theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of caring responsibilities on levels of social isolation among unpaid carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government has launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.

Local authorities have duties to support unpaid carers and are required to deliver sustainable, high-quality care and support services.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has commissioned research into multiple sclerosis services in the last year. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR delivers research into multiple sclerosis across a range of areas, including services associated with the condition.

For example, the NIHR is currently supporting, through investments in infrastructure and workforce, research to examine the feasibility of identifying patients with psychological distress in multiple sclerosis services and provide a form of cognitive behavioural therapy, COMPASS, as a treatment intervention.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care including multiple sclerosis. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on multiple sclerosis to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the numbers of GP training places in the last five years \p Stephen Kinnock: The number of general practice (GP) training places for the past four years has been 4,001. From September 2025, we are increasing GP training places to 4,500 as part of a broader plan to expand training further by 2031. This increase is part of a larger National Health Service workforce plan to address projected GP shortages.

This increase in GP training places will help to grow the number of appointments delivered by GPs and will benefit thousands of patients. It will also secure the future supply of GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system.

We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes. Alongside the 2025/26 GP contract announcement, the Government has also committed to reform of the GP contract within this Parliament.

The changes to the contract will improve services for patients and make progress towards the Government’s Health Mission, supporting the three key shifts the Government wants to achieve, from analogue to digital, from sickness to prevention, and from hospital to community care. The following table shows the number of accepted GP training places in September of each year, from 2021 to 2025:

Date

Accepted training places

September 2025

4,250

September 2024

4,001

September 2023

4,001

September 2022

4,001

September 2021

4,001

From June 2021 to June 2025, there has also been an increase of 2,475 GPs in the training stage. The following table shows the number of GPs in training grade in June of each year, from 2021 to 2025:

Date

GPs in training grade

June 2025

9,450

June 2024

9,371

June 2023

8,847

June 2022

7,890

June 2021

6,975
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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to end recruitment freezes in maternity services. \p Karin Smyth: On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs, ensuring thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and enabling a seamless transition from training to employment.

Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and to further ease the recruitment strain.

These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered the potential merits of ensuring a job in the NHS for midwifery graduates. \p Karin Smyth: On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs, ensuring thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and enabling a seamless transition from training to employment.

Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and to further ease the recruitment strain.

These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of care provided to people suffering from multiple myeloma in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care is committed to improving cancer care in all regions of England, including for people suffering from multiple myeloma in Surrey Heath constituency. The National Health Service has exceeded their pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments, having now delivered over three million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to diagnosis and treatment.

The National Cancer Plan, due for publication later this year, will include further details on how the NHS will improve care for cancer patients, including those with multiple myeloma in the Surrey Heath constituency. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, including the design of services and the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis and treatment options for people with secondary breast cancer in rural areas such as West Dorset. \p Ashley Dalton: Improving early diagnosis, access to treatments, and support across England are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including for those living with secondary breast cancer in West Dorset and rural constituencies.

To ensure that people diagnosed with secondary breast cancer have timely access to new and innovative treatments, NHS England commissioned a National Audit of Metastatic Breast Cancer, which provides timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary. The purpose of the audit was to identify information to increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. The National Health Service is now acting on those findings, including for patients in West Dorset.

NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs), including those in Dorset and rural constituencies. This process is independent of Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. ICB’s are responsible for commissioning healthcare which best meets the needs of their local populations, including treatment and support for secondary breast cancer.

To improve early diagnosis rates all over the country, including in West Dorset and rural areas, the Department and NHS England are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. The Department is also committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment, so that people with cancer, including secondary breast cancer, can get access to the care they need more quickly. The NHS is now delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) timely and (b) equitable access to effective migraine treatments, in the context of reports of (i) long waiting times, (ii) inconsistent access to newer medications and (iii) ongoing medicine shortages. \p Ashley Dalton: The three shifts outlined in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan will support people with long-term conditions, including those with migraines, to better manage their conditions and access services closer to home. For example, it will empower them to access their medical history and allow them to book and manage their appointments and medication.

In addition, by 2028/29, neighbourhood health teams will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings, with multi-disciplinary teams which can provide wrap-around support services.

By 2030, one million patients with long-term conditions will be offered Personal Health Budgets, which will enable them to use National Health Service resources and determine the care that best suits their needs.

Patients will be able to self-refer to services where clinically appropriate through the My Specialist section on the NHS App. This will accelerate their access to treatment and support. The NHS App will provide access to advice, guidance, self-care support, and appointment management. Patients will be able to manage their care in one place, giving them direct access and preference over the services they need.

