NHS Breast Screening

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for introducing this important debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee, of which I am also a member. Cancer is an issue that touches most of us, nearly every single day. No doubt we will all have had a friend or family member with cancer, and I am grateful that this petition has given us the opportunity to debate such an important issue.

This is an extremely poignant debate for me, as I lost two friends to cancer at the end of last year: Russell Brown, who served the Worth Valley as a district councillor on Bradford council, and Chris Graham, a former Keighley town councillor who served the Longley and Parkwood wards. Their recent losses are still felt very much across the communities that I am lucky enough to represent.

We have rightly had several recent opportunities to debate the issue of cancer, but today’s debate is particularly important, as breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United Kingdom and the second most common cancer overall, with around 60,000 new cases and 11,200 deaths each year. That equates to about 31 deaths every single day, which is far too many.

This important petition calls for early diagnosis, which is crucial. According to Cancer Research UK, 76.6% of women survive for 10 years or more after being diagnosed, and 85% of those are diagnosed at an early stage. I agree with the petition, and I thank Gemma Reeves for starting it, as well all those who kindly put their name to it, including from across my constituency.

It is right to call for early screening at the age of 40. There is compelling evidence that early detection saves lives. Breast cancers identified at an early stage are genuinely smaller and less likely to have spread, and they require less aggressive treatment. Early diagnosis and early screening are key. Early diagnosis can not only improve survival rates, but it reduces the physical and psychological burden associated with advanced diagnosis and the disease spreading.

It is equally important, however, to acknowledge that screening for breast cancer is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Screening for younger women generally produces less accurate mammograms because the tissue is denser, making cancers more difficult to detect and increasing the risk of false positives, but it should still happen. I repeat the petitioners’ call for early diagnosis. It is incredibly important.

My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36. She has been through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, and I am pleased to say that she is on the mend, but that is another example of someone being diagnosed before the age of 40. If there is an historical family association with breast cancer, those under 40 should have the opportunity for early diagnosis. I agree with the petitioners that having a repeat opportunity of screening for annual check-ups rather than every three years is important.

Access to screening is not just about age; it is about ensuring that those who are eligible for screening are aware of it and choose to take part. I have major concerns about the lack of uptake across certain groups. There is 81% uptake for breast cancer screening in the least deprived areas, compared with 56% in the most deprived areas. I know that the Minister cares deeply about the issue and I commend her for her work on it; the cause is close to her heart. I would be keen to understand from her how the Government are looking to tackle that discrepancy. I would also like to understand whether there is a plan to roll out an annual screening programme rather than just a three yearly one.

Ultimately, I know that all hon. Members participating in the debate share the objectives of reducing deaths from breast cancer and ensuring that women receive the best possible care, but they cannot be achieved without a fully funded long-term workforce plan, alongside a clear, funded milestone to show how and when patients will see improvement.

I put on record my thanks to the volunteers, campaigners and professionals, including the mobile cancer screening units that operate in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley as part of the Airedale hospital team, for their incredible and tireless work to help and support patients. I would like to understand whether the petition’s aims are part of the Government’s ambitions under their 10-year health plan. This poignant petition asks the Government for the right things, and, given the amount of correspondence I have received from petitioners and residents across my constituency, it has my backing.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)]

How long do I have to speak? I have a lot to get through; let us see if I can make it.

I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for opening the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington), her constituent Gemma, Gemma’s son, Mason, and the other ladies in the Public Gallery today for their campaigning on this petition and for gathering so many signatures that we can debate it. I pay tribute to them and thank them for joining us. I was very pleased to meet them last month to discuss this important issue.

I pay tribute to my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton). I commend her constant courage in speaking so openly about her experience of breast cancer. I send my very best wishes to her throughout her ongoing treatment.

Behind all the figures we are discussing today, there are women, men, families and communities who have been affected by breast cancer in the most difficult and personal of ways. I pay tribute to NHS staff in breast screening services across the country, who work tirelessly to ensure that women and men are offered this important preventive measure.

Last year, our highly effective NHS breast screening programme screened nearly 2 million women. Each year, the programme is estimated to save 1,300 lives, but we must be honest about the scale of the challenge. Around 11,500 women still die from breast cancer each year. Many thousands more go through treatment, with all the fear, uncertainty and disruption that brings for them and the people who love them. That is why I am clear: we need to do more and will do more.

