Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many sickle cell day centres have closed in the last 5 years; and how many sickle cell day centres remain operational.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - 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: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 ensure people with learning disabilities receive screenings for cervical cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to its ambition to change the National Health Service so that it diagnoses earlier and treats faster. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme plays a vital role in this. Across the NHS, local systems and partnerships are working together to find ways to make cervical screening more accessible for people with a learning disability.
Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, NHS England is considering the role this digital flag has in further personalisation in the programme.
Reasonable adjustments can include:
Additionally, in early 2026, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme will be offering a self-testing kit to under-screened women, starting with those who are the most overdue for screening. This will help tackle deeply entrenched barriers that keep some away from screening.
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of domestic wood burning in residential areas on public health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 Annual Report highlighted that domestic wood burning is a significant source of harmful fine particulate matter, particularly in residential areas.
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA’s) systematic reviews of the association between outdoor and indoor exposure to solid fuel burning and respiratory diseases have shown that burning solid fuels can contribute to the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer in adults. The UKHSA’s reviews are available at the following two links:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35149281/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33017761/
Our 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out how the Government will improve the public's health, including action to reduce the health harms of air pollution, and in particular on domestic burning.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide funding for a strategic programme to support the NHS in adopting and implementing the Play Well guidelines and standards.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This ambition is at the heart of our 10-Year Health Plan, which sets out three radical shifts: from treatment to prevention; from hospital to community; and from analogue to digital care.
The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings. The NHS England and Starlight Play Well Toolkit includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.
To support implementation, NHS England is promoting the Play Well toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. A range of communication channels have been used to raise awareness of the toolkit, including through professional bodies, messages from the Chief Nursing Officer, and through delivery networks directly to trusts and professional groups.
While funding decisions for health play services remain the responsibility of local commissioners, the Department supports NHS England’s work to champion the toolkit and the importance of child-centred care across healthcare settings. We remain committed to working with partners to ensure that the Play Well guidelines and standards are embedded and that all children receive appropriate care and support when they need it.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 families who have experienced baby loss in North Herefordshire constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Three National Health Service trusts primarily provide services supporting families in the North Herefordshire constituency who have experienced baby loss.
The Wye Valley NHS Trust has a dedicated bereavement midwife, who is trained to care for and support parents and families who have suffered the loss of their baby. There is a dedicated bereavement suite at the Hereford County Hospital, where families are cared for after birth and can spend time with their baby. If they wish, parents also have the option of doing memory making activities with their baby.
The Worcestershire Royal Hospital provides dedicated bereavement care through specialised bereavement suites, managed by bereavement midwives.
Targeted psychological interventions for women experiencing moderate, severe, and complex mental health difficulties following birth trauma or baby loss at any stage, are provided by the Beacon Maternal Mental Health Service, which is part of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 caesarean sections on long-term health, including links to bowel and gastrointestinal conditions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Bowel or gastrointestinal long-term conditions are not recognised consequences of caesarean section unless there have been additional complications at the time of surgery such as bowel injury. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists are responsible for the guidance used by healthcare professionals to support discussions with women about planned caesarean sections so that they are tailored to women’s own needs.
As with most other forms of surgery there is no specific routine, long-term follow up post caesarean section. However, all women are offered a six to eight week postnatal check up with their general practitioner that will a take holistic view of their physical and mental health. Women should be supported to return to good physical health following childbirth and pregnancy, with ongoing management for conditions that existed before or which arose during pregnancy.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 Cabinet colleagues on air pollution.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have had discussions with ministerial counterparts on this issue.
The Department engaged with departments across the Government in developing our 10-Year Health Plan for England, which sets out the steps the Government will take to improve the public's health, including actions to reduce the health harms of air pollution.
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, how many people have received Gastric Sleeve surgery in each of the last three years in England and Wales broken down by male and female.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter. The Department does not hold information on gastric band and gastric sleeve surgery in Wales.
For England, the table below shows the number of gastric band and gastric sleeve surgeries undertaken between 2022 and 2025:
Financial Year | Gastric Band | Gastric Sleeve | ||||
Female | Male | Other | Female | Male | Other | |
2022-23 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 1,928 | 460 | 1 |
2023-24 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 2,443 | 568 | 18 |
2024-25 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 3,122 | 664 | 26 |
This analysis is based on Hospital Episode Statistics and includes all episodes in which a procedure for the insertion of a new gastric band or gastric sleeve is recorded. These figures do not directly represent the number of individual patients, as one person may have multiple episodes of care either within the same hospital stay or across different admissions during the year and/or over years.
Data for gastric sleeve procedures also includes episodes where the sleeve is performed as part of wider surgery for a duodenal switch.
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, how many people have received Gastric band surgery in each of the last three years in England and Wales broken down by male and female.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter. The Department does not hold information on gastric band and gastric sleeve surgery in Wales.
For England, the table below shows the number of gastric band and gastric sleeve surgeries undertaken between 2022 and 2025:
Financial Year | Gastric Band | Gastric Sleeve | ||||
Female | Male | Other | Female | Male | Other | |
2022-23 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 1,928 | 460 | 1 |
2023-24 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 2,443 | 568 | 18 |
2024-25 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 3,122 | 664 | 26 |
This analysis is based on Hospital Episode Statistics and includes all episodes in which a procedure for the insertion of a new gastric band or gastric sleeve is recorded. These figures do not directly represent the number of individual patients, as one person may have multiple episodes of care either within the same hospital stay or across different admissions during the year and/or over years.
Data for gastric sleeve procedures also includes episodes where the sleeve is performed as part of wider surgery for a duodenal switch.
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 promote heart awareness month.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We welcome heart awareness month, which raises awareness about heart disease, promoting lifestyle changes for a healthy heart. The Department and NHS England regularly run health-related media campaigns targeting audiences to take preventative action.
Throughout January and February, we will be running the Healthy Choices Quiz campaign which supports people to prioritise health improvements and take proactive action on a range of behaviours, many of which support heart health.
The National Health Service website includes a Better Health section, offering advice and support to make small, achievable lifestyle changes, for example, increasing physical activity, losing weight, and help to quit smoking, all of which can significantly improve long-term health, including your heart health.
To accelerate progress towards the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease modern service framework (CVD MSF) this year. The CVD MSF will support consistent, high quality and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.