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 he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on pay for specialist community public health nurses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialist community public health nurses in England are typically paid on the National Health Service’s Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system.
Annual AfC pay awards are decided following recommendations from the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). We accepted the 2025/26 recommendations in full, and the Government has asked the NHSPRB to begin the 2026/27 pay round. Relevant stakeholders are invited to submit evidence to the NHSPRB to inform its deliberations.
Officials and ministers continue to engage with AfC unions on pay and contractual matters via the NHS Staff Council.
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 British citizens who receive undergraduate medical training overseas will be considered as part of plans to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation postgraduate training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
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 he is taking steps to stop the use of paper forms for blood tests ordered by (a) GPs and (b) hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
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 funding his Department has (a) allocated to and (b) spent on the treatment and care of individuals subject to female genital mutilation in each financial year since 2014-15.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
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.