The national cancer plan published earlier this year sets out how we will improve outcomes for breast cancer patients. We will speed up diagnosis and treatment, ensure that patients can access the latest treatments and technology and, ultimately, drive up this country’s cancer survival rates. The plan commits to rolling out breast pain clinics nationally by the end of the year. It also builds on successful initiatives such as mobile breast screening units. Cancer alliances will receive funding to work proactively with local communities and providers so that more cancers are diagnosed earlier.

I will now speak to points that were raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur), the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones), my hon. Friends the Members for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell) and for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin), and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire)—there might have been others, but those are the names I scribbled down. They raised issues about serving ethnic minority communities as well as underserved, deprived communities. Building on successful initiatives such as mobile breast screening, as I mentioned, cancer alliances will receive funding and work proactively with local communities and providers to improve early diagnosis rates. They will focus on increasing people’s awareness of symptoms, and support primary care to spot the signs of cancer early. The work will also include reducing the gap in screening uptake between the most and least deprived areas. There will be particular efforts to reach ethnic minority communities and underserved groups because no one should be left behind.

The NHS also runs its “Help Us, Help You” campaign in England, which helps to increase knowledge of breast cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, as well as encouraging people to come forward to see their GP as soon as possible. I understand why many people ask whether screening should begin at a younger age. It is a deeply human question that is often asked by people who have seen the impact of breast cancer at first hand. We are looking carefully at the evidence, but the picture is complex. I will come on to everything about that that has been raised.

As we have heard, younger women tend to have denser breast tissue, which can make mammography less effective. Screening can save lives, but it can also cause harm through false positives, unnecessary tests, avoidable anxiety and overdiagnosis. That is why decisions must be made carefully and on the basis of robust evidence. My hon. Friends the Members for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher), for Broxtowe and for Edinburgh South West, as well as other colleagues, no doubt, raised that issue. As we know, some women will have denser breast tissue and unfortunately that makes mammography less effective because a potential cancer can be harder to spot. We are working to find the best solutions to that problem.

A study called BRAID—breast screening risk adaptive imaging for density—is looking into whether supplementary imaging techniques like MRI or ultrasound could be used for women with dense breast tissue. The independent UK National Screening Committee is in contact with the researchers and reviews the evidence as it becomes available. Ministers in the Department and across the Government will consider its recommendations as soon as they are made.

A number of colleagues asked about the AgeX breast screening trial, which is the biggest trial of its kind ever undertaken. It will provide robust evidence about the effectiveness of screening in age groups above and below the current screening age. The trial has been looking at the effectiveness of offering some women one extra screening between the ages of 47 and 49 and one between the ages of 71 and 73. AgeX is the biggest trial of its kind ever to be undertaken and will provide robust evidence about the effectiveness, benefits and harms of screening in those age groups. The UK NSC will review the publication of the AgeX extension trial when it reports. The trial began in 2009, and results are expected in 2027, something the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) asked about.

Screening trials require extended follow-up periods to generate robust evidence on whether screening reduces disease or death, while also assessing any potential long-term harms. The UK NSC continuously monitors emerging evidence through horizon scanning and maintains active engagement with international peers. Should robust evidence regarding the extension of breast screening age thresholds become available, the committee will look at it right away. In the meantime, NHS England has produced a suite of public-facing information resources, communicating that women, especially those aged 71 or over, can have screening every three years if they so wish.

The hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley also asked why we do not screen annually. The three-year intervals of the national breast screening programme are based on a successful Swedish trial. The frequency of screening balances the risk of harm from over-diagnosis with the benefits of early detection, and women at high risk of breast cancer are often called more frequently.

[Robbie Moore]

I want a bit of clarity from the Minister, because the petitioners are calling on the Government to lower the age at which women are first called for breast cancer screening to 40 and to roll out screening on an annual basis rather than every three years. I know that they are not intending to do that, because we have seen the written response from them in advance of the debate, but what further evidence do the Government need to be able to achieve what the petitioners are asking?

[Mrs Hodgson]

As I said, the AgeX trial has been running since 2009 and has been researching the efficacy of providing breast cancer screening to people above and below the current screening age. It is due to report next year, so hopefully it will provide the further evidence that is necessary. It is already in train. These decisions are not taken lightly, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman appreciates.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), asked me about AI. We are supporting the early detection using information technology in health, or EDITH, trial. It will test new AI technologies that could enable one specialist—rather than two, as is currently required—to complete a mammogram screening process, increasing capacity in the screening system while maintaining patient safety.

