Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 merits of implementing care support packages for households, rather than people requiring care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have not made a direct assessment of the potential merits of implementing care support packages for households rather than for individuals requiring care. However, we recognise the importance of people’s wider support networks for those drawing on care and support.
Section 2 of the Care and Support Statutory Guidance requires local authorities in England to take a holistic view of a person’s needs and circumstances when undertaking a needs assessment. This includes considering how family or friends may support the individual to meet their goals and live as independently as possible for as long as possible, without placing or creating additional caring responsibilities.
Local authorities in England further have specific duties to support people who care for family members and friends. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England must provide a broad range of high-quality, sustainable care and support services for carers, and are required to carry out Carer’s Assessments where a carer appears to have need for support and may be eligible for help.
We also welcome the use of models such as Family Group Conferencing in places like Camden, which puts both individuals and their families and friends at the heart of decision making.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the article by the University of Manchester entitled Tackling unmet needs for social care among older people, published on 21 May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the long-term trend of a reduction in the number of local authority funded long-term packages of adult social care, despite an ageing population. This can result in people’s care needs going unmet, placing pressure on unpaid carers, including spouses and family members, who provide essential care and support.
The article by the University of Manchester raises important implications for how adult social care is delivered by local authorities. We remain committed to ensuring that local authorities meet their duties under the Care Act 2014, including the duty to provide provision of a wide range of high-quality support services for carers, and the requirement to undertake Carer’s Assessments for those who appear to have needs and who may be eligible for support.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duties relating to unpaid carers. Formal assessments commenced in December 2023 and as of June 2025, the CQC has published over 40 local authority assessments. So far, the CQC has identified several emerging themes in local authorities’ delivery of adult social care, including a lack of support for unpaid carers. The CQC’s assessments of individual local authorities are available via published reports on the CQC website, at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 help (a) increase the supply and (b) ensure (i) consistent and (ii) equitable supply of hormone replacement therapy products in each region.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand.
There are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products, and the vast majority are in good supply. Previously there have been issues with the supply of a limited number of these products, primarily driven by very sharp increases in demand.
Following the Department’s intensive engagement with industry, the supply position has improved considerably. As part of this we have previously met with suppliers on a very regular basis and have held nine HRT supply roundtables since April 2022, with the most recent in September 2024, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists, to provide updates on the supply position and actions being taken to address them, to share data, and to discuss relevant policy developments and potential impacts.
We work closely with suppliers and other stakeholders such as the National Health Service and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, to maintain overall HRT supply to patients across the United Kingdom during the shortages, including working to expedite resupply dates of the disrupted HRT products, to resolve issues as soon as possible and to help fill supply gaps and prevent future shortages.
We also added some HRT medicines to the list of products that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the UK, to protect supply for UK patients. We share regular communications about shortages and discontinuations with the NHS and have issued a number of communications about HRT supply issues to date.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the resilience of international supply chains for pharmaceuticals procured by the NHS; and what steps he is taking to reduce reliance on imports for essential medicines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, making them vulnerable to a variety of shocks. The Government actively monitors emerging global and domestic threats to supply resilience and has established processes in place to manage disruption across the health and social care sector.
The Government is enhancing domestic manufacturing capability alongside strengthening international partnerships and collaboration on medical supply chains, such as through membership of the European Union’s Critical Medicines Alliance. This aims to identify vulnerabilities in critical medicine supply chains and leverage members’ expertise and resources to identify solutions to build long-term resilience and to help ensure that patients have access to the medical goods they need. The United Kingdom’s life sciences sector is key to driving long-term, sustainable, and resilient growth nationwide and will be a priority of the upcoming Industrial Strategy, alongside an up to £520 million commitment to the Life Sciences Innovation Manufacturing Fund to support UK-wide investment in human medicines, medical diagnostics, and medical technology products.
This includes the National Supply Disruption Response that acts as a single point of contact when the health and care system, including the medical supply industry, requires support to maintain the supply of medical products, including for products imported to the UK.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of opt-out agreements in the care sector on workplace standards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made, and has no current plans to make, an assessment of the potential impact of the use of opt-out agreements in the care sector on workplace standards. Most care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their terms and conditions, including opt-out agreements, independent of central Government.
The Government is introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector. Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker representatives, employers, and others to negotiate pay and terms and conditions in a responsible manner.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 help ensure that primary care services are accessible to night workers during their normal waking hours.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To accommodate patients who may not be able to access general practices during core opening hours, integrated care boards in England are required to provide general practice out of hours services from 18:30 to 08:00 on weekdays, all weekends, and on bank holidays.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 adequacy of the safeguards in place to protect minors from purchasing medications online.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2025, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) published updated, strengthened, guidance in response to concerns identified relating to unsafe prescribing and supply of medicines online.
Prescribers, whether National Health Service or private, are accountable for their prescribing decisions, and are expected to take account of appropriate national guidance such as this.
Prescribers are expected to verify the information given to them by the patient to ensure any medicines prescribed are appropriate – for example, through a video consultation, using a patient’s clinical record, or contacting the patient’s general practitioner. This helps to safeguard vulnerable patients, including minors.
The GPhC, Care Quality Commission and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency have the powers to investigate and act against rogue prescribers, products and suppliers and we are clear they have our full support to crack down on any online services putting people in danger.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 10 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy: Shortages and with reference to his Department's joint National Patient Safety Alert entitled Shortage of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT): additional actions, published on 18 December 2024, what assessment he has made of the actions taken by integrated care boards in response to that alert.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no formal assessment of the actions taken by integrated care boards (ICBs) in response to the National Patient Safety Alert entitled Shortage of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT): additional actions. However, the Department has engaged with representatives from specific ICBs for details on the management plans implemented and to understand how these are working in improving access to PERT at a regional level.
The Department also continues to work closely with specialist clinicians, NHS England, and the affected patient advocacy groups and charities, including Pancreatic Cancer UK, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Guts UK, and Neuroendocrine Cancer UK, to understand the impacts of the guidance issued and discuss further actions.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 4 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy shortages, what the (a) dates and (b) attendees were of meetings held with (i) clinicians, (ii) patient advocacy groups, (iii) affected charities, and (iv) manufacturers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy to discuss (A) shortages and (B) steps to increase supply.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is in regular discussions with the suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy on the latest stock availability and the actions being taken to mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the United Kingdom. We have had discussions with representatives from UK and global supply teams, and will continue these meetings to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the UK market.
The Department has worked with specialist clinicians from impacted therapeutic areas, the Medicine Shortage Response Group, and the Specialist Pharmacy Service to devise guidance for healthcare professionals with comprehensive management advice for the treatment of patients during this time.
The Department meets regularly with the affected patient advocacy groups and charities, including Pancreatic Cancer UK, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Guts UK, and Neuroendocrine Cancer UK to ensure they are kept informed on the latest supply picture and any communications issued to healthcare professionals.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
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 4 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy shortages, if he will publish the volume of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy stock imported since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold details on the volume of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) stock imported since 1 January 2024. The Department continues to work with specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products, including unlicensed imports where licensed stock is unavailable.