theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy were dispensed by Norfolk and Waveney (a) integrated care board and (b) clinical commissioning group in each year between 2019 and 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provided by the NHS Business Services Authority gives the total number of prescription items of each medicine dispensed in the community in England. The following data relates to prescriptions for products that fall within the definition as set out in Paragraph 010904, related to pancreatin, in the British National Formulary.

The following table shows the total number of National Health Service prescription items that were dispensed in the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, regardless of where prescribed, from January 2019 to November 2024

Year

Number of prescription items

2019

14,291

2020

13,587

2021

13,933

2022

13,933

2023

14,460

2024

14,698

Note: data for 2024 is from January to November.

The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) relates to the prescribing organisation, so the following statistics are consistent with the English Prescribing datasets rather than the dispensing organisation shown in PCA.

The following table shows the total number of NHS prescription items that were prescribed by cost centres linked to the Sub Integrated Care Board Location (SICBL), or prior to 2020 the CCG area of Norfolk and Waveney, from January 2019 to November 2024:

Year

Number of prescription items

2019

14,290

2020

13,727

2021

14,238

2022

14,387

2023

14,904

2024

14,935

Note: data for 2024 is from January to November.

Historical data has been re-presented using the latest NHS organisation structure. These two tables are not directly comparable as the data available for integrated care boards relates to dispensing, whereas the data available at the SICBL or CCG level relates to items prescribed.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of centrally procuring scaffolding to prop up hospitals awaiting funding via the New Hospital Programme. \p Karin Smyth: The safety of the National Health Service’s staff and patients is of vital importance to the Government. That is why repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a key part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future, through our 10-Year Health Plan.

The Department has not assessed the potential merits of centrally procuring scaffolding, as the safety and mitigation requirements vary on a trust-by-trust basis. Trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) have an annual allocation for estate maintenance and capital works, which totalled £4.2 billion in 2024/25. Each ICB manages this local capital budget for its area, allocating funds according to local priorities, including investment in safety and mitigation works, like scaffolding. Trusts with confirmed reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) present at their sites can also access funding from NHS England’s national RAAC programme for propping and scaffolding, due to the serious dangers posed by RAAC.

Alongside the annual allocation for estate maintenance and capital works in 2025/26, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer also announced health capital spending is set to increase to £13.6 billion in 2025/26, including over £1 billion to make inroads into the backlog of critical maintenance, and to tackle dangerous RAAC. Further detail on this funding will follow at the earliest opportunity, including local capital allocations and national capital programmes for 2025 to 2026, as part of NHS planning guidance.
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Adrian Ramsay:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what notice general dental practice contract holders will receive on changes to the new patient premium; and what the Government's policy is on notifying contract holders of changes to their contractual arrangements. \p Stephen Kinnock: Any changes made to the New Patient Premium will require directions from my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. If any changes are agreed, contract holders will be notified by integrated care boards via NHS England.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with refence to his oral statement of 20 January 2025 on New Hospital Programme Review, Official Report columns 748-750s, what the (a) pre-construction works, (b) full construction start and (c) completion date in his re-phasing of the new hospital programme is of (i) Leicester general hospital and Leicester royal infirmary, (ii) Watford general hospital, (iii) Specialist and emergency care hospital in Sutton, (iv) Kettering general hospital, (v) Leeds general infirmary, (vi) Musgrove Park hospital, (vii) Princess Alexandra hospital, (viii) Torbay hospital, (ix) Whipps Cross hospital, (x) St Mary’s hospital in London, (xi) Charing Cross hospital, (xii) Hammersmith hospital, (xiii) North Devon district hospital, (xiv) Eastbourne district general hospital, (xv) Conquest hospital and Bexhill hospital, (xvi) Hampshire hospitals, (xvii) Royal Berkshire hospital, (xviii) Royal Preston hospital, (xix) the Royal Lancaster infirmary and (xx) Queen’s medical centre and Nottingham city hospital. \p Karin Smyth: The following table shows the start dates for the pre-construction work, which involves business case development and critical enabling works, and the main construction work, for the schemes requested:

