Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of suspected Placenta Accreta Spectrum were (a) recorded antenatally and (b) confirmed at delivery in each of the last five years; and what the rate of missed antenatal diagnosis was by trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This data is not held centrally.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 frontline diagnostic capability for Placenta Accreta Spectrum at every level of maternity care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure effective diagnosis and management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), national guidance is provided within the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta: Diagnosis and Management guidelines. Both these guidance documents are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng192/documents/draft-guideline-2
The Department does not hold data on what proportion of the maternity workforce has received PAS diagnostic training in each of the last five years, as PAS training is managed locally by trusts. The Department does not currently have plans to mandate frontline PAS diagnostic training.
In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom to support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. These centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to mandate frontline Placenta Accreta Spectrum diagnostic training for relevant maternity clinicians.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure effective diagnosis and management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), national guidance is provided within the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta: Diagnosis and Management guidelines. Both these guidance documents are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng192/documents/draft-guideline-2
The Department does not hold data on what proportion of the maternity workforce has received PAS diagnostic training in each of the last five years, as PAS training is managed locally by trusts. The Department does not currently have plans to mandate frontline PAS diagnostic training.
In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom to support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. These centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the maternity workforce has received Placenta Accreta Spectrum diagnostic training in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure effective diagnosis and management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), national guidance is provided within the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta: Diagnosis and Management guidelines. Both these guidance documents are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng192/documents/draft-guideline-2
The Department does not hold data on what proportion of the maternity workforce has received PAS diagnostic training in each of the last five years, as PAS training is managed locally by trusts. The Department does not currently have plans to mandate frontline PAS diagnostic training.
In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom to support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. These centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which recommendations from the Fuller Inquiry he plans to implement; and in what timeline.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 16 December 2025, the Government published an Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, which is available at the following link:
The interim update set out the solid progress that has been made in taking forward recommendations. Of the 75 recommendations: 11 have been accepted in full; 43 accepted in principle; and 21 remain under consideration. Full details of the status of all recommendations are contained in the published update.
The Government will publish a full response to the inquiry’s recommendations in summer 2026.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many registered organ donors there are, listed by (a) religious and (b) ethnic group.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the United Kingdom, including managing the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). The following table shows the number of registered organ donors by religion, as of 8 January 2026:
Religion | Number of ‘opt-in’ organ donor registrations |
Christian | 1055179 |
Hindu | 35986 |
Muslim | 27555 |
Jewish | 9851 |
Sikh | 12083 |
Buddhist | 16822 |
Other religion | 44959 |
No religion | 1566903 |
Not stated/reported | 32375474 |
Total | 35144812 |
Source: NHSBT
Note: this data reflects the total number of ‘opt-in’ ODR registrations by religion and ethnic group, including duplicates when individuals have registered more than once and those who have since passed away, this means the total number of reported potential donors in any one group may be overestimated.
In addition, the following table shows the number of registered organ donors by ethnic group:
Ethnicity | Number of ‘opt-in’ organ donor registrations |
White - British | 7062158 |
White - Irish | 174375 |
White - Other | 343510 |
Asian - Indian | 127393 |
Asian - Pakistani | 18508 |
Asian - Bangladeshi | 4936 |
Asian - Chinese | 21307 |
Asian - Other | 46251 |
Black - Caribbean | 25536 |
Black - African | 25707 |
Black - Other | 5467 |
Mixed - White/Black African | 15277 |
Mixed - White/Black Caribbean | 36071 |
Mixed - White/Asian | 39363 |
Mixed - Other | 33825 |
Other | 30976 |
Not reported | 27134152 |
Total | 35144812 |
For further details on ethnic differences in organ donor registration, see the Annual Report on Ethnicity Differences in Organ Donation and Transplantation, which is avaiable at the following link:
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 research into pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and in 2024/25 spent £141.6 million on cancer research, signalling its high priority. This includes studies that focus specifically on pancreatic cancer as well as studies that are relevant to or include pancreatic cancer. For example, between the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25, the NIHR committed £1.5 million to specific pancreatic cancer studies.
The NIHR has also invested £1.9 million in research to detect the early stages of gastrointestinal cancers, which includes pancreatic cancer, through a non-invasive breath test which will aim to streamline the referral process for primary care.
The NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, for instance facilities, services, and the research workforce, supported the delivery of 160 pancreatic cancer research studies and enabled over 8,200 people to participate in potentially life-changing research during this time period. This includes support for the PemOla trial, which is the first to explore using precision immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer. Further information on the PemOla trial is available at the following link:
https://cambridgebrc.nihr.ac.uk/2025/07/18/pancreatic-cancer-precision-medicine-trial/
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome high quality funding applications into pancreatic cancer.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 expand patient access to clinical trials for (a) less survivable cancers and (b) pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department funds research and research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into cancers.
The NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across the country. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials, on for example pancreatic cancer, to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is planning to introduce targeted measures to tackle the specific challenges for patients with less survivable cancers through the National Cancer Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan, which will be published in the new year. The plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients with cancer, including less survivable cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
The Department has been working closely with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce as part of the development of the plan to understand the specific challenges and to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data he holds on the number of (a) referrals and (b) complaints to social care services received by councils from (i) retirement residential home and (ii) independent living providers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information.
By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints, and anyone who has seen or experienced poor-quality care has the right to complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
If an individual is not satisfied with the way a provider or local authority has dealt with a complaint, they may escalate it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman who can investigate individual concerns.