theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_7

Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to increase access to specialist wheelchairs for children in Nottingham East constituency. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, and responsibility for providing disabled children’s equipment would typically fall to the National Health Service and local authorities.

NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, with the aim of supporting improvements where required. Further information can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/national-wheelchair

NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving intervention and equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025 which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB is actively working to ensure equitable access to specialist wheelchair services across the region, including Nottingham City and South Nottinghamshire. This is being pursued through:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Mr Calvin Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Health and Social Care on 17 June 2025, Official Report col 352, what his planned timescale is for a decision of the NHS England Clinical Priorities Advisory Group in relation to commissioning of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone for hormone-sensitive non-metastatic prostate cancer, following the sharing of updated cost impact modelling from Prostate Cancer UK. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: In regard to funding for abiraterone specifically, abiraterone is not licensed for use in the treatment of high-risk, non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, and as such cannot be evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for routine use on the National Health Service. NICE makes recommendations for the NHS in England on the vast majority of new medicines and significant licence indications for existing medicines, but does not evaluate medicines that are used outside their marketing authorisations or “off-label”.

Funding decisions for off-label medicines are the responsibility of NHS commissioners, who are required to make decisions on the basis of the available evidence. For cancer medicines, NHS England is the responsible commissioner and has an established mechanism to do so through its clinical prioritisation process. NHS England considered abiraterone as an off-label treatment for the treatment of hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer through its clinical policy development process in 2024/25. Through this process, NHS England confirmed that there was sufficient supporting evidence to support the routine commissioning of abiraterone in this indication and it was ranked as the top priority for routine commissioning. However, NHS England has not been able to identify the necessary recurrent funding to support the commissioning of abiraterone, or any other treatments within the prioritisation round. This position in being kept under review and will be progressed as soon as recurrent funding is identified.

This position takes into account the need to ensure the affordability of introducing any new routine commissioning policies, alongside maintaining existing services for patients, and of meeting their legal requirement to fund all NICE approved drugs. Abiraterone for the treatment of high-risk, hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer remains the top priority for routine commissioning.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72364 on Electronic Patient Records, what funding support he is providing to the North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust to enable the procurement of a (a) modern and (b) enterprise-wide electronic patient record system. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: NHS England is supporting the North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust to produce a robust and affordable Outline Business Case to procure an Electronic Patient Record that meets the core capabilities set out by the NHS England Frontline Digitisation programme. This includes providing procurement support, subject matter expertise, and funding, which encompasses both capital and revenue.

The North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust has received approximately £9 million of funding from NHS England to date, with a further £3 million of funding due to be received this year. This funding is contingent on the North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust providing an agreed plan for its spend on readiness activities to support creation of the Outline Business Case.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce ADHD diagnosis times. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June 2025, with the final report expected later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Mr Richard Quigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children died while receiving inpatient mental health care in each year since 2010; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) these deaths are properly (i) recorded and (ii) investigated and (b) future deaths are prevented. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Since 2013, there has been a total of 40 deaths of young people aged under 18 years old in contact with Tier 4 inpatient children and young people’s mental health services, including those on home leave, or who had absconded. We are unable to provide the information broken down by year as requested, as the annual data held by NHS England includes a small patient count of fewer than five cases which could lead to the identification of individuals. Data is not available prior to 2013.

All deaths of children and young people under the care of Tier 4 services are routinely reported to the Department via NHS England. Such deaths are also notified to the Care Quality Commission and the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health.

With regards to investigating inpatient deaths, the NHS Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), introduced in August 2022, promotes four core principles to inform learning from safety events: compassionate engagement; systems-based learning; proportionate responses; and supportive oversight. While PSIRF represents a significant improvement to the way that the National Health Service responds to patient safety incidents, it does not alter the requirements set out in the National Learning from Deaths policy framework. These require a patient safety incident investigation to be undertaken into any event where problems in care are thought more likely than not to have led to the death of a patient.

