Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the pathways used by other Common Travel Area countries to enable qualified medical professionals from outside the EEA to practise medicine; and what steps he is taking to reduce barriers to registration for qualified international medical graduates.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made by the Department of the potential policy implications of the pathways used by other Common Travel Area countries to enable qualified medical professionals from outside the European Economic Area to practise medicine in the United Kingdom.
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of medical practitioners, or doctors, in the UK. It is responsible for setting standards that must be met by both domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to their registers to ensure registrants are safe to practise.
As the independent regulator, it is for the GMC to determine routes to registration and the qualifications that it will accept for registration.
In 2023, the Department amended the GMC’s legislation to provide greater flexibility to streamline the process for registering overseas-qualified medical professionals. Following these changes, the GMC introduced new specialist registration routes, including the Recognised Specialist Qualification pathway, which was launched on 15 May 2024. This enables the GMC to formally recognise suitable specialist qualifications from overseas for the purposes of UK Specialist and General Practitioner registration.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding for safety measures for NHS staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including security, training, and emotional support for staff affected by violence, abuse, or harassment. There are currently no plans to provide additional funding for safety measures for NHS staff.
At a national level there are several policy measures being implemented and developed to help keep staff safe and to prevent and reduce violence in the workplace. This includes measures to improve data and reporting, strengthen risk assessment, and improve training and support for victims. This will be bolstered by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan. The standards will be included in the NHS Oversight Framework and act as an early warning signal for the Care Quality Commission.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy that integrated care board boundaries should match mayoral combined authority boundaries.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It remains the Government’s ambition for integrated care boards (ICBs) to be coterminous with one or more strategic authorities wherever feasible, a commitment made in the English devolution white paper and reaffirmed in our 10-Year Health Plan.
This summer as local government reform progresses, the Department of Health and Social Care will work closely with NHS England and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to decide any further ICB mergers and boundary changes.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 respond to feedback from frontline GPs to the NHS 10-Year Health Plan consultation; and whether this feedback will result in changes to its policy approach to general practice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Participants shared their experiences of using and/or working in or with the National Health Service and their views on what it should look like in the future, which were used to shape the 10-Year Health Plan. A report detailing the views of members of the public and health and care staff as gathered through the Change NHS engagement process that contributed to the development of the 10-Year Health Plan for England is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/engagement-insight-report-10-year-health-plan-for-england
The Department currently has no plans to respond to specific individual feedback from frontline general practitioners (GPs).
The 10-Year Health Plan, shaped by engagement, set out the need for reform within GPs. This includes increasing capacity, delivering on the recommendations of the Red Tape Challenge, and rolling out the technology to enable more appointments and better continuity of care for those with complex needs.
As part of the shift from hospital to community, the plan also sets out more fundamental reform that will see GPs lead new neighbourhood providers that convene teams of skilled professionals to provide personalised care for groups of people with similar needs.
We have now concluded the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation. The final package reflects commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, including ending the 8:00am scramble, improving timely access to care, tackling GP unemployment, and supporting a shift towards prevention. Overwhelmingly, participants in the public deliberative events identified access to care, and prioritising GP access, as the most immediate priority the 10-Year Health Plan should address.
We are investing an additional £485 million into GPs, taking total contract investment to over £13.8 billion in 2026/27. This builds on last year’s £1.1 billion of investment.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions across England and Wales for a wide range of offences in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK
The offences that constitute unlawful abortion include procuring an illegal abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.
Information centrally held does not specify how many of these convictions are linked to the use of the pills-by-post scheme.
The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to the pills-by-post scheme.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 the safety of frontline NHS staff, including receptionists working in GP surgeries.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work without fear of violence or abuse.
Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including, security, training, and emotional support for staff affected by violence, abuse, or harassment.
At a national level there are several policy measures being implemented and developed to help keep staff safe and to prevent and reduce violence in the workplace. This includes measures to improve data and reporting, strengthen risk assessment, and improve training and support for victims. This will be bolstered by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan. The standards will be included in the NHS Oversight Framework and act as an early warning signal for the Care Quality Commission.
Additionally, the You and your general practice guidance makes clear that general practice staff should be treated with respect. A practice also reserves the right to remove patients from their list if they are violent or abusive to staff. The You and your general practice guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/you-and-your-general-practice-english/
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the causes of prescription medicine shortages in the UK, including reported shortages of aspirin 75mg dispersible tablets and supply disruption affecting carbamazepine (Tegretol) prolonged-release tablets; and what steps he is taking to improve national medicines supply.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes, or distribution issues and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.
The Department is currently not aware of any supply issues affecting Tegretol prolonged-release tablets.
The Department is aware of a recent disruption to the supply of aspirin tablets due to manufacturing issues and knock-on increased demand. The issues have been addressed, and we are working with suppliers to aid a return to normal supply as soon as possible with stock regularly being made available for pharmacies to order.
We continue to work with manufacturers and United Kingdom distributors to maximise supply to pharmacies and hospitals across the country. The Department is closely monitoring the situation and expects supplies to return to normal in the coming weeks.
In August 2025, the Department published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilience supply of medicines, setting out our actions to strengthen supply chain resilience, which is available at the following link:
The Department has committed to providing a published update on progress in 2026.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with UK Research and Innovation on increasing funding for research into invasive lobular breast cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between the Department for Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC). The Department for Health and Social Care and UKRI officials meet regularly to discuss a range of research investments to drive the maximum collective research impact on policy, practice, and individual lives.
The MRC and the NIHR are committed to supporting the development of fundable research proposals in lobular breast cancer and continues to encourage researchers to submit high quality funding applications to funding programmes in this area.
To further stimulate research in this area, in November 2025, the NIHR issued a highlight notice encouraging applications for new research into lobular breast cancer, to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term surveillance of patients.
The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer. It remains committed to the role of research to drive a stronger collective understanding of the biology behind lobular breast cancer and to improve outcomes for women.
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 assessment his Department has made of barriers to reporting sexual misconduct by doctors, including for patients and NHS staff.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We acknowledge that the confidence to report sexual misconduct in the National Health Service remains a systemic challenge that is influenced by a range of factors.
For example, NHS staff often do not wish to subject themselves to a formal employment process or are concerned about reprisals from other members of staff or believe they may not be taken seriously by their manager and organisation.
All trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) have signed up to the NHS Sexual Safety Charter, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/sexual-safety-in-healthcare-organisational-charter/
The principles underpinning the charter contribute to improving workplace sexual safety culture, which should empower more staff to speak up.
In 2024, NHS England produced a national policy framework for sexual misconduct. The framework recommends routes through which reports can be made including Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, line managers, human resources, or via an anonymous reporting form. Every trust and ICB now has a policy in place or is in the process of adopting one, and 76% have implemented anonymous reporting for staff.
The Patient Advice and Liaison service and complaints system provide routes for patients and the public to report incidents of sexual misconduct.
In December 2025, NHS England wrote to NHS trusts and ICBs setting out further actions to take to ensure the sexual safety of both patients and staff. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/an-update-on-actions-to-prevent-sexual-misconduct-in-the-nhs/
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/