Oral Answers to Questions

Zubir Ahmed Excerpts

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to ensure parity of esteem between mental and physical health services.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)]

Too many people are waiting too long for mental health support. Since coming into office, the Government have put mental health support services on the road to recovery. We promised 8,500 more mental health staff by the end of the Parliament, and we have already recruited 6,500 of them. We are introducing the first 24/7 mental health crisis support services through NHS 111, and we have rolled out mental health support to schools and colleges across the country, providing help to 5 million children and young people.

[Liz Twist]

Our mental health system is still suffering from the strain of 14 years of Conservative government. Rethink Mental Illness has reported that 12 times as many people are now waiting for mental health treatment than for physical health treatment. Nearly one third of those surveyed attempted suicide while waiting, and one in five lost their jobs. What are the Government doing to tackle those long waits and offer support to people before they reach crisis point?

[Dr Ahmed]

I thank my hon. Friend for all her tireless work to improve the lives of people living with mental illness and to prevent suicide. The 10-year health plan will build on the work that has already been done to reduce waiting lists, including through an extra £688 million of real-terms investment this year, the hiring of more staff and the expansion of talking therapies for an extra 380,000 patients. In addition, as she will know, the Mental Health Bill, which is in its final parliamentary stages, will modernise legislation and make a significant impact on the lives of those who live with mental illness.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

My all-party parliamentary group on eating disorders recently published a report on preventing eating disorder-related death. The report highlighted that eating disorders are not accurately recorded on death certificates. I was promised an update from the Minister for Women’s Health and Mental Health over two months ago, but am yet to receive one. How much longer will I have to wait?

[Dr Ahmed]

I am genuinely sorry that the hon. Lady has not received the reply to which she is entitled. I will look into it myself, take it up with my ministerial colleague, and ensure that a reply is expedited in the fashion in which it should have been in the first place.

--- Later in debate ---

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Wyre) (Lab)]

11. If he will set out a timeline for responding to the Hughes report, published on 7 February 2024.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)]

We are carefully considering the work undertaken by the Patient Safety Commissioner, which sets out various potential options for redress. I am both a clinician and a Minister who has recently taken on this area, and my hon. Friend will know that this is highly complex work, but it is a complexity that I am willing to step into. It requires input and planning across Government, which takes time. I am certainly committed to taking this issue seriously, and I will return to update my hon. Friend and the House in due course.

[Cat Smith]

I welcome the new Minister to his post. I have been campaigning on this issue for 10 years, and I have a stack of letters and answers to written parliamentary questions that say things like “in due course” and “the Government are considering”. On behalf of a group of people who have been gaslit by the medical profession, will the Minister step up and be the Minister who ensures that these families, who are victims of the sodium valproate scandal, actually see the redress that they absolutely deserve? Will he make sure that they get a meeting with him at the earliest opportunity?

[Dr Ahmed]

I thank my hon. Friend for all her tireless work, campaigning and advocacy on this issue for many years, particularly since the Hughes report was published in February 2024. Like me, she will be sensitive to the fact that we are coming up to the two-year anniversary of that report. It is a call to action for me and the Department to answer the questions that she has been asking for so long. I have a meeting with the Patient Safety Commissioner very shortly, and I am very happy to meet her separately when she wishes.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

The Minister will know that the Hughes report focused very much on England, but those affected by the redress scheme will be found across the entire United Kingdom. Will he ensure that he engages with Health Ministers from the devolved authorities?

[Dr Ahmed]

The hon. Gentleman can certainly be given that assurance from me, as the Minister also responsible for four-nation engagement. The Hughes report examined both the sodium valproate and pelvic mesh issues, and I know that these resonate across the four nations, particularly when it comes to licensing and regulation of medical technology. He has that assurance from me.

[Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to help prevent industrial action in the NHS.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tristan Osborne (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)]

T5. The Public Accounts Committee has recently scrutinised the state of clinical negligence in the UK. At £60 billion, the Government liability for clinical negligence significantly increased under the last Government. The Government have commissioned David Lock to review the issue. Does the Secretary of State agree that reform is desperately needed in this space?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As announced in the 10-year health plan, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. That review is ongoing, and following initial advice to Ministers and the recent report from the National Audit Office, the results of David Lock’s work will inform future policymaking in this area. I am happy to update my hon. Friend as soon as that happens.

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

T3. Reports that one in three adults have been relying on chatbots and artificial intelligence tools for mental health advice and therapy are concerning, because those tools are currently unregulated and potentially dangerous. One reason why people are using them is that mental health waiting lists are so long. What is the Secretary of State doing to reduce mental health waiting lists, so that people can speak to a qualified mental health practitioner instead of relying on unregulated AI tools?

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[Kenneth Stevenson (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)]

T6. As a faithful, I commend the Secretary of State for reaffirming his commitment to driving forward digital innovation in the NHS. Does he agree that Scotland should mirror the UK so that we do not fall behind the pace with developments that could be game changing in terms of outcomes for patients and staff alike?

[Dr Ahmed]

While the NHS in Scotland has no app and no plans for a national roll-out, the NHS in England has had an app since 2019, with 71 million logins in October 2025. Three in four people now have the app in their pockets and it has more subscribers in England than Netflix. You may ask, Mr Speaker, why NHS Scotland does not have an app? The answer comes in a freedom of information request by the champion journalist Simon Johnson: when asked about some of the drawbacks of applying the NHS England app in Scotland, they said:

“political optics of adopting an English solution”.

It is time for Analogue John to move over and let Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie finally drag the Scottish NHS into the 21st—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are on topical questions. The Prime Minister is in the Chamber. If you do not want Members to get in, please tell me; it would be easier.

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Bracknell is a life sciences superpower, with Eli Lilly, Sandoz and Boehringer Ingelheim all having a footprint in our town. What can we do to speed up clinical trial set-up to help to deliver the next generation of treatments for our NHS?

[Dr Ahmed]

The Government are already committed to clinical trials being under 150 days by next March. I commend my hon. Friend on all the work he does with his local pharmaceutical companies in advancing medical science locally and nationally.

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will be aware that since the law change, the number of children who have received NHS prescriptions for medical cannabis for severe epilepsy has been pitifully low. Families and campaigners believe that part of the reason is that the Home Office still has large responsibility for those products. Will the Secretary of State meet me and other interested MPs to discuss whether his Department could take more responsibility?

[Dr Ahmed]

Although the Government have no plans to change the departmental responsibilities applicable to unlicensed cannabis-based products, we are cognisant of the need for research in this area. We have agreed to more than £8.5 million in funding for two world-first clinical trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children, and I am happy to speak to the right hon. Gentleman about this matter further.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I have seen at first hand how severe musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back pain can devastate someone’s ability to work, have relationships and sleep, as well as their overall wellbeing. The education of more than 1 million children is disrupted by MSK conditions due to missed schooling and fragmented, hard-to-navigate services. Will the Minister therefore prioritise MSK conditions in phase 2 of the modern service framework and confirm when that will be published?