To help ensure that future deaths are prevented, NHS England has radically redesigned the children and young people’s inpatient model of care, working in partnership with hundreds of children, young people, and their families. One of the key recommendations from working with families through the Quality Transformation Programme was to change the service model to enable families to stay overnight at inpatient services to maintain the connection with their loved one and, critically, to ensure that the delivery of care at a point during a crisis is seen as being delivered to the young person, as well as their family and support network. These recommendations have been built into the new service model. NHS England is in the process of testing the new service model through the use of a development service specification.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the most recent National Study of Health and Wellbeing. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The latest prevalence data from the National Study of Health and Wellbeing (also known as the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey) found that 1 in 5 adults in England were experiencing a common mental health condition in 2023/24, up from 1 in 6 a decade ago.

Through our Plan for Change, we are committed to working beyond the health system to tackle the drivers of mental ill health. For example, recently announced welfare legislation is getting more people with health conditions back into work, backed by £1 billion of investment to unlock opportunity and grow the economy.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a number of important initiatives that will help tackle the rising prevalence of mental ill health by intervening earlier when problems first arise. This includes expanding access to mental health support teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage across England by 2030, embedding mental health support in Young Futures Hubs and making it easier than ever to access mental health support via the NHS App.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce the use of AI to detect skin cancer. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a wide range of opportunities to help change our health and care system for the better. One opportunity for AI in the National Health Service is to support with diagnostics, including detecting skin cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) routinely evaluates medical technologies, including innovative AI-enabled technologies, and makes recommendations on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of products for the health and social care services in England. NICE has recommended the use of an AI technology for assessing and triaging skin lesions for patients in the NHS suspected skin cancer pathway.

This AI tool, DERM, can distinguish between benign and cancerous skin lesions with nearly 99.7% accuracy, and is now being used in 25 NHS trusts as a part of the NHS's rollout of ‘teledermatology’. Further evidence on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the tool is currently being collected.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NICE on assessing (a) Optune and (b) other tumour treating field therapies for use in the UK. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: No discussions have been held between the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on assessing (a) Optune and (b) other tumour treating field therapies for use in the UK.

NICE considered the use of tumour treating fields (TTF) in its guideline on brain tumours (NG99) published in 2018 and recommended that the treatment should not be offered for the management of newly diagnosed glioblastoma or recurrent high-grade glioma, based on an assessment of the evidence available at the time.

Decisions on whether guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE’s prioritisation board considered TTF for glioblastoma in July 2024 where they agreed the topic should not be prioritised but reconsidered when relevant key trials have completed.

At the meeting on 15 September 2025, the topic was reconsidered. The prioritisation board noted that some trials are ongoing, including a key trial that is likely to publish in 2026, and consequently agreed that the topic should still not be prioritised at this time, but revisited once those trials have published.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of donor organs. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation in the United Kingdom. NHSBT is working to improve the availability of donor organs by encouraging more people to record their wishes on the Organ Donor Register. Current activity includes:
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of workforce levels on the ability of community pharmacies to meet service demands. \p Stephen Kinnock: For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England, which represents all pharmacy contactors including independent pharmacies. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, namely over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. On 15 August 2025, the Government published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. We will continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other stakeholders across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions.

Regarding the pharmacy workforce, as private businesses pharmacy employers have a clear role to ensure staff levels are adequate to deliver commissioned NHS services. The annual community pharmacy workforce survey provides data on current workforce levels. The survey is an important tool to help inform workforce planning for employers and NHS integrated care boards. The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey data is available at the following link:

https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/09aa8f38-547a-46b7-a117-2cb710ad939b/https-www-hee-nhs-uk-our-work-pharmacy-community-pharmacy-workforce-survey

We will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan by the end of 2025. This will look at how healthcare professionals can work at the top of their skills, and ask what workforce we need, what they should do, where they should be deployed and what skills they should have.

To support pharmacy employers develop their staff and deliver quality NHS services, NHS England provides several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Teplizumab in slowing the development of type 1 diabetes; and when he plans to roll-out that drug on the NHS. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Teplizumab was licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in August 2025, to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adult and paediatric patients 8 years of age and older with Stage 2 type 1 diabetes. Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on new medicines which represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE aims wherever possible to issue draft guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing and the NHS in England is legally required to fund NICE-recommended medicines, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

NICE is currently evaluating teplizumab and has published draft guidance for consultation in which it was unable to recommend teplizumab for delaying the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in people 8 years and over with stage 2 type 1 diabetes. Final guidance is due to be published on 26 November 2025.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of he Lobular Moonshot project. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot project on 14 July 2025. Department officials again met with representatives on 29 July 2025, where it was determined that the most pressing research priorities were in discovery science, which sits within the Medical Research Council’s remit. On 18 September researchers involved with the Lobular Moonshot Project met with the Medical Research Council. The Department has also recently exchanged written correspondence with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot project.