We are entering a new era in science and technology. Advances in data, genomics and predictive analytics will allow the NHS to deliver care that is more personalised, more proactive and better matched to each person’s individual risk. New tools, such as liquid biopsies and other non-invasive tests, may help us to detect cancer much earlier, and often before symptoms appear. The NHS is preparing to seize those breakthroughs so that patients can benefit from the full power of modern innovation.

The national cancer plan has identified priority areas to accelerate access to new technologies, including artificial intelligence-assisted interpretation of pathology images for suspected breast cancer diagnosis. We will continue to horizon-scan for better methods of screening and to build the evidence base for any future changes. Our ambition is clear—to save more lives, to diagnose cancer earlier and to do so in a way that brings more benefit than harm.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Newborn Screening Test

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson) for opening this important debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee, of which I am proud to be a member.

I am grateful to everyone who signed this petition and I pay tribute to the lead petitioner, Jesy Nelson. She has used her personal experience and public platform to raise awareness of spinal muscular atrophy. We know that it is a rare neuromuscular genetic condition that causes muscle weakness, movement problems, and difficulties with breathing and swallowing, as well as tremors, and bone and joint problems. Although those symptoms are most often noticed in babies and toddlers, they can also start in teenagers and adults. This extremely cruel disease has touched many people across the country and beyond. That is evident, given the simple fact that the petition has nearly 150,000 signatures, including that of my constituent Nasser Iqbal.

Nasser’s daughter was diagnosed with SMA type 1, the most severe form, three months after birth. She is unable to walk or eat due to nerve damage caused by her condition being left undiagnosed and therefore untreated in the first few months of her life. We know that every year in the UK, 48 babies are born with spinal muscular atrophy, with 60% having SMA type 1.

Once symptoms begin, damage to motor neurones cannot be undone. However, there is clear evidence that babies diagnosed before symptoms appear have significantly better health outcomes, with many able to reach developmental milestones that would otherwise not be possible. Earlier intervention would have made a huge difference to Nasser’s daughter. I am proud to speak in this debate on her behalf, because she and many other young people are impacted by the absence of early screening. That is why the petition calls on the Government

“to fund and help fast-track the process to add SMA to the NHS newborn heel-prick test”

so that every baby is

“screened at birth to allow early diagnosis and access to life-changing treatment.”

Although screening for SMA in newborn babies is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committee, it has confirmed that an in-service evaluation of newborn screening for SMA will start in October 2026. However, the plans will include only seven of the 13 regions, which, as many Members have said, leaves approximately 163,000 babies without screening until as late as 2030 or 2031.

I am disappointed that one of the areas not included in the ISE of newborn screening for SMA is West Yorkshire, and I am extremely concerned that it will leave my constituents across Keighley and Ilkley without access to this potentially lifesaving screening, despite the ever-growing need for it. Yorkshire has 1.5 times as many patients with SMA compared with national figures; in the last three years alone, the regional neuromuscular service in Leeds has diagnosed 10 infants with the most severe form of SMA. Two tragically died within their first year of life and two have survived, but are living with significant and lifelong disability. Neither child can stand or walk independently. They require night-time respiratory support and are unable to feed themselves without assistance. In comparison, the children diagnosed and treated pre-symptomatically have achieved their expected motor milestones, and they are sitting and walking as expected for their age.

I pay tribute to the Leeds teaching hospital for reaching out to me before this debate. In particular, I thank Dr Anne-Marie Childs and her team of paediatric neurologists, who asked me to tell the Minister that we cannot be in a scenario where not every new-born baby in the UK has access to early diagnosis and life-changing treatment. I therefore call on the Minister to make sure that West Yorkshire and my constituents across Keighley and Ilkley are included as part of the early screening process.

[Munira Wilson]

The hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson) have eloquently and powerfully laid out the ethics of leaving out some children from screening, as well as the deep unfairness those children face in not being screened. Is there not also a question of evidence? When we are talking about a rare disease, the numbers are so low that it makes sense to include the whole of England in what is essentially a clinical trial being run by the NHS. If we need a control arm to compare data against, there will be historical data for the children who were not screened and treated too late. I am genuinely perplexed why the Government have not included every testing centre or every laboratory in this trial in the in-service evaluation. Does the hon. Gentleman agree?

