theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for research into the role of technology in gender based violence. \p Feryal Clark: The government is working with Ofcom, the independent online safety regulator, to implement the Online Safety Act. The Act requires platforms to proactively tackle illegal content and content harmful to children, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls.

Ofcom and the government have ongoing online safety research programmes. On 6 February, DSIT published research entitled ‘Platform design and the risk of online violence against women and girls’ which can found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67a39e2cad556423b636cadd/Platform_design_risk_of_online_violence_against_women_girls_A.pdf
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Will Stone:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) requiring social media accounts to be linked to a form of ID and (b) preventing people with certain convictions from interacting with users under the age of 18. \p Feryal Clark: The Online Safety Act gives online platforms new duties to protect users from illegal content and safeguard children.

The Act stipulates that where there is a risk to children from the most harmful types of content (‘primary priority content), in-scope services including social media sites must use highly effective age assurance.

Ofcom’s draft codes also propose additional protections for under 18s to keep their accounts private and prevent them being contacted and groomed by strangers.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the tourism industry in Fylde constituency. \p Chris Bryant: The Government is implementing the most significant overhaul of regional destination management in a generation, creating a portfolio of nationally supported, strategic and high-performing Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) in partnership with VisitEngland. These LVEPs will provide strong local leadership and governance in tourism destinations all over the country, and Fylde is included in this programme as part of the Marketing Lancashire LVEP. The Marketing Lancashire LVEP works collaboratively with both local authority and private sector partners to communicate investment opportunities and to showcase Lancashire’s strengths as a place to live, work, study and invest in, as well as a premier destination for visitors.
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Chris Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) university students and (b) other young people have access to education on gambling harms. \p Stephanie Peacock: Since 2020, children have been taught about the risks relating to gambling as part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in England. There are also a range of initiatives in place to inform university students about gambling-related harm. For example, the independent charity YGAM provides free CPD training on gaming and gambling for university students.

The government is introducing a statutory levy charged to licensed operators raising £90 to £100 million each year for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. 30% of this funding will be allocated to prevention activity, including education and early intervention to help raise awareness of harmful gambling and the support available.
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Chris Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to limit children's exposure to gambling advertisements on popular streaming platforms. \p Stephanie Peacock: We are committed to protecting children and young people from harmful gambling. There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children and young people. As part of the advertising codes which cover both broadcast and non-broadcast advertising, including on Video on Demand (VOD) or streaming platforms, operators are required to ensure advertising is not targeted at children, and must not appear in media created for children or for which children make up 25% or more of the audience.
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Tom Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on (a) financial fair play in County Cricket and (b) possible measures to provide a level playing field between counties of different financial standing. \p Stephanie Peacock: As the governing body for cricket in England and Wales, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is independent from the Government and is responsible for the regulation of cricket, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport at all levels. It is for the ECB to answer for their approach.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure the commercial viability of (a) racecourses and (b) associated supply chains. \p Stephanie Peacock: A major source of support for all 59 racecourses across the country and the wider related industry is the Horserace Betting Levy, which generated £105m in 2023/4. The levy sits alongside commercial deals between the betting and racing industries. Approximately 70% of levy funds is used for prize money and invested into racing’s eco-system supporting owners, trainers, jockeys and stable staff.

The Horseracing Betting Levy Board, which is tasked with the distribution of funds collected via the Levy, has also made funding available to support modernisation of weighing room facilities as part of a long-term programme of improvement works to future-proof facilities across all British racecourses, via a racecourse loan scheme.

In relation to any increase to the Horserace Betting Levy, the Government has written to both betting and racing industries to resume negotiations on a voluntary deal, focusing on areas where there has been previous agreement. One such area was on the merits of a potential fund to support reform and growth of the sport which would be beneficial for both industries. The Government supports the ongoing negotiations between racing and betting on a voluntary agreement as the quickest means of seeing additional funding flow into the sport.
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Zöe Franklin:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of Ofcom's role in regulating the BBC's impact on fair and effective competition in radio. \p Stephanie Peacock: The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the government. It has a responsibility under its Royal Charter to have particular regard for the effects of its activities on competition in the United Kingdom. This includes requirements to work collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations and to seek to avoid adverse impacts on competition which are not necessary for fulfilling their Mission and Public Purposes. It is for Ofcom as the BBC’s independent regulator to hold the BBC to account in meeting its obligations to audiences and in terms of its market impact. In respect of its broadcasting regulatory functions, Ofcom is operationally independent of government and directly accountable to Parliament.
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Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money released by the Dormant Assets scheme has been allocated to (a) England, (b) East Anglia and (c) Norfolk in each year since the scheme began. \p Stephanie Peacock: As of 2023/24, a total of £826 million has been allocated from the Dormant Assets Scheme to England, with DCMS responsible for this portion of funding. This is broken down by year as follows: 2011/12: £39.9 million; 2012/13: £41.6 million; 2013/14: £70 million; 2014/15: £41.1 million; 2015/16: £30.7 million; 2016/17: £79.1 million; 2017/18: £128 million; 2018/19: £59.8 million; 2019/20: £57.6 million; 2020/21: £75.6 million; 2021/22: £44.8 million; 2022/23: £77.9 million; and 2023/24: £79.9 million.