As part of the NHS App, the My Medicines section will enable patients to manage their prescriptions, and the My Health section will enable patients to monitor their symptoms and bring all their data into one place.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, if he will publish a list of regulatory bodies he plans to merge or abolish. \p Ashley Dalton: The 10 Year Health Plan refers to bodies that are being abolished or merged. None of these are regulatory bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission, instead they perform other functions.

As part of the 10 Year Health Plan, we are cutting the number of organisations, bodies and entities overwhelming the National Health Service system and taking focus away from basics of patient care.

The changes we are making will improve quality and safety by making it clear where responsibility and accountability sits at all levels of the system, and making it easier for staff, patients, and users to directly feed into the system to improve quality of care.

However, the 10 Year Health Plan and the Dash Review detail several other organisations that are planned to be abolished or have their functions transferred. These organisations are mentioned in the relevant publications and there are no additional plans to publish a list.

The organisations which are impacted are:

- NHS England;

- the Health Services Safety Investigations Body;

- the National Guardian’s Office;

- Healthwatch England;

- local Healthwatch organisations; and

- Commissioning Support Units.
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Dr Danny Chambers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to include all low-grade (a) Astrocytomas and (b) gliomas that eventually become high-grade terminal cancers in its forthcoming cancer plan. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Cancer Plan is to be published this year and will include further details on how outcomes will be improved for all cancer patients, including those with astrocytoma and other brain tumours.

The plan will include further details on speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.

The Government recognises the significant impact of rare cancers, such as glioma brain tumours, on patients and on their families and carers, and has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours, and increasing life expectancy.
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Sonia Kumar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of implementing a Modern Service Framework for musculoskeletal conditions. \p Ashley Dalton: Everyone in the NHS is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks to accelerate progress in conditions where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.

Early priorities will include CVD, mental health and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of Modern Service Frameworks.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide support for people with postural tachycardia syndrome in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: Improving health outcomes for everyone living with a long-term condition, including postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), is a key part of the Government's mission to build an NHS fit for the future.

People with PoTS can access a variety of NHS services, which are locally commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are responsible for ensuring that their local area has appropriate services in place to meet the needs of their population, including those in the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

Many patients can be diagnosed and managed effectively within primary care. In complex cases, or where patients do not respond to initial treatment, patients may be referred to specialised cardiology or neurology services.

At a national level, NHS England has made available additional support. This includes a focus on healthy working environments, tools and resources to support line managers to hold meaningful conversations with staff to discuss their wellbeing, and emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.

The three shifts outlined in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan will support people with long-term conditions, including those with PoTS, to better manage their condition and access services closer to home. For example, it will empower them to access their medical history and allow them to book and manage their appointments and medication.
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Helena Dollimore:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase awareness to ensure that women with the NF1 gene undergo the breast cancer screening to which they are entitled. \p Ashley Dalton: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an inherited condition that causes cancerous and non-cancerous tumours to grow along the nerves. It affects everyone in a different way. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance does not address NF1 specifically but does state that people with certain genetic conditions should be referred to a geneticist to consider their risk, and that people aged between 40 and 50 years old may qualify for annual scans of their breasts.

An individual’s risk of breast cancer is based on a number of factors. These factors may vary throughout a lifetime which is why individuals are advised to seek advice from their health professionals. Most individuals with NF1 would be considered at moderate risk of breast cancer, which would mean they should be referred for annual scans by the clinician leading their care. This is not part of the breast cancer screening programme, but is the responsibility of local services to organise and commission.

There are a range of different sources of information for patients including the Childhood Tumour Trust and Nerve Tumours UK website. Nerve Tumours UK also includes guidance to general practitioners and have specialist nurse advisors across England. Information for individuals with NF1 is also provided on the NHS website at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/neurofibromatosis-type-1
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of cancer (a) referral and (b) diagnosis rates in Tees Valley. \p Ashley Dalton: Cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment on the NHS, including in Tees Valley. It is crucial that patients with cancer have access to treatment as quickly as possible after their diagnosis.

The NHS is working with local providers to identify opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the prevalence of alcohol-related illnesses in Yeovil constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The NHS Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon, and Gloucestershire Cancer Alliance is supporting liver services in these regions by ensuring that sufficient ultrasound capacity is available to provide six-monthly liver surveillance to people with cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis and by establishing robust call and recall systems within each provider to track and invite those eligible for liver surveillance to attend appointments. The alliance is also ensuring that those who qualify for ultrasound appointments are included on liver surveillance registers.