[Robbie Moore]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. The reality is that, when dealing with such rare diseases, we are better casting the net far and wide to get as much data as possible. That was one of the points made to me by the Leeds teaching hospital. Dr Anne-Marie Childs is advocating for West Yorkshire to be included as part of the early screening process because, at the moment, it is a postcode lottery. Whether someone has access to early screening depends on wherever they happen to be born. The data collection would feed into national reassurance that the Government should be focusing on this issue. It pains me to say that right now a child born in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley in West Yorkshire does not have access to early screening.

SMA is a debilitating condition and, although it cannot be prevented, the outcomes are significantly better for babies who are diagnosed early. Looking at the progress made in Scotland, which began screening new-born babies for SMA in March based on in-service evaluations, I urge the Government to ensure that no child is left behind and that we roll out screening for every child, no matter where in this country they are born.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Hodgson]

Again, I have heard my hon. Friend’s remarks. They are not falling on deaf ears, as I am sure she is aware.

The previous Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), met Jesy Nelson, along with Giles Lomax from SMA UK, and I know that that had a massive impact on him. They spoke at length about what is needed; he listened and we acted. That is why I was very happy to announce just last month that the planned start date of January 2027 would be brought forward by three months. The new start date for the in-service evaluation will be October 2026. From that date, babies will begin to be screened for SMA, and we will begin collecting the essential information needed to help many more children in the years ahead.

[Robbie Moore]

I am pleased that that announcement was made, but, as I reiterated in my speech, that provision does not include West Yorkshire or my Keighley and Ilkley constituents. The Minister said that a broadbrush approach was needed to gain data, and that has been rolled out to the areas that the Government have already announced, but surely it is necessary to include all areas, as many Members said. Will the Minister meet me or write to me about what steps can be taken to include areas such as West Yorkshire, Leeds, and Keighley and Ilkley as part of the screening programme?

[Mrs Hodgson]

I have asked those very same questions. As it is such a broad trial, the small number that is not covered does lead me to ask those questions. I have not given up asking those questions, but for today, the answer is the same as the one I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn.

Oral Answers to Questions

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

I pay tribute to Anya for the outstanding work she is doing. We are providing early intervention for children’s mental health and wellbeing by rolling out mental health support teams to every school by 2029. We are also investing £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more support to young people with complex needs such as trauma, neurodivergence and disordered eating. If the hon. Lady writes to me with further details of Anya’s work, I am sure that we can continue that conversation.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to increase access to care in the community.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (James Murray)]

This Government’s focus on shifting from hospital to community will benefit millions of people and increase access to care. This shift is underpinned by new community diagnostic centres that now deliver faster, more accessible care at 109 sites, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. By 2030, we will have opened 120 new neighbourhood health centres. This expansion will transform community access for those who most need it.

[Robbie Moore]

Back in 2023, the Conservative Government signed off £3.4 million for Keighley to build a new health and wellbeing hub to improve care in the community. We have plenty of brownfield sites and funding is secured, but we are progressing at a snail’s pace, with progress being made incredibly slowly. We are now in mid-2026, and no planning application has yet been submitted. Will the Secretary of State meet me so that we can unlock the project and get it delivered?

[James Murray]

This may not be the first project initiated under the last Government that has not exactly run ahead at the fastest pace possible. We need to ensure that neighbourhood health provision is delivered as quickly as possible across the country. Our plans to increase the number of neighbourhood health centres will focus on areas with below-average healthy life expectancy, ensuring that rural towns and deprived areas receive help most rapidly. Part of that will involve the shift from hospital to the community to prevent ill health before it occurs, as I mentioned in an earlier response.

Maternity Nurses, Nannies and the Infant Sleep Industry

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rand]

Yes, I completely agree. I know that the hon. Member has worked with the Lullaby Trust, and I am grateful to have met its representatives myself and to have had their input into my campaign on regulation in this area. Of course, the Government have already begun to set out—quite rightly, after his campaigning work—the approach we need to take forward in early years settings, but it is critical that the whole sector, including advice provided in the home, should have a sustainable legal framework.

The figures who were exposed by the BBC in their undercover filming have thousands of followers online and have published widely bought books. To any parent, they would ostensibly look like an expert. That such unqualified people can operate in that way without any oversight at all is terrifying. How can it be right that an industry dedicated to the care of babies is totally unregulated? We know the answer to that. It is not right and it must change, because without change, more children will die. I do not say that lightly; I say it because of what happened in my constituency.

