Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of need for NHS health professionals to ask about children’s screen use and social media exposure during routine case histories; and whether guidance will be issued to support clinicians, including newly qualified speech and language therapists, in distinguishing between screen-related language delay and Developmental Language Disorder.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department recognises the issue of children’s screen use and social media exposure, and the role National Health Service professionals can play.
Screen use guidance forms a core part of the Government’s response to online harms, complementing regulatory action by providing clear, practical advice to parents on supporting safe, balanced, and developmentally appropriate use of digital technologies.
On 27 March 2026, the Government published advice for parents and carers on screen use for children aged zero to five years old on the Best Start in Life website, at the following link:
https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/screen-time-under-5s
This advice offers practical, non-judgemental support to help families balance screen use with other activities. The Children of the 2020s study found that children with the highest screen use at age two, around five hours daily, can say significantly fewer words than those with lower use, although this does not necessarily mean that one causes the other. We are taking a precautionary approach to screen use for younger children, especially where screen time may be replacing activities like moving, sleeping, and playing, which are all important for children’s health and development.
Building on the guidance for zero to five year olds, the Department of Health and Social Care is now working closely with the Department for Education to develop further parent and carer facing guidance for five to 16-year-olds to promote safe and healthy engagement with the digital world. Following the closure of our call for evidence on 29 June, we are reviewing the evidence received to inform the guidance, due to be published this autumn. This work is also being informed by an independent Expert Advisory Group, co-chaired by Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and Professor Russell Viner.
The Department of Health and Social Care is also working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on the Government’s media literacy action plan, and we will explore how we can distribute useful information about screen use and social media to relevant clinical and public health networks.
The NHS does not currently have a specific requirement for NHS clinicians to routinely ask about children’s screen use or social media exposure. Clinicians, including speech and language therapists, take a holistic developmental history, considering a range of environmental factors where clinically relevant in order to determine a course of treatment. Clinicians are expected to draw on existing evidence, professional training, and clinical judgement in the assessment of healthcare needs.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department collects data on the health impacts of children’s exposure to harmful online content; and what assessment has been made of how the effectiveness of interventions designed to mitigate such harms will be evaluated.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government keeps the evidence on the health impacts of children’s exposure to harmful online content under close review and is committed to ensuring that children’s lives online are safe and enriching.
Following a national consultation, the Government will ban social media companies from offering their services to those under the age of 16. This is in line with the approach taken by Australia, and will include platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. The ban will restrict under 16s from accessing harmful functions, including livestreaming and stranger communications. These restrictions will apply to a wider range of online services, including on gaming sites. Regulations to enforce the ban will be laid this year, and the aim is for them to be in effect by Spring 2027. The ban will be implemented with stringent age assurance measures.
With regards to specific evidence reviews, in 2019, the UK Chief Medical Officers published a review of the evidence on screen-based activities and mental health. Since then, the government has continued to work closely with academic experts to review emerging evidence, including studies funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. In January 2026, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published a research report titled ‘Understanding the impact of smartphones and social media on children and young people’.
In addition, screen use guidance forms a core part of the Government’s wider response to online harms, complementing regulatory action by providing clear, practical advice to parents on supporting safe, balanced and developmentally appropriate use of digital technologies. Building on the publication of evidence‑based guidance for parents and carers of zero to five-year-olds in March 2026, we are now working across government to develop further parent facing guidance for five to 16-year-olds to promote safe and healthy engagement with the digital world.
The Government is also monitoring the recently announced ‘IRL Trial’, led by Professor Amy Orben, which is the first large-scale randomised controlled trial to examine how limiting access to social media may affect adolescent mental health.
We will continue to work closely with the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Trust and wider organisations and researchers to study the impact of any interventions put in place to mitigate online harms.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the MHRA on conducting an audit of clinical-needs justifications submitted under Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 for cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department and the NHS Business Services Authority have not received a request from the General Medical Council for data relating to named services or individual prescribers of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. NHS England routinely liaises with relevant regulators and shares information to support the safe management and use of controlled drugs. In June 2026, NHS England met the General Medical Council to discuss prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use and subsequently shared information, including details of named medical prescribers.