Scheme

Pre-construction works start

Main construction works start

Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital

From 2028

2032 to 2034

Watford General Hospital

From 2028

2032 to 2034

Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Sutton

From 2029

2032 to 2034

Kettering General Hospital

From 2028

2032 to 2034

Leeds General Infirmary

From 2030

2032 to 2034

Musgrove Park Hospital

From 2031

2032 to 2034

Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow

From 2030

2032 to 2034

Torbay Hospital

From 2030

2032 to 2034

Whipps Cross Hospital, north-east London

From 2029

2032 to 2034

St Mary’s Hospital, north-west London

From 2030

2035 to 2038

Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, London

From 2030

2035 to 2038

North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple

From 2030

2035 to 2038

Eastbourne District General, Conquest Hospital and Bexhill Community Hospital

From 2030

2037 to 2039

Hampshire Hospitals

From 2030

2037 to 2039

Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading

From 2030

2037 to 2039

Royal Preston Hospital

From 2030

2037 to 2039

Royal Lancaster Infirmary

From 2030

2035 to 2038

Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital

From 2030

2037 to 2039

Note: the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital are counted as one scheme under the New Hospital Programme, as are Eastbourne District General Hospital, Conquest Hospital, and Bexhill Hospital

The expected completion dates for the schemes in the New Hospital Programme will be confirmed following the approval of a Full Business Case, as set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book, and as is usual for large infrastructure projects, and they are therefore not included.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of 15 January 2025, Official Report, column 363, and pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 19158 on GPs, what the evidential basis is that there are hundreds of GPs recruited by the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. \p Stephen Kinnock: Data on the number of general practitioners employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is not currently published. Information on the number of recently qualified general practitioners for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is currently being collated. We are working to verify the data and establish its reliability, which is necessary before any dataset can be published.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of recent trends in the level the social care capacity available to support discharges from hospitals in the last 12 months. \p Stephen Kinnock: Comparing December 2024 to December 2023, there was a 5% decrease in the average number of patients in hospital with delayed discharge at the end of each day. In December 2024, for patients with a length of stay of at least 14 days, an average of 33% of the delays were attributed to reasons relating to the capacity for onward care and support, due to issues with adult social care services, National Health Services, or housing. This proportion has come down from 37% in June 2024, when this figure was first published.
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Satvir Kaur:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve lobular breast cancer outcomes. \p Andrew Gwynne: Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including lobular breast cancer, is a priority for NHS England. We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets, so that no patient waits longer than they should.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme offers all women in England between the ages of 50 years old and their 71st birthday the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost to invasive breast cancer.

The Department invests £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

We are proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. Wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer.

The NIHR funds research on cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment and care, which saves lives. NIHR funds research in response to proposals received and would welcome applications from researchers on lobular breast cancer.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help prevent cervical cancer. \p Andrew Gwynne: The National Health Service’s cervical screening programme provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely to detect certain types of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, which is the cause of 99.7% of cervical cancer.

In England, the HPV vaccination programme and the NHS cervical screening programme together aim to reduce the number of individuals who develop invasive cervical cancer, and reduce the number of people who die from it. There has been an 87% reduction in cervical cancers in women who were vaccinated between the ages of 12 to 13 years old against HPV, when compared to previous generations.

England has signed up to the 2030 targets of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Strategy to Eliminate Cervical Cancer, and the NHS Cervical Cancer Screening Programme aligns with the WHO’s target of 70% of women screened using a high-performance test by 35 and 45 years of age.

Additionally, NHS England set out an ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 and is working with stakeholders to increase access to and uptake of the HPV vaccination in school aged children, and has initiatives underway to support improving access and uptake of the NHS cervical screening programme. Further information on the ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/nhs-sets-ambition-to-eliminate-cervical-cancer-by-2040/
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake rate of the RSV vaccine during pregnancy. \p Andrew Gwynne: The maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme launched on 1 September 2024, and is being delivered by general practices and commissioned maternity services. NHS England has been working with systems, stakeholders, and partners to increase awareness and uptake of the RSV vaccine amongst pregnant women.