Both the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research have committed to continuing to work with the Lobular Moonshot Campaign team to support the development of fundable research proposals in this area and help drive our collective ambition to increase the understanding and effective management of this disease.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Kerry McCarthy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to recruit more experienced GPs whose Certificate of Completion of Training date was more than two years ago. \p Stephen Kinnock: We hugely value and appreciate the work that all general practitioners (GPs) do and recognise that it is vital for their roles to be satisfying, rewarding, and sustainable so that our GPs continue to contribute throughout their career.

The Government committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified GPs, with a Certificate of Completion of Training dated under two years ago, in primary care networks (PCNs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to secure the future pipeline of GPs, with over 1,000 doctors otherwise likely to have graduated into unemployment in 2024/25. Funding has been continued into 2025/26 with greater flexibilities also introduced to the scheme to allow PCNs to respond better to local workforce needs. Data on the number of recently qualified general practitioners for which PCNs are claiming reimbursement via the ARRS show that since 1 October 2024, over 2000 recently qualified GPs were recruited through the scheme.

The ARRS is subject to annual review as part of the consultation on the GP contract with professional and patient representatives. NHS England works closely with the Department to implement any changes identified as part of this process. To build capacity in the GP workforce and reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, we have invested an additional £1.1 billion in GPs, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, the biggest increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to safeguard patient data under NHS contracts with (a) Palantir and (b) other private sector data collectors. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The National Health Service operates to the highest standards of data security, and all organisations have governance arrangements in place to ensure the safe, legal storage and use of data. The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to NHS data is tightly governed and independently auditable.

All user activity within the FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are actively monitored by both Palantir’s United Kingdom security team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre, to detect and respond to any malicious activity. Security logs are encrypted at rest and in transit, and are stored on a secure Security Information and Event Management server which is accessible only to authorised personnel

Access to data within the FDP is governed by strict controls, including the principle of least privilege and mandatory access control systems. Only authorised users are granted access for approved purposes, and all permissions are subject to audit and review. In addition to these technical safeguards, the FDP and associated services contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations.

Further information on the FDP’s security and governance framework is available in the published contract documentation and supporting materials, a copy of which is attached.

Additional document (pdf, 477.6KB)
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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) review and (b) reconsider the contract between the NHS and Palantir for the Federated Data Platform, in the context of the (i) abolition of NHS England, (ii) opposition of the British Medical Association and (iii) comments of Peter Thiel on the NHS. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The provider of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) was identified through a rigorous, competitive procurement process in line with Government procurement legislation. The selection was made by multiple assessors against clear criteria following an open tender process where any supplier could respond with their solution. Potential suppliers were required to demonstrate their financial, commercial, security, and technical capability to meet contractual requirements.

The contract for the FDP includes provisions to ensure transparency. This includes regular audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within National Health Service commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations. There is no plan to reconsider the contract.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to Mounjaro for people with bile acid malabsorption. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: In the United Kingdom, medicines need to have a licence before they can be marketed, and these are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). To get a licence, the manufacturer of the medicine has to provide evidence which shows that the medicine is safe and effective enough to be used for a specific condition and for a specific group of patients, and that they can manufacture the medicine to the required quality.

Most newly licensed medicines are then evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to see if they can be recommended for routine use on the National Health Service, based on an assessment of their clinical and cost-effectiveness. Mounjaro is not currently licensed for the treatment of bile acid malabsorption and therefore has not been evaluated by NICE for routine NHS use in this indication.

