Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce delays, costs and duplication in parental-order proceedings for children born through overseas surrogacy arrangements and to provide greater legal certainty for intended parents while applications are determined.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We express our sympathies for those currently experiencing challenges during parental-order proceedings, and we will carefully assess any suggestions for potential improvements to make those arrangements operate more clearly and efficiently.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has considered introducing a streamlined process for recognising legal parenthood established through overseas surrogacy arrangements in jurisdictions with robust regulatory safeguards, judicial oversight and independent legal advice.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We express our sympathies for those currently experiencing challenges during parental-order proceedings, and we will carefully assess any suggestions for potential improvements to make those arrangements operate more clearly and efficiently.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Guildford.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific data requested by the Hon Members is not centrally held. They may find useful information on the prevalence and treatment of respiratory conditions in their local areas at the Department’s Fingertips website, at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profiles
In addition, the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, published by the UK Health Security Agency, provides weekly surveillance of respiratory virus activity in England, including hospital admission rates specifically for influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus. This is available at the following link:
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of employment prospects of newly qualified Physician Associates; and what steps she is taking to ensure that graduates are able to secure appropriate employment following completion of their training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer of 8 June in response to Question 6637, we stress again that physician associates have important roles to play in our health service, and Professor Leng's review represented a welcome opportunity, in her own words, to reset the debate around those roles and enable all staff groups to work collaboratively in future. However, individual decisions on employment remain a matter for local National Health Service employers, based on their assessment of needs in their area.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 benefits of increasing the use of rechargeable batteries in automated external defibrillators; and what consideration he has given to the cost to individuals and organisations of replacing non-rechargeable defibrillator batteries.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s position is that local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating, and maintaining their automated external defibrillators.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 (a) lowering the minimum age for routine breast screening to 40 and (b) offering annual screening on (i) early detection rates, (ii) patient outcomes and (iii) demand on NHS screening services.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
We are guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) on all screening matters. It is only where there is robust evidence that an offer to screen provides more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended.
As screening programmes can also cause harms, each of the adult screening programmes has both an upper and lower age range, within which there is good scientific evidence that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.
The NHS Breast Screening Programme does not currently offer screening to women younger than the age of 50 years old for breast cancer due to the lower risk of women under this age developing breast cancer, and the fact that women below 50 years old tend to have denser breasts tissue. The density of breast tissue reduces the ability of getting an accurate mammogram, the accepted screening test for breast cancer.
There is therefore a risk of unnecessary treatment and distress for women who do not have breast cancer but would be subjected to invasive and painful medical treatments and diagnostic tests.
We are in line with most European countries, most of whom screen women between the ages of 50 and 69 years old.
The UK NSC recognises that screening programmes are not static and that, over time, they may need to change to be more effective. Work is underway within the breast screening programme to investigate the possibility of routinely screening below the currently recommended age. The AgeX research trial has been looking at the effectiveness of offering some women one extra screen between the ages of 47 and 49 years old.
It is the biggest trial of its kind ever to be undertaken and will provide robust evidence about the effectiveness of screening in this age group, including the benefit and harms. The UK NSC will review the publication of the AgeX trial when it reports.
The UK NSC welcomes any new evidence which suggests the case for a new or modified screening programme via its open call. Any person or organisation can submit a proposal for a new screening topic during the UK NSC’s three-month open call process which will next run from 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made towards delivering the Government's commitment to provide universal access to Fracture Liaison Services by 2030; and when he plans to publish a timetable setting out the key milestones for implementation.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) remain well placed to make decisions according to local need.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy sets an expectation that ICBs prioritise community-based models when commissioning new fracture prevention services.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the implementation plan for delivering the Government's commitment to provide universal access to Fracture Liaison Services across England by 2030.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) remain well placed to make decisions according to local need.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy sets an expectation that ICBs prioritise community-based models when commissioning new fracture prevention services.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 improve early and equitable access to diagnosis and treatment for people living with ataxia.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, including rare ataxias, under the UK Rare Diseases Framework. We published the fifth annual England action plan in February 2026, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance the priorities of the framework, including getting a diagnosis faster and improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs.
NHS England has revised the national service specification for specialised neurology following extensive consultation. The service specification was published on 13 August 2025 and includes guidance on both specialised and core neurology services. The specification includes an Annex which provides greater clarity for neurology sub-specialties, including the categories of both movement disorders and neurogenetics, into which ataxias fall.
Additionally, the national specialised commissioning neurology transformation programme has developed guidance as part of an integrated care system toolkit, specifically to support the implementation of the service specification. Every specialised neurology centre could and should see patients with ataxias.
NHS England commissions two highly specialised services for patients with Ataxia telangiectasia: an adult service provided by Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; and a paediatric service provided by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. NHS England also commissions the Ataxia Telangiectasia Society to support patient access to these services.
NHS England also supports patients through a range of Rare Disease Collaborative Networks (RDCNs), which seek to improve care, expertise, and patient outcomes for people living with rare diseases. The Rare Ataxia RDCN was established in 2025 and is working to increase professional and public awareness of ataxia, improve geographical equity of referrals, and strengthen collaboration with patient organisations, including Ataxia UK.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration he has given to (a) introducing safeguards and (b) reviewing legislation relating to the circumcision of infants and minors for non-medical reasons.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Departmental officials will be engaging with stakeholders, particularly in Muslim and Jewish communities, regarding non-statutory measures to improve patient safety relating to the circumcision of male infants and minors for non-medical reasons.