A system letter setting out the role of providers in advising pregnant women of their eligibility for vaccination was sent from the Chief Midwifery Officer for England, the National Clinical Director for Maternity, and the Chief Delivery Officer and National Director for Vaccination and Screening in August 2024.

NHS England has held webinars for health professionals on vaccination in pregnancy and with the midwifery and nursing teams delivering the RSV vaccine, to provide information on eligibility, outreach, and how to administer the vaccine before the programme started. Resources and information have been shared with maternity leads since the programme began, to increase awareness of the vaccine and ensure more women are booking their vaccination for when they become eligible at 28 weeks. Commissioned maternity services are also encouraged to have vaccination discussions with pregnant women early in pregnancy.

A range of communication materials have been produced by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency, who are working with stakeholders, including parenting clubs, to disseminate information on vaccination in pregnancy through their channels.

RSV vaccination event data from all commissioned providers is made available to NHS England regional commissioning teams and their partner integrated care boards in a timely way. NHS operational vaccination data is being monitored closely at a local and national level, and is being used to drive further development of the programme.
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a cross-Government strategy on the health and wellbeing of coastal communities. \p Andrew Gwynne: We are taking action across Government to address the environmental and socio-economic determinants of health, and are aiming to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions. We know that targeted action to tackle health inequalities will facilitate economic opportunities, and support a National Health Service fit for the future.

Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. We have established 11 working groups to take forward policy development that will feed into the plan. This includes working groups focused on how care should be designed and delivered to improve healthcare equity, alongside ensuring that access to healthcare services is effective and responsive.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include contractual obligations for organisations receiving public funding for biomedical research and development to ensure (a) equitable and (b) affordable access to their innovations for (a) people in low- and middle-income countries and (b) other people. \p Andrew Gwynne: Contracts for researchers funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) have mechanisms to ensure the effective dissemination of research outputs. They also adhere to the NIHR Open Access Policy to ensure academic research is published freely, immediately, and is permanently available online for anyone to read, share, and reuse. The NIHR also uses standard contracts which ensure that intellectual property generated by research benefits the public. Further information on the NIHR Open Access Policy is available at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-open-access-publications-funding-guidance

In addition, all research funded through the Department’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) research programmes delivers direct and primary benefit to the ODA-eligible countries on the Development Assistance Committee list. The scope of the Department’s ODA research is set in consultation with stakeholders in low and middle income countries so that it is relevant, and all research findings are published so that they are available for all. Further information on ODA-eligible countries on the Development Assistance Committee list is available at the following link:

https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/oda-eligibility-and-conditions/dac-list-of-oda-recipients.html
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for the involvement of the Children and Young People's Cancer Taskforce in the formation of the 10-year health plan. \p Andrew Gwynne: We have committed to developing a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. We will carefully be considering all policies, including those that impact teenagers and young people with cancer.

We want to ensure the 10-Year Health Plan reflects the diversity of the people who use the NHS every day, and it is important that everyone can have their say as we develop it. The engagement process has been launched, and I would encourage those concerned about the care of teenagers and young people with cancer to engage with that process to allow us to fully understand what is not working as well as it should, and what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

We are working with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Children’s Commissioner, the National Children’s Bureau, and other partners to ensure we hear from children who are unwell. We have asked local health systems to plan engagement with their local communities, front line staff, and partner organisations, taking care to ensure they reach those who are under-represented, including young people.

Young Lives vs Cancer and the Teenage Cancer trust attended our Partners Council event in January, and we are also running a deliberative event with children and young people in February.

Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a national cancer plan. We are committed to ensuring children and young people with cancer are carefully considered in the plan, and will share further details in due course.
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Rachel Gilmour:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding for research into epilepsy. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Department funds research into epilepsy via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). There are currently no plans to assess the adequacy of funding for research into epilepsy, however, the NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including prevention, management, and treatment of epilepsy and the related conditions.

