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 potential impact on (a) diver safety and (b) emergency access for people in the West Midlands of the proposed closure of the Midland Dive Chamber in Rugby.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has no immediate plans to decommission the hyperbaric oxygen therapy services in the Midlands. The responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a specialised service commissioned by NHS England.

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 effectiveness of (a) EU-derived clinical hour requirements for nurse education and (b) the regulatory framework for nurse education (i) in general and (ii) compared with (A) Australia and (B) other international models.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

To be able to legally work as a nurse in the United Kingdom, individuals must be fully registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The NMC sets the standards that must be met by domestic and international nurses and midwives wishing to be added to the UK register. The NMC sets these standards to ensure registrants are safe to practise and patients receive a high standard of care.

The NMC is updating its pre-registration education programme standards to allow more students to join its register with the skills for safe and effective care. In January 2025, the NMC’s Council approved five key areas for its pre-registration practice learning review. Consultations on changes will take place in early 2026, with new standards effective by September 2026.

In 2023, legislative changes made by the Department to the NMC’s regulatory framework provided the regulator with full flexibility to recognise qualifications for international applicants from around the world. Our regulatory reform programme will further modernise the regulatory frameworks for all the UK healthcare professional regulators, starting with the General Medical Council. This will guide reforms for other healthcare regulators, including the NMC, with plans for implementation within this Parliament.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the UK Health Security Agency has made of the fatality rate associated with invasive Candidozyma auris infection.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) routinely monitors the candidozyma auris situation in England and shares information with hospitals and health system partners so they can put in place timely measures to protect patients.

There is no published UKHSA data on fatality associated with invasive candidozyma auris infection, however the UKHSA is closely monitoring situation in England with improved surveillance, including the attributable and all-cause mortality for candidozyma auris.

Candidozyma auris cases have increased in the United Kingdom in recent years. Our most recent epidemiological commentary states that between January 2013 and April 2025 inclusive, a total of 800 candidozyma auris cases, both infections and colonisations, where people are carrying the organism on their skin without any symptom or illness, were reported in England. Reassuringly, the vast majority of these are colonisations, with 87% being colonised, 12% being invasive, and 1% of an unknown specimen type. Colonisation without invasive infection has a negligible risk of negative health outcomes. The UKHSA is currently validating a process for reporting mortality figures as part of future routine data releases. Further information and guidance is available on the candidozyma auris collection page, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/candidozyma-auris

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on cross-Government implementation of (a) proposals for a national evidence-based digital parenting offer and (b) other policies within the Best Start in Life strategy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Giving all babies and children the best start in life is the foundation of the Opportunity Mission and the first step towards delivering the Government’s commitment to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and I have a shared ambition to ensure that every child has a happy, healthy start to life, regardless of background. We discuss the collective progress on delivering policies within the Best Start in Life Strategy through a range of forums, including Opportunity Mission Board meetings and during bilateral conversations.

Together, we recognise the critical role that high-quality, evidence-based parenting support plays in improving childhood outcomes. This includes supporting the Plan for Change target for a record 75% of five-year-olds to reach a good level of development by 2028. In line with this, we continue to discuss the progress made towards delivering a national digital parenting offer, as committed to in the Best Start in Life Strategy.

I look forward to continuing the close collaboration with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education as we work together to deliver our shared ambitions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Candidozyma auris was added to schedule 2 of the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations in April 2025;and if he will publish any public health risk assessments informing that decision.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Candidozyma, formerly Candida, auris is an emerging multi-drug resistant fungal pathogen. Candidozyma auris is becoming more widespread globally, can result in serious infections in vulnerable individuals, and has been associated with outbreaks in healthcare settings that have resulted in substantial service disruption. The addition of candidozyma auris to the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations as a notifiable organism under Schedule 2 enables the UK Health Security Agency to more closely monitor this pathogen and inform public health action to limit its spread within the United Kingdom.

