Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce geographic variation in liver disease (a) diagnosis (b) treatment and (c) health outcomes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer he received on 20 July in response to Question 17758.
Subsequent to this answer, NHS England’s Transformation of Liver Services Programme has been retitled Liver Disease Programme, and has moved into the next phase of delivery, which will focus on a targeted set of priorities where the programme can continue to build on the strongest areas of impact and provide strategic national support, strengthen alignment with wider transformation agendas, and enable systems to prepare for new clinical and operational opportunities.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce health inequalities in liver disease outcomes in the North West.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer he received on 20 July in response to Question 17758.
Subsequent to this answer, NHS England’s Transformation of Liver Services Programme has been retitled Liver Disease Programme, and has moved into the next phase of delivery, which will focus on a targeted set of priorities where the programme can continue to build on the strongest areas of impact and provide strategic national support, strengthen alignment with wider transformation agendas, and enable systems to prepare for new clinical and operational opportunities.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how patient organisations representing people living with rare conditions will be consulted on the development of new pilots being delivered as part of the UK-US trade agreement.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation work is currently underway to develop further details for each individual pilot. Detail regarding which treatments, including for rare conditions, are included, how each pilot will function, and how stakeholders will be involved are yet to be determined. Groups including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition and the Association of Medical Research Charities have been involved in the development of pilot concepts and will continue to be consulted. These groups collectively represent hundreds of organisations, including those representing people affected by rare conditions.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the UK-US pharmaceutical agreement, how the Government’s proposed pilot on productivity benefits in medicines assessment will account for the wider value of treatments for rare conditions, including impacts on patients, families and unpaid carers.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation work is currently underway to develop further details for each individual pilot. Detail regarding which treatments, including for rare conditions, are included, how each pilot will function, and how stakeholders will be involved are yet to be determined. Groups including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition and the Association of Medical Research Charities have been involved in the development of pilot concepts and will continue to be consulted. These groups collectively represent hundreds of organisations, including those representing people affected by rare conditions.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how treatments for rare conditions will be prioritised for inclusion in the Government’s proposed pilot on supporting faster access to innovative medicines, as part of the UK-US pharmaceutical agreement.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation work is currently underway to develop further details for each individual pilot. Detail regarding which treatments, including for rare conditions, are included, how each pilot will function, and how stakeholders will be involved are yet to be determined. Groups including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition and the Association of Medical Research Charities have been involved in the development of pilot concepts and will continue to be consulted. These groups collectively represent hundreds of organisations, including those representing people affected by rare conditions.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
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 ensure the NHS Liver Transformation Programme reduces health inequalities in liver disease outcomes for people living in areas with high levels of deprivation.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The resource for transforming liver services sits with integrated care boards, who will consider local need and the actions to progress alongside other clinical priorities.
The national team’s role has been to bring together relevant stakeholders to co-ordinate, influence and share learning to support local transformation.
NHS England has identified Clinical and Programme oversight resource to be active during reorganisation, with a lead programme management resource to support prioritised national workstreams.
The programme to date has prioritised reviews of the differential impact of liver disease in relation to health inequalities and deprivation. Examples include evidence of liver-related premature mortality being 4.8 times higher in the most deprived areas, 86% of liver disease deaths, which have increased by 400% since 1970, being related to alcohol harms, South Asian communities being at a higher risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cirrhosis, and type 2 diabetes and MASLD disproportionately affecting the most deprived communities.
The transformation of the liver services programme includes a number of workstreams including awareness, early identification, and treatment of liver disease, and these will benefit people in these communities. Geographically specific data is available to local commissioners to assist them with focusing their work on deprivation and inequalities, to support their prioritisation.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
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 ensure that the NHS Liver Transformation Programme is adequately staffed and prioritised during the ongoing reorganisation of NHS England.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The resource for transforming liver services sits with integrated care boards, who will consider local need and the actions to progress alongside other clinical priorities.