Clinicians can however prescribe medicines outside their licensed indication (known as ‘off-label’ use) where they consider it to be the best treatment option for their patient, and subject to funding by the NHS locally. In the absence of NICE guidance on the use of a medicine, including where it is used off-label, NHS organisations are expected to make decisions on funding based on an assessment of the available evidence.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the current Integrated Care Board (ICB)-led funding model in supporting the expansion of GP surgeries in areas with rapidly growing populations. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the requirement for the physical expansion of general practice premises to manage additional patient registrations. ICBs will also undertake assessments of housing plans and develop strategic plans to manage new populations and registered patients. Under this assessment, applications may be made via the planning authority to secure capital funding to mitigate the impact of new residents and patient registrations.

Discussions about developer contributions should take place as early as possible in the planning process. Developer contributions are negotiated and agreed between planning authorities and developers on a case-by-case basis, prior to planning permission being granted. Further detail is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/planning-obligations

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England are continuing to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to assess and improve the developer contribution process, to ensure health is appropriately considered and supported.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has allocated funding for the Government response to the Hughes Report. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support research into (a) treatments and (b) a cure for postural tachycardia syndrome. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public. The NIHR welcomes proposals for research into a range of conditions, including postural tachycardia syndrome, at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with his Northern Ireland counterpart on introducing charge cards to support coeliacs in paying for gluten free alternatives. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: No discussions between ministers and their counterparts in Northern Ireland on introducing charge cards to support coeliacs in paying for gluten free (GF) alternatives have been held.

In the United Kingdom, healthcare is a devolved matter. Nearly all health and social care policy in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including arrangements for coeliac patients, is handled by their respective administrations.

Following a review in 2019, the position in England remains that GF bread and mixes can be provided to all eligible coeliac patients on a National Health Service prescription, and a wide range of these items continue to be listed in Part XV of the Drug Tariff.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support parents whose child is diagnosed with a serious or life-limiting illness. \p Stephen Kinnock: As per Section 97 (3b) of the Children’s and Families Act 2014, parent carers have the right to request an assessment of their need for support from the local authority. Having been assessed, Section 17 (10b) of the Children’s Acts 1989 makes provision for a child whose physical or mental health is impaired, as well as his or her family, to receive the appropriate support services from the local authority.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to assess the social care needs of children and young people with serious or life-limiting illness, and to provide respite care where necessary. Local authorities and integrated care boards regularly liaise to plan and commission the most appropriate package of short breaks for the children and young people with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition in their area.

The statutory guidance on palliative and end of life care produced by NHS England states that the core responsibility for commissioners is to commission high-quality, safe services that are tailored to the needs of the individual. The duty is intended to ensure that those of all ages with palliative and end of life care needs, with progressive illness or those nearing the end of their lives, as well as their loved ones and carers, receive the care and support they need to live and to die well.

I am pleased to confirm the continuation of children’s hospice funding for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children’s hospices in England each year, via their local integrated care boards on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on approval of Skyclarys; and if he will consider the urgent provision of Skyclarys for patients on an interim basis. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) initiated the appraisal of Skyclarys (omaveloxolone) for the treatment of Friedrich’s Ataxia for people aged 16 years old and over in anticipation of a licence bring granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA is the independent agency responsible for licensing medicines for use in the United Kingdom based on an assessment of their safety, quality, and efficacy.

Although now licensed, following an update from the company, Biogen, NICE has had to terminate its appraisal of this medicine as the company has withdrawn its evidence submission. NICE will review its decision if the company decides to make a new submission. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA1061

To avoid the possibility of creating a way to circumvent the appraisal process, NHS England is unable to fund medicines where companies have not engaged with NICE.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the upcoming NHS Workforce Plan will include measures to improve the recruitment and retention of staff in women’s health services. \p Karin Smyth: Women’s health is a priority for this government, which is why we are implementing the Women’s Health Strategy. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for women, when they need it. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad includes clinical trials for brain cancer. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform set up to accelerate the development of cancer vaccines and speed up access to mRNA personalised cancer vaccine clinical trials for cancer patients. The CVLP has been instrumental in accelerating trial activity in cancer research, with CVLP sites driving faster activation and enrolment timelines. The platform is designed to be company and clinical trial type agnostic, and so any company that wishes to deliver trials via the platform, including those developing vaccines for brain tumours, can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when Baxdrostat will be available on the NHS. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: In the United Kingdom, medicines need to have a licence before they can be marketed. These are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Licences confirm the health condition the medicine should be used for and the recommended dosage. To get a licence, the manufacturer of the medicine has to provide evidence which shows that the medicine is safe and effective enough to be used for a specific condition and for a specific group of patients, and that they can manufacture the medicine to the required quality.

Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE aims wherever possible to issue draft guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund drugs recommended by NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.

Baxdrostat has not yet been licensed by the MHRA. If the manufacturer submits a request for a marketing authorisation, NICE will appraise baxdrostat to determine whether it can be recommended for routine use on the NHS and will aim to issue guidance as close as possible to licensing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_32

Sir Desmond Swayne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the length of NHS waiting lists. \p Karin Smyth: Waiting lists have fallen by over 206,000 since we came to office, and we’ve delivered 5.2 million extra appointments in our first year – more than double what we promised.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_33

Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on re-establishing a central capacity for co-ordinating preventative mental health work. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investment into mental health emergency departments, increasing access to evidence-based digital interventions, and providing mental health support teams in schools and colleges.

The Department recognises that there have been changes to the public health capacity and capability at a national, regional, and local level in recent years. However, the Government is committed to working beyond the health system to create an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents people from developing mental health problems, and improves the lives of people living with a mental health problem. Further work is required across the Government to create the conditions for good mental wellbeing, alongside early intervention and recovery to support people to live well in their communities and thrive.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_34

Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help prevent the closure of convalescence facilities in Norfolk. \p Karin Smyth: It is important that there are adequate services and facilities to support people to recover after a hospital stay. We expect local authorities to ensure that a diverse range of high-quality services are available, working with their NHS integrated care board. Our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service shifts care from hospital to communities, so that services are delivered as close to people’s homes as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_35

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists offering NHS treatment to adults there are per 1,000 people in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands. \p Stephen Kinnock: In 2024/25, there were 0.36 dentists per 1,000 population in the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB). This is compared to an average across ICBs of 0.42 dentists per 1,000 in England. Data is not held for the East Midlands.

ICBs have also started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. The Government’s ambition is to deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_36

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) benefits and (b) conditions for general practice nursing staff. \p Stephen Kinnock: As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is up to general practices (GPs) how they distribute pay and benefits to their staff. GP contractual arrangements do not place any specific obligations on practices with regard to GP nurse terms and conditions. Employers have the flexibility to set terms and conditions, for example to aid recruitment and retention, and we anticipate that good employers would set wage rates that reflect the skills and experience of their staff.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_37

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 10 Year Health Plan, how many GPs per neighbourhood will there be under the Neighbourhood Health Service. \p Stephen Kinnock: General practices (GPs) will be the cornerstone of the Neighbourhood Health Service. We anticipate that GPs will play a key role in providing clinical leadership for integrated neighbourhood teams.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.

We will train thousands more GPs in the coming years, and through the course of the 10-Year Health Plan we will increase the proportion of staff we train for community and primary care roles.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_38

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to build neighbourhood health services in partnership with (a) Macmillan and (b) other charities. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department recognises the value of neighbourhood health services being built in partnership with voluntary organisations, such as Macmillan. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations.

The Planning Framework for the National Health Service in England, published on 8 September, reiterates the commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan that place partners develop a local neighbourhood plan, which integrated care boards will bring together into a population health improvement plan. These local plans should set out how the NHS, local authority, and other organisations, including social care providers and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, will work together to design and deliver neighbourhood health services. The Department will publish separate guidance to support their development in the autumn.

The National Cancer Plan will build on the shift from hospital to community set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to foster improved collaboration with the VCSE sector to deliver this.

This includes exploring how the impact economy can help deliver the goals set in the National Cancer Plan, collaborating across the Government, the NHS, civil society, and the corporate sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_39

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of embedding specialist dementia Admiral Nurses within neighbourhood health teams. \p Stephen Kinnock: Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, closer to people’s homes, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, this will mean services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses or admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.

We are intending to publish a National Framework for Neighbourhood Health Plans in the autumn. This will set-out how areas should design neighbourhood health services around local needs and different patient cohorts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-22 conversation_40

Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce an updated long-term funding model for community pharmacies. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future funding arrangements will be subject to Spending Review allocations to the Department and, as customary, consultation with Community Pharmacy England.