To date, this has been distributed by four independent, expert organisations set up with the explicit purpose of delivering dormant assets funding: Youth Futures Foundation, Fair4All Finance, Better Society Capital, and Access: The Foundation for Social Investment. Dormant assets funding seeks to address entrenched societal challenges through long-term, innovative programmes at a national scale, and is not allocated on a regional basis.

Examples of how dormant assets funding has benefited East Anglia and Norfolk include Fair4All Finance investing £88,240 in community finance organisations in Norwich to support people in vulnerable circumstances by improving their access to fair and affordable financial products and services. Additionally, Asperger East Anglia received a £35,000 loan from Access’s Growth Fund, funded by dormant assets.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Football Governance Bill on Leicester City Football Club. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Independent Football Regulator will take a light-touch, targeted and proportionate approach. The requirements on individual clubs will reflect their circumstances, meaning they might vary based on factors like league, club size, and a club’s financial health or riskiness.

From our significant engagement with clubs and leagues, we expect the impact on most clubs to be modest.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Independent Press Standards Organisation for (a) supporting and (b) regulating news publications. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is committed to protecting press freedom, which is essential to a strong and functioning democracy. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is crucial to maintain press freedom. The Government therefore does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO and Impress.
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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase participation in women’s sport in Ilford South. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport. We want to break down the barriers that exist and prevent women and girls from being active including but not limited to kit, facilities, time and cost. This Girl Can, which recently celebrated its ten year anniversary, is an inspiring campaign that has promoted women’s sport, challenged prejudice and made clear that sport is for everyone.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Separately, as a government, we are investing £123 million in inclusive grassroots sport facilities that will support more women and girls to take part in the sports that they love.

In the last financial year, 2023-24, Sport England awarded over £75,000 to Ilford South constituency.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will implement financial incentives to encourage media organisations to come within the remit of Impress, in the context of the Leveson Report. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is committed to protecting press freedom, which is essential to a strong and functioning democracy. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is crucial to maintain press freedom.

For that reason, the Government currently has no plans to bring forward financial incentives to encourage media organisations to join Impress.
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Alex McIntyre:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support leisure centres in Gloucester constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises that leisure facilities are important to communities up and down the country. High-quality, inclusive facilities help people get active. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.

The ongoing responsibility for public leisure facilities lies at Local Authority level. Local Authorities work in partnership with operators who manage leisure services. The Government and Sport England continue to work closely with Local Authorities to monitor pressures in the sector and provide advice and guidance.
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Liam Conlon:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the sustainability of local media, including in Beckenham and Penge constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: Sustainability of local journalism is an area of particular concern for this Government, across the country, including in the Beckenham and Penge constituency.

We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops and will announce further details in due course.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a TV licence exemption for UK Armed Forces personnel resident n service accommodation. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has not made an assessment of the potential merits of a TV licence exemption for UK Armed Forces personnel resident in service accommodation.

As part of the next Charter Review, the Government will engage with the BBC and others to consider how to ensure the BBC thrives well into the next decade and beyond. This will include discussions on a range of important issues, including how we ensure that there is a sustainable funding model that is fair for those who pay for it.
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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase funding for youth services. \p Stephanie Peacock: As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. At the Autumn Budget, we announced £1.3 billion of extra funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement for the next financial year.

We are developing a new National Youth Strategy co-produced with young people, which will set out a new vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. We will be publishing an interim report this spring and the Strategy will be published this summer.

Funding allocations for specific programmes in 2025/26 will be communicated in due course, following the completion of business planning. It will include:

Over £85 million of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose spaces in places where it is most needed. This includes the Better Youth Spaces Fund - £26 million for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations;

The Local Youth Transformation Fund to start the journey of building back lost capability in local areas;

Completion of Youth Investment Fund projects underway.
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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has held discussions with representatives of young people on the development of the national youth strategy. \p Stephanie Peacock: Both the Secretary of State and I have conducted roundtables with young people and over the coming months will conduct a number of different engagement activities with young people, including focus groups.

