Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department holds lead responsibility for determining whether volunteer land based search and rescue organisations are required to register with the Care Quality Commission; and which statutory provisions govern that responsibility.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for monitoring the impact of its regulatory activity through inspections, ratings, and ongoing assessment of providers.
The Department oversees the effectiveness of the legislative framework, including through statutory postimplementation reviews. The CQC is accountable to Parliament, with its performance and impact subject to scrutiny by select committees and independent reviews. Together, these arrangements ensure that both the delivery and effectiveness of regulation are regularly assessed.
Requirements to register with the CQC depend on whether an organisation is carrying on regulated activities in England. In certain circumstances, exemptions may apply, including where activities are carried out under the direction or control of a Government department.
The CQC is engaging with both land and maritime search and rescue teams to help minimise any impact to those services. The CQC recognises the urgency of this issue and is working to reach a confirmed position as soon as possible.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department is responsible for monitoring the impact of regulation on volunteer land based search and rescue organisations; and how that responsibility is coordinated across Government.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for monitoring the impact of its regulatory activity through inspections, ratings, and ongoing assessment of providers.
The Department oversees the effectiveness of the legislative framework, including through statutory postimplementation reviews. The CQC is accountable to Parliament, with its performance and impact subject to scrutiny by select committees and independent reviews. Together, these arrangements ensure that both the delivery and effectiveness of regulation are regularly assessed.
Requirements to register with the CQC depend on whether an organisation is carrying on regulated activities in England. In certain circumstances, exemptions may apply, including where activities are carried out under the direction or control of a Government department.
The CQC is engaging with both land and maritime search and rescue teams to help minimise any impact to those services. The CQC recognises the urgency of this issue and is working to reach a confirmed position as soon as possible.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department holds lead responsibility for determining whether volunteer maritime search and rescue organisations are required to register with the Care Quality Commission; and which statutory provisions govern that responsibility.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for monitoring the impact of its regulatory activity through inspections, ratings, and ongoing assessment of providers.
The Department oversees the effectiveness of the legislative framework, including through statutory postimplementation reviews. The CQC is accountable to Parliament, with its performance and impact subject to scrutiny by select committees and independent reviews. Together, these arrangements ensure that both the delivery and effectiveness of regulation are regularly assessed.
Requirements to register with the CQC depend on whether an organisation is carrying on regulated activities in England. In certain circumstances, exemptions may apply, including where activities are carried out under the direction or control of a Government department.
The CQC is engaging with both land and maritime search and rescue teams to help minimise any impact to those services. The CQC recognises the urgency of this issue and is working to reach a confirmed position as soon as possible.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42370, what progress NHS England has made in developing metrics to assess timely access to care and outcomes for women with suspected endometriosis; and when those metrics are expected to be finalised.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is progressing work to collect metrics on endometriosis through its wider women’s health data improvement and reporting programme. As a starting point, NHS England is establishing which measures can be collected in a consistent and quantifiable way across the system. This includes investigating whether diagnosis is the optimum measure of timely access for women with suspected endometriosis or whether an alternative metric based on data that is or can be reliably and consistently collected would give a more accurate picture of access and outcomes. This work will inform how endometriosis is reflected in national reporting as the data improvement programme develops.
Women who receive a hospital diagnosis of endometriosis will have this coded accordingly, and this data can in principle be extracted, but it is not routinely reported. A diagnosis of endometriosis does not currently link to time to referral, and referral reasons for gynaecological conditions are not routinely reported.
NHS England is working to improve the reportability and data capture of pelvic pain diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, which includes endometriosis. Before any metrics or outcome measures can be implemented, it is necessary to ensure that data is being captured consistently and in a reportable way across the country.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care.
Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.
Women with endometriosis also will benefit from single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood and community settings.
Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, are prioritised as one of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42370, when his Department plans to respond to the Office for National Statistics’ findings published in February 2025 on the impact of an endometriosis diagnosis on women’s labour market outcomes; and what assessment he has made of those findings.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The publication from the Office of National Statistics in February 2025 on the labour market impacts of endometriosis provided the first robust national evidence in England quantifying its impact on earnings and employment. The analysis provides evidence that endometriosis is associated with persistent reductions in earnings and employment following diagnosis, which likely reflects movement into lower paid roles, reduced working hours, and ongoing health-related productivity constraints.
The Government does not currently have plans to respond to the Office for National Statistics’ findings directly. The findings from this analysis have fed into the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, published in April 2026, and helped inform the actions committed to in it.
The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions, including endometriosis, where women experience unacceptably long delays to diagnosis, pain being dismissed, and fragmented care.
Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits.
Women with endometriosis will also benefit from single points of access for gynaecology referrals and a shift away from hospital only care towards neighbourhood and community settings.
Menstrual problems, including those caused by endometriosis, are prioritised as one of the first pathways to be delivered through community-based services and the new virtual hospital, NHS Online.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 42370, what progress has been made on implementing the updated November 2024 NICE guideline on endometriosis diagnosis and management across primary and secondary care.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England encourages adherence to guidance publications by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). However, healthcare professionals and practitioners are expected to take NICE guidelines into account alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.
NHS England is currently developing a pelvic pain pathway for systems which will provide a framework for managing pelvic pain and endometriosis across the healthcare system. This will be aligned with NICE guidance and will enable women to get care either in primary care, neighbourhood services, or specialist secondary care services in line with their needs.
NHS England is working with regions to encourage and support implementation of these pathways and a neighbourhood approach to care, which will help to support early recognition and diagnosis, reducing waiting times for women.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK-trained physiotherapists excluded from NHS employment pathways in (a) Penrith and Solway constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of physiotherapists trained in the United Kingdom who have been excluded from National Health Service employment pathways either in the Penrith and Solway constituency or across England.
Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual NHS trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
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 help support primary care staff providing mental health services in Penrith and Solway constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice is funded to deploy mental health practitioners, bridging the gap between primary care and specialist mental health services, with over 1,200 employed in England as of December 2024.Our 10-year health plan will deliver more care locally, supporting people to stay healthier including with their mental health.
We will recruit 8,500 mental health workers across children’s and adult mental health services to bring waiting times down.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
We do not hold data in the format requested. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, such as ankylosing spondylitis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published expert guidance on the diagnosis and management of spondyloarthritis in over 16 year olds, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng65
The NICE guidance aims to raise awareness of the features of spondyloarthritis and provide clear advice on what action to take when people with signs and symptoms first present in healthcare settings.
As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with ankylosing spondylitis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken to diagnose multiple sclerosis was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
We do not hold data in the format requested. The latest data for referral to treatment waiting times in England, from January 2025, shows there were under 233,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment, 53.8% of which had been waiting less that 18 weeks.
On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. We have delivered an additional two million appointments between July and November 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, seven months ahead of schedule, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.