Two years ago, a four-month-old baby from Trafford died after being placed in an unsafe sleeping position on the advice of a maternity nurse who had no medical qualifications at all. There was no legal accountability for this death because no laws had been broken, but a family had been broken. I cannot begin to imagine what the parents of that child have been through. There are no words to describe it, and I will not try to do so, but what I will try to do is ensure that change is the legacy of their tragedy. It is not just me that is calling for change. The senior coroner who worked on the case issued a prevention of future deaths order to the Secretary of State and, in doing so, called on infant sleep services to be urgently regulated.

What does this change look like? I have three main asks of the Government and the Minister today. First, will the Minister explore the introduction of mandatory minimum safeguarding training and qualification standards in the baby sleep industry and the nanny industry, as has been called for by the National Nanny Association, the Lullaby Trust and other organisations. I am sure that we can all agree on the reason to do this—namely, that people looking after children should have basic medical and early years training, including on safe sleep. This change could introduce standards and safeguards to an industry badly lacking in both.

This change would support the majority of people who provide responsible, home-based care for children while cracking down on the dangerous minority who do not. It would give parents peace of mind and minimum legal standards to hold providers against, and the introduction of mandatory training and standards could lead to the development of a national regulated framework or register for all those providing home-based childcare. With a register, we would strengthen safeguarding, give parents clarity and professionalise the sector.

My second ask is that we need stronger legal protections for the title of “nurse”, and in response to the tragedy in my constituency, the Government announced that they would protect the title of “nurse” so that it could be used only by someone with appropriate medical qualifications. That is a really important step forward that I very much welcome. However, people in the infant sleep industry are also calling themselves “practitioners” and “consultants”, so I urge the Government to explore legal protections for those titles too, because, like “nurse”, they imply a level of expertise that is often not there and that parents might rely on. When announcing that the Government would protect the title of nurse, the then Secretary of State committed to seeking wide input on the proposals to get them right. I appreciate that there have been changes since, but can the Minister update me on that work and set out a timeline for when we can expect action?

My third and final ask relates to the context in which the infant sleep industry has boomed. As I mentioned earlier, this is a sector to which parents are increasingly turning as the support that used to be provided by the state has been stripped back. The number of health visitors has almost halved in the last decade, and home visits are not happening consistently across the country, as overstretched staff battle caseloads of up to 1,000 families. That is the vacuum that causes parents to walk into the wild west of dangers. I would appreciate the Minister setting out the Government’s plan to invest in health visitors and infant care, so that we can protect children and their parents with the highest-quality support possible in our national health service.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman’s excellent speech, particularly the three points that he has just made, with which I absolutely agree. I put on record my thanks to Maria Culley from the National Nanny Association, who has been working tirelessly on this issue, and who is a constituent of mine. I have met Children and Families Ministers under this Administration and previous Administrations and not managed to get too much traction, so I absolutely back everything that the hon. Gentleman is asking for.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is not only sleeping tutors and maternity nurses but nannies who are completely unregulated? We need Disclosure and Barring Service checks, a compulsory national register for nannies, and the minimum training standards that he is calling for. Finally, I would be over the moon to work with him to ensure that we can get those asks on the statute book.

[Mr Rand]

I appreciate the hon. Member’s support. We owe it to people who are working in the industry and behaving responsibly to ensure that those standards are in place right across the industry.

This Government are already doing vital work on safe sleeping. Safe sleep guidance in nurseries is set to become statutory, and Ofsted will now assess safe sleep practices during its inspections of early years settings. I pay tribute to the Campaign for Gigi, the Lullaby Trust and the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) for their role in securing these truly transformative steps. The Government must build on that progress. If we accept the urgent need for safe-sleep protections in early years settings, why would we not apply the same standards to care that is provided in people’s homes? This is about safety, accountability and support for every parent.

Of all the contributions that I have made in this place so far, this is the one I feel most strongly about. I know from experience the difficulty of being a new parent, and how vulnerable we are in that time of stress, fear and confusion. It is truly chilling that this vulnerability, combined with the desire we all have to do the best for our children, can lead us to seek support from those not fit to give it. But that is what is happening, and we have a responsibility to do something about that.