The Health Protection (Notification) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 Impact Assessment, a copy of which is attached, highlights that testing for candidozyma auris would be conducted within National Health Service and private laboratories. The burden on laboratories for additional testing is likely to be low, as testing is straightforward.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) anticipated and (b) actual level of demand for health services was in 2025–26; and whether the actual level of demand has increased in line with the trends since the end of the pandemic.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Demand and costs for health services in 2025/26 was assessed and agreed with HM Treasury through the 2021 Spending Review negotiations, which are not published, as per standard practice. The national analysis takes into account the effect of population ageing and wider demographic changes, and also a range of estimates to understand how particular demand increases will affect the National Health Service, for example the cost of introducing new drugs, treatments, and policies designed to make sure patients are assessed and receive care in the most appropriate setting, for example through neighbourhood health models.

The 2025/26 operational planning guidance sets out the need for integrated care boards and trusts to deliver targets across primary, community, and acute care, including mental health services. It sets out the expectation for NHS organisations to reduce their cost base by at least 1% and to achieve 4% improvement in productivity, in order to deal with demand growth within the finances available and ensure effective demand management.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the roll-out of evidence-based parenting programmes through the Start for Life offer to all local authorities.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The government has confirmed over £500 million of funding allocated for the delivery of Best Start Family Hubs, which includes funding for parenting programmes.

Through these Hubs, all local authorities will deliver parenting evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for families with 3 to 4-year-olds from April 2026. The department will be sharing a ‘menu’ of EBIs that has been developed in collaboration with expert partners and informed by sources such as the Foundations Guidebook and Nesta’s Call for Evidence. The ‘menu’ will preference EBIs that have undergone the most rigorous evaluation, to reflect our ambition to support local authorities to invest in programmes most likely to have the greatest impact. This will ensure that parenting support is rooted in robust evidence.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the potential economic impact of prohibiting poultry shows on (a) rural economies, (b) agricultural shows, (c) local businesses and (d) hobbyist breeders.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Regulation 6 of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended, sets out the legal basis for permitting gatherings (such as shows) of poultry or other captive birds. In England, a licence to hold a bird gathering may be granted by Defra if a veterinary risk assessment has been carried out, and if the gathering, including the movement of birds to and from it, would not significantly increase the risk of the transmission of avian influenza virus. Detailed risk assessments can be found on GOV.UK.

Any outbreak of notifiable avian disease has a significant impact on the UK poultry industry, through the trade and impacts on the bird keeper. Together, the Government and bird keepers must do everything we can to keep this disease out of kept bird flocks as there are limited effective actions that can be taken to prevent incursions of the disease through migratory wild birds or transmission between wild bird species.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what engagement his Department has had with (a) universities and (b) higher education providers in developing the new NHS workforce plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

We have engaged with a range of partners on shaping the upcoming workforce plan, including universities and higher education providers.

We welcome the fact that so many valued stakeholders are keen to engage in the plan’s development. On 26 September 2025, we launched a formal call for evidence, which provides stakeholders the opportunity to contribute directly to the plan’s development. This closed on 7 November 2025.

The Department of Health and Social Care engages closely with the Department for Education on a wide range of matters, including the upcoming workforce plan.

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 with the Department for Education to support the delivery of the NHS workforce plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

We have engaged with a range of partners on shaping the upcoming workforce plan, including universities and higher education providers.

We welcome the fact that so many valued stakeholders are keen to engage in the plan’s development. On 26 September 2025, we launched a formal call for evidence, which provides stakeholders the opportunity to contribute directly to the plan’s development. This closed on 7 November 2025.

The Department of Health and Social Care engages closely with the Department for Education on a wide range of matters, including the upcoming workforce plan.

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 that Learning Disability Nursing is adequately supported within the new NHS workforce plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups, including by engaging with a wide range of partners and valued stakeholders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned training intakes are for (a) medical school places, (b) GP trainee places, (c) nurses, (d) nursing associates, (e) midwives, (f) pharmacists and (g) dentists in (i) 2025, (ii) 2026, (iii) 2028 and (iv) 2031.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In England, the Office for Students (OfS) sets the maximum fundable limit for medical school and dental school places. For the 2025/26 academic year, the OfS has published its intake target at 8,126 for medical school places and 809 for dental school places, as set out on their website, at the following link:

https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/finance-and-funding/medicine-and-dentistry-funding/medical-and-dental-maximum-fundable-limits/

This limit is confirmed on an annual basis. General practice training places are set out annually by NHS England.

