Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 help ensure that home birth is presented as an (a) guaranteed and (b) consistently-available option to pregnant women.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan and the accompanying guidance, Universal Personalised Care, made commitments to deliver choice and personalised care in maternity services. The NHS Long Term Plan and the Universal Personalised Care guidance are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/comprehensive-model/
The Maternity Programme supports local maternity systems to improve choice and deliver personalised care for women and their families.
NHS England has published guidance which sets out the four birthing choices: home birth; birth in a unit run by midwives; hospital birth; and unassisted birth. This guidance is available at the following link:
The provision of arrangements for home birth and information on how this is provided is the responsibility of local National Health Service trusts, who are directed as appropriate by their integrated care board.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to pregnant women to ensure they receive adequate information on all four birth settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan and the accompanying guidance, Universal Personalised Care, made commitments to deliver choice and personalised care in maternity services. The NHS Long Term Plan and the Universal Personalised Care guidance are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/comprehensive-model/
The Maternity Programme supports local maternity systems to improve choice and deliver personalised care for women and their families.
NHS England has published guidance which sets out the four birthing choices: home birth; birth in a unit run by midwives; hospital birth; and unassisted birth. This guidance is available at the following link:
The provision of arrangements for home birth and information on how this is provided is the responsibility of local National Health Service trusts, who are directed as appropriate by their integrated care board.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 ensure pregnant women’s access to birthing choice is protected.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Long Term Plan and the accompanying guidance, Universal Personalised Care, made commitments to deliver choice and personalised care in maternity services. The NHS Long Term Plan and the Universal Personalised Care guidance are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/comprehensive-model/
The Maternity Programme supports local maternity systems to improve choice and deliver personalised care for women and their families.
NHS England has published guidance which sets out the four birthing choices: home birth; birth in a unit run by midwives; hospital birth; and unassisted birth. This guidance is available at the following link:
The provision of arrangements for home birth and information on how this is provided is the responsibility of local National Health Service trusts, who are directed as appropriate by their integrated care board.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 support the (a) mental health and (b) wellbeing needs of British farmers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we recognise that British farmers, and others living and working in isolated communities, may face particular challenges in accessing the mental health services that they need.
We are working with NHS England on a refreshed workforce plan, which will revolve around the three shifts to deliver our 10-Year Health Plan: moving more care from hospitals to communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it, including in rural and agricultural communities.
Specifically in relation to farmers mental health and wellbeing, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is supporting access to farmer mental health support services by funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. This aids organisations in delivering projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One recipient, the Farming Community Network, is using the funding to expand their FarmWell platform. This online resource provides business and personal resilience advice on topics including mental health, isolation, depression, and suicide.
Defra is also developing options in consultation with communities, farming support organisations, and experts across Government, as to how it can further support the investment in mental health interventions for those in agricultural communities.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what targets his Department has on reducing inequalities in (a) baby deaths and (b) pregnancy loss.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A number of interventions specifically aimed at addressing maternal and neonatal inequalities are underway. These include the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme, delivery of an inequalities dashboard, and projects on removing racial bias from clinical education and embedding genetic risk equity. Additionally, all local maternity and neonatal systems have published Equity and Equality actions plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.
An important aspect of both the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation and the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce announced in June 2025, is to address inequalities in maternal and neonatal care and promote health equity in the delivery of those services.
The Government remains committed to setting an explicit target to close the Black and Asian maternal mortality gap, and is taking an evidence-based approach to ensure that any targets set are women and baby-centred.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 ensure that UKMDR audit fees remain affordable for UK based businesses who source medical devices from overseas manufacturers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Great Britain, medical devices are regulated under the Medical Device Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002), which is available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/618/contents/made
Manufacturers of the lowest risk medical devices can self-declare the conformity of their devices against these regulations, and manufacturers of medium and high-risk medical devices must seek third party conformity assessment from an approved body to obtain a UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking.
Fees are set by the approved body themselves and vary depending on the specific service provided.
To protect supply, the government continues to accept CE-marked medical devices on the Great Britain market until 30 June 2028 or 2030, depending on the type of device and the legislation it complies with. If a device has a valid CE marking, the manufacturer is therefore not required to also obtain a UKCA marking. We will consult further on our long-term approach to the recognition of CE-marked medical devices later this year.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently developing a reformed regulatory framework for medical devices, designed to protect patient safety, while improving access to innovative medical devices. This will introduce an international reliance framework, allowing the MHRA to use the expertise and decision-making of other regulatory partners to introduce a new, streamlined, route to market for certain devices with prior approval from comparable regulatory countries (Australia, Canada and the US). This will reduce unwarranted regulatory burden on manufacturers of medical devices with overseas approval.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 help reduce waiting lists for diagnostic services at Preston Royal Hospital Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) has agreed a Diagnostic Improvement Programme with key focuses including:
The Trust also makes use of mutual aid. In the NHS, mutual aid is the voluntary cooperation and resource-sharing between different healthcare organisations or sectors to meet shared needs, especially during emergencies or when systems are under extreme pressure. The Trust continues to scope other options to increase capacity and support from other local organisations via mutual aid.
Performance at the Trust has significantly improved against the Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity data collection (DM01) six-week target from 49.3 percent of patients on the waiting list waiting in excess of 6 weeks from referral in June 2024, to 39.6 percent in June 2025.
Nationally, the government is supporting the NHS to recover diagnostic services and bring down waiting times through investment in new capacity and technology. At the Spending Review in June 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £6 billion in capital funding across 5 years for new diagnostic, elective and urgent and emergency capacity in the NHS. This includes £600 million in 2025/26.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the medical conditions on the list of exemptions for prescription charges.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate.
There are extensive arrangements in place in England to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with chronic illnesses may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. People who need to pay and need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC). PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with 3-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in direct debit instalments.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) increase the provision of and (b) improve autism services in (i) Ribble Valley constituency and (ii) Lancashire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help integrated care boards (ICBs) and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and adults referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism, based on the available evidence. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.
The NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB has secured £1.8 million in funding to improve the Neurodivergent Pathway across Lancashire and South Cumbria, which the ICB has decided will primarily focus on children and young people (CYP) in the first instance, given the complexities and inconsistency of current CYP pathways. This investment will support frontline services, digital systems, a redesign of clinical pathways, and an increase in direct support available for families and young people. The ICB is working closely with Lancashire County Council and local schools to ensure the offer is joined up. The ICB has also commissioned an all-age online pre- and post-diagnostic support resource.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on whether the increase in the level of NHS-funded nursing care has increased the quality of care provided in care homes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no discussions between the department and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on NHS-funded nursing care (FNC).
The department is responsible for FNC policy and for setting the FNC rate each year. NHSE and integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the implementation of FNC, including paying the FNC rate direct to care homes with nursing.
The FNC rate for 2025/26 increased by 7.7% from the 2024/25 rate. From the 1 April 2025, this increases the standard weekly rate per eligible individual from £235.88 to £254.06 and from £324.50 to £349.50 for the higher rate payment. FNC contributes to the provision of nursing care by a registered nurse and does not cover the costs of wider non-nursing care or accommodation. The rate increase accounts for the increase in the cost of providing nursing care.
Providers registered with CQC are expected to comply with the fundamental standards under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. CQC monitor and assess services and publish their findings, and can take regulatory and enforcement action if services are not providing people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care.