I hope that today can be the start of that journey. I look forward to meeting and working with Minister, the charities working on this issue, and all those across the House who want to see real progress to develop the solutions we need to protect children and their parents from unimaginable tragedy.

National Suicide Prevention Standard

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 14th April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Liz Twist]

Indeed, I will be pushing the Government to do all they can to support the implementation of the standard, and to recognise those psychological risks.

As we know, male-dominated industries such as construction face severe historical challenges with work and mental health. Agriculture and farming workers face extreme social isolation and financial pressures, and have access to lethal means. Healthcare workers and emergency responders experience severe trauma alongside having ready access to pharmaceuticals.

The economic impact of suicide is clear. In the UK, it is estimated at nearly £1.46 million per death. Nationally, this costs the UK economy nearly £10 billion per year, factoring in the cost of lost productivity, healthcare and emergency services. Suicide has a profound effect on every workplace it touches, whether through the loss of a colleague, supporting someone in crisis or managing the complex emotional and operational aftermath. Yet organisations are not necessarily equipped to address this issue openly and effectively. For employees without proper support, the trauma and grief of exposure to suicide significantly damages workplace attendance, retention, performance and productivity. Colleagues often experience profound feelings of guilt, inadequacy and confusion.

Because people fear saying the wrong thing, they often do or say nothing, which leads to further distress and emotional toll. This standard, informed by research, data and lived experience, aims to provide organisations with practical, evidence-based recommendations to help plan for, respond to and support people affected by suicide, or those with thoughts of suicide, in the workplace and beyond. The standard is designed to help workplaces support people who might be on the frontline of dealing with the stresses and strains of life.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

I commend the hon. Member for her work in chairing the all-party parliamentary group on suicide and self-harm prevention. I also thank her for jointly organising an event in Parliament to which constituents of mine, Anna Scott and Roger Cunliffe, who lost their daughter to suicide, brought the Yorkshire Speak Their Name quilts; we had 19 quilts on display here in the Houses of Parliament.

Will the hon. Member recognise, however, that those in our farming community, working in isolated environments, are of particular concern, with men in farming being twice as likely to lose their lives to suicide as the average man working in any other environment? Will she join me in celebrating the work of the Farming Community Network and others, which do so much to support those working in isolated environments, particularly in the farming community?

[Liz Twist]

I thank the hon. Member for that question. I had great pleasure in working with his constituents on the quilt exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall; it was a tremendous experience, and they do tremendous work. Farming is indeed one of the industries most affected by these circumstances. I certainly commend the work being done on the agricultural side, by organisations such as Yellow Wellies, to ensure that those issues are addressed.

Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for securing this really important debate.

There are a few meetings that Members of Parliament never forget. Over three years ago, in January 2023, I met my constituents Cheryl and Darren Midgley for the first time. On Christmas day 2022, Cheryl and Darren put their loving, happy and healthy 16-month-old son Jack to bed. The family had enjoyed the best Christmas, but when Darren, the father, went into Jack’s room the following morning, he quickly realised he had gone. He said that, that day, their “world fell apart”.

Christmas in the Midgley household is never just a day. Jack, with his brother Louis, saw Santa four times. They had had the best Christmas. On Boxing day, when Darren cracked open Jack’s door and went into the room, he said there was perfect silence. He walked over to his son’s cot, but as soon as Darren put his hand on his back, it was cool. From what Darren saw at that point, he knew that his baby son Jack had gone.

Jack was taken to Martin House children’s hospice in Wetherby, where he was cared for in one of its special cooled bedrooms. Darren described the hospice’s services as an anchor for the family. The fact that Jack could stay in one of the cooled bedrooms meant the world. Darren said:

“It was a huge comfort to us to know Jack was being looked after in a bedroom, in his Christmas pyjamas, and the staff would be there to talk to him and put his night light on.”

The family spent five days at Martin House until the post-mortem could take place, but the results were inconclusive.

Since meeting Cheryl and Darren three years ago, I have kept in touch with them, and I have been truly blown away by their resilience and mental fortitude, as well as that of their eldest son Louis. They have worked tirelessly to raise awareness to help others, despite their own grief, including by completing a 127-mile bike ride along the Leeds to Liverpool canal path, raising over £6,000 for the Airedale Hospital & Community Charity, where Cheryl works as a nurse.

I went to see them just this last weekend to catch up with them and check in, and I reiterated to them that I will continue, as their Member of Parliament, to do all I can to raise this issue on their behalf. I was glad to see that they are working united as a family to keep this issue going. Over the last three years, they have worked together to raise over £220,000 in total for local good causes.

