Sarah Owen

The Government takes fraud seriously. DSIT works closely with the Home Office, who are responsible for fraud policy, as well as Ofcom who have duty to ensure that UK numbers are not misused, to ensure telecoms companies are doing all they can to prevent criminals hijacking their networks to reach victims. From January, new Ofcom rules will require operators to block calls from abroad which present as a UK number.

We continue to work with the telecoms sector to ensure that as threats evolve so too does the response.

The Government takes fraud seriously. DSIT works closely with the Home Office, who are responsible for fraud policy, as well as Ofcom who have duty to ensure that UK numbers are not misused, to ensure telecoms companies are doing all they can to prevent criminals hijacking their networks to reach victims. From January, new Ofcom rules will require operators to block calls from abroad which present as a UK number.

We continue to work with the telecoms sector to ensure that as threats evolve so too does the response.

The Government is reviewing the statutory consultee system, including Sport England, to promote growth and unblock building.

The statutory consultee system must work in support of development and economic growth—reflecting the central place of these objectives in the Government’s plan for change. A process is in place to consult on the impacts of removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including Sport England.

Access to open green spaces and playing fields is important, and we will work closely with MHCLG as part of their proposed reforms, and we remain committed to ensuring our playing field capacity is protected.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport including football.

We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up football in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game. In 2023, Karen Carney OBE published a major Independent Review of Women’s Football which made a series of recommendations including supporting grassroots women and girls’ football. This Government fully endorses those recommendations and looks forward to ensuring tangible progress is made.

The Government has set out its support for grassroots facilities, including through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme which provides funding to build and improve grassroots facilities and a commitment to support the Football Association’s ambition to double their number of gold-standard (3-star) community clubs by EURO 2028. This will deliver more opportunities for women and girls to get on the pitch.

The Football Association is a long-term partner of Sport England, and have received over £26 million of funding from them for the period 2022-27.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport including football.

We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up football in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game. In 2023, Karen Carney OBE published a major Independent Review of Women’s Football which made a series of recommendations including supporting grassroots women and girls’ football. This Government fully endorses those recommendations and looks forward to ensuring tangible progress is made.

We are acting to support more players in getting onto the pitch wherever they live via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which will invest £123 million UK-wide throughout 2024/25. All projects selected for funding through this programme are required to demonstrate how they increase access and participation levels among under-represented groups, which includes women and girls.

Following the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, the Government confirmed its continued support for elite and grassroots sport through future investment. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out next steps in due course.

Internationally educated staff remain an important part of the NHS workforce, and we recognise the valuable role that British citizens who studied medicine abroad play in our NHS.

Pathology service transformation is critical to delivering the Government's ambitions for the National Health Service. The NHS has invested heavily in delivering digital transformation for pathology services to reduce reliance on paper-based processes; working closely with integrated care boards, pathology networks, and clinical IT suppliers to ensure interoperability between clinical systems to enable a fully digital, joined-up approach to pathology services.

This includes implementing and expanding use of electronic test requesting systems and supporting efforts to standardise their use. These systems allow clinicians in general practice and hospital settings to request pathology tests digitally, improving efficiency, reducing transcription errors, and enhancing patient safety.

Clinical services for women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM) are locally commissioned and include standard National Health Service delivery, for example in obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as maternity FGM clinics for pregnant women and FGM support clinics. The Department does not directly commission FGM support services and does not hold information on local spend on FGM services.

Northwest Biotherapeutics has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application to the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for DCVax-L, an immunotherapy for glioblastoma. The MHRA is working with the applicant to reach a decision on this application, to ensure a thorough review that ensures quality, safety, and efficacy.

DCVax-L has not yet been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use in the United Kingdom. The manufacturer has confirmed that it has submitted an application, and it is fully engaged with the Marketing Authorisation process. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether all new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the time of licensing by the MHRA. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. NICE is in discussions with the manufacturer of DCVax-L about a potential appraisal, subject to licensing.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under the age of 39 in 2019 and concluded that population screening should not be offered. More information on the recommendation is available at the following link:

https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/

The UK NSC received a submission via its 2024 annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged between 14 and 35 years old engaging in sport. The Committee decided to explore this proposal further and the next step will be an evidence-mapping process. Young people engaging in organised sport was one of the population groups included in the 2019 review, so the evidence map in this area will form part of the work to update the last review.

People in prison are entitled to the same range and quality of health services as they would receive in the community.

NHS England commissions healthcare services across the prison estate, ensuring that healthcare providers can prescribe all medications available to patients in community settings. As a result, topical medications that are prescribable on an NHS prescription are also available for individuals within the prison estate.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and adults referred to an autism assessment service.

In 2024/25, £4.3 million is available nationally to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services.

The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.

The NHS website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms and how it is diagnosed and treated. This information is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20

The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.

NHS England commissions gender services for children and young people in line with its interim service specification for children and young people with gender incongruence.

Children and young people are cared for holistically by specialist multi-disciplinary teams based in specialist children's hospitals. The multi-disciplinary team should include expertise in paediatrics, psychological health, and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Each child or young person will have a tailored individual care plan to meet their needs. Depending on individual need, the gender service for children and young people will provide psychosocial and clinical interventions, including support for the family. Further information from the interim service specification is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/interim-service-specification-for-specialist-gender-incongruence-services-for-children-and-young-people/

The Government’s response to the targeted consultation on proposed changes to the availability of puberty blockers was published on 11 December 2024, and details the individuals and organisations with which the Commission on Human Medicines consulted. It is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-availability-of-puberty-blockers-for-under-18s/outcome/9702c8a7-3299-4a01-94dc-a63861786dd9

The information requested is not held centrally. A range of procedures are used to investigate and treat gynaecological conditions. For example, ultrasound can be used in the diagnosis of fibroids, hysteroscopy can be used to investigate symptoms such as unexplained vaginal bleeding, and laparoscopy can be used to diagnose and treat endometriosis.

The Government recognises that some procedures, such as hysteroscopy, can result in pain, and the level of pain experienced will vary between individual women. It is important that healthcare professionals provide women with information prior to their procedure so that women can make an informed decisions about the procedure and pain relief options, including the option of local or general anaesthetic.

The following table shows how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research spent on research, as well as that spend as a percentage of total research spend, for gynaecological and urogynaecological, each year from 2014/15 to 2023/34, and in total over that period:

Additionally, the following table shows how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research spent on research, as well as that spend as a percentage of total research spend, for asthma, each year from 2014/15 to 2023/34, and in total over that period:

Finally, the following table shows how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research spent on research, as well as that spend as a percentage of total research spend, for diabetes, each year from 2014/15 to 2023/34, and in total over that period:

Following referral from the Department, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently planning the development of a guideline on the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. The NICE is exploring the possibility of collaboration with a reputable, guidance-producing partner to enhance the speed and efficiency of this work. The NICE’s website will be updated at the earliest opportunity, when expected timings are confirmed.