These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on epilepsy to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility, both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

The NIHR committed £31.5 million of funding to 28 epilepsy research projects in the five years from April 2019 to March 2024. Additionally, over this period, more than 5,000 people were enabled to participate in epilepsy research by the NIHR Clinical Research Network, now the NIHR Research Delivery Network.

The NIHR also works closely with other Government funders, including UK Research and Innovation, which is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and includes the Medical Research Council, to fund research into epilepsy to improve treatments and prevent poor health outcomes for patients.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made on the potential impact of late diagnosis on outcomes for people with blood cancer. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Government has not taken a specific assessment on the potential impact of late diagnosis on outcomes for people with blood cancer. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

In addition to improving cancer waiting time performance, the NHS has implemented non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. This includes blood cancer, which the national evaluation found was one of the most common cancers diagnosed via these pathways, therefore mitigating the impact of late diagnosis, and reducing emergency presentation.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with blood cancer and other cancers with lower survival rates. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and we will provide updates in due course.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with osteoporosis. \p Andrew Gwynne: On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. Part of the plan sets out funding to boost bone density scanning capacity, to support improvements in early diagnosis and bone health conditions such as osteoporosis. This will provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year.

As announced in the ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven ‘Further Faster’ model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce musculoskeletal community waiting times, including for those with osteoporosis, and improve data, metrics and referral pathways to wider support services.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of geographic barriers in rural areas on access to (a) regular check-ups and (b) timely intervention. \p Andrew Gwynne: Since June 2022, 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) across England have been responsible for arranging National Health Service healthcare services to meet the needs of their respective populations, reflecting the different needs of different populations. The local ICB is therefore responsible for ensuring that NHS services are accessible in their area.

However, the Government recognises the health inequalities faced by rural communities in England, particularly around access to healthcare services. In response, work is underway across the Department, NHS England, and the regional Directors of Public Health to develop approaches that address these inequalities. In line with the Government’s Health Mission, the Department’s goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind.

More specifically, the Government is aware of the challenges faced in accessing general practice (GP) and dentistry services, particularly in more rural areas.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, the Government will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

And, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs, benefiting thousands of patients that are struggling to get the care they desperately need. Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the largest uplift in years, with a rising share of total NHS resources going to GPs.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's TYA Service Specifications, what steps he is taking to deliver age-appropriate care in age-appropriate settings for teenagers and young adults with cancer. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for teenagers and young adults with cancer. We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and that age-appropriate care is necessary regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications.

We are committed to considering this as part of our work through the relaunch of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce in 2025, which will focus on teenagers and young adults as well as children, ensuring that their clinical and non-clinical needs are met. We will set out further details on next steps in due course.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received representations on the potential merits of introducing insects into the human diet. \p Andrew Gwynne: In 2021, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned an online survey to understand consumer awareness and perceptions of alternative sources of protein, including edible insects. 50% of respondents perceived edible insects as safe to eat, 26% were willing to try edible insects, and 37% were willing to try edible insects if they were ground into food for added protein. A full report of the survey is available on the FSA website at the following link:

https://www.food.gov.uk/research/behaviour-and-perception/survey-of-consumer-perceptions-of-alternative-or-novel-sources-of-protein

In Great Britain, edible insects are considered novel foods and so food businesses that wish to sell them need to submit an application for a safety assessment by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland, before they can be placed on the market. There are, however, transitional arrangements in place for four species following our exit from the European Union, those being: the yellow mealworm; the house cricket; the banded cricket; and the black soldier fly. These species can remain on sale until a decision on each application is made. Information on these arrangements is available on the FSA website at the following link:

https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/edible-insects-guidance

The FSA is in regular contact with companies submitting applications for the use of edible insects in or as food.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the speed of the delivery of the school vaccination programme. \p Andrew Gwynne: The National Health Service is supporting catch-up efforts to return the coverage of school aged vaccination programmes back to their pre-pandemic levels. School aged immunisation service providers are commissioned to deliver a 100% offer for adolescent vaccine programmes, including for children not in mainstream education.