In addition to funding through the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing Somerset County Council with £2,101,277 from the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant and the Individual Placement and Support Grant to help improve alcohol and drug treatment and recovery support, which includes housing and employment. All funding is provided at the Somerset level, and it is for Somerset County Council to determine how to meet the needs in Yeovil.

The Department has several analytical tools to help local authorities understand local need. This includes a publication of estimates of the number of alcohol dependent adults in each local authority in England and fingertips published data on alcohol and alcohol related conditions, including mortality and hospital admissions at a regional level. This is alongside a collection of alcohol and drug misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery guidance to support commissioners, service providers, and others providing alcohol and drug interventions. The Department has also developed the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which are expected to be published in the next few months. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice and improve the quality of service provision.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce differences in life expectancy between different areas within the Stockport constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK faces significant health inequalities, with life expectancy and healthy life expectancy varying widely across and between communities. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) North West (the Regional Team) operates across the North West of England, covering the geography of Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and serving a population of 7.5 million people.

The Regional Team works with and supports North West local authorities across a wide range of portfolios that support taking action on health inequalities. These include 0-19 services, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol services, physical activity and obesity, mental wellbeing, work and health, wider determinants of health and health literacy.

In addition, the public health grant is paid to local authorities and is used to improve population health, prevent illness, and reduce health inequalities.
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Dan Carden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve treatment of phenylketonuria. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as phenylketonuria, through the UK Rare Diseases Framework.

The fourth priority of the Framework is improved access to specialist care, treatment and drugs. In February 2025, the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2025 was published, including progress made under this priority:

- Meeting to discuss the effectiveness of early access pathways for rare disease therapies;

- Launching a review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence highly specialised technology programme for evaluating rare disease treatments; and

- Introducing two new actions on reforming clinical trial regulations; and developing an operational framework for individualised therapies in the National Health Service.

The NHS England Health A to Z page contains information about symptoms, medicines, tests and treatments, including what to do and when to get help. There is an NHS England webpage on phenylketonuria, which is available at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/phenylketonuria/.

Since 2021, the treatment sapropterin has been available to all eligible people with phenylketonuria. Clinical trials suggest that around four in 10 people may benefit from sapropterin, improving their quality of life significantly and reducing restrictions on the food they can eat.
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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people diagnosed with cancer in an emergency care setting in (a) Yorkshire and (b) England. \p Ashley Dalton: It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. This will help cancer patients across England, including in Yorkshire.

The Government has now exceeded its pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans and appointments, having delivered four-and-a-half million additional appointments as a first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

To support earlier diagnosis, the NHS is improving referral and diagnostic pathways, including the use of non-specific symptom pathways for patients whose symptoms, such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue, or abdominal discomfort, do not clearly align with a single cancer type. NHS England has also expanded general practice direct access to diagnostic tests, enabling faster investigation of concerning symptoms.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare. The goal of the Department of Health and Social Care is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether research has been (a) commissioned and (b) supported by his Department on the potential impact of exposure to Debendox during pregnancy. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is not currently funding research into the potential impact of exposure to Debendox during pregnancy.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) help ensure that patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome have access to ongoing specialist care following diagnosis and (b) allocate funding for research into (i) Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and (ii) other persistent pain conditions. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework.

Much of the routine care that people with chronic pain, such as some people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), receive will be provided by local primary, community and a secondary care service commissioned via local integrated care boards (ICBs). The commissioning of these services is a local matter. In some cases, patients may receive care at Specialist Pain Centres. Details on commissioning of those services are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/adult-highly-specialist-pain-management-services/.

The fourth priority of the Framework is improved access to specialist care, treatment and drugs. In February 2025, the England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2025 was published, including progress made under this priority:

- Meeting to discuss the effectiveness of early access pathways for rare disease therapies;

- Launching a review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence highly specialised technology programme for evaluating rare disease treatments; and

- Introducing two new actions on reforming clinical trial regulations; and developing an operational framework for individualised therapies in the National Health Service.

Pioneering research is an underpinning theme of the Framework. The Department for Health and Social Care funds and supports research into rare diseases such as CRPS through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including rare diseases. The usual practice of the NIHR and other research funders is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics.

The 2025 England Rare Disease Action Plan includes information on research for rare diseases through significant investments to support rare disease research. This includes the Rare Disease Research UK Platform (RDR UK), a £14 million investment over 5 years from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and NIHR, announced in 2023, which is now established and positioned well within the rare disease research landscape. In December 2024, the MRC launched the first 2 MRC Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE), both studying gene therapies, and each worth up to £50 million over 14 years.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring that the national review of Maternity Services (a) includes representations from (i) patients and (ii) campaign groups and (b) encourages their active involvement. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) births and (b) elective c-sections occurred in each NHS trust in England in 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many lower-layer super output areas are within Telford constituency; how those areas are ranked by top (a) 1%, (b) 5% and (c) 10% in the index of multiple deprivation; and what impact that data has on the allocation of funding by his Department. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) help ensure that NHS skin cancer referrals are completed within the 14-day target and (b) address the backlog in Farnham and Bordon constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is supporting the National Health Service in taking steps to reduce the time taken from referral to diagnosis of cancer, including skin cancer.

