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 that patients with a high body mass index are able to access joint replacement surgery in line with NICE guidelines.

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

The Department has made no specific assessment of this criterion alone.

As with all surgery, body mass index would be considered as part of a holistic, personalised, perioperative evaluation of the risks versus the clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, body mass index should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

For example, blanket body mass index thresholds for surgery should not be in place or used as a means of determining eligibility for surgery.

As part of the NHS Elective Reform Plan there is a commitment to expand access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery.

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 effectiveness of the use of body mass index criteria as a means to accessing treatment such as joint replacement surgery.

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

The Department has made no specific assessment of this criterion alone.

As with all surgery, body mass index would be considered as part of a holistic, personalised, perioperative evaluation of the risks versus the clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, body mass index should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

For example, blanket body mass index thresholds for surgery should not be in place or used as a means of determining eligibility for surgery.

As part of the NHS Elective Reform Plan there is a commitment to expand access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery.

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 new Neighbourhood Health Services support people living with (a) arthritis and (b) other musculoskeletal conditions.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving health and work outcomes of people with arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions will help deliver the Government’s missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.

The 10-Year Health plan sets out our vision for a neighbourhood health service. Neighbourhood teams will bring together professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care staff, pharmacists and health visitors, to provide comprehensive care that fits around people’s lives. Neighbourhood health approaches can help ensure that people with MSK conditions receive more personalised and coordinated support, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and enabling earlier, community-based interventions. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and involve NHS, local authority and voluntary sector services.

People with MSK conditions will also soon be able to bypass their general practitioners (GPs) and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions including arthritis, backpain and joint pain, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up general practices.

We have launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, which will support systems across the country by driving innovation and integration at a local level, to accelerate improvements in outcomes, satisfaction and experience for people by ensuring that care is more joined up, accessible and responsive to community needs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the upcoming NHS Workforce plan will ensure recruitment and retention of the rheumatology workforce.

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

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. To support this, the Department and NHS England will be engaging with key stakeholders to ensure that the particular needs of different patient groups and relevant health professionals are reflected in this work.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to include people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in the development of employment support programmes.

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

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million of investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November and will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group, so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.

Measures include support from work coaches and disability employment advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through employment advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, individual placement and support in primary care, and WorkWell.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with further education sector professionals during the development of its plans to replace BTECs.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Officials and Ministers from the department regularly meet with stakeholders, including further education sector professionals and their representative bodies.

During the Review of Qualifications Reform in 2024, we held an extensive programme of engagement, to ensure that the views of colleges, schools, teachers and wider stakeholders fed into the review. We spoke to over 250 people through the more than 40 hours of engagement, including over 100 teachers, practitioners, and college leaders.

The department held a Ministerial chaired round table with key leaders in the college sector and undertook a series of focus groups and interviews with colleges, schools and other organisations to ensure that the views of stakeholders were fully considered.

We will continue to work closely with the sector, drawing on their insight to ensure future reforms deliver high quality qualifications for young people.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's timetable is for the completion of its review of post-16 qualifications.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Through our Plan for Change, the government is building a skills system that will drive forward opportunity and deliver the growth that our economy needs. Students deserve high quality qualifications, and we must continue to develop and improve qualifications, so that they provide for the needs of students and employers. Qualifications are being reformed so that they are better quality and deliver improved outcomes.

The outcomes from the Review of Post-16 Qualifications Reform were published in December 2024. The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its interim report earlier this year and aims to ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all learners aged 16-19. The Review will publish their final recommendations in autumn 2025.

The Review’s interim report said that they were interested in developing a third pathway at level 3 alongside A levels and T Levels and noted the absence of 'vocational' options in the reformed system. The department is working with the Review panel on the approach to qualifications at levels 2 and 3 and will set out further detail shortly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce a third route for level 3 qualifications.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Through our Plan for Change, the government is building a skills system that will drive forward opportunity and deliver the growth that our economy needs. Students deserve high quality qualifications, and we must continue to develop and improve qualifications, so that they provide for the needs of students and employers. Qualifications are being reformed so that they are better quality and deliver improved outcomes.

The outcomes from the Review of Post-16 Qualifications Reform were published in December 2024. The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its interim report earlier this year and aims to ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all learners aged 16-19. The Review will publish their final recommendations in autumn 2025.

The Review’s interim report said that they were interested in developing a third pathway at level 3 alongside A levels and T Levels and noted the absence of 'vocational' options in the reformed system. The department is working with the Review panel on the approach to qualifications at levels 2 and 3 and will set out further detail shortly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of students studying (a) BTECs and (b) other level 3 qualifications.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third vocational pathway at level 3. V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T Levels and will offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. They will blend applied learning with practical assessment, with content linked to occupational standards set by Skills England. We launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

This government is fully committed to T Levels. Where a student wishes to study a large qualification (those with 720 guided learning hours or more) and a T Level exists, they should undertake the T Level. T Levels are outperforming large qualifications in T Level areas of study. In line with this, funding for other qualifications of 720 guided learning hours and over in T Level areas of study will be removed in 2026 and 2027.

The department is keeping funding for most existing qualifications in place until new V Levels and other qualifications come in.

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