Catch-up initiatives are also in place via schools and community clinic settings, and those who miss out on the adolescent immunisation sessions remain eligible in older years. General practices are also commissioned by NHS England to deliver catch ups for school aged children and young people on an opportunistic basis, to maximise vaccine uptake.

NHS England continues to work with all key stakeholders at a regional level to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models to approach the robust delivery of school aged vaccinations.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing a proxy staging measure for non-stageable blood cancers and (b) applying a national target to (i) measure and (ii) support a reduction in levels of late diagnosis. \p Andrew Gwynne: There are no current plans to introduce a specific proxy staging measure or a corresponding national target to support the earlier diagnosis of blood cancers.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

In addition to improving cancer waiting time performance, the NHS has implemented non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. This includes blood cancer, which the national evaluation found was one of the most common cancers diagnosed via these pathways.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with blood cancer and other cancers with lower survival rates. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be and will provide updates in due course.
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David Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue to fund the swap to stop smoking scheme. \p Andrew Gwynne: The settlement for the Swap to Stop scheme will be confirmed in due course.
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David Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue to fund the financial incentives scheme for pregnant smokers. \p Andrew Gwynne: The settlement for the National Smoke-free Pregnancy Incentives Scheme will be confirmed in due course.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria he plans to use to evaluate the respiratory syncytial virus immunisation method to protect infants in the June 2025 review. \p Andrew Gwynne: The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antenatal maternal vaccination programme for infant protection began in England on 1 September 2024. The first uptake data will be published on 30 January 2025.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes evaluations of national immunisation programmes, and will be evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the RSV maternal vaccination programme for infant protection once sufficient data is available. Immunisation programme effectiveness against hospital admissions is typically assessed using the test-negative case-control method.

To raise awareness of the potential vaccination benefits and increase awareness of the programmes amongst health professionals, parents, carers, and the wider public, the UKHSA provides a comprehensive suite of public facing resources and assets. This includes information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, like easy read, British Sign Language, and braille. The UKHSA also provides comprehensive clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training for healthcare professionals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the forthcoming national cancer plan will consult teenagers and young people with cancer. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Government has been clear that there should be a national cancer plan, and we are now in discussions about what form it should take, including how we will account for children and young people. We will develop and publish the 10-Year Health Plan before publishing a new national cancer plan, and will provide updates in due course.

We recognise that cancer in children and young people is different to cancer in adults, and should be treated as such, particularly with regard to treatment, diagnosis, and wider support. We are committed to carefully considering this as part of our work.

The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce will be relaunched in 2025 to identify ways to improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer. We will set out further details on next steps in due course.
wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_250
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_250

Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce the prevalence of food deserts in deprived areas, (b) improve access to affordable, healthy food and (c) address the affordability gap between healthy and unhealthy options. \p Andrew Gwynne: Within six months of taking office, the Government has begun action to improve the food environment and ensure that healthier food is available, affordable, and accessible for all, irrespective of where you live.

This includes publishing the revised National Planning Policy Framework for local government, giving local authorities the stronger, clearer powers they have told us they need to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate. We have also met our commitment to lay the secondary legislation to restrict junk food advertising to children.

Furthermore, the Government has committed to the roll out of free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, and we already have schemes to support those on low incomes such as Healthy Start, reaching over 354,000 vulnerable people.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring, exploring all available levers to drive forward actions across Government to reduce child poverty.

