Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating restaurants in England to display their food hygiene rating.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) review and (b) update the guidance entitled Children and young people’s continuing care national framework, published on 22 January 2016.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care, published by the then Department of Health, now the Department of Health and Social Care, in January 2016 is intended to support good practice locally, providing guidance for integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities on the process for assessing, deciding, and agreeing packages of care for children and young people.
There are currently no plans to review or update the Children and Young People's Continuing Care National Framework.
ICBs are responsible for the provision and commissioning of services to meet the needs of their local populations. NHS England supports ICBs to implement the National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care, and it has now started to collect Children and Young People’s Continuing Care activity data as part of the All-age Continuing Care Patient Level Dataset which launched on 1 April 2025, and which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 review workforce speciality training allocations in the NHS; and if he will take steps to increase the number of (a) training posts and (b) permanent positions for newly qualified doctors in (i) General Practice, (ii) sexual health, (iii) haematology specialties and (iv) other positions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, we will work across the Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. The Plan also sets out that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need.
In acknowledgement of doctors’ concerns about jobs and access to training places, the Government made an offer to the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee to double the previously announced increase in specialty training places in the 10-Year Health Plan to 2,000, bringing 1,000 of these forward to next year, create an alternative training pathway, and take steps to prioritise UK medical graduates and doctors with significant NHS experience for specialty posts. The new specialty training posts will focus on specialties where there is greatest need. On top of this commitment, NHS England has already made changes to the specialty training application process this year to reduce competition and support UK graduates.
The Government has committed to training thousands more general practitioners (GPs) and has increased the number of available GP training places by an additional 250 from September 2025. This brings the total number of GP training places to 4,250 per year.
As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for GPs to determine how they run their operations, including staffing arrangements.
We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole.
Since October 2024, we have funded primary care networks with an additional £160 million to recruit recently qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. Over 2,500 individual GPs have now been recruited, preventing them graduating into unemployment. This was a measure to respond to feedback from the profession and to help solve an immediate issue of GP unemployment.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 potential impact of mandatory folic acid fortification on people with MTHFR gene variants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy to mandate the fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid is aimed at reducing the incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs) in pregnancy. This policy is based on robust assessment of the evidence by the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and has included two public consultations.
The SACN’s assessment included consideration of individuals with a specific MTHFR gene variant that reduces their ability to process folate from their diet resulting in lower levels of folate in their blood. The two public consultations invited feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, which included individuals concerned about MTHFR gene variants.
An increased intake of folic acid will raise blood folate levels, which reduces the risk of an NTD-affected pregnancy. Therefore, mandatory folic acid fortification is likely to be beneficial to individuals with the specific MTHFR gene variant.
The Government is exploring options to evaluate the policy, which will assess health impacts across different population groups.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many newly qualified nurses have secured employment through the Graduate Guarantee scheme since its introduction; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Graduate Guarantee scheme; and with reference to the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan, what steps his Department is taking to align the number of nursing graduates with the availability of entry-level posts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Supporting newly qualified nurses and midwives to move smoothly into employment is a key priority. The Graduate Guarantee, introduced in August 2025, is now being implemented across the National Health Service to ensure every newly qualified nurse and midwife is supported to secure appropriate employment. Early feedback from trusts and regions indicates that it is having a positive impact on the current recruitment cycle, with organisations recruiting ahead of turnover and creating additional entry-level posts.
We expect the recruitment cycle to be concluded by March 2026 for this cohort, and published workforce statistics will provide a transparent assessment of the current NHS workforce. The forthcoming Chief Nursing Officer professional strategy for nursing and midwifery, alongside the 10 Year Workforce Plan, will set out further details on future workforce needs.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 newly qualified nurses can access Band 5 roles in their local area; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) experience requirements and (b) internal-only job advertisements on newly qualified nurses' ability to secure employment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Newly qualified nurses are an essential part of the National Health Service workforce, and it is important that they are able to access suitable Band 5 employment opportunities on qualification. The Graduate Guarantee, introduced in August 2025, is now being implemented across the NHS to ensure every newly qualified nurse and midwife is supported to secure appropriate employment. Early feedback from trusts and regions indicates it is having a positive impact on the current recruitment cycle, with organisations recruiting ahead of turnover and creating additional entry-level posts.
In parallel, all regions are working with providers and higher education institutions to ensure a smooth transition from training into employment for newly qualified nurses with students being invited to apply for local roles. NHS England has also reminded employers to ensure advertisements do not disadvantage newly qualified nurses seeking their first post.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Minister for Secondary Care plans to respond to the correspondence of 28 July 2025 from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on the Dashboard for Accelerated Discharge.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have received the hon. Member’s correspondence and will reply in due course.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on coroners holding inquests into stillbirths, dated 6 June 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 6 June and will reply as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 potential merits of expanding the scope of the maternity care inquiry to include the limitations of coroners’ powers to hold inquests into stillbirths.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, recently announced an independent, national investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services, to look at the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. It will look at up to 10 maternity and neonatal units where there are specific issues, international evidence, adoption of best practice, and will engage in a system-wide investigation of maternity and neonatal care. This will include bringing together lessons from past reviews. The investigation will produce, by December 2025, one clear set of national recommendations to achieve high quality, safe care across maternity and neonatal services, and will ensure that women and families are listened to.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also announced the establishment of a Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce that will use the recommendations from the independent investigation to develop a national plan with families to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.
The Terms of Reference for the independent investigation and taskforce, including the investigation’s scope, are being developed with input from families and other key partners and are expected to be published shortly. We are not, therefore, able to confirm whether this will include reference to coronial powers.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the number of patients waiting longer than the Kent Integrated Dermatology Service's four week deadline for issuing biopsy results, in each of the last six months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of patients waiting longer than four weeks for their biopsy results.
The Government is spending £600 million of capital this year on diagnostics, including funding for the automation of histopathology laboratories, for the first time ever, to improve productivity. We are also funding all pathology networks to increase digital capabilities by March 2026, which will reduce unnecessary waits and repeat tests, to ensure that patients receive their results sooner, including those in Kent.