NHS England has also provided information relating to Care Quality Commission-registered services to the Care Quality Commission, as the regulator of health and social care services in England.
Unlicensed medicines, including unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans may be supplied, according to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by licensed available medicines. The special need, clinical in nature, is determined by the prescriber responsible for the care of the individual patient. According to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the prescriber is a person who is a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, pharmacist independent prescriber, or supplementary prescriber.
Clinical-need justifications submitted during the course of notifications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to import unlicensed medicines is part of normal clinical practice, which is monitored by the relevant professional healthcare regulator and the royal colleges.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the General Medical Council has requested data including named services and individual prescribers relating to cannabis-based products for medicinal use from (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) NHS Business Services Authority.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department and the NHS Business Services Authority have not received a request from the General Medical Council for data relating to named services or individual prescribers of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. NHS England routinely liaises with relevant regulators and shares information to support the safe management and use of controlled drugs. In June 2026, NHS England met the General Medical Council to discuss prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use and subsequently shared information, including details of named medical prescribers.
NHS England has also provided information relating to Care Quality Commission-registered services to the Care Quality Commission, as the regulator of health and social care services in England.
Unlicensed medicines, including unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans may be supplied, according to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by licensed available medicines. The special need, clinical in nature, is determined by the prescriber responsible for the care of the individual patient. According to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the prescriber is a person who is a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, pharmacist independent prescriber, or supplementary prescriber.
Clinical-need justifications submitted during the course of notifications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to import unlicensed medicines is part of normal clinical practice, which is monitored by the relevant professional healthcare regulator and the royal colleges.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for each UK Foundation Programme reserve-list allocation round held in 2026, how many applicants were allocated a place in that round from (a) the total pool of non-prioritised applicants, (b) Queen Mary University of London Malta, (c) Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia and (d) the City St George’s, University of London medical programme delivered in Cyprus; and how many applicants in each category remained without an allocation after that round.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The allocation of reserve list applicants to foundation schools is still on-going. The UK Foundation Programme Office published an update on 3 July detailing two further reserve-list allocation rounds which will take place on 15 July and 29 July respectively. The update on the reserve-list allocations is available at the following link:
https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/ukfp-2026-reserve-allocation-update/
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England routinely collects data on turnaround times for genomic tests delivered through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS) and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs).
NHS England captures Patient Level Contract Monitoring data across the NHS GMS to facilitate a national approach to reporting and validating activity data and turnaround times for the genomics element of the pathway. This national approach to reporting and validating data enables NHS England to both understand activity volumes, detect any backlogs, and work with the NHS GLHs to implement improvement activities.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in genomic testing activity through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service since April 2023; and what steps he is taking to help support access to genomic testing.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS) and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/
Testing is available for all eligible patients across the whole of England and defined healthcare professionals who confirm the patient meets the Test Directory eligibility criteria, can refer their patient for testing. The rate of testing has increased steadily over the period in question from approximately 64,000 tests per month in April 2023 to 70,000 tests per month in April 2025, and the data from April 2026 is yet to be validated. The growth in testing reflects the increase in the type of genomic tests available on the National Genomic Test Directory, informed by Service Developments within the NHS GMS, implementation of genomic testing to support access to medicines, particularly in cancer, and improved access to existing testing. It is expected that demand for genomic tests will continue to rise in the coming years.
NHS England captures Patient Level Contract Monitoring data across the NHS GMS to facilitate a national approach to reporting and validating activity data and turnaround times, enabling NHS England to both understand activity volumes, detect any backlogs, and work with the NHS GLHs to implement improvement activities.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many genomic tests have been completed through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service in each quarter since April 2023 for (a) cancer and (b) rare and inherited conditions.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS) and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs.
