Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the Chief Medical Officer’s report, Health of People in Prison, on Probation and in the Secure NHS Estate in England, published on 6 November 2025, and how his department will be working with the Department of Health and Social Care to implement its recommendations.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government welcomes the Chief Medical Officer’s review of the health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure NHS estate in England. This is an important area of focus and the report makes a range of recommendations to improve health outcomes for those in contact with the criminal justice system.
Improving health outcomes for people in prison and on probation is a shared challenge across the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, and we will continue to work in close partnership, as reflected by our National Partnership Agreement, as we carefully consider how to address the recommendations highlighted in the report.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS penalty charges for incorrectly claimed free prescriptions have been issued to individuals who qualified for but did not hold NHS medical exemption certificates in the last 12 months.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From November 2024 to October 2025, the NHS Business Service Authority issued 47,058 penalty charge notices (PCNs) to people who claimed a medical exemption but were found to have no exemption in place when checked. Of these, 21,328 were eased, for various reasons including the patient subsequently applying for an exemption successfully. The number of easements in this category cannot be confirmed. Of the 47,058 PCNs issued 3,583 people received multiple PCNs.
Although the Department has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of issuing PCNs as a deterrent against improper claims, the fact that the vast majority who receive one PCN do not go on to receive another would, in my opinion, suggest a potential deterrent effect.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will put in place (a) employment protections and (b) transition arrangements for long-serving NHS clinical staff being moved into civil service contracts as part of the NHS England restructure.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, or equivalent mechanisms such as the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice, are designed to safeguard employees’ rights during transfers between employers. Employment protections and transition arrangements for NHS England employees will be put in place based on these schemes.
The Department and NHS England are working closely together to identify differences in employment terms and conditions. Where changes are likely to affect staff transferring into the Department, these will be included in formal measures for consultation. This will be communicated once we are in a position to do so.
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 guidance his Department provides on changes to locally commissioned health services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published guidance for National Health Service commissioners on planning service changes, including the decommissioning of services. This includes guidance on clinical evidence and costs.
The guidance also incorporates the Government’s four tests: that service change should have support from commissioners; be based on clinical evidence; demonstrate public and patient engagement; and consider patient choice. This guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed the factors contributing to variation in intervention rates between NHS trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no specific assessment. Local National Health Service commissioners are responsible for planning healthcare services that meet the needs of their respective populations. NHS trust interventions will vary across services and in response to a range of local factors.
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 improve (a) maternity and (b) neonatal care in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Frimley Integrated Care System (ICS), which covers the Surrey Heath constituency, has implemented several measures to improve maternity and neonatal care. These include the full implementation of the Saving Babies’ Lives care bundle, including an in-house stop smoking service, and the PREM7+ care bundle to improve care for preterm babies.
The Frimley ICS has also launched a new antenatal education offer, is implementing the Maternity Incentive Scheme, a financial incentive that encourages trusts towards actions that improve maternity safety, and is working with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to provide birth boxes to improve women’s experience.
At a national level, Baroness Amos is leading a rapid, national, independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to help us to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. The Government is also setting up a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The taskforce will take forward the recommendations of the investigation to develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
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 effectiveness of issuing penalty charge notices as a deterrent against improper claims of free NHS prescriptions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From November 2024 to October 2025, the NHS Business Service Authority issued 47,058 penalty charge notices (PCNs) to people who claimed a medical exemption but were found to have no exemption in place when checked. Of these, 21,328 were eased, for various reasons including the patient subsequently applying for an exemption successfully. The number of easements in this category cannot be confirmed. Of the 47,058 PCNs issued 3,583 people received multiple PCNs.
Although the Department has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of issuing PCNs as a deterrent against improper claims, the fact that the vast majority who receive one PCN do not go on to receive another would, in my opinion, suggest a potential deterrent effect.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Based on our reporting data up to the end of September 2025, we are withholding this data due to the small number of employees involved which could make individuals and the cause of their absence identifiable.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the (a) adequacy of support services for families of patients detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, and (b) benefits of developing a single point of contact service to remove the occasions where multiple calls to numerous agencies are required to secure the required support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of advocacy voice and weight given to representations made by family members of patients over 18 years old who are detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.