Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 tackle barriers teenagers and young adults with cancer face in accessing clinical trials.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full.
The Department funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research across the United Kingdom, through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). For children and young people with cancer, this infrastructure includes the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, co-funded by the NIHR, Cancer Research UK and the Little Princess Trust, which act as a UK-wide network, bringing together world-leading laboratory and clinical researchers to test new treatments for adults and children with cancer. This includes 12 paediatric phase I/II centres, which function as a single virtual centre to improve patient recruitment and expand geographical access to cancer treatments, tackling some of the barriers to teenagers and young adults accessing cancer clinical trials.
The Department is committed to ensuring clinical trials are people-centred and more accessible, including for teenagers and young adults with cancer. For example, the NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research' which promotes participation in health and care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies. Young adults aged 18 or over, can consent to be matched to and contacted about relevant studies.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 taking to improve information for (a) young people and (b) their families about the symptoms of cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to getting the National Health Service catching cancer on time, diagnosing it earlier, and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases. This includes in relation to children and young people.
NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including those that are most common in children. Further information on cancer signs and symptoms is available on the NHS.UK website.
The Department is not currently taking any additional specific action to expand on information of the signs and symptoms of childhood cancers. However, we are committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with cancer and are considering next steps to take forward work in this area through the relaunch of Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 ensure that teenagers and young adults with cancer have access to specialist psychological support within the 10-year health plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact teenagers and young adults with cancer, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.
We have also launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in the way teenagers and young adults with cancer receive care, and who are aged 16 years old or over, to take part in that process, so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This can be done via the online portal, which is available at the following link:
We plan to run engagement events with children and young people in the new year and are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Children’s Commissioner, the National Children’s Bureau, and other partners to ensure we hear from children affected by ill health.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department will publish a National Cancer Plan. We are committed to ensuring that the needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered in the National Cancer Plan, and will set out further details in due course.
In order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 that teenagers and young adults with cancer have access to clinical trials within the 10-year Health plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact teenagers and young adults with cancer, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.
We have also launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in the way teenagers and young adults with cancer receive care, and who are aged 16 years old or over, to take part in that process, so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This can be done via the online portal, which is available at the following link:
We plan to run engagement events with children and young people in the new year and are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Children’s Commissioner, the National Children’s Bureau, and other partners to ensure we hear from children affected by ill health.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department will publish a National Cancer Plan. We are committed to ensuring that the needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered in the National Cancer Plan, and will set out further details in due course.
In order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 will take to improve the speed of diagnosis for teenagers and young adults with cancer within the 10-year Health plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact teenagers and young adults with cancer, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.
We have also launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in the way teenagers and young adults with cancer receive care, and who are aged 16 years old or over, to take part in that process, so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This can be done via the online portal, which is available at the following link:
We plan to run engagement events with children and young people in the new year and are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Children’s Commissioner, the National Children’s Bureau, and other partners to ensure we hear from children affected by ill health.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department will publish a National Cancer Plan. We are committed to ensuring that the needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered in the National Cancer Plan, and will set out further details in due course.
In order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 ensure that the specific issues faced by teenagers and young adults with cancer are accounted for in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact teenagers and young adults with cancer, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.
We have also launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in the way teenagers and young adults with cancer receive care, and who are aged 16 years old or over, to take part in that process, so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This can be done via the online portal, which is available at the following link:
We plan to run engagement events with children and young people in the new year and are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Children’s Commissioner, the National Children’s Bureau, and other partners to ensure we hear from children affected by ill health.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department will publish a National Cancer Plan. We are committed to ensuring that the needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered in the National Cancer Plan, and will set out further details in due course.
In order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 consult teenagers and young adults with cancer on the 10-year Health plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact teenagers and young adults with cancer, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.
We have also launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in the way teenagers and young adults with cancer receive care, and who are aged 16 years old or over, to take part in that process, so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. This can be done via the online portal, which is available at the following link:
We plan to run engagement events with children and young people in the new year and are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Children’s Commissioner, the National Children’s Bureau, and other partners to ensure we hear from children affected by ill health.
Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department will publish a National Cancer Plan. We are committed to ensuring that the needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered in the National Cancer Plan, and will set out further details in due course.
In order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing recommendations from the Lord O'Shaughnessy independent review of commercial clinical trials in full.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 reduce alcohol-specific deaths.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A vital part of delivering the Health Mission shift to prevention will be action to reduce the health harms and resulting deaths from excess alcohol consumption. The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local drug and alcohol treatment services. Funding for drug and alcohol treatment services is provided through the Public Health Grant. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use.
Earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:
Additionally, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published Commissioning quality standard: alcohol and drug services, which provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas. Further information on the guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services
The Department will soon publish the UK Clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which will include recommendations on developing effective, accessible, and inclusive services. The Department continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug and alcohol misuse deaths, and to drive improvements in the continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess local need, and plan to meet it.
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. The ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne 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 reduce death rates from (a) alcohol, (b) drugs and (c) suicide in (a) the North and (b) coastal regions.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A vital part of delivering the Health Mission shift to prevention will be action to reduce the number of deaths due to alcohol and drug use, especially in deprived areas. In England, rates of drug poisoning and drug misuse deaths have a marked north-south divide, with the North East of England having consistently seen the highest rate of drug and alcohol deaths over the previous decade.
The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services to ensure that those in need can access high quality help and support. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths, which is being reviewed in light of the recent Office of National Statistics data, to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. Additionally, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published Commissioning quality standard: alcohol and drug services, which provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas. Further information on the guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services
The Department continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug and alcohol misuse deaths, and to drive improvements in the continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess local need and the causes of mortality, in order to plan to meet it.
Earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:
It also published guidance on incident planning and preparedness for the emerging threat of potent synthetic opioids.
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. The ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.
The Government has committed to tackling suicide as one the biggest killers in this country. The 8,500 new mental health workers we will recruit will be specially trained to support people at risk to reduce the lives lost to suicide. The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in September 2023, identifies a number of targeted actions at a national level. We are exploring opportunities to go further.
79 organisations have been allocated funding up to March 2025 from the £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund and are delivering a broad and diverse range of activity that will prevent suicides and save lives including in the North and in coastal areas. Organisations benefitting include Lancaster Men’s Hub, Stockton and District Advice and Information Service, and Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change Ltd.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a breakdown of the cost to the public purse of NHS spend on (a) branded pharmaceuticals, (b) generic pharmaceuticals and (c) companion diagnostics in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 7 November 2024, the NHS Business Service Authority published data on the costs of medicines, appliances, dressings, and medical devices prescribed within primary and secondary care in England. This report is available at the following link:
A breakdown of the prescribing costs in England between branded and generic medicines is available for primary care only, and can be found at the following link:
Such publications do not account for income received under the 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth (VPAG) or the statutory scheme. Information on how the VPAG and the statutory scheme, which operate United Kingdom-wide, control the cost of sales of branded medicines to the National Health Service is available at the following link:
VPAG and statutory scheme sales data does not reflect the total cost to the NHS. The publication reports net sales of non-exempt products and non-exempt companies only, and is exclusive of additional costs such as pharmacy and wholesaler margins.