Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 ensure that contracts drawn up by telecare services provided by local authority-connected bodies comply with consumer protection legislation, data protection legislation, and do not disadvantage vulnerable clients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Telecare is not a mandatory service for local authorities, but many choose to provide a telecare service due to its benefits. Local authorities are responsible for the contractual terms of telecare services that they provide. All public authorities are required to comply with current procurement legislation when procuring goods and services. This includes legislation relating to Data Protection and Consumer rights.
The Department is developing national telecare guidelines to give commissioners, providers, and users clarity about what good telecare looks like now and in the future. This will support local authorities to commission safe, reliable, and digitally compatible telecare services that safeguard vulnerable telecare users.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 support housing-with-care for older people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to consider the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.
Both departments are also working together on the development of the Government’s forthcoming long-term housing strategy.
More broadly, at the Spending Review, the Government announced £39 billion for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme over ten years from 2026/27 to 2035/36. The programme has been designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed in the housing market, including supported housing for older people.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 help increase the uptake of generic and biosimilar medicines to meet the objectives set out in the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom is a global leader in adopting biosimilar and generic medicines, which deliver major National Health Service savings and expand patient access to effective treatments sooner.
We are working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and NHS England to understand forthcoming biosimilars and to ensure they reach the frontline efficiently. Through NHS England’s Best Value Biologicals Framework, clinicians start patients on the most cost‑effective biologics where appropriate, and switches are made swiftly and safely. This has already delivered £1.2 billion in savings over the past three years.
As set out in the 10‑Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan, we are streamlining regulation, improving procurement, and reducing variation in uptake. NICE’s whole‑lifecycle approach ensures clinical pathways are regularly reviewed so that patients benefit as soon as cost‑effective generics and biosimilars become available, as seen in recent cancer treatments. These actions support timely access to effective off‑patent medicines and a sustainable, competitive market for the NHS.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure parliamentary oversight of the proposed changes to NICE regulations.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The proposed amendments to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence regulations were subject to a public consultation, which ran from 9 December 2025 to 13 January 2026. The Department is currently analysing consultation responses and will shortly finalise a statutory instrument (SI) to bring forward secondary legislation to amend the regulations.
The SI will be laid before Parliament and will be subject to the negative parliamentary procedure. The policy merits of the SI will be scrutinised by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, in line with its terms of reference at the following link:
As is conventional, the SI will be laid before Parliament at least 21 days before coming into force to ensure Parliament has adequate time to consider it.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 impact of introducing the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model on business investment in the food and drink sector.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. As part of this, the Government committed to updating the standards behind the restrictions on advertising ‘less healthy’ food or drink products on television before 9:00pm and online at any time, as well as the restrictions on the promotion of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products by location and volume price by applying the new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM).
The advertising and promotions restrictions currently rely on the outdated NPM 2004/05. The new NPM has been updated in line with the latest dietary advice from the United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, particularly in relation to free sugar and fibre. Applying it to the restrictions will strengthen these policies by bringing more products of concern for children’s health into scope.
The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. Application of the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions would be subject to a full public consultation and an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
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 availability of diagnostic and treatment pathways for Tourette syndrome across Integrated Care Boards; and for what reason Tourette syndrome has not been included in the scope of the Independent Review into mental health conditions
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing local population need and commissioning appropriate diagnostic and treatment pathways for neurological conditions, including Tourette syndrome. While the Department has not undertaken a national assessment of provision across ICBs, we recognise the concerns raised about variation in diagnosis and support. To help address this, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is working with ICBs to develop clear, consistent diagnostic and treatment pathways. The programme has appointed a clinical lead for children and young people's neurodevelopmental services, focusing on improving the assessment and management of Tourette syndrome.
The Independent Review into mental health conditions focuses on mental health conditions, ADHD and autism. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder and, therefore, it will be at the chair's discretion as to how far the review considers Tourette syndrome.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of children who have (a) been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy and (b) received a diagnosis of Foetal Valproate Spectrum.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information regarding the number of children that have been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy, or those who have received a diagnosis of foetal valproate spectrum.
The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England collects and quality assures data about people with congenital conditions and rare conditions across the whole of England.
In the most recent official statistics on congenital conditions in England, the 2022 Congenital Condition Official Statistics Report, which contains information on congenital conditions detected in babies delivered in England between 1 January and 31 December 2022, as well as in previous publications of this series back to its inception in 2018, there were no foetus' or babies reported to have a diagnosis of fetal sodium valproate syndrome.
It is likely that while some of the individual conditions, for instance neural tube defects, cardiac, oro-facial clefts, and/or limb difference, that can be associated with this condition are recorded on the register, the overarching diagnosis of fetal sodium valproate syndrome may not yet be registered because fetal sodium valproate syndrome may take more than a year after birth to be confirmed as a diagnosis, so the number reported in any year is the minimum level in the population.
The National Disease Registration Service is assessing the feasibility and reliability of better ascertainment of fetal sodium valproate syndrome by linking the congenital condition register to primary care prescription data.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Ministers in the devolved nations regarding establishing a UK wide sodium valproate redress scheme.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Though the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report covered England-only, we recognise that any response by the Government to the recommendations of the Hughes Report in England will likely have implications for the devolved administrations and their constituents.
Government officials are therefore working closely with officials across the United Kingdom in considering the recommendations in the Hughes Report. I recently met with my counterparts across the four nations and will continue productive engagement as we progress work in this area.
The Department continues to take forward work to explore redress for those affected by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate, which includes recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in the Hughes Report.
We recognise the importance of these issues for all those affected. This remains a cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations, and given the complexity of the issues involved, it is important we get this right.
I also met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and have made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a timetable for implementing redress recommendations from the Cumberlege Review and the Hughes Report.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to take forward work to explore redress for those affected by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate, which includes recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in the Hughes Report. We recognise the importance of these issues for all those affected. This remains a cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations, and given the complexity of the issues involved, it is important we get this right. A timetable for a response has not yet been finalised.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and have made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what dates his Department has met with patient groups representing families affected by sodium valproate since January 2024.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women's Health and Mental Health, Baroness Merron, the previous minister with responsibility for sodium valproate and pelvic mesh redress policy, held a roundtable with representatives of the sodium valproate patient groups in December 2024.
Since then, I met with relevant stakeholders at various parliamentary events. I also met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and have made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.