In addition, a Youth Advisory Group was established in December 2024 to support DCMS to develop the National Youth Strategy. It will form a key part of the co-production of the National Youth Strategy, ensuring young people have a decision-making role throughout the process by providing expertise, challenge and a range of perspectives.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met with the Centre for Media Monitoring since 4 July 2024. \p Stephanie Peacock: Ministers and officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have not met with the Centre for Media Monitoring since 4 July 2024.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2025 to Question 26152, what discussions her Department has had with the Treasury on the up to £734.7m impact on the UK economy described at Paragraph 63 of the Impact Assessment on the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order (Amendment) 2025. \p Chris Bryant: The government is committed to the tourism sector maintaining its competitiveness. VisitBritain launched its latest ‘Starring Great Britain’ campaign in January, which will harness the powerful draw of Film and TV to drive inbound tourism from the UK’s largest and most valuable visitor markets, including Australia, the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, France, Germany and the USA. DCMS also works closely with the Home Office on visa-related matters, such as this amendment. While visa fees are a matter for the Home Office, DCMS collaborates with departments across Whitehall, including the Home Office and HM Treasury, to ensure a joined up approach to the visitor economy and monitor the impact of their policies on the tourism sector.
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Alex Ballinger:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS staff training is (a) effective, (b) time efficient and (c) value for money. \p Karin Smyth: Statutory and mandatory training is wide ranging and completed by all National Health Service staff. NHS England is leading work to reform statutory and mandatory training through a programme to optimise, rationalise, and redesign training. The aim is for the redesigned mandatory training to improve outcomes and staff experience, and take less time whilst being more relevant, higher quality, better value, and more portable.
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Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total number of trainee surgeons is in (a) England (b) Wales (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Scotland. \p Karin Smyth: The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in surgical specialty group roles by grade in the National Health Service in England, as of November 2024:

Grade

FTE doctors

Consultant surgeons

11,203

Specialty and associate specialist surgeons

2,832

Resident doctors with a core and specialty training level in a surgical specialty group

11,228

Resident doctors with foundation years on placements in surgical specialties

4,292

Source: Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics, NHS England.

Healthcare in Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland is a devolved responsibility and so the Department does not hold the data requested.
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Jade Botterill:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce NHS waiting times in West Yorkshire. \p Karin Smyth: Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for this government. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out how we will cut the waiting list and get back to the 18-week constitutional standard so that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care, including those using the National Health Service in West Yorkshire.

The Elective Reform Plan sets out how we will create an NHS fit for the future, modernising care so that it takes place efficiently and closer to home, prioritising patient experience and ensuring that wherever you live in England, you will be seen, diagnosed and treated in a timely way.

We have already supported this with additional investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, which has enabled us to deliver an additional two million appointments, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endoscopy. These additional appointments will help cut waiting times nationally, including across West Yorkshire.

We will also continue to boost regional capacity to deliver elective care by increasing the number of surgical hubs and expanding and increasing the opening times of community diagnostic centres (CDCs). There are currently seven CDCs and four operational surgical hubs already in West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, with plans to open a further two hubs.
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Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to recruit NHS staff from UK citizens who obtained their medical qualification outside of the UK. \p Karin Smyth: There is no central programme to recruit United Kingdom citizens who have obtained their medical qualification outside the UK into the National Health Service. NHS employers work at a local level to ensure they have the workforce they need, which includes making decisions about recruiting internationally educated doctors and determining the support they may require.

All medical practitioners wishing to practise in the UK must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and hold a licence to practise. The GMC is statutorily independent of Government and sets the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to its register. This ensures registrants are safe to practise and that patients receive a high standard of care. Information on the process for joining the GMC’s register and tailored support for international applicants can be found on its website.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a)  improve the accessibility of NHS hospital services for the elderly and (b) reduce the social stigma associated with seeking medical help. \p Karin Smyth: As part of the Government’s Health Mission, our goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind. The Government has introduced ambitious reforms aimed at enhancing patient access to services, such as the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025. We will set out further reforms to improve the National Health Service in the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan. Further information on the Elective Reform Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/reforming-elective-care-for-patients/
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Mohammad Yasin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the British Medical Association on incentivising hospital consultants to routinely work on weekends. \p Karin Smyth: There have been no discussions between the current health ministers in England and the British Medical Association on incentivising hospital consultants to routinely work on weekends.