The Department of Health and Social Care will also work in close collaboration on the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs led cross-Government food strategy, which will outline actions to support the food system to provide more easily accessible, healthy food to tackle obesity, helping to give children the best start in life and helping adults to live longer, healthier lives.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_251

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of diagnosis for rheumatoid arthritis. \p Andrew Gwynne: No specific assessment has been made of recent trends in the level of diagnosis for rheumatoid arthritis in England. In 2023/24, 0.8% of patients in England aged 16 years old and older had a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis recorded on the practice disease register. Therefore, there are estimated to be approximately 460,000 people with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in England. This data is from the Fingertips data collection and is based on the Quality and Outcomes Framework, with further information available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/msk/data#page/4/gid/xx-xxxx-xxxx/ati/15/iid/91269/age/164/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/tre-do-0.

The percentage of patients with rheumatoid arthritis has remained fairly stable since the Fingertips data on rheumatoid arthritis was first collected in 2013/14. In 2013/14, 0.7% of patients in England aged 16 years old and older had a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis recorded on the practice disease register.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_252

Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing bowel screening for people aged over 74. \p Andrew Gwynne: In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee, an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening, as well as supporting implementation.

As screening programmes can cause harms as well as benefits, each of the adult screening programmes has both an upper and lower age range within which there is good scientific evidence that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.

The UK National Screening Committee does not currently recommend routine bowel screening over the age of 74 years old, as there is a lack of evidence regarding the harms and benefits of screening above this age. Once people are 75 years old or over, they can ask for a bowel screening kit every two years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on xx-xxxx-xxxx.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_253

Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of cervical cancer screenings. \p Andrew Gwynne: A range of national improvements and innovations have been implemented to help increase uptake in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. In some areas, cervical screening appointments can now be made in any primary care setting rather than just at an individual’s own general practice, with appointments being made available during evenings and on weekends and via integrated sexual health clinics. In addition, laboratories that analyse samples can now operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week to accommodate surges in capacity.
wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_254
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_254

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting lists for prostate cancer diagnosis. \p Andrew Gwynne: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of waiting lists for prostate cancer. However, we know that patients, including those with suspected prostate cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis. We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time or earlier, treating it faster, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.

As we set out in our new plan for reforming elective care, we are committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times. Further details will be set out in a dedicated national cancer plan and the NHS’s annual operational planning guidance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_255

Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a set price list for private dental practices. \p Stephen Kinnock: The National Health Service contracts independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment. Dentists must make clear which treatments can be provided on the NHS and which can only be provided on a private basis, and the costs associated for each. If a patient decides to choose alternative private options, this should be included in their treatment plan.

The Department and NHS England do not control the cost of private dental or orthodontic treatment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_256

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23243, if he will publish a breakdown of spending on brain cancer research in 2023-24, including UK Research and Innovation funding bodies. \p Andrew Gwynne: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department of Health and Social Care invests over £1.5 billion per year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24. Cancer is a major area of NIHR spend, reflecting its high priority.

In 2023/24, total NIHR spending on direct research awards on brain cancer was £2.1 million spent across 22 active studies with a total lifetime value of £11.8 million. In the same year our wider infrastructure investments, which enable the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research funded by ourselves, charities and industry partners, allowed an additional 1,107 people to participate in potentially life-changing brain cancer research in the National Health Service. Information about research projects funded through NIHR Research Programmes, including on brain cancer, is available at the following link:

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/

The NIHR works closely with other Government funders, including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which conducts research through its nine research councils. UKRI figures for spending on brain cancer research in 2023/24 have yet to be finalised.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_257

Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what grants are available for (a) district and (b) borough councils to support mental health initiatives. \p Stephen Kinnock: 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.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-27)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-27 conversation_258

Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Oral Statement of 15 January 2025 on Winter Update, if he will publish a list of the locations of the 24 critical incidents declared in the week of 6 January 2025. \p Karin Smyth: On 7 January 2025, there were a total of 24 active critical incidents reported, as referenced by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in his oral statement of 15 January 2025. The following table shows a list of the 24 National Health Service organisations where the critical incidents were declared:

NHS organisation

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

NHS England East of England Region

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Devon Integrated Care Board

As of 21 January 2025, 23 of the critical incidents declared above have been stood down. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust remains active. University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Foundation Trust also declared a critical incident on this date but stood down the next day.