The national team’s role has been to bring together relevant stakeholders to co-ordinate, influence and share learning to support local transformation.
NHS England has identified Clinical and Programme oversight resource to be active during reorganisation, with a lead programme management resource to support prioritised national workstreams.
The programme to date has prioritised reviews of the differential impact of liver disease in relation to health inequalities and deprivation. Examples include evidence of liver-related premature mortality being 4.8 times higher in the most deprived areas, 86% of liver disease deaths, which have increased by 400% since 1970, being related to alcohol harms, South Asian communities being at a higher risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cirrhosis, and type 2 diabetes and MASLD disproportionately affecting the most deprived communities.
The transformation of the liver services programme includes a number of workstreams including awareness, early identification, and treatment of liver disease, and these will benefit people in these communities. Geographically specific data is available to local commissioners to assist them with focusing their work on deprivation and inequalities, to support their prioritisation.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated to the NHS Liver Transformation Programme for 2026-27.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The resource for transforming liver services sits with integrated care boards, who will consider local need and the actions to progress alongside other clinical priorities.
The national team’s role has been to bring together relevant stakeholders to co-ordinate, influence and share learning to support local transformation.
NHS England has identified Clinical and Programme oversight resource to be active during reorganisation, with a lead programme management resource to support prioritised national workstreams.
The programme to date has prioritised reviews of the differential impact of liver disease in relation to health inequalities and deprivation. Examples include evidence of liver-related premature mortality being 4.8 times higher in the most deprived areas, 86% of liver disease deaths, which have increased by 400% since 1970, being related to alcohol harms, South Asian communities being at a higher risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cirrhosis, and type 2 diabetes and MASLD disproportionately affecting the most deprived communities.
The transformation of the liver services programme includes a number of workstreams including awareness, early identification, and treatment of liver disease, and these will benefit people in these communities. Geographically specific data is available to local commissioners to assist them with focusing their work on deprivation and inequalities, to support their prioritisation.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his department collects to monitor potential inequalities in multiple sclerosis care access; and how those findings are used to inform policy and service delivery improvements.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department does not collect patient-level clinical data directly but works with NHS England and other bodies to monitor inequalities in access to multiple sclerosis (MS) services through a range of national programmes and datasets.
The UK Multiple Sclerosis Register, which is managed by Swansea University and supported by the MS Society, provides a comprehensive evidence base on the experiences and outcomes of people living with MS across the United Kingdom. It combines patient-reported data with clinical information from National Health Services, enabling analysis of variations in access to treatments, specialist care, and support by geography, deprivation, ethnicity and other demographic factors.
Findings from the register are used to inform research policy development and service improvement initiatives. This evidence supports NHS England and integrated care boards in identifying variations in access to treatment and care, guiding commissioning decisions, and helping to reduce health inequalities for people living with MS.
Additionally, initiatives such as NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme and its RightCare programme both aim to reduce unwarranted variation in services and improve equity of care for people with MS.
GIRFT undertakes clinically-led, data-driven reviews of neurology services across all neuroscience centres and trusts. Its national neurology report sets out recommendations to standardise care, improve access to specialist services closer to home, and share best practice between providers. By addressing these variations, GIRFT helps to ensure that people with MS receive more consistent, high-quality care regardless of where they live.
RightCare focuses on population health and on reducing inequalities by providing commissioners with toolkits and benchmarking resources. Its Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit supports systems to assess current provision for conditions such as MS, identify gaps, and prioritise improvements. It promotes integrated, person-centred care and encourages commissioners to benchmark services against national standards, helping to reduce disparities in access and outcomes.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
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 support and fund clinical trials aimed at achieving licensing and NHS access for complex, cannabis-based medicines used in the treatment of severe, drug-resistant epilepsy in children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is funding two trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children. Further detail on the trials can be found on the NIHR’s website, at the following link:
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR131309
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with epilepsy, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for epilepsy.