Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
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 improve patient safety for people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking a range of actions to improve patient safety for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
We are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism across the health and adult social care workforce. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care.
NHS England’s Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme works to tackle the root causes of unsafe and poor-quality inpatient care, supporting the cultural changes needed to create environments where people can flourish.
The Mental Health Bill, which is currently in Parliament, will limit the scope to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals. and put existing NHS England policies on a statutory footing to improve community support. There is funding in integrated care board baselines during 2025/26 to improve community support provision and reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people, in line with the NHS Operational Planning Guidance.
More widely, the Government is committed to advancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture across the National Health Service. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will usher in a new era of transparency, a rigorous focus on high-quality care for all and a renewed emphasis on patient and staff voice.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to p.15 of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, what his Department's timetable is for publishing further details on the national maternity and neonatal taskforce; and whether that taskforce will focus on multiple pregnancies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will be chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and will take forward the recommendations from the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal care to develop a national plan to drive improvements.
The taskforce will be made up of a breadth of independent clinical and international expertise, including those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health, as well as family and staff representatives, charities and campaigners.
Once the independent investigation is underway, my Rt. Hon. Friend will work with families and external partners to set up the taskforce including its terms of reference and membership. These will be published in due course.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, what steps his Department is taking to support dispensing general practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that the services of dispensing practices play an important role in meeting the needs of rural communities, by ensuring patients receive their medicines promptly and conveniently.
Every year, the Department and NHS England consult with the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding the services general practices will provide, and the funding they will receive in return for these services. This includes the services, and relevant remuneration, of dispensing practices.
We have committed to substantive General Practice (GP) contract reform within this Parliament following acceptance of the 2025/26 contract by the England General Practitioners Committee of the BMA. As part of this, we expect to consider a breadth of topics, including dispensing practices.
On 3 July 2025, we published the 10-Year Health Plan, which announced the plan to introduce two new contracts, for neighbourhood providers and multi-neighbourhood providers, which will encourage GPs to work over larger geographies. We will begin to make these new contracts available in 2026, and more details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Patient Safety Commissioner has made on their work on Sodium Valproate and surgical mesh implants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of improving product labelling on sugar content in food for children under the age of two.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of well-being in later life. Data shows that babies and young children are eating too much sugar, and that some commercial baby foods, particularly finger foods, contain added sugar or high sugar ingredients. This does not align with the recommendations from the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the diets of children aged one to five years old.
It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional and compositional standards for commercial baby food. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is aware of supply issues with Felodipine medication; and whether he has had discussions with with (a) suppliers and (b) pharmacists to minimise patient impact.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently not aware of any supply issues affecting any strength of felodipine. While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
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 support (a) improvements in stroke care services and (b) the introduction of mechanical thrombectomy services at York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no current plan to introduce mechanical thrombectomy for the acute treatment of strokes at the York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust. Thrombectomy is a specialist treatment that is only offered in a few tertiary centres across the country. Patients attending the York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust requiring a mechanical thrombectomy will be referred to the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as the tertiary centre catering to the population who require this service.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
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 (a) tackle intermittent shortages of Efudix and (b) improve access to alternative medications to Efudix.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the intermittent shortages of Fluorouracil (Efudix) 5% cream, which are expected to last until March 2025 and are due to the manufacturer having constrained capacity. The Department is working with the manufacturer of the impacted product to bring forward future supplies and increase quantities where possible. We have also worked with manufacturers of alternative products and specialist importers to meet the increased demand, and have supported bringing more stock into the United Kingdom. Working with National Health Service specialists we have provided management advice for this supply issue, advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients during this time.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance on commissioning policies for NHS-funded IVF.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning local health services, including fertility services, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. The NICE is currently reviewing the fertility services guidelines.
The Government recognises that access to National Health Service funded fertility services is variable, and is working jointly with NHS England on options to improve access for all eligible groups.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to commission services for adults with young onset dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work within their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.
Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population under the Care Act 2014.
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia, and central to this is the provision of personalised care and support planning for post diagnostic support.