Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether changes have been made to the NHS terms and conditions of service for Agenda for Change in relation to trade unions since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Changes to the National Health Service’s Terms and Conditions of Service, also known as the Agenda for Change contract, are agreed via the NHS Staff Council, which is a partnership body made up of employer and trade union representatives.
The NHS’s Terms and Conditions of Service were updated in April 2025 to reflect that the Prison Officers Association is now a nationally recognised organisation, for the purposes of the NHS Staff Council and for the collective bargaining of the Agenda for Change contract. No further changes have been made that relate to trade unions.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what declarations of political (a) activity and (b) interests were made by each Health Crown Representative.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The appointments of the Health Crown Representatives, as with all Crown Representatives, were made by the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office requires all Crown Representatives to declare any Conflict of Interest both on appointment and at regular intervals thereafter. None of the current Crown Representatives have declared any party-political activity or interests.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Cabinet Office FOI disclosure FOI2025/05753 of 12 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of cancelling the (a) Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (b) Help Us Help You: Cancer the communications campaigns on health outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 52906 on Department of Health and Social Care: Permanent Secretaries, whether she has been employed under the terms of the model permanent secretary contract; for how long the fixed term period is; and whether she is classified as a (a) temporary or (b) permanent civil servant.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to install customer experience machines in his Department to measure staff morale.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve (a) safety and (b) other standards in maternity services at (i) Southend and (ii) Basildon Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS England has made on sharing data about patients who (a) received a blood transfusion before 1996 and (b) have tested positive for (i) HIV and (ii) Hepatitis C with the Independent Contaminated Blood Authority.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is supporting the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) with their engagement with National Health Service organisations for the purposes of sharing data on patients who received a blood transfusion before 1996 and who have tested positive for HIV or hepatitis C, to support compensation claims.
This support includes highlighting the requirement to provide information promptly to the IBCA to support claims, conducting workshops to understand how the IBCA can most effectively gather information from NHS organisations, and drafting guidance for patients, clinicians, and information governance professionals so that NHS organisations feel confident about sharing information to support claims.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication entitled DHSC register of board members' interests, 2024 to 2025, published on 16 January 2025, who the health and social care related clients of A.M. Strategy Ltd are.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Declarations of interest, and any updates to them, are published in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and on the GOV.UK website, in alignment with Government policy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provides unconscious bias training; and whether his Department plans to provide unconscious bias training to staff from NHS England when that organisation is abolished.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department aligns itself to the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion approach to learning and to the use of evidence led interventions. The Department does not provide unconscious bias training to its staff, and there are no current plans to provide unconscious bias training for NHS England staff.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May to Question 51955 on Electronic Cigarettes: Young People, what estimate he has made of the number of very high puff-count vaping devices which (a) are refillable and rechargeable and (b) contain a replaceable coil are available on the UK market.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes came into force on Sunday 1 June. It is therefore too early to make a reliable estimate of the number of high-puff count vaping devices which are refillable, reusable, and which contain a replaceable coil.
However, we are aware of a number of high-puff count vapes that are not captured by the single-use vape ban. The Department is taking powers through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that will enable regulation of any high puff vape that is not captured by the ban. The bill provides powers on product features that allows the Government to regulate the size of a tank or refill container, and the amount of liquid that can be included, as well as powers to standardise the size and shape of vapes, and to further restrict liquid availability. In addition, the bill contains powers that allow us to regulate the amount of nicotine in a puff, so the Government is able to restrict the nicotine not only in the tank, but also the nicotine that can be emitted in the vapour.
The Government will consider this issue further as part of its secondary legislation programme after Royal Assent of the bill.