Sudden unexplained death in childhood is the fourth leading category of death in children aged one to four in England and Wales. Approximately 40 children are affected by SUDC in the UK each year: one to two seemingly healthy children pass away every fortnight, often going to sleep and never waking up again. As seen in cases such as Jack’s, SUDC does not just affect young children under one year old; more one to nine-year-olds die of sudden unexplained death than as a result of road traffic accidents, drowning or fires.

Published epidemiology data suggests a common profile for children affected by SUDC. Most commonly, they are one to two years old and male. Most worryingly, they die unwitnessed and alone as they sleep. The children’s development is often normal, and their vaccinations are normally up to date.

The death of a child is always a tragedy. Sudden unexplained death in childhood is one of the most under-recognised medical tragedies, and simply not enough support is provided for many of the affected families. Cheryl and Darren received a year of support from the NHS following Jack’s death. They have both sought counselling, and the trauma still lives with them today.

I commend the work done by charities such as SUDC UK and Martin House children’s hospice in providing support for those impacted by sudden unexplained death in childhood. However, we cannot just rely on the good work of charities and volunteers. Despite their efforts, the delays in small charity-funded research into preventing these deaths remains completely unacceptable. One hundred and twenty seemingly healthy children have died without explanation since the last SUDC debate three years ago, which I took part in.

Although we are a long way from prevention, it is vital to develop a well-defined and co-ordinated national plan to gain better insight into the causes of SUDC and to raise awareness. There have been 13,000 publications on SIDS—unexplained deaths under 12 months—versus 100 publications on SUDC. There needs to be a co-ordinated and planned movement because, as I am sure the Minister is aware, a small amount of research will not move the dial. There also needs to be better and longer-term support, available free of charge, for families such as Cheryl, Darren and Louis, to help them to come to terms with the deep sense of loss, anguish and grief that comes with the death of a child.

Less Survivable Cancers

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) for securing this important debate. It is clear that we have all been affected in one way or another by a person we love, or are fond of, being diagnosed with cancer and passing away.

While any debate covering cancer is serious, today’s debate is poignant for me. Just before Christmas, Keighley and the Worth valley lost two councillors to cancers. They were friends of mine, and I know their losses will be felt by not only their families and friends but the constituents and residents that they served, and the communities that they loved. Councillor Russell Brown served the Worth valley as a district councillor on Bradford council, and Chris Graham was a former Keighley town councillor who served the Long Lee and Parkwood wards.

While any death to cancer is tragic, it also sharpens our focus on the need to ensure that the very best treatments and research are available for as many people as possible. That of course includes rare and less survivable cancers, which, by their very nature, do not receive the same level of attention as more common types. That must change.

Let us start with the need to identify and screen cancers early. It is unacceptable that just 28% of less survivable cancers are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2, compared with 54% of all cancers. I am sure that a similar story is true for rarer cancers, which may not be considered until it is just too late. Here I must thank the work of the mobile cancer screening units that operate in Keighley and Ilkley as part of the Airedale hospital team, which are doing lifesaving work. I hope that, as we rebuild a new Airedale hospital over the coming years, they will have a new and improved hospital to be proud of, further boosting their work.

The UK should be proud of its world-leading cancer research, and I know that this is something on which Opposition and Government colleagues agree. Indeed, the agreement on the Rare Cancers Bill is a hugely positive step to ensuring that rare cancers get the attention they deserve. I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for his work on raising this important issue. After all, rare cancers are one in five of diagnosed cancers, and that must change.

There will inevitably be cases where screening and improved treatment are not enough. At that stage, people across Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden and the Worth valley are indebted to Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice, which does excellent work in looking after those at the end of their lives. I am routinely impressed by their professionalism and compassion whenever I visit.

Finally, I would like to speak about employers’ national insurance. That issue was raised with me by Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice, which now has to pay the Treasury an additional amount, which they cannot therefore put into end-of-life care. I encourage the Minister to raise that specific case with the Chancellor, so that we can ensure that hospices get the attention they deserve and the funding they need.

Regulation and Inspection of Funeral Services

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hoare]

I am very sorry to hear what the hon. Gentleman has relayed; I know that the whole House will send prayers, thoughts and sympathies to his constituents. What a terrible thing to be dealing with in what are already tragically sad circumstances. He is right to urge the Minister to give a turbocharged and energised response.

