Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to devise an alcohol strategy which reduces (a) use and (b) harmful use and (c) dependency on alcohol.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.
Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent consideration has he made of the need for a harm reduction strategy to the use of alcohol.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.
Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how will he ensure that the number of deaths for alcohol use will reduce in this Parliament.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.
Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.
To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.
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 are taking to ensure that there is adequate funding of sexual health services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department provides funding for sexual health services through the Public Health Grant, which is allocated to local authorities in England. Sexual health is one of a number of public health services funded through the Public Health Grant, and the Department does not specify how much is spent on sexual health specifically. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning sexual health services to meet the needs of their populations.
In 2025/26 the Public Health Grant, which funds Sexual and Reproductive Health services, rose to £3.884 billion. This was a cash increase of £224 million compared to 24/25, providing local authorities with an average 6.1% cash increase.
We will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing over £13.4 billion over the next three years through a consolidated ringfenced Public Health Grant. This will support vital local health services, including sexual health services.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of routine blood tests in England administered in a GP surgery.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data regarding the proportion of routine blood tests administered in England in a general practice.
Local enhanced services, such as blood tests, are negotiated and agreed locally, and are commissioned by integrated care boards to fit the needs of the local population. General practices can choose whether or not they would like to participate in directly providing these services. These services can vary in scope and funding across the country.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 build resilience in community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.
The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the pharmacy first model.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.
The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to stabilise drug pricing for community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.
The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 reduce regional disparities in life expectancy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking bold action to tackle the social determinants of health to build a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer. We are committed to increasing the amount of time people spend in good health and preventing premature deaths, with a vision of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background or location, live longer, healthier lives.
We know everyday life poses greater health risks to the most disadvantaged in society, and that the current model of care works least well for those who already experience disadvantage and are far more likely to have complex needs.
To help tackle this, we will distribute National Health Service funding more equally locally, so it is better aligned with health need. We will free up funding to allow us to move resources more quickly to areas of higher health need, through our plan to remove deficit support funding, worth £2.2 billion in 2025/26, starting from financial year 2026/27.
We know that the Carr-Hill formula is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that general practitioners serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
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 support parents whose children have been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Planning for a large-scale trial across the National Health Service is underway, where hundreds of thousands of babies will be screened for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) from next year to help build the evidence base needed to support a national screening programme.
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has asked the Department to look at whether this evaluation can start sooner, and whether it can be expanded to involve all babies, rather than two thirds as currently planned and will be reporting back to the SMA community on this.