Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will make public their decision on licensing the personalised immunotherapy developed to treat the malignant brain tumour glioblastoma, DCVax-L.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase routine heart screening for young people participating in (a) school and (b) university sports.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to expedite market access to the personalised immunotherapy developed to treat the malignant brain tumour glioblastoma DCVax-L via the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 improve access to topical medication for prisoners.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 reduce waiting times for autism diagnoses.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 ensure those diagnosed with coeliac disease receive timely and appropriate treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what services NHS England gender services provide for children and young people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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:
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) medical professionals, (b) charities, (c) organisations and (d) other groups the Commission on Human Medicines consulted on the provision of puberty blockers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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:
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the National Institute for Health and Care Research has spent on research into (a) gynaecological and urogynaecological health, (b) asthma and (c) diabetes in each of the last ten years; and what proportion of the NIHR’s overall spend each of those amounts represents.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
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:
Financial year | Spend | Proportion of total research spend |
2014/15 | £3,820,598 | 1.3% |
2015/16 | £4,119,736 | 1.4% |
2016/17 | £4,598,586 | 1.6% |
2017/18 | £5,794,355 | 1.5% |
2018/19 | £4,876,814 | 1.3% |
2019/20 | £5,558,241 | 1.3% |
2020/21 | £5,255,747 | 1.3% |
2021/22 | £5,808,297 | 1.2% |
2022/23 | £5,472,805 | 1.0% |
2023/24 | £6,381,906 | 1.3% |
Total 2014 to 2024 | £51,687,086 | 1.3% |
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:
Financial year | Spend | Proportion of total research spend |
2014/15 | £2,881,919 | 1.0% |
2015/16 | £3,148,352 | 1.1% |
2016/17 | £2,222,035 | 0.8% |
2017/18 | £4,451,842 | 1.2% |
2018/19 | £4,999,804 | 1.3% |
2019/20 | £8,823,017 | 2.1% |
2020/21 | £8,950,535 | 2.2% |
2021/22 | £7,378,125 | 1.5% |
2022/23 | £6,947,881 | 1.3% |
2023/24 | £8,733,915 | 1.7% |
Total 2014 to 2024 | £58,537,425 | 1.5% |
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:
Financial year | Spend | Proportion of total research spend |
2014/15 | £8,886,001 | 3.1% |
2015/16 | £8,570,471 | 2.9% |
2016/17 | £8,899,325 | 3.0% |
2017/18 | £12,240,087 | 3.3% |
2018/19 | £13,180,008 | 3.4% |
2019/20 | £17,097,212 | 4.1% |
2020/21 | £16,899,589 | 4.1% |
2021/22 | £21,713,745 | 4.3% |
2022/23 | £20,346,333 | 3.8% |
2023/24 | £25,271,594 | 5.1% |
Total 2014 to 2024 | £153,104,366 | 3.8% |
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many invasive surgical procedures to (a) diagnose and (b) treat a reproductive health condition were not completed because of the level of pain experienced by the patient during that procedure in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.