Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies on self-care within the forthcoming 10-year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will describe a shared vision for the health and care system in 2035, drawing directly from the extensive engagement that has been undertaken with the public, patients, and staff. The plan will set out how care models and pathways will need to change or evolve to better meet their needs, and the cultural and behavioural changes we want to see. The plan’s shift from sickness to prevention will help ensure the National Health Service uses its relationship with patients to help patients improve and protect their own health.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of regulation of access to controlled drugs in care homes in North Somerset.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Enhanced health in care homes framework, every care home must be aligned to a primary care network (PCN) and must have established protocols between the PCN, the care home, and system partners, such as local general practices and pharmacies, for information sharing, shared care planning, use of shared care records, and clear clinical governance.
Pharmacies are expected to maintain a reasonable stock holding to meet their legal obligations to dispense all prescriptions, including to patients in care homes, with reasonable promptness, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine. The Pharmacy Quality Scheme rewards community pharmacy contractors that deliver quality criteria, one of which is the Palliative and End of Life Care scheme. Participating pharmacy contractors must declare if they intend to routinely stock 16 critical end of life medicines, including controlled drugs such as morphine and midazolam and/or parenteral haloperidol, and must have an action plan in place to support local access. This enables palliative medicines to be quickly sourced when prescribed.
Most care homes with nursing can hold stocks of controlled drugs and will not require a licence to access medicines containing controlled drugs for patients who need them. This is because care homes run by public authorities or charities are exempt from the need for a Home Office controlled drug licence. Care homes without nursing cannot store controlled drugs unless they are prescribed for individual residents.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made on the adequacy of access to (a) medicines and (b) controlled drugs in care homes in North Somerset.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Enhanced health in care homes framework, every care home must be aligned to a primary care network (PCN) and must have established protocols between the PCN, the care home, and system partners, such as local general practices and pharmacies, for information sharing, shared care planning, use of shared care records, and clear clinical governance.
Pharmacies are expected to maintain a reasonable stock holding to meet their legal obligations to dispense all prescriptions, including to patients in care homes, with reasonable promptness, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine. The Pharmacy Quality Scheme rewards community pharmacy contractors that deliver quality criteria, one of which is the Palliative and End of Life Care scheme. Participating pharmacy contractors must declare if they intend to routinely stock 16 critical end of life medicines, including controlled drugs such as morphine and midazolam and/or parenteral haloperidol, and must have an action plan in place to support local access. This enables palliative medicines to be quickly sourced when prescribed.
Most care homes with nursing can hold stocks of controlled drugs and will not require a licence to access medicines containing controlled drugs for patients who need them. This is because care homes run by public authorities or charities are exempt from the need for a Home Office controlled drug licence. Care homes without nursing cannot store controlled drugs unless they are prescribed for individual residents.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the £205 million subsidy for Cardiff Airport on the competitiveness of (a) Bristol Airport and (b) other nearby airports.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As aviation is devolved, decisions regarding any subsidies made to Cardiff Airport is a matter for the Welsh Government. While the Secretary of State has not had any conversations with counterparts in the Welsh Government, officials continue to engage the Welsh Government and nearby airports to understand the potential impacts.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on turning Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route into a National Trail.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The proposal to designate Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route as a National Trail was approved in 2022. Natural England has been working with the Councils and National Park Authorities along the route to bring it up to National Trail quality standards.
We have worked to make sure the route is permanently protected in law and have improved the surface to make it easier to use. This includes 5km of flagstones over Nine Standards Rigg and White Mossy Hill in the middle of the route which gets very boggy. This will help protect local habitats and preserve the route for walkers.
We have also put up new signs that help people find their way and recognise Alfred Wainwright’s role in establishing the route.
The route remains on track for completion with plans to officially launch it in spring 2026.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help improve mobile network signal in North Somerset constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I have asked Ofcom to check their figures, but according to them, 94% of the constituency has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, while 5G is available outside 96% of premises from at least one operator. The government’s ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030.
We are working with industry and Ofcom to ensure we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment in this crucial infrastructure.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS 10 Year Plan will include steps to ensure healthcare professionals are adequately trained and supported in diagnosing and treating rare diseases like Myasthenia Gravis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. The plan, and the refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan that follows it, will ensure that we have the right number of staff, with the right skill mix so that patients, including those with rare diseases like myasthenia gravis, can be promptly diagnosed and treated.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for when patients with Myasthenia Gravis will have access to recently licenced products.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 7 March 2024, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the medicine rozanolixizumab, marketed as Rystiggo, to treat adults with generalised myasthenia gravis.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new licensed medicines and makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether they should be routinely funded by the NHS based on their clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims to publish guidance as close as possible to the time of licensing.
NICE published draft guidance on the use of rozanolixizumab for consultation in September 2024 and was unable to recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources due to uncertainties in the long-term effectiveness of the treatment, as well as uncertainties in the economic model and the cost-effectiveness at the price proposed by the company. NICE has not yet published final guidance, and it will keep stakeholders informed about next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to increase patient access to new and innovative treatments for Myasthenia Gravis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as myasthenia gravis. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community: these include improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We remain committed to delivering under the Framework and published the annual England action plan in February 2025.
In the 2023 England Rare Disease Action Plan, action 25 was introduced to review the effectiveness of Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF), Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) and Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) in improving access to treatments for people living with rare diseases.
NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will meet annually to continue to discuss progress and the role of EAMS, ILAP and IMF in supporting access to treatments for people living with rare diseases. These meetings will include representatives from patient advocacy groups, industry and clinical researchers. Further progress on action 25 has been reported in the 2025 action plan, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-rare-diseases-action-plan-2025
Asked by: Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
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 proposed changes to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Highly Specialised Technology (HST) routing criteria aligns with the stated aim of HST to encourage (a) research on and (b) innovation for ultra-rare diseases when there are challenges in generating an evidence base that is robust enough to bring the product to market.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on whether medicines should be evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) through its highly specialised technologies (HST) programme are taken by NICE itself against a set of published criteria that have been developed through public and stakeholder engagement.
NICE is currently reviewing its HST criteria and has recently closed its public consultation on proposed changes. NICE will discuss the updated criteria at its Public Board Meeting on 19 March 2025.
The purpose of the review is not to change the number or nature of the topics that are evaluated through the HST programme, but to ensure that the criteria are sufficiently clear and predictable for companies and patient groups and are aligned to the HST vision. The aims of the HST programme will remain unchanged. It is intended to: encourage research on, and innovation for, very rare conditions when there are challenges in generating an evidence base that is robust enough to bring the product to market; secure fairer and more equitable treatment access for very small populations with very rare diseases; and recognise that an approach that maximises health gain for the NHS may not always be acceptable; it could deliver results that are not equitable.
Since 2022/23, NICE has been able to recommend 13 out of 14 medicines that it has appraised through its HST programme.