As a society, our relationship with funerals is changing. We have become, as we know, a more secular society, so we are looking for other ways to deal with funeral services, rather than the traditional church service and so on. The covid pandemic certainly expedited the—I do not necessarily use this term in a disparaging sense—cheaper, faster and more streamlined approach to dealing with the deceased.

Funerals have become very expensive, when done well, because funeral directors have costs that need to be met, which is why we have seen this great rash of adverts. Anyone who watches any daytime commercial television will know that those over 55 are well insured—I qualify by a year. I am told there are plenty of machines for those who have difficulty getting out of a chair or a bed, and they can press a button and spring up and out like Zebedee. And there are 101 different funeral plan providers who will meet people’s needs very cheaply indeed.

There is little or no doubt that the lion’s share of operators are legit, above board, doing their best and doing it well, but the absence of regulation means that, if we so wished, the Minister and I could set up a funeral directors. We do not need a licence.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

On that point, will my hon. Friend give way?

[Simon Hoare]

Let me just continue.

The Minister and I would not need a licence and we would not be inspected; all we would have to do is put up a sign saying “Funeral Directors” with the hours of operation on it. That cannot be right. It cannot be right that when a funeral director is running out of credit with their local crematorium they can transport a corpse from one end of the country to the other without any paperwork. If my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) and others involved in livestock farming wanted to move one of their sheep from A to B, they know as well as I do about the vast amount of paperwork the Ministry requires to allow that to happen, and that is because we want traceability—that is what we need, and we need traceability in this sector as well.

[Robbie Moore]

My hon. Friend makes the point that many of our constituents across the country do not realise that anybody could set up and run a funeral director service. Sam Gallagher, one of the directors of Gallagher Family Funeral Directors in Keighley, wrote to me to advocate, quite rightly, that the Government should look at bringing in regulation or, at the very least, requiring that funeral directors must be a member of a trade association in order to operate. Currently we have neither, and I am sure that my hon. Friend, in summing up, will encourage the Minister to offer some warm words that we will be going in the direction of having that regulation put in place.

[Simon Hoare]

I agree with my hon. Friend. It is a great strength to be a member of the trade association, because it gives an imprimatur of quality to the families choosing a funeral director, just as customers would choose a CORGI-registered boiler fitter or FENSA for windows. As the trade associations themselves have made clear, however, they can only exhort. They can help people by advising on what best practice looks and feels like, what a good customer experience is and so forth, but people can still trade as a funeral director without being a member of the trade association, and if the trade association kicks them out, they can still trade as a funeral director, because being a funeral director is not concomitant on being a member of the trade association. So there is all this opt-in, opt-out, and of course the best will always join the professional bodies that give them the imprimatur of quality, whereas it is the dodgy geezers—the people trying to do it on the fly—who will not, and they will always be part of the bottom end of the market.

NHS Pensions: Frontline Patient Care

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

We are working very closely to ensure that resident doctors do not go on strike. We are very clear that we cannot negotiate on pay this year, but we will work with everybody to improve conditions. Some of those conditions are shocking, and we want to work constructively with them to avoid disruptive strike action.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

The Daily Telegraph reported in April that a quarter of doctors have reduced their overtime to avoid potential five-figure tax bills, and NHS capacity has been reduced by about 10% as a result. This has been raised many times when I have been out and about door-knocking across Keighley and Ilkley. What steps will the Government take to rectify this absurd situation, which is preventing doctors from working more to reduce waiting lists?

Oral Answers to Questions

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

Integrated care boards are responsible for providing mental health services to meet the needs of their local populations. As part of our plan for change, we will reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We are working with NHS England to transform mental health services, shift care from hospitals to local communities, and increase access to support for people across the country, including in rural areas.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

Insomnia affects many patients, including my constituents, who are being advised by their GPs to try cognitive behavioural therapy as an alternative to medication. However, digital CBT programmes are not available on the NHS, leaving many without access to drug-free treatment. Will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure that patients have access to digital therapies, so that more people can get access to evidence-based, drug-free support?

[Wes Streeting]

The hon. Gentleman hit the nail on the head when he mentioned the importance of evidence-based treatment. As part of the Government’s shift from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention, the NHS absolutely should be in this space, and we are considering those issues as we develop our 10-year plan for health.