Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to introduce self/preferential e-rostering for doctors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want to move the National Health Service toward a culture where flexible working opportunities are much more widely available, and where employees feel supported to discuss their working patterns and options with their line manager.
Our 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how we will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. We will do this by ensuring staff are better treated, have better training and more fulfilling roles.
The Plan will also set out how we will increase opportunities for flexible working, including through the introduction of a new set of Staff Standards which will mandate additional action employers need to take in key areas, such as flexible working.
Additionally, NHS England, in partnership with NHS Employers, Timewise, and the NHS Staff Council, developed the Think Flex First guidance to support individuals and organisations to consider flexible working options, and to put in place structures and processes to deliver future-fit workplaces. It highlights e‑Rostering as a key enabler of flexible working for clinicians, including doctors, delivering 24/7 services, ensuring flexibility is delivered consistently, fairly, and at scale within safe clinical staffing models.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research has his Department undertaken to understand the clinical and cost effectiveness of bilateral cochlear implantation.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that produces evidence-based guidance for the health and care system. NICE develops its recommendations with clinical and technical experts, drawing on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and engagement with patients, professionals, and other stakeholders. NICE recommended cochlear implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness. Full details are set out in NICE’s guidance at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta566
NICE guidelines set out best practice, taking account both clinical effectiveness and value for money. National Health Service organisations are expected to take this guidance fully into account when planning and providing services for their local populations.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps has his Department taken to help ensure that ICBs have policies in place to ensure that patients get access to cochlear implants in line with revisions made to NICE guidance in March 2019.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of children and adults who were fitted with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the reasonable requirements of their local populations. This includes determining the most appropriate model of care for cochlear implants, taking account of clinical safety, access, quality, value for money, and the availability of alternative pathways. The Health and Care Act 2022 provides that each integrated care board may arrange for the provision of services or facilities as it considers appropriate for the purposes of the health service.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data does his Department hold on the number of (a) children and (b) adults who were fitted with (i) unilateral and (ii) bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years for which figures are available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of children and adults who were fitted with unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants in each of the last eight years.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the reasonable requirements of their local populations. This includes determining the most appropriate model of care for cochlear implants, taking account of clinical safety, access, quality, value for money, and the availability of alternative pathways. The Health and Care Act 2022 provides that each integrated care board may arrange for the provision of services or facilities as it considers appropriate for the purposes of the health service.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 how the National Cancer Plan will improve outcomes across all rare and less common cancers, in particular asbestos-related mesothelioma; whether he plans to engage with specialist organisations delivering best practice, including those embedded within the NHS; such as Mesothelioma UK, and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on addressing asbestos risks in schools as part of the Government’s cancer prevention strategy.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February, sets out several actions and commitments on rare cancers, including mesothelioma, to be delivered within the next ten years.
These include appointing a national lead for rare cancers, prioritising access to specialist treatment for patients with rare cancers, and working with charities to improve post-treatment support. The National Cancer Plan underpins a proactive approach to early diagnosis of rare cancers by utilising new artificial intelligence support tools and supporting research improving detection of rare cancers in Multi-Cancer Detection Tests. Research of rare cancers is crucial to the development of novel diagnostic and treatment routes. The National Cancer Plan sets out how rare cancers will be a research priority, including implementing the Rare Cancers Act to expand trial access, and accelerating movement from foundational research to innovative treatments.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government, and closely with partners including charities, the National Health Service, and specialist organisations to learn and share best practice, with the goal of improving the lives and outcomes of people with rare cancers, including mesothelioma. The Government also provides financial support available through the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, and two lump sum compensation schemes delivered through the Department of Work and Pensions.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 the removal of Training Interface Group (TIG) fellowships on the provision of specialist cleft surgery training; and what steps he is taking to help ensure the continued development of cross-specialty expertise across ENT, maxillofacial and plastic surgery.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England made the decision in 2025 to discontinue central funding of the salary support component of the Training Interface Group programme, and to target financial resources more effectively to address regional workforce priorities. Regions or provider organisations that wish to continue developing these skills are still able to recruit, fund, and train staff using the curriculum set by the Joint Committee on Surgical Training.
NHS England is also working to understand where they can enhance and support smaller, highly specialised areas of practice.
NHS England has initiated a plan, working with clinical subject matter experts, to define the demand and future supply needed for the training of cleft lip and palate surgeons and to shape the future training and workforce investment needed in this area.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
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 recognise clinical academic training undertaken during specialty training by doctors in England towards consultant salary seniority.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clinical academic training undertaken during medical specialty training does not currently count towards consultant salary seniority. However, salary seniority may be negotiated locally at the start of a consultant post. Universities have separate pay scales for clinical academics which would take academic experience into account.
Clinical academic trainees can have academic time counted towards their Certificate of Completion of Training. Trainees undertaking a higher academic qualification, such as a PhD, during their training may qualify for an academic pay premium. This is a taxable, non-pensionable allowance for trainees in England who have completed an approved higher degree and returned to clinical training. It is paid annually until the completion of clinical training and is aimed at incentivising academic careers.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a policy similar to those in NHS Scotland and NHS Wales to support the regrading of specialty doctors to the specialist grade where appropriate.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While there are no specific plans to introduce a separate regrading policy similar to those in Scotland or Wales at this time, we are considering how best to support appropriate career progression for specialty doctors in England, including through ongoing conversations with the British Medical Association.
The specialist grade was introduced in England in 2021 as part of reforms to improve career progression opportunities for Specialty, Associate Specialist, and Specialist (SAS) doctors. Employers are able to create specialist posts where there is a service need, and individuals, including speciality doctors, should be able to apply for these roles through open, competitive recruitment.
As set out in the National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan, the Department is committed to supporting the continued expansion of the specialist grade where appropriate, to ensure SAS doctors have clear and fair pathways for progression.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities to on conducting consultations with recognised care provider associations when setting adult social care fee rates.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Act 2014 places a statutory duty on local authorities, under Section 5, to promote a sustainable and high-quality adult social care market. This includes ensuring that care providers can operate effectively and that fee structures support the delivery of high-quality services. While the Care Act does not prescribe specific methods of engagement, such as recognised provider associations, it sets the overarching requirement for local authorities to understand local market conditions and the costs of care. In practice, this means local authorities are expected to draw on appropriate evidence, which may include information from providers, when setting fees.
On 18 December 2025, the Department published its new annual local authority priority-setting document. This sets out a list of priority outcomes and expectations for local authorities in 2026/27, and one of these is for local authorities to “set fee rates at a sustainable level, in line with commissioning priorities, to help shape markets and enable adult social care providers to recruit a skilled workforce and stabilise and improvement workforce capacity, and in preparation for employment rights reforms, starting from financial year 2026 and the fair pair agreement starting in financial year 2028”.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what implementation metrics have been set for the introduction of Staff Treatment Hubs under the 10 Year Plan, including the number of hubs operational by the end of 2026, the regional coverage targets in England and Wales, and the specific performance measures used to evaluate improvements in clinician wellbeing.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to the roll out of Staff Treatment Hubs, to provide a high-quality wellbeing and occupational health service for all National Health Service staff. Work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the Staff Treatments Hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, capacity, and processes for monitoring progress and performance.