed to ensuring all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. Within their 2025/26 allocations, integrated care boards have access to funding in order to support the rollout of tobacco dependency treatment services in hospital settings, including acute and mental health inpatient settings and maternity services. Future funding decisions, including any decision to expand tobacco dependency treatment services to additional settings beyond routine care, are subject to the Spending Review process.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including non-hearing children. Auditory verbal therapy is one of a range of approaches that can be used with deaf babies and children.

NHS England and the Department for Education are co-funding £10 million over two years in nine Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinder sites to improve early identification, universal and targeted support for speech, language and communication needs in early years and primary schools, with quicker referrals to specialist services when needed.

Delivering services that will raise the healthiest generation of children ever begins with its people. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.