Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding and support is being offered to improve first time uptake of breast screening appointments in (i) the South Devon Breast Screening Service and (ii) other Breast Screening Services across England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 April in response to Question 125686.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (i) the South Devon Breast Screening Service and (ii) other Breast Screening Services across England reach the 80% achievable standard for attendance.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 April in response to Question 125686.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is being provided to South Devon Breast Screening Service to ensure the service meets (i) 70% and (ii) 80% breast screening uptake targets.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 April in response to Question 125686.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to expand the types of talking therapy available to patients seeking mental health support in Devon, provide alternatives for those who aren't receptive to talking therapies, and give patients a greater choice of therapist.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Devon, the NHS Talking Therapies service, TALKWORKS, has expanded the range of therapies available for people with common mental health problems. This includes interpersonal therapy, counselling for depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, alongside cognitive behavioural therapy. The service has also introduced a treatment pathway for people with prolonged grief disorder and continues to explore further evidence-based therapies.
Patient choice is a core part of TALKWORKS. Patients can specify a gender preference for their therapist and requests to change therapist are supported.
The Devon Partnership NHS Trust also provides a range of psychological therapies through its specialist mental health services. These vary according to clinical guidelines, local need, and available local expertise, and where a person’s needs indicate that alternative approaches, interventions, or clinicians would be beneficial, these are offered wherever possible. The trust has secured additional funding to expand dialectical behaviour therapy and provides art, music, and drama therapies as well. It is also working with local voluntary sector partners to further develop alternatives to traditional talking therapies.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Newton Abbot.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific data requested by the Hon Members is not centrally held. They may find useful information on the prevalence and treatment of respiratory conditions in their local areas at the Department’s Fingertips website, at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profiles
In addition, the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, published by the UK Health Security Agency, provides weekly surveillance of respiratory virus activity in England, including hospital admission rates specifically for influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus. This is available at the following link:
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many appeals against decisions made under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme were awaiting determination by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal as of 1 September 2026.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Available data on the operation of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is published on a regular basis by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). This can be found on the NHS BSA Open Data Portal at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/theme/public-services-schemes-and-payments
Appeals to the VDPS are lodged directly with and managed by the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, not the NHS BSA. The requested data is therefore not centrally held.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot sent on 18 August 2026 under case ref MW00400.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department replied to the Hon. Member’s correspondence on 14 October.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information the department holds on the average waiting time between an appeal being lodged and the appeal being determined under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in each of the last five years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Available data on the operation of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is published on a regular basis by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). This can be found on the NHS BSA Open Data Portal at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/theme/public-services-schemes-and-payments
Appeals to the VDPS are lodged directly with and managed by the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, not the NHS BSA. The requested data is therefore not centrally held.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many appeals under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme had been awaiting determination for more than (a) six months, (b) 12 months, (c) 18 months and (d) 24 months as of the 1st of September 2026.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Available data on the operation of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is published on a regular basis by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). This can be found on the NHS BSA Open Data Portal at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/theme/public-services-schemes-and-payments
Appeals to the VDPS are lodged directly with and managed by the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, not the NHS BSA. The requested data is therefore not centrally held.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme appeals.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Available data on the operation of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is published on a regular basis by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). This can be found on the NHS BSA Open Data Portal at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/theme/public-services-schemes-and-payments
Appeals to the VDPS are lodged directly with and managed by the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, not the NHS BSA. The requested data is therefore not centrally held.