Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of preventable deaths in the UK due to respiratory diseases; and what steps they are taking to address this.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that many respiratory diseases are associated with preventable risk factors, including smoking, air pollution, occupational exposures, poor housing conditions, and delayed diagnosis.
Data published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that the under 75 year old mortality rate from respiratory disease considered preventable in England was 19.6 deaths per 100,000 population in 2024.
The Government is taking action to reduce respiratory disease morbidity and mortality through measures that prevent disease, improve early diagnosis, and support effective treatment, including implementation of the Tobacco and Vapes Act, support for local smoking cessation services, improvements in air quality, vaccination programmes against respiratory infections, and delivery of NHS Long Term Plan commitments on respiratory disease.
NHS England's National Respiratory Programme is focused on improving outcomes for people with respiratory disease through earlier diagnosis, better disease management, and access to effective and innovative treatments. This includes improving access to quality-assured spirometry, pulmonary rehabilitation, and earlier diagnosis of conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), supported by commissioning standards and guidance for commissioners.
NHS England, working with Health Innovation Networks, has also established a multi-year Respiratory Transformation Partnership to identify scalable approaches to reducing premature mortality, improving disease recognition, supporting the consistent delivery of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended care, and increasing access to existing and emerging biologic therapies for people living with asthma and COPD. A nationally coordinated evaluation will support evidence generation, shared learning, and future investment decisions.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of adding asthma to the list of long-term medical conditions that are exempt from prescription charges.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
There are no current plans to review the list of prescription charge exemptions or the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate. The Government has not specifically assessed the impact on patient health outcomes for people with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy who may struggle to afford their prescribed medication.
Patients with certain medical conditions may be eligible for exemption from National Health Service prescription charges for another reason. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, and whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
Additionally, people on a low income can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme, and people who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC). PPCs are available to purchase online from the NHS Business Services Authority or in-person at some pharmacies. The prescription charge in England is £9.90. A PPC costs £32.05 for three months or £114.50 for 12 months.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 merits of innovation in pharmacy services to support delivery of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, community pharmacies will play an important role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, working closely with other primary care providers to deliver more joined-up, accessible, and innovative care closer to patients’ homes. Innovation in pharmacy services is central to this, including through our commitment to make prescribing part of community pharmacy services in England.
Community pharmacies are already one of the most accessible parts of the health service, and this strong local presence means they are well placed to improve patient access and continuity of care. They already support people with long term conditions and complex needs through services such as the New Medicine Service, which helps patients who are prescribed a new medicine for specific long-term conditions, including asthma and hypertension, to use their medicines effectively and improve adherence.
We are committed to looking at how community pharmacy can continue to support improved access for patients and the future development of clinical services as part of our formal consultations with Community Pharmacy England.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 enable community pharmacy to improve patient access and continuity of care, particularly for people with long term conditions and complex needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, community pharmacies will play an important role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, working closely with other primary care providers to deliver more joined-up, accessible, and innovative care closer to patients’ homes. Innovation in pharmacy services is central to this, including through our commitment to make prescribing part of community pharmacy services in England.
Community pharmacies are already one of the most accessible parts of the health service, and this strong local presence means they are well placed to improve patient access and continuity of care. They already support people with long term conditions and complex needs through services such as the New Medicine Service, which helps patients who are prescribed a new medicine for specific long-term conditions, including asthma and hypertension, to use their medicines effectively and improve adherence.
We are committed to looking at how community pharmacy can continue to support improved access for patients and the future development of clinical services as part of our formal consultations with Community Pharmacy England.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 support the adoption of new (a) treatments and (b) innovations for respiratory conditions across NHS services in Surrey.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Improving respiratory care for both adults and children remains a priority, and this forms part of the Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Boards’s CORE20Plus5 ambitions for both adults, for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and children and young people, for asthma.
Recent areas of focus have included implementing new asthma prescribing guidelines and providing resources to primary care colleagues to support regular reviews in relation to prescribing, which supports reducing admissions and the delivery of respiratory care.
Work is also underway, as part of developing the Surrey Joint Strategic Needs Analysis, in relation to priority populations and key neighbourhoods, including people living in close proximity to Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as the M25, where there tends to be higher levels of respiratory illness.
In addition, considering wider risk factors, the integrated care board is working closely with public health to ensure smoking cessation support is available to everyone in Surrey, including those with respiratory conditions. Other related initiatives include joint work with partners to improve aspects of asthma care and recently launching the lung cancer screening programme in Surrey to support earlier detection.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to support the adoption of the a) Asthma Control Test and b) COPD Assessment Test as part of annual reviews for respiratory patients in primary care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Asthma Control Test and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test are accessible online for patients to use and the results can be taken to a general practice to help inform an annual assessment or other general practice appointment associated with these conditions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 increase the proportion of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving annual reviews.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Annual reviews, including reviews of medication, play a key role in the ongoing management of people with respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, as part of its guidance for the diagnosis and management of asthma and COPD
The majority of patients with COPD and asthma are managed by general practitioners and members of the primary care team. The provision of annual reviews is incentivised in primary care through the Quality and Outcomes Framework. There are indicators for annual reviews for both COPD, namely COPD010,and asthma, namely AST007, within this framework.
Further details on these indicators are available in the QOF guidance at the following link:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) trends in the level of variation in access to NICE-recommended biologic medicines for severe asthma.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
No assessment has been made. NHS England is working with the health innovation networks and has formed the Respiratory Transformation Partnership. Focusing on improving the outcomes of people living with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this programme seeks to find scalable ways to decrease premature mortality and bed occupancy from respiratory diseases. Initiatives will seek to improve disease recognition, optimise delivery of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved approaches at neighbourhood level, and uptake of existing and emerging biologic therapies.
The current NHS England severe asthma service specification is being revised by the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group. The current service specification is available at the following link:
The revised specification will support the management of patients who require further investigation and treatments including biological medicines. The specification will also be updated to reference the most recent clinical guidelines such as the British Thoracic Society, NICE, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network asthma guideline covering diagnosing, monitoring, and managing asthma in adults, young people, and children, and which is expected to improve outcomes for people with asthma and identify early those who require further investigation and treatments including biologic medicines. This guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what targeted support his Department is providing people with asthma during the winter period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has provided £2.61 million of funding in 2025/26 to support people with respiratory conditions this winter, including improving access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry to support early and accurate diagnosis of asthma.
The funding builds on the work of NHS England to improve asthma outcomes, including the publication of commissioning standards for spirometry and the inclusion of Quality and Outcomes Framework indicators to support asthma diagnosis and management. These measures will support asthma patients to manage their condition throughout the year, including during the winter period.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help (a) increase the proportion of people with asthma that receive annual check-ups and (b) decrease preventable deaths from asthma.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The majority of patients with asthma are managed by general practitioners and members of the primary care team, with onward referrals to secondary care where required. The provision of annual reviews is incentivised in primary care through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). Further details on the QOF asthma indicators are available in the QOF guidance, a copy of which is attached.
In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published the guideline Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management, in November 2024, which covers diagnosing, monitoring, and managing asthma in adults, young people, and children. NHS England has also been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.