Hospital consultants agree job plans with their employer at a local level. The job plan sets out all the consultant’s duties and responsibilities and includes a job schedule, which details when those duties and responsibilities will be delivered. Any scheduled work delivered on weekends would fall under enhanced pay arrangements as per the national terms and conditions of employment for hospital consultants in England.
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the recruitment of domestic medical graduates from UK universities into the National Health Service. \p Karin Smyth: Following completion of a medical degree, United Kingdom medical graduates must complete the Foundation Programme, a two-year work-based programme, to practise as a doctor in the National Health Service. We are committed to ensuring that the number of Foundation Programme places meets the demands of the NHS in the future.

The Government is committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join the NHS. However, internationally educated staff remain an important part of the workforce.

In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS England in upholding (a) article 5 and (b) article 6 of the UK's General Data Protection Regulation. \p Karin Smyth: The Department requires all health and care organisations, including NHS England, to annually assess themselves against the standards set out in the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT). The DSPT measures health and care organisations’ data protection and security capability and preparedness. The requirement to comply with Articles 5 and 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are embedded in the standards required by the DSPT.

NHS England has consistently met the requirements of the DSPT, including its most recent assessment in June 2024.

In addition, NHS England provides a safe haven for National Health Service data in accordance with the Department’s statutory guidance, NHS England’s protection of patient data. The guidance ensures that NHS England acts as a safe and effective guardian of information collected from the NHS and adult social care services.

As part of its compliance with Article 5 of the UK GDPR, NHS England ensures transparency in its use of personal data by publishing data protection impact assessments and a monthly data uses register that details all external data sharing agreements.
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Steve Yemm:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS (a) operations, (b) appointments and (c) tests that took place in Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust between July and November in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The following table shows the number of additional elective appointments at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the period July to November 2023, and the corresponding period in 2024:

Time period

Elective operations

Outpatient appointments

Diagnostic tests

Total

July to November 2023

18,383

84,742

47,987

151,112

July to November 2023, adjusted for working days

18,553

85,527

48,431

152,511

July to November 2024

21,444

105,003

55,379

181,826

Additional appointments

2,891

19,476

6,948

29,315

Source: NHS England

Note: These data are consistent with the publication of additional elective appointments on 16 February which includes those scope of the Value Weighted Activity metric with the key diagnostic times from diagnostic waiting times statistics. It excludes outpatient appointments without procedure and elective admissions for endoscopies to avoid double-counting of diagnostics. The scope of this data is limited to elective services consistent with consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times. It excludes emergency care, maternity and mental health services.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) inflation, (b) changes to National Insurance contributions and (c) local authority fee uplifts on healthcare providers. \p Karin Smyth: Each year, the cost of providing healthcare changes because of changes in wages, inflation other inputs over which providers have little control. NHS England publishes a cost uplift factor to reflect these expected cost changes that forms part of the NHS Payment Scheme, and all payment arrangements must have regard to the figure.

The 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme is out for consultation until midnight on 28 February 2025. The proposed cost uplift factor for 2025/26 is 4.15%, and is broken down into costs affecting pay, drugs, capital, clinical negligence and other factors.
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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue funding for additional higher anaesthetic training places in 2025-26. \p Karin Smyth: We are committed to training the staff we need, including anaesthetists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.

We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.

We have launched the 10-Year Health Plan which will set out a bold agenda to reform and repair the NHS, and ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to build the transformed health service we will deliver over the next decade.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the NHS England Consultation on changes to Right to Choose under the NHS Payment Scheme Policy will take into account the views of patients and their families. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England has followed standard procedure in its consultation on the NHS Payment Scheme. A consultation on changes to the payment scheme takes place every year as required to by law. While the legal requirement is to consult commissioners and providers, the views of patients and their families are important and responses are therefore accepted from other interested parties and members of the public. Responses will inform further decisions on the final scheme design.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_212

Mr Luke Charters:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) improvements in stroke care services and (b) the introduction of mechanical thrombectomy services at York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust. \p Karin Smyth: There is no current plan to introduce mechanical thrombectomy for the acute treatment of strokes at the York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust. Thrombectomy is a specialist treatment that is only offered in a few tertiary centres across the country. Patients attending the York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust requiring a mechanical thrombectomy will be referred to the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as the tertiary centre catering to the population who require this service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_213

Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the working conditions for trainee surgeons. \p Karin Smyth: We are committed to ensuring that doctors trained in the United Kingdom remain within the National Health Service through a structured, data-driven approach to workforce retention, and to improving the working conditions of all resident doctors, including trainee surgeons.

