Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what clinical criteria are under consideration for determining eligibility for any nationally prescribed specialised service for severe or very severe ME.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), final delivery plan, published on 22 July 2025, includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.
Three factors determine whether a service is a prescribed specialised service. These are: the number of individuals who require the service; the cost of providing the service or facility; and the number of people able to provide the service or facility.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 7 July 2025 to Question 63305 on Sodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants, on what dates they held the meetings with the Patient Safety Commissioner to discuss the recommendations of the Hughes report.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Since the publication of the Hughes Report on 7 February 2024, ministers and Departmental officials have met with the Patient Safety Commissioner on several occasions to discuss the recommendations of the Hughes report.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 23 July 2024 to Question 327 on Sodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants, how many meetings have been held with the Patient Safety Commissioner on the recommendations of the Hughes report.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Departmental officials and ministers have met with the Patient Safety Commissioner on several occasions, and we are happy to continue to engage with the Patient Safety Commissioner on this matter.
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report in due course.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospitals received funding for machines capable of increasing treatment with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department does not hold this information. However, a proportion of the machines will be capable of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the £70 million funding for new radiotherapy machines is in addition to the prevailing budgets for radiotherapy machines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The £70 million investment into 28 radiotherapy machines that was announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget is part of the overall financial settlement for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether an application for authorisation of Sipavibart has been submitted to the the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is actively engaging with Astra Zeneca for any applications in flight. We recognise the importance of the rapid assessment of the medicines mentioned and we are ensuring the decisions made appropriately assess quality, safety, and efficacy.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 of restricting the radiotherapy machine fund to replacing only end of life machines on his Department's ability to make new radiotherapy capacity available in 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The £70 million fund will replace older radiotherapy machines with new, more efficient radiotherapy machines, which will in turn increase treatment capacity and allow more patients to be treated.
All future spending commitments beyond 2025/26, including the replacement of radiotherapy equipment, will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the £70 million funding for radiotherapy machines announced in October 2024 is an additional budgetary amount for radiotherapy in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The £70 million investment into 28 radiotherapy machines, which was announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget, is part of the overall financial settlement for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) online and (b) in person meetings NHS England had with (i) Varian, (ii) Elekta and (iii) Accuray before setting the criteria for the allocation of funding for new radiotherapy machines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
We do not currently hold this information, but we are seeking advice from NHS England on whether any engagement took place between NHS England and the medical companies listed.
The Government does not routinely publish correspondence between NHS England and medical companies. We have various communication channels to keep the public and stakeholders updated on our work to improve cancer care.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 7 April 2025 to Question 41044 on Radiotherapy, by how much the National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024-2025 was underspent; how much of the total 2024-2025 settlement was allocated for radiotherapy equipment; whether the £15 million additional funds were in addition to the 2024-2025 radiotherapy equipment settlement; and how much has been allocated from the 2025-2026 capital settlement for new radiotherapy equipment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024/25 underspend figure is not yet available, although it should be included in the NHS’s annual accounts, which will be published later this year.
£15 million was allocated from capital underspend to replace ageing radiotherapy equipment, as per the answer I gave on 7 April 2025 to Question 41044. Any other spending on radiotherapy equipment was allocated at local level, and we do not hold details on this spend.
£70 million of central capital funding was announced as part of the Autumn Budget in 2024, which will be used to replace 28 machines during 2025/26.