Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on writing to households who are eligible but not registered for the NHS Healthy Start programme; and what his Department's planned timeline is for completing that communication.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), who delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department, has created a public toolkit specifically for retailers, inclusive of independent shopkeepers and convenience store staff, to help them promote the scheme to shoppers.
The toolkit is regularly updated and contains a range of materials, including point of sale stickers, posters, banners, digital screens, and social media content featuring “shop with your NHS Healthy Start card here” messaging, and has so far received more than 2,000 views. Retailers can also find out more about the scheme and how it works on the NHSBSA website, at the following link:
Retailers can also sign up for regular stakeholder newsletters.
The Department continues to work with the NHSBSA on ways to encourage those eligible to apply for the Healthy Start Scheme to apply.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS Business Services Authority is taking to ensure independent shopkeepers and convenience store staff (a) are aware of NHS Healthy Start cards and (b) enable all eligible families to use their cards in these stores.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), who delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department, has created a public toolkit specifically for retailers, inclusive of independent shopkeepers and convenience store staff, to help them promote the scheme to shoppers.
The toolkit is regularly updated and contains a range of materials, including point of sale stickers, posters, banners, digital screens, and social media content featuring “shop with your NHS Healthy Start card here” messaging, and has so far received more than 2,000 views. Retailers can also find out more about the scheme and how it works on the NHSBSA website, at the following link:
Retailers can also sign up for regular stakeholder newsletters.
The Department continues to work with the NHSBSA on ways to encourage those eligible to apply for the Healthy Start Scheme to apply.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 increase the proportion of patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment (RTT).
As a first step in achieving this, we have delivered against the interim target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026. As of March 2026, the waiting list has reduced by over 515,000 since the Government came into office, and performance against the RTT standard has improved by 6.4%, reaching 65.3%. This is despite 37.2 million referrals onto the waiting list over the same period.
This progress has been made by delivering more appointments, investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and providing patients with faster and more convenient access to care.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks of referral in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) North Tyneside.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the end of March 2026, the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board reported that the proportion of patients on the waiting list waiting within 18 weeks was 72.3% compared to 70.2% in March 2025.
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported that 72.5% of its waiting list was waiting within 18 weeks compared to 72.4% in March 2025.
Nationally, at the end of March 2026, the proportion of the waiting list waiting within 18 weeks was 65.3%.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on negotiating the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework for 2026/27.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department’s consultation with Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 began on 25 February. We will provide an update once this consultation has concluded.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing a joint process between NICE and the MHRA for the licensing and appraisal of medicines; and whether the licensing and appraisal of the BREAKWATER treatment protocol for patients with BRAF-mutated bowel cancer will follow this pathway.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recommendations. Current treatment options for BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer depend on the stage of the disease and previous treatments. Several medicines for the treatment of colorectal cancer have been recommended by NICE. NICE has also recommended encorafenib in combination with cetuximab as an option for treating BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic colorectal cancer after previous systemic treatment.
The BREAKWATER study is investigating encorafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for the potential treatment of colorectal cancer. This regimen does not currently have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of previously untreated BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE has prioritised an appraisal of encorafenib for this indication in anticipation of it being granted a UK marketing authorisation and will schedule the appraisal so that guidance can be published as close as possible to the expected licensing date. The joint licensing and health technology appraisal pathway was launched on 1 April. It is not possible at this stage to confirm whether the appraisal will follow the joint pathway. Further information on the appraisal’s status is publicly available on NICE’s website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/awaiting-development/gid-ta11961
The clinical trial was assessed and approved in the UK and is currently active, with further information available at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04607421?term=BREAKWATER&viewType=Card&rank=1
Department officials regularly discuss a range of topics with colleagues in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to treatment for patients with BRAF-mutated bowel cancer in (a) England and (b) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recommendations. Current treatment options for BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer depend on the stage of the disease and previous treatments. Several medicines for the treatment of colorectal cancer have been recommended by NICE. NICE has also recommended encorafenib in combination with cetuximab as an option for treating BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic colorectal cancer after previous systemic treatment.
The BREAKWATER study is investigating encorafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for the potential treatment of colorectal cancer. This regimen does not currently have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of previously untreated BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE has prioritised an appraisal of encorafenib for this indication in anticipation of it being granted a UK marketing authorisation and will schedule the appraisal so that guidance can be published as close as possible to the expected licensing date. The joint licensing and health technology appraisal pathway was launched on 1 April. It is not possible at this stage to confirm whether the appraisal will follow the joint pathway. Further information on the appraisal’s status is publicly available on NICE’s website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/awaiting-development/gid-ta11961
The clinical trial was assessed and approved in the UK and is currently active, with further information available at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04607421?term=BREAKWATER&viewType=Card&rank=1
Department officials regularly discuss a range of topics with colleagues in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the MHRA and (B) NICE regarding the BREAKWATER treatment protocol for patients with BRAF‑mutated bowel cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) recommendations. Current treatment options for BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer depend on the stage of the disease and previous treatments. Several medicines for the treatment of colorectal cancer have been recommended by NICE. NICE has also recommended encorafenib in combination with cetuximab as an option for treating BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic colorectal cancer after previous systemic treatment.
The BREAKWATER study is investigating encorafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for the potential treatment of colorectal cancer. This regimen does not currently have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of previously untreated BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE has prioritised an appraisal of encorafenib for this indication in anticipation of it being granted a UK marketing authorisation and will schedule the appraisal so that guidance can be published as close as possible to the expected licensing date. The joint licensing and health technology appraisal pathway was launched on 1 April. It is not possible at this stage to confirm whether the appraisal will follow the joint pathway. Further information on the appraisal’s status is publicly available on NICE’s website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/awaiting-development/gid-ta11961
The clinical trial was assessed and approved in the UK and is currently active, with further information available at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04607421?term=BREAKWATER&viewType=Card&rank=1
Department officials regularly discuss a range of topics with colleagues in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 capping the strength of nicotine pouches to 20 milligrams of nicotine per pouch.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Nicotine pouches are highly addictive and we have a duty to protect children and young people from potential harms.
Unlike vapes, there are no legally established nicotine limits for pouches, with strengths ranging from two milligram to 50 milligram or more per pouch.
This is why the Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes powers to regulate the packaging, flavours, and product standards of all vapes and nicotine products, including nicotine pouches. The bill will also introduce age of sale restrictions to 18 years old for nicotine pouches and will ban their advertising and sponsorship.
We ran a call for evidence on nicotine limits, amongst other tobacco and vaping issues, at the end of last year. We plan to consult on future regulatory plans in due course.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the difference is between the proposed Public-Private Partnership model for Neighbourhood Health Centres and the Private Finance Initiative.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Public Private Partnership (PPP) is the umbrella term for various public-private partnerships. Private Finance Initiative is a specific, strict form of PPP.
We are developing a new PPP model for neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) which is being led by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), and supported by the Department. NISTA and the Department will continue to work with the market to further develop the new PPP model for NHCs with further engagement later this year. The new model will build on lessons from the past, including the National Audit Office’s 2025 report on private finance and other models currently in use. To ensure they are managed transparently and are fiscally sustainable, any NHC PPP projects will be budgeted for as if they are on balance sheet.
We are not bringing back PFI for the new PPP model for NHCs.