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 implications for his policies of the recommendations in respect of pelvic mesh made by the (a) Cumberlege report of 2020 and (b) Hughes report of 2024.

Seven of the nine recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review were previously accepted in full, in part, or in principle. Four of these have been successfully implemented, including:

- issuing an unreserved apology on behalf of the healthcare system;

- appointing the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner in England in respect of medicines and medical devices;

- establishing nine specialist mesh centres, which are in operation across England; and

- establishing and working with a Patient Reference Group to help develop the response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review.

Work is ongoing in respect of the remaining recommendations, including working across Government to carefully consider the recommendations in the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report and the Hughes Report, which looked into and provided advice on options for redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.

The Government will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report at the earliest opportunity.