Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 feasibility of establishing a dedicated, no-fault compensation scheme for individuals harmed by sodium valproate exposure, in the context of the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (2020).
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet undertaken an assessment of the feasibility of establishing a dedicated, no-fault compensation scheme for individuals harmed by sodium valproate exposure, in the context of the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS).
The previous administration accepted seven of the nine recommendations of the IMMDS Review, whether in full, in part, or in principle, including issuing an unreserved apology on behalf of the healthcare system, appointing Dr Henrietta Hughes as the first Patient Safety Commissioner for England, and establishing nine specialist mesh centres now operating across the country.
This is a complex, cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations. As set out in the Hughes Report, the Government is carefully considering the Patient Safety Commissioner’s recommendations, including the proposed approaches to redress for those harmed by sodium valproate. This work requires coordinated input from several departments, and we will provide a further update in due course.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and made clear that the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to genomic testing in Lancashire for the (a) 2026-27 (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29 financial years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for commissioning the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) for patients in the National Health Service in England. Genomic testing is currently delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). This includes the North West NHS GLH, which delivers genomic testing for patients in the North West of England, including those in the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England has undertaken a procurement of the NHS GMS lead providers for services to be delivered from 1 April 2026, including genomic testing. The 2026/27 contract, that will include the financial value for the NHS GMS lead providers, will be complete by Quarter four of 2025/26. Financial values for subsequent years are to be agreed on an annual basis thereafter.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made in improving access to kidney transplantation, including reducing waiting times and increasing rates of living and deceased organ donation.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation services in the United Kingdom. Figures on the number of patients active on the kidney transplant waiting list and median waiting times are available at the following link:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/36811/section-5-kidney-activity.pdf
The Department, along with NHSBT, continues to take action to improve access to kidney transplantation. This includes high profile, year-round campaigns including Living Donation Week, Organ Donation Week, and World Kidney Day, and partnerships with charities and community groups to promote living donation, the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme (UKLKSS) and the importance of declaring wishes on the Organ Donation Register (ODR). In addition, the Living Donor Futures programme, launching this early this year, will look at how NHSBT can support the growth of living donor programmes locally and within the UKLKSS. Further information on the UKLKSS is available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/living-donation/uk-living-kidney-sharing-scheme/;
The Department-led Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation is working to maximise the potential for organ transplantation, aiming to reduce waiting times and improve access. This includes the initiation of a national programme of Assessment and Recovery Centres (ARCs) by NHSBT, which will utilise innovation to enhance the assessment, evaluation, and utilisation of donor organs. Pilot ARCs are set to begin in early 2026. Further information on the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation is available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/odt-structures-and-standards/clinical-leadership/implementation-steering-group-for-organ-utilisation/
Additionally, the Organ Donation Joint Working Group recently published recommendations to improve organ donation consent rates, increase societal action for organ donation, and increase the pool of potential donors in their report this January. The recommendations are available at the following link:
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/38066/odjwg-report.pdf
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reinstating the annual health check target of 75% for people with learning disabilities.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have not undertaken a specific assessment of reinstating the 75% annual health check target for people with a learning disability. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, wrote to general practitioners (GPs) in October 2025 emphasising the importance of the learning disability register and providing high quality annual health checks. These checks are the first line of defence for people with a learning disability, many of whom live with additional health needs, including long-term conditions. Strong support from GPs to maintain learning disability annual health checks has enabled more people than ever before to receive a health check and health action plan, an increase of more than 20% since 2020.
As of March 2025, 81.5% of eligible people on the GP learning disability register received an annual health check, surpassing the previous 75% National Health Service target.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 undertaken of the potential impact of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency winter wellness campaigns during the last five years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The main Government health winter campaigns are run by the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England, which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) supports.
The MHRA also runs annual winter campaigns to raise public awareness of medicines and medical devices safety that achieves media coverage and social media engagement.
For example, the MHRA’s 2025/26 campaign provided five public safety tips covering medicines and medical devices. It achieved media coverage in national print and online, regional and trade press, as well as an interview on BBC One Breakfast.
The MHRA created and posted social media content throughout this period which was seen approximately 50,000 times. The MHRA also worked with key stakeholders, such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, to help amplify safety messages.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has conducted an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-USA pharmaceutical deal on frontline NHS services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every patient deserves access to the best possible treatment. This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our National Health Service and world leading life sciences sector.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. But the final costs will clearly depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these. This is not something that we can pre-empt at this time as it depends on which drugs come to market, and which are assessed as approved for use on the NHS accordingly.
At the Spending Review we delivered record real terms increase for day-to-day spending for the NHS in England up to April 2029. This deal will be funded by allocations made at the Spending Review, where front line services will remain protected through the record funding secured. Future year funding will be settled at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessments his department has made of the predicted total cost of UK-US pharmaceutical deal on the NHS budget.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every patient deserves access to the best possible treatment. This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our National Health Service and world leading life sciences sector.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. But the final costs will clearly depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these. This is not something that we can pre-empt at this time as it depends on which drugs come to market, and which are assessed as approved for use on the NHS accordingly.
At the Spending Review we delivered record real terms increase for day-to-day spending for the NHS in England up to April 2029. This deal will be funded by allocations made at the Spending Review, where front line services will remain protected through the record funding secured. Future year funding will be settled at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has estimated the lifetime public cost of not compensating individuals with complex disabilities caused by sodium valproate exposure, including costs to the NHS, social care and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has not made an estimate of the lifetime public cost of not compensating individuals affected by in‑utero exposure to sodium valproate, including potential costs to the National health Service, social care services, or the Department for Work and Pensions.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress on the Hughes Report which made recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate exposure. I made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders as the Government considers the issue of redress.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 levels of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, including Creon, on patient health outcomes.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no formal assessment of the potential impact of levels of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) on health outcomes. However, the Department engages routinely with a range of representatives including local and regional pharmacy leads and patient charities to ensure that management strategies are improving access to PERT.
The Department is aware of ongoing intermittent supply issues with PERT, including Creon capsules. Supplies of Creon and other licensed alternatives have improved in the past year, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. We continue to work closely with the manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines.
We have widely disseminated comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues, which provide advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply. This includes serious shortage protocols to limit prescriptions to one month’s supply to ensure equitable distribution of available supplies and that Creon remains available for those patients who need it. The Department has issued additional management advice to healthcare professionals which directs clinicians to consider the unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to have local mitigation plans in place and implemented to ensure that no patient is left without PERT.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of piloting a no-fault compensation model for individuals harmed by sodium valproate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not yet undertaken an assessment of the potential merits of piloting a no-fault compensation model for individuals harmed by sodium valproate.
This is a complex, cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations. As set out in the Hughes Report, the Government is carefully considering the Patient Safety Commissioner’s recommendations, including the proposed approaches to redress for those harmed by sodium valproate. This work requires coordinated input from several departments, and we will provide a further update in due course.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report and made clear that the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.