NHS England’s Enhancing Resident Doctors Working Lives programme continues to implement several measures aimed at supporting resident doctors, encouraging them to stay in training and the NHS, and reducing overall attrition. In addition, the NHS National Retention Programme is actively improving working conditions for trainee surgeons by enhancing workplace culture, promoting flexible training, and reducing burnout and attrition.

On 18 February 2025, the Chief Medical Officer and the National Medical Director of NHS England jointly launched a review of postgraduate medical training. The review will cover placement options, the flexibility of training, difficulties with rotas, control and autonomy in training, and the balance between developing specialist knowledge and gaining a broad range of skills.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_214

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals in England are operating above 90% bed occupancy levels. \p Karin Smyth: Bed occupancy data is published by NHS England and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/critical-care-and-general-acute-beds-urgent-and-emergency-care-daily-situation-reports-2024-25/

The data shows 113 National Health Service trusts in England with general and acute bed occupancy above 90%.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_215

Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate engagement with trade unions representing health and social care workers. \p Karin Smyth: As we take steps to reform the National Health Service in England, the Government is committed to resetting relations with all NHS staff. As part of this, the Department engages regularly with trade unions representing staff working in the NHS and the social care sector, on a wide range of issues, including workforce policy and, more recently, the 10-Year Health Plan.

This engagement includes regular, scheduled meetings with the healthcare trade unions in the national Social Partnership Forum, which I chair. We also continue to engage through national partnership structures such as the NHS Staff Council to understand unions’ views on pay and contractual arrangements.

Furthermore, we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. As we work towards a Fair Pay Agreement, we are already consulting unions, and others from across the sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_216

Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many adrenaline auto-Injector (AAI) prescriptions were issued in each of the last 10 years. \p Karin Smyth: The Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) data release gives items and quantities of each medicine dispensed in the community in England. The following table shows the total number of National Health Service prescription items dispensed in the community in England, regardless of where prescribed, for adrenaline auto-injectors, from 2015 to 2024, and in total:

Year

Total prescription items

2015

303,810

2016

324,377

2017

338,668

2018

351,931

2019

381,754

2020

375,240

2021

343,729

2022

403,046

2023

407,070

2024

429,542

Total

3,659,167

Source: the NHS Business Services Authority’s Open Data Portal, PCA data

Note: the term ‘items’ refers to the number of times a product appears on a prescription form, and not the quantity prescribed.

The data does not include data on medicines used in secondary care, prisons, or those issued by a private prescriber.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_217

Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to increase the number of adults that have visited a dentist in Rochdale Borough in the last two years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service 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, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Rochdale Borough, this is the NHS Greater Manchester ICB.

ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_218

Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to increase access to NHS dental services in Newbury constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service 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, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Newbury constituency, this is the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire ICB.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_219

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the NHS on lower rates of (a) adults and (b) children having seen a dentist in Nottinghamshire in the last two years than the equivalent average rates for England, as of March 2024. \p Stephen Kinnock: In the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), in the 24 months to June 2024, 42% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist, compared to 40% in England. In the 12 months to June 2024, 60% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the ICB, compared to 56% nationally.

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, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the Ashfield constituency, this is the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_220

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS dentists accepting new patients in West Dorset constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: As of 4 February 2025, in the West Dorset constituency, there were 15 National Health Service dentist practices, with two showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’ and two showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’.

This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_221

David Reed:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis will be published in March 2025; and what steps he plans to take to ensure its effectiveness without additional funding. \p Ashley Dalton: We aim to publish the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), final delivery plan in the coming months. The content of the ME/CFS delivery plan has not yet been finalised. The responses to the 2023 interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people living with this debilitating disease. Following the publication of the final delivery plan, we will monitor the progress across all actions in the delivery plan to ensure timely implementation and periodically report to stakeholders as appropriate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-28 conversation_222

Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase awareness among women with Neurofibromatosis type 1 that they are entitled to breast screening from the age of 40; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of GPs taking an increased role in (a) identifying and (b) referring such women for screening. \p Ashley Dalton: The NHS Breast Screening Programme invites women between the ages of 50 and 71 years old to a screening every three years. However, women with an increased risk of breast cancer, such as those with neurofibromatosis type 1, are invited for screening from 40 years old.

Any woman who has neurofibromatosis type 1 and who hasn’t been referred for breast screening at 40 years old, or who has noticed changes to their breasts, should speak to their general practitioner.

The National Health Service website, available to the public and professionals, has information on neurofibromatosis and the increased risk of breast cancer, and advises breast screening from 40 years old.

In 2023, the England Rare Diseases Action Plan committed to improving the registration of national data for exemplar rare genetic conditions which cause an inherited predisposition to cancer, building on the success of the national Lynch syndrome registry.