Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Science and Technology about the potential for a respiratory Modern Service Framework to strengthen the UK’s life sciences ecosystem by scaling up the adoption of new medicines and innovations for lung conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 (a) improve patient safety in the NHS and (b) reduce clinical negligence claims.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last ten years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. That work is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports.
Over recent years, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care have taken significant steps forward to address the rising costs of clinical negligence and to improve patient safety, including by implementing significant programmes under the NHS Patient Safety Strategy, published 2019. The strategy is now achieving its aim of saving an extra 1,000 lives per year and £100 million in care costs per year.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
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 electrocardiogram screening for young people engaged in organised sport, including the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of such screening.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). It is only where the offer to screen provides more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended. The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process.
Every sudden cardiac death of a young person is a tragedy. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is currently re-examining the evidence for sudden cardiac death screening in young people, including those involved in organised sports, and will open a public consultation on this in the spring.
The Government welcome the UK NSC’s robust and rigorous approach to evaluating the benefits and harms of screening, as it is vital that screening policy is based on scientific evidence.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department issues to first aid training providers on anatomical differences between men and women relevant to the delivery of CPR.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of research that shows differences in bystander response in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to men versus women. Research also shows that training is key to improving bystander confidence in providing CPR to women and use of female manikins may assist in this.
NHS England has published a list of tools and resources on its website to improve cardiac arrest outcomes, with further information available at the following link:
This includes guidance from St John’s Ambulance on How to do CPR and use a defibrillator on a person with breasts, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sja.org.uk/first-aid-advice/cpr-on-women-and-other-people-with-breasts/
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 potential impact of the predominant use of male CPR manikins in first aid training on survival outcomes for women experiencing cardiac arrest.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of research that shows differences in bystander response in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to men versus women. Research also shows that training is key to improving bystander confidence in providing CPR to women and use of female manikins may assist in this.
NHS England has published a list of tools and resources on its website to improve cardiac arrest outcomes, with further information available at the following link:
This includes guidance from St John’s Ambulance on How to do CPR and use a defibrillator on a person with breasts, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sja.org.uk/first-aid-advice/cpr-on-women-and-other-people-with-breasts/
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February to Question 109206 on breast cancer drugs, if he will make it his policy to reform the risk-reducing drug pathway for patients at increased risk of breast cancer .
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking steps to ensure that women at increased risk of breast cancer are provided with the best information, support, preventative care, and testing.
Through our National Cancer Plan, we will develop and deliver more proactive approaches to identifying people at risk of cancer, through symptomatic case finding, additional support for general practitioners (GPs) and genomic testing. The new and world-leading NHS National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry, part of the National Disease Registration Service, will help the National Health Service to deliver proactive, targeted prevention, surveillance, and earlier diagnosis for people and their families. Self-testing swabs will accelerate access to genomic tests, and those who need it will get genetic counselling, regular surveillance checks, and prophylactic treatment options. For women at increased risk of breast cancer, this means a more proactive approach and personalised support.
Through our National Cancer Plan, and our wider work on improving GP services, we will offer improved support to women at increased risk of breast cancer.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of mandatory alcohol health warnings for regulatory alignment with the EU, Ireland, and other trading partners.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In both the Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England and the National Cancer Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthen and expand on existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.
Department officials have recently completed a round of stakeholder engagement regarding the policy. We are working at pace to review all available and emerging evidence.
This work will inform the development assessment of policy options that will be set out in formal consultation which we are working towards opening in late 2026. International alignment will be considered as part of the process, taking into account the outcome of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (Agri-Food) Agreement negotiations with the European Union.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure industry and civil society are prepared for the forthcoming consultation on mandatory alcohol labelling; and whether draft policy scenarios will be shared with Parliament ahead of its launch of a consultation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthening and expanding existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. The plan can be accessed online at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
The Department is working towards opening a consultation in late 2026, setting out the options under consideration, for the public and businesses to respond to. The consultation will be prepared in line with guidance on seeking collective agreement across Government departments.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussion he has had with the Secretary of State for Science and Technology on the potential impact of a respiratory Modern Service Framework on the UK’s life sciences ecosystem.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 UK-based firms are able to participate in competitive procurement processes for NHS contracts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that public procurement delivers economic growth, supports small businesses, champions innovation and creates high quality jobs across the United Kingdom.
In February 2025, the Government published the National Procurement Policy Statement, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-procurement-policy-statement
The statement sets out clear priorities to maximise the impact of public spending. This came into effect alongside the commencement of the Procurement Act 2023, which modernises the procurement regime to make it simpler, more transparent, and more supportive of UK-based suppliers. The Government has also consulted on further reforms to improve domestic competitiveness and support British business. More information about the consultation is available at the following link:
The Social Value Model is a legal requirement on public bodies to consider broader economic, social, and environmental benefits, not just cost, in procurement exercises. All procurements exercises are required to apply a minimum of 10% weighting in the bid evaluation, including those in the National Health Service. This approach aligns with Government policy to support UK growth, jobs, skills pathways, and workforce wellbeing.
NHS England is also committed to improving engagement with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and helping to make it easier for them to do business with the NHS. To help ensure SMEs have a voice within the NHS, NHS England have established an SME Advisory Group, which has worked with NHS England to improve the opportunities for SMEs to engage with and compete for NHS business. In February 2024, NHS England published an SME Action Plan that outlines how the NHS will better engage, communicate with and learn from the SME community, improve visibility of NHS opportunities and encourage SME participation in commercial activity. The action plan is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/small-and-medium-enterprises-action-plan/