Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department will take to raise awareness of the symptoms of gynaecological cancers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is undertaking a wide range of activity to increase awareness of the symptoms of gynaecological cancer. NHS England relaunched the Help Us Help You cancer campaign in 2024, to encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that they are worried could turn out to be cancer.

NHS England and other National Health Service organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including gynaecological cancers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals to dementia specialists were made in England in each year since 2010 by local authority.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

This data is not held centrally. While counts of patients who have received a dementia assessment and subsequently been referred to a memory clinic have been collected since the 2016/17 reporting year, the figures are not provided at an integrated care board level and are also not aggregated by local authority. This data captures the number of patients who have received such a referral, and does not capture the following:

• the total number of referrals, as one patient may have more than one referral to a memory clinic, but they will only be included in the count once;
• referrals made to memory clinics where the referral is not made following a dementia assessment recorded by the general practice; and
• referrals made to specialists where they are not via a memory clinic.
• Data from 2016 to 2022 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/recorded-dementia-diagnoses

In addition, data from 2022 to 2025 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication: Primary care dementia data publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/primary-care-dementia-data

The counts available in the March publication of each year will provide the number of referrals made within that reporting year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals to dementia specialists were made in England in each year since 2010 by Integrated Care Board.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

This data is not held centrally. While counts of patients who have received a dementia assessment and subsequently been referred to a memory clinic have been collected since the 2016/17 reporting year, the figures are not provided at an integrated care board level and are also not aggregated by local authority. This data captures the number of patients who have received such a referral, and does not capture the following:

• the total number of referrals, as one patient may have more than one referral to a memory clinic, but they will only be included in the count once;
• referrals made to memory clinics where the referral is not made following a dementia assessment recorded by the general practice; and
• referrals made to specialists where they are not via a memory clinic.
• Data from 2016 to 2022 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/recorded-dementia-diagnoses

In addition, data from 2022 to 2025 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication: Primary care dementia data publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/primary-care-dementia-data

The counts available in the March publication of each year will provide the number of referrals made within that reporting year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients on waiting lists for dementia diagnosis have informed their GP they are receiving private treatment since 2010 in England, broken down by (a) Integrated Care Board and (b) year.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

This information is not held centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients on waiting lists for dementia diagnosis have informed their GP they are receiving private treatment since 2010 in England, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) year.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

This information is not held centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dementia specialists were recruited in England in each year since 2010 by local authority.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dementia specialists were recruited in England in each year since 2010 by Integrated Care Board.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dementia specialists there were in England in each year since 2010 by Integrated Care Board.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dementia specialists there were in England in each year since 2010 by local authority.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve funding for speech and language (a) support and (b) specialists for children in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department, in collaboration with NHS England, has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, to strengthen early identification and intervention for children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.

Under the Best Start in Life strategy, the department continues to invest in evidence-based initiatives such as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, which has demonstrated significant impact on oral language and early literacy, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Recognising the critical role of speech and language therapists, the department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to review security measures for the 2028 European Championships in Birmingham.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government is committed to ensuring the EURO 2028 football tournament is a safe, secure and enjoyable event for all. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with the Home Office, policing partners, delivery bodies and a range of organisations to ensure comprehensive and proportionate security plans are in place at a national and local level.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to recruit more specialist nurses and reduce waiting times for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and remain committed to delivering the National Health Service constitutional standard for 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring lists and waiting times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard.

By expanding community-based services for routine monitoring and follow up, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, and investing in digital tools and data, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, we can ensure that consultants’ time is reserved for complex cases, including specialist diagnostic assessments, which are critical for people with suspected Parkinson’s.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population, including for Parkinson’s. In doing so, the Government expects ICBs to take account of the relevant guidelines and best practice in designing their local services. The NICE guideline on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, states that people with Parkinson’s should have an accessible point of contact with specialist services, which can be provided by a Parkinson’s nurse specialist, and that all individuals should be offered access to the services provided by these specialist nurses to support ongoing care and advice. The guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71

We acknowledge the significant neurology workforce challenges across the country, including the need for more specialist nurses. The forthcoming long-term workforce plan will set out how we will train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive, and tailored for all patients, including those with Parkinson’s.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the performance of Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) advisors will be measured against specific metrics set by her department.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The performance of regional improvement for standards and excellence advisers will be measured against agreed Programme-level Key Performance Indicators.