Asked by: Andy MacNae (Labour - Rossendale and Darwen)
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 introducing a screening programme for group B Streptococcus in pregnant women.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).
The UK NSC last reviewed the evidence to screen for group B streptococcus (GBS) at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017 and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms.
This was because the test currently available cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk and those who are not.
This means that many women would unnecessarily be offered antibiotics during labour, with the balance of harms and benefits from this approach being unknown.
The National Institute for Health Research funded a large-scale clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against the usual risk factor-based strategy.
Recruitment to the trial ended in March 2024 and a report is expected in early 2026. The UK NSC Secretariat is in contact with the researchers. The UK NSC will review its recommendation considering the evidence from the trial, after the report is presented.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the total funding required for Start for Life services over the next Spending Review period; and of how much funding will be required to support (a) geographical and (b) age-range expansion.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda to improve the nation’s health. As part of this, we will expand Start for Life services and integrate zero- to five-year-olds’ health and children’s services in communities, with a strong focus on the critical first 1,001 days.
The integration of health services in Best Start Family Hubs is fundamental to improving outcomes for babies, children and their families and delivering on Neighbourhood Health. This is why the Government will prioritise funding the continuation of existing Start for Life services including for infant feeding, perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships.
Provisional funding allocations have been shared with local authorities. The Government remains committed to supporting all local areas to strengthen and join up health services for babies, children and their families.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to improve early identification and monitoring of precursor conditions for blood cancer, such as MGUS and smoldering myeloma.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose blood cancer and precursor conditions as quickly as possible and to treat them faster, to improve outcomes.
To improve diagnoses of blood cancers and precursor conditions, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England, ensuring more patients benefit from quicker access to the right investigations.
The Government will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating them faster, and will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
The National Cancer Plan, which will be published in the new year, will include further details on how the NHS will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his department is making on its target to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is supporting the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), for 75% of patients to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of being referred urgently by their general practitioner for suspected cancer. NHS England collects and publishes monthly FDS performance data nationally and for individual cancer groups.
To achieve the FDS, NHS England rolled out public awareness campaigns of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlined referral routes for different cancer types, and is increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.
NHS England has also achieved full roll out of non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type.
Between October 2024 and September 2025, approximately 193,000 more patients got a cancer diagnosis or the all-clear on time than in the year from July 2023 to June 2024.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 ensure that Integrated Care Boards are implementing NICE guidance on intermediate care for patients experiencing homelessness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that people experiencing homelessness have access to appropriate intermediate care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline NG214 on integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness sets out clear expectations for services to be accessible and tailored to the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214/chapter/Recommendations#intermediate-care
The intermediate care framework, published in 2023, stipulates that intermediate care services should be available to all eligible individuals, including those experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The intermediate care framework is available at the following link:
Guidance on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, published in 2024, further states that specialist and bespoke homeless intermediate care services should be developed in response to needs and should be integrated so that ‘mainstream’ and ‘specialist’ services work seamlessly together. The guidance on discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness is available at the following link:
The Better Care Fund supports local systems to integrate health, housing, and social care in ways that deliver person-centred care. One of the conditions is that Health and Wellbeing Boards are required to submit plans showing projected demand and planned capacity for intermediate care services with due regard to the need to reduce inequalities in access to and outcomes achieved by National Health Services.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a data-driven system to (a) identify and (b) address disparities in the early diagnosis of cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to making improvements across different cancer types and to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England is the cancer registry for England and collects data on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The data collected captures a patient’s complete journey from referral, diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, experience, and survival. The data collected is used to inform trends and monitor and detect changes in health and disease in the population, including disparities in diagnosis. NDRS’s strategic priorities focus on making data more timely and accessible, and better understanding health inequalities.
Furthermore, the National Cancer Plan, to be published in the new year, will include further details on how we will use data to improve outcomes for cancer patients in England, including by driving earlier diagnosis and reducing the gap in early diagnosis between those living in the richest and poorest areas.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the nutritional value of food and drinks available to school breakfast clubs in England.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department supports the provision of nutritious food in schools to enable pupils to be well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and to concentrate and learn in school.
The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day, including at free breakfast clubs, and are available here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/contents/made.
Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools. Alongside the school food standards practical guide, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/school-food-standards-practical-guide. Our free breakfast clubs guidance includes examples of healthy breakfast offers to help support schools to provide a healthy, balanced breakfast offer to pupils. This guidance has been produced in collaboration with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities at the Department of Health and Social Care.
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 recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the requirement to dispose of unused specialist invalid food products as medical waste on level of food waste.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through the implementation of the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy and the National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink, NHS England is actively working to reduce both clinical and food waste across the system.
The Clinical Waste Strategy promotes appropriate waste segregation and treatment to minimise unnecessary incineration and environmental harm. Meanwhile, the food standards encourage healthcare providers to reduce food waste through improved planning, monitoring, and sustainable practices. It is widely accepted that any medication that is provided via clinical provision should be disposed of as offensive waste. Any unused food products that are still in their packaging can be disposed of through the agreed food waste system.
NHS England continues to monitor the implementation of these strategies and welcomes further evidence or insights that could inform future assessments or policy development in this area.
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of negotiating regulatory alignment with the European Medicines Agency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continuously monitors the medicine regulations of our international partners, including the European Union, to determine whether to adopt similar regulations, whilst protecting the safety and competitive advantage of the United Kingdom.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency works closely with a range of international regulatory authorities, including the European Medicines Agency, through several international regulatory groups such as the International Council for Harmonisation, the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, and the International Medical Device Regulators Forum.
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 reduce the number of medically fit patients occupying hospital beds due to delayed discharges.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling delayed discharges.
The policy framework for the £9 billion Better Care Fund, published in January 2025, gives the National Health Service and local authorities accountability for setting and achieving joint goals for reducing discharge delays and preventing avoidable emergency admissions and care home admissions. Some areas are receiving targeted support from the Better Care Fund support programme.
The Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 sets as a priority that hospitals should tackle the delays in patients waiting to be discharged. They should eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, and work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days, and to profile discharges by pathway to support local planning.