Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what metrics are used within the health sector to assess structural vulnerability to simultaneous biological and cyber disruptions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department supports the health and social care system to monitor, plan, and respond to the full range of potential risks, and based on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and previous incidents, we aim to have flexible, adaptable, and scalable capabilities that can respond to any threat, or any combination of threats occurring at the same time.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of levels of disparities in GP-to-patient ratios between rural and urban constituencies.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Each general practice is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients, and to consider the workforce required to meet those needs.
As independent contractors to the National Health Service, it is down to general practices to determine the staffing and skills mix that they recruit.
The number of patients per general practitioner (GP) has been steadily falling since the 2024 election and we are committed to continuing to expand GP workforce capacity. Thanks to actions taken by this Government, we now have the highest number of fully qualified GPs since 2015.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 help improve the resilience of national stockpiles of critical pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Stockpiling is one of a number of measures used to strengthen the resilience of essential healthcare supply chains, along with diversification, support for domestic manufacturing, and international collaboration.
The Department has established shortage management procedures to help mitigate the patient impact of supply disruption, including sourcing alternative products, serious shortage protocols, and a global logistics contingency. Further, NHS England's procurement arrangements include requirements for suppliers of certain secondary care medicines to hold buffer stocks to help manage disruption.
Given the global nature of the supply chains for critical pharmaceuticals and medical devices, the Government continues to work with international partners, including the European Union, and across the supply chain to strengthen resilience, reduce vulnerabilities, and support reliable access to essential products for patients.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the email from the hon. Member for South Shropshire dated 19 May 2026 with case reference SA44124.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and officials are in regular contact with elected representatives across the country.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the current level of out-of-hours dental care provision in South Shropshire.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made by the Department.
Responsibility for commissioning National Health Service dental services, including urgent and out-of-hours dental care, sits with integrated care boards (ICBs). For the South Shropshire constituency, this is the Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin ICB. Further information on the ICB’s urgent dental care services can be found at the following link:
https://www.shropshiretelfordandwrekin.nhs.uk/your-health/where-to-get-advice-and-help/dentists/
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 patients diagnosed with Friedrich’s Ataxia can access Omavelexolone through the NHS.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new, licensed medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE.
NICE has unfortunately been unable to develop guidance for the NHS on the use of omaveloxolone for treating Friedreich's ataxia in people 16 years old and over because the company, Biogen, withdrew its evidence submission. NICE will reopen the appraisal if the company decides to make a new evidence submission.
NHS England does not fund medicines where the company has not engaged with NICE. This is to avoid a potential pathway for circumventing the NICE appraisal process.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of giving families the right to visit their loved ones in a mortuary.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department has not made a specific assessment on the potential merits of introducing a right for families to visit their loved ones in a mortuary. The arrangements that apply in mortuaries undertaking post-mortem examinations are already governed by an established legal and regulatory framework. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible for licensing mortuaries in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland which undertake post-mortem examinations, and standards are set by the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the HTA's Codes of Practice.
HTA licensing standards require establishments to have documented policies on the viewing of bodies by family members and others, such as the police. However, HTA-licensed mortuaries in the post-mortem sector are not required to provide viewings for families. Establishments are also required to have controlled access to body storage areas, put in place measures to prevent unauthorised access, and to ensure appropriate oversight of visitors and contractors.
Most post-mortem examinations are conducted under the authority of a coroner, and decisions about access to bodies under the authority of HM Coroner, including by the police, are at the coroner’s discretion.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 tackle rural disparities in cancer care.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department recognises that cancer outcomes remain poorest in some rural areas. To support improvement, the Government has provided £200 million of ring‑fenced funding for Cancer Alliances in 2026/27 to improve cancer pathway performance and reduce delays. The Department monitors progress through regular oversight with NHS England, tracking improvements in early diagnosis and treatment standards across regions. These measures underpin our commitment to reducing geographic disparities so that a patient’s chances of survival do not depend on where they live.
The Department recognises that treatment waiting times vary significantly across the country, including in some rural areas, and we are determined to change this. We will tackle this variation head on by streamlining access to cutting-edge treatments and increasing the cancer workforce in trusts that most need it, including in rural areas.
The National Cancer Plan sets out policies specifically developed to tackle geographic inequalities in cancer care, including improved data transparency on the quality of care and performance of trusts and the use of training places in rural areas to address higher vacancy rates. It will shift healthcare from hospitals to the community and ensure that all cancer patients, regardless of where they live, have timely access to high-quality, specialist cancer services.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 healthy hydration messaging in Government and NHS guidance is impactful and effective.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Government hydration recommendations are depicted in the United Kingdom national food model, the Eatwell Guide, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide
The Eatwell Guide recommends that people should aim to drink six to eight cups or glasses of fluid a day, and promotes water, lower fat milks, and sugar-free drinks as healthier drink choices.
The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through the NHS.UK website and the Government’s social marketing campaigns, Better Health, including Healthier Families and Start for Life. These principles are also included in the national curriculum through a number of subjects including Design and Technology, Science, and Relationships, Sex and Health Education. The Eatwell Guide also underpins catering guidance and standards including for School Food and prisons as well as the Government’s Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 improve access to NHS dentistry in South Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. For the South Shropshire constituency, this is the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB.
The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. From April 2026, we began introducing a package of reforms to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams have been experiencing.
These reforms will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups.
The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most. We have reduced the NHS dentistry underspend from £392 million in 2023/24 to £36 million in 2024/25.