Undergraduate training places for nurses, nurse associates, midwives, and pharmacists are not centrally commissioned by the Government, instead they are determined by local employers and education providers who decide the number of learners they admit based on learner demand and provider capacity funding.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan fact sheet, published on 30 June 2023, whether it is his policy to provide £2.4 billion funding for additional education and training places for healthcare professionals over the five years to 2028-29; and how much funding he plans to provide for this purpose in each financial year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has been clear that the 2023 Long Term Workforce Plan was undeliverable and based on outdated models of care. We have committed to publishing the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026, which will represent a departure from previous plans and which will instead set out action to create a sustainable workforce that is fit for the future.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups, and the consequent funding arrangements for education and training in the years covered by the 2025 Spending Review. We are committed to working with partners to ensure the plan meets its aims and will engage independent experts to make sure the plan is ambitious, forward looking, and evidence based.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to (a) merge and (b) align the (i) Section 1 (firearms) and (ii) Section 2 (shotgun) licensing systems in the Firearms Act 1968.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, in the interests of public safety.

We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation after it is completed, before deciding what further action to take.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the cultural and social contribution of poultry shows to rural communities.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Poultry shows play an important role in the cultural and social life of rural communities. Gatherings of birds, such as poultry shows, are currently individually risk assessed to reduce the risk of further outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Risk is reviewed regularly to inform the need for such measures.

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 impact on the NHS workforce of financial pressures faced by higher education institutions providing healthcare education.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No assessment has been made.

We work closely with the Department for Education on a wide range of matters, including healthcare education and training funding. Matters relating to the income of universities are the responsibility of the Department for Education.

Latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) for 2025 show that acceptances to undergraduate nursing and midwifery courses at English providers have increased by 1% when compared to the same point last year, and by 5% compared to pre-pandemic numbers (2019). These are not final numbers. We are awaiting end of cycle data to be published by UCAS later this year to confirm final numbers.

The total number of publicly funded students that can start medical courses each year is limited and is set by the Government. Each medical school is issued with an expected maximum intake for the year. The Office for Students runs an annual data survey that monitors provider recruitment against these targets. In the five most recent years for which final data is available, universities have met this limit, with medicine remaining a competitive course.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of financial services firms requiring mobile phone-based authentication as a condition of accessing online accounts on (a) disabled and (b) elderly consumers; and whether she has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority about ensuring alternatives are made available.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring people can access the financial products and services they need. The Government is committed to ensuring high standards of financial inclusion across the financial services sector.

The Payment Services Regulations 2017 require firms to apply strong customer authentication when users access their payment account online, initiate an electronic payment or carry out any action through a remote channel (e.g. via the internet) which may carry a risk of payment fraud, unless an exemption applies (e.g. for low-value purchases). Firms are able to choose which methods of authentication they apply.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is independent of the Government, issues detailed standards for firms on strong customer authentication. The FCA expects firms to develop strong customer authentication solutions that work for all groups of consumers, including those with protected characteristics. This means it may be necessary for firms to provide different methods of authentication, for example when customers face difficulties accessing or using a mobile device.

The FCA also requires authorised financial services firms to comply with their ‘Consumer Duty’, which requires them to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. The Consumer Duty has rules and guidance covering key aspects of the firm-customer relationship. For example, it requires firms to ensure that the design of the product or service meets the needs, characteristics and objectives of their target consumer market. More detail on the Consumer Duty can be found on the FCA’s website: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty

It is important that people are able to take advantage of digital innovation, and the opportunities this presents, to manage their money more effectively. This is why the issues of access to banking and digital inclusion have been considered as key areas of focus in the Government's recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that financial services firms offer alternatives to mobile phone authentication for customers who cannot use such technology.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring people can access the financial products and services they need. The Government is committed to ensuring high standards of financial inclusion across the financial services sector.

The Payment Services Regulations 2017 require firms to apply strong customer authentication when users access their payment account online, initiate an electronic payment or carry out any action through a remote channel (e.g. via the internet) which may carry a risk of payment fraud, unless an exemption applies (e.g. for low-value purchases). Firms are able to choose which methods of authentication they apply.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is independent of the Government, issues detailed standards for firms on strong customer authentication. The FCA expects firms to develop strong customer authentication solutions that work for all groups of consumers, including those with protected characteristics. This means it may be necessary for firms to provide different methods of authentication, for example when customers face difficulties accessing or using a mobile device.