Since December 2023, NHS England has published NHS genomic testing activity data on a quarterly basis on the NHS England website, at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/genomic-testing-activity/
This shows activity delivered by the NHS GMS including for cancer and rare and inherited disease.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the draft Value Based Procurement guidance for Medical Technology, (a) whether procurement assessments are expected to include comparison with the existing standard of care, (b) how incremental clinical benefit is expected to be measured where a medical device is assessed against an existing treatment pathway, and (c) what weighting is given to clinical outcome evidence relative to cost data in Value Based Procurement assessments.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Value Based Procurement (VBP) guidance, published on 11 June 2026, applies to medical technology as defined by the Medical Device Regulations 2002. This includes consumables, implants, diagnostics, equipment and digital technologies. The Department worked with trade associations, suppliers, and patient groups to develop supporting information which sets out the types of evidence that buyers should consider assessing when carrying out a VBP process. The guidance states that evidence standards should be used to the extent relevant, accounting for the maturity of the supplier base, product being procured, and availability of cost-effectiveness and clinical outcome data. Buyers should also seek to understand the maturity of evidence through pre-market engagement with suppliers.
The Department will publish the independent evaluation of the VBP pilots this summer. Feedback from the National Health Service trusts involved in the pilot work demonstrated that the guidance was considered usable by procurement teams, helped to simplify the procurement process and reduced variation in how non-financial criteria are evaluated. The pilot findings informed refinements to the final published guidance and implementation planning. The Department intends to undertake ongoing monitoring and assessment of how the guidance is being applied in practice to measure its impact and inform future development.
The new Medium Term Planning Framework sets out a multi-year funding settlement for the NHS to support a move to medium-term financial and delivery planning cycles. The on-line training that is being provided for procurement teams will support the adoption of the guidance and explains how the structured and standardised approach should streamline the procurement process.
NHS trusts are responsible for setting and adhering to finance procedures, including the involvement of finance directors in purchasing decisions as per schemes of delegation. To support understanding of the guidance within the finance community, the Department engaged with finance professionals via professional networks during its development. The planned evaluation over the coming months of how the guidance is been applied will assess if further actions are needed to embed principles of VBP.
The guidance sets out that buyers should conduct their procurements in line with relevant legislation. The guidance recommends that buyers should communicate the existing standard of care and any performance baselines, to the extent relevant to the product or service being procured. Buyers should work with relevant stakeholders, including clinicians, to determine the most suitable method of assessing incremental clinical benefit and the associated weighting this should be given relative to cost, tailored to the product being procured and the supplier market.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of alignment between the draft Value Based Procurement guidance for Medical Technology and (a) NHS Trust financial requirements under the 2025-26 NHS operational planning guidance and (b) NHS budgets available for investment in MedTech innovation.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Value Based Procurement (VBP) guidance, published on 11 June 2026, applies to medical technology as defined by the Medical Device Regulations 2002. This includes consumables, implants, diagnostics, equipment and digital technologies. The Department worked with trade associations, suppliers, and patient groups to develop supporting information which sets out the types of evidence that buyers should consider assessing when carrying out a VBP process. The guidance states that evidence standards should be used to the extent relevant, accounting for the maturity of the supplier base, product being procured, and availability of cost-effectiveness and clinical outcome data. Buyers should also seek to understand the maturity of evidence through pre-market engagement with suppliers.
The Department will publish the independent evaluation of the VBP pilots this summer. Feedback from the National Health Service trusts involved in the pilot work demonstrated that the guidance was considered usable by procurement teams, helped to simplify the procurement process and reduced variation in how non-financial criteria are evaluated. The pilot findings informed refinements to the final published guidance and implementation planning. The Department intends to undertake ongoing monitoring and assessment of how the guidance is being applied in practice to measure its impact and inform future development.
The new Medium Term Planning Framework sets out a multi-year funding settlement for the NHS to support a move to medium-term financial and delivery planning cycles. The on-line training that is being provided for procurement teams will support the adoption of the guidance and explains how the structured and standardised approach should streamline the procurement process.
NHS trusts are responsible for setting and adhering to finance procedures, including the involvement of finance directors in purchasing decisions as per schemes of delegation. To support understanding of the guidance within the finance community, the Department engaged with finance professionals via professional networks during its development. The planned evaluation over the coming months of how the guidance is been applied will assess if further actions are needed to embed principles of VBP.
The guidance sets out that buyers should conduct their procurements in line with relevant legislation. The guidance recommends that buyers should communicate the existing standard of care and any performance baselines, to the extent relevant to the product or service being procured. Buyers should work with relevant stakeholders, including clinicians, to determine the most suitable method of assessing incremental clinical benefit and the associated weighting this should be given relative to cost, tailored to the product being procured and the supplier market.