Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated to support the announced expansion of the Healthy Babies programme; and when local authorities participating in the expansion will be informed of the funding available to them to deliver the programme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to funding the expansion of Healthy Babies to all local authorities in England from April 2027. Funding arrangements and individual local authority allocations are being finalised, and further details will be shared in due course. This expansion will build on the £900 million already being invested in Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies between 2026/27 and 2028/29.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation requiring the disclosure of industry payments to healthcare professionals and organisations.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, a) what cancer-specific red-flag training is currently mandatory for GPs, b) whether it is formally assessed, and c) how completion is monitored and how often it has to be refreshed.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To support the identification of potentially missed diagnoses, the Department published Jess's Rule in September 2025 as formal clinical guidance developed with NHS England and the Royal College of General Practitioners. Jess's Rule supports and strengthens general practitioners’ clinical judgement by encouraging clinicians to pause and review recurrent presentations and consider whether anything may have been missed. It formalises existing best practice and promotes a more consistent approach to patient care while recognising that decisions on referral, investigation, and treatment remain matters of clinical judgement.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that AI developers are investigating tens of thousands of security incidents linked to their models; and whether any of those incidents involved UK public bodies.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
I refer the Rt. Hon Member to my speech delivered on 12 October 2026, which outlined the action the Government is taking in response to recent AI security incidents. Working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the National Cyber Security Centre and the AI Security Institute, the Government will develop robust ways to respond to agentic AI incidents: looking in particular at how incidents can be contained, and how those affected can be supported.
On incidents involving UK public bodies, OpenAI has informed us that one of their AI models accessed publicly available UK government statistics. Our cyber defences were not breached and no personal data was accessed. While the system and all the data accessed in this instance were already freely available to the public, we take any indication of unsanctioned AI activity seriously. We are closely observing AI incidents in order to continually assess and improve government defences. AI developers bear full responsibility for keeping their tools under safe control and we expect prompt, transparent reporting whenever unexpected behaviour occurs.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a levy on pharmaceutical and medical device companies to contribute towards compensation payments for victims of medicines or medical devices.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made, but the Government recognises the significant and lasting impact that harm caused by medicines and medical devices can have on patients and their families, and where appropriate, the Government considers arrangements for redress in the context of the specific circumstances of those affected.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of the ending of transitional protections for free school meals on 31 August 2026 on looked-after children.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has significantly expanded access to free school meals (FSM), introducing new eligibility criteria applying to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, which took effect from the start of this school year. This means that half a million more children will be able to receive free and nutritious lunchtime meals each day, after accounting for the ending of transitional protections. This approach ensures support is targeted at children in the lowest-income households, including looked after children.
The department has considered the impact of ending transitional protections as part of its reforms to FSM. However, it is not possible to identify looked after children who were previously receiving FSM but are no longer eligible following the end of transitional protections.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the funding required to address the gaps in capacity for the fresh freezing and storage of brain tumour tissue identified by NHS England, including essential supporting infrastructure; and whether she plans to make dedicated funding available for that purpose.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer to the Hon Member to the answer given on 22 September to Question HL2877.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that NHS data remains under UK control and is used for the benefit of UK patients.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patient data in the United Kingdom remains covered by the legal frameworks set out in the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and that will not change.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 10706 on Brain: Tumours, what progress her Department and NHS England have made with the Royal College of Pathologists on reviewing tissue retention guidance; whether that work is considering national guidance on the fresh freezing of suitable brain tumour tissue once diagnostic requirements have been met; and when she expects that work to conclude.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 14300.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 10706 on Brain: Tumours, what progress has been made on reviewing consent processes for the storage and future use of brain tumour tissue; whether her Department is considering a consistent national approach to informing patients about those issues before surgery; and when she expects that work to conclude.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 July in response to Question 14300.