The FCA also requires authorised financial services firms to comply with their ‘Consumer Duty’, which requires them to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. The Consumer Duty has rules and guidance covering key aspects of the firm-customer relationship. For example, it requires firms to ensure that the design of the product or service meets the needs, characteristics and objectives of their target consumer market. More detail on the Consumer Duty can be found on the FCA’s website: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty

It is important that people are able to take advantage of digital innovation, and the opportunities this presents, to manage their money more effectively. This is why the issues of access to banking and digital inclusion have been considered as key areas of focus in the Government's recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the number of consumers who have reported difficulty accessing financial services due to mandatory mobile phone authentication.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring people can access the financial products and services they need. The Government is committed to ensuring high standards of financial inclusion across the financial services sector.

The Payment Services Regulations 2017 require firms to apply strong customer authentication when users access their payment account online, initiate an electronic payment or carry out any action through a remote channel (e.g. via the internet) which may carry a risk of payment fraud, unless an exemption applies (e.g. for low-value purchases). Firms are able to choose which methods of authentication they apply.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is independent of the Government, issues detailed standards for firms on strong customer authentication. The FCA expects firms to develop strong customer authentication solutions that work for all groups of consumers, including those with protected characteristics. This means it may be necessary for firms to provide different methods of authentication, for example when customers face difficulties accessing or using a mobile device.

The FCA also requires authorised financial services firms to comply with their ‘Consumer Duty’, which requires them to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. The Consumer Duty has rules and guidance covering key aspects of the firm-customer relationship. For example, it requires firms to ensure that the design of the product or service meets the needs, characteristics and objectives of their target consumer market. More detail on the Consumer Duty can be found on the FCA’s website: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty

It is important that people are able to take advantage of digital innovation, and the opportunities this presents, to manage their money more effectively. This is why the issues of access to banking and digital inclusion have been considered as key areas of focus in the Government's recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings or engagements Ministers or senior officials from his department have had with any of the following patient organisations to discuss newborn screening: (a) Genetic Alliance UK (b) UK LSD Collaborative (c) UK Newborn Screening Collaborative (d) ArchAngel MLD Trust (e) MPS Society (f) MLD Support Association UK (g) SMA UK (h) Immunodeficiency UK (i) Alex, The Leukodystrophy Charity (j) Metabolic Support UK, since July 2024.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework, which includes faster diagnosis as one of its four priorities.

In all aspects of population and targeted screening, ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). When assessing the case for newborn screening for rare diseases, as with all other diseases and conditions, the UK NSC uses internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the UK NSC is confident that the offer to screen provides more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended. When the UK NSC makes a screening recommendation, ministers are then asked to consider and make a decision on whether to accept the recommendation.

This year, the UK NSC secretariat carried out a review of the committee’s stakeholder engagement strategy and activities. The review included an online survey and three focused stakeholder discussion groups that were attended by a total of 17 external stakeholders, including seven representatives of patient organisations representing rare diseases affecting newborns. The UK NSC stakeholder strategy is being updated to incorporate their valuable feedback and is expected to be published in early 2026.

Although the Department screening team supporting the UK NSC has limited capacity to meet with individual stakeholders, they actively involve and engage with stakeholders and partners in other ways. For example:

• a representative of Genetic Alliance UK sits on the UK NSC Blood Spot Task Group;
• the CEO of SMA UK is on the SMA Partnership Board;
• a representative from Immunodeficiency UK is on the Severe Combined Immunodeficiency In Service Evaluation board; and
• the following organisations all contributed to the metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) screening consultation earlier this year: ArchAngel MLD Trust; MPS Society; MLD Support UK; LSD Collaborative; Alex, The Leukodystrophy Charity; and the UK Newborn Screening Laboratory Network.

The Department screening team meets regularly with the Department’s rare diseases team to discuss overlapping areas of work. The rare diseases team have working relationships with the wider rare diseases community and junior officials have met with Genetic Alliance UK.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the National Screening Committee and the newborn screening programme appropriately consider rare diseases.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

When assessing the case for newborn screening for rare diseases, as with all other diseases and conditions, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) uses internationally recognised criteria, and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the UK NSC is confident that the offer to screen provides more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended.

The UK NSC is an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and supports implementation.