As a first step, NHS England published guidance for local health and care systems and providers across England to achieve the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) titled Implementing a timed skin cancer diagnostic pathway. The FDS pathway ensures patients receive a diagnosis of cancer, or rule out cancer, within 28 days of referral, as per the cancer waiting time standard.

Since 2023/24, NHS England has been rolling out teledermatology services, which allow virtual reviews of dermoscopic images, to support achieving faster diagnosis. In providers where these have been fully implemented, improvements in workforce capacity have been seen, in some cases doubling the number of patients that can be reviewed per clinic, and improving FDS performance.

Additionally, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national report has provided recommendations to encourage the wider use of technology to ensure skin cancer patients get faster and more equitable access to care.

In July, a report was published by NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB), which covers services in Farham and Bordon constituency, providing an update on elective care and cancer backlogs across the ICB. The report included steps taken to address the backlog, which included:

- the trust holding weekly meetings to review long waiters, cancer patients, validation and prioritisation;

- the use of more technology to improve appointments;

- supporting patients while they wait; and

- opening a new community diagnostic centre.

The report is available at the following link:

https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/documents/s103417/Frimley%20ICB%20Elective%20and%20Cancer%20Backlogs.pdf

Finally, the forthcoming National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of a pathway including from referral to diagnosis.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including metachromatic leukodystrophy in the newborn blood spot test. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) considered newborn screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) in 2023. At that time, it concluded that the available evidence on screening test accuracy and cost-effectiveness, though limited, warranted further review. It also found that the volume and type of evidence relating to the benefits and/or harms of treatments in presymptomatic patients with MLD was sufficient to justify a more in-depth review of the evidence.

Since then, a further review has been undertaken. A three-month consultation on those findings closed on 5 August 2025. The UK NSC will consider the responses to this consultation in due course.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allow patients to (a) view and (b) choose from available operation appointments across different hospitals within the same region. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_355

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on implementing fracture liaison services in all parts of the country by 2030. \p Ashley Dalton: Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.

Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_356

Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of people waited less than 6 weeks for their first treatment for talking therapies in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) North Tyneside in May 2025; and if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of first treatments were (i) a session with a therapist and (ii) guided self-help. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_357

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for urgent NHS operations in cases where patients are waiting significantly beyond the clinically recommended timeframe. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_358

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase the availability of (a) daily and (b) weekly surgical appointments for operations in NHS hospitals. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_359
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_359

Chris Philp:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many asylum seekers have received NHS-funded IVF treatment since 5 July 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_360

Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 67788 on Prescriptions: Terminal Illnesses, how many of the individuals who received one of the 50,330 Penalty Charge Notices issued for incorrectly claiming medical exemption from NHS prescription charges were in possession of an exemption certificate within the previous 12 months. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_361
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_361

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of tuberculosis have been recorded in each of the last 10 years. \p Ashley Dalton: The number of people notified with tuberculosis in England over the last 10 years is published as part of the UK Health Security Agency’s tuberculosis annual report. The latest annual report, released in December 2024, includes data up to the end of 2023. The full report and data tables are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-in-england-2024-report

The following table shows tuberculosis notifications for the previous 10 years:

Year

Total number of notifications

2014

6,473

2015

5,734

2016

5,621

2017

5,066

2018

4,610

2019

4,704

2020

4,124

2021

4,407

2022

4,375

2023

4,855

2024

5,480

Note: data for 2024 is provisional and was included in the quarterly report for quarter four of 2024, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tuberculosis-in-england-national-quarterly-reports/national-quarterly-report-of-tuberculosis-in-england-quarter-4-2024-provisional-data
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_362
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_362

Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 67788 on Prescriptions: Terminal Illnesses, how many of the people who received one of the 50,330 Penalty Charge Notices issued for incorrectly claiming medical exemption from NHS prescription charges were previously in possession of an exemption certificate and remained eligible for an exemption certificate. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_363

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum age for first-time blood donors. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_364

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve access to treatments for metachromatic leukodystrophy. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_365
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_365

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospitals are in the top quartile of most efficient hospitals. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_366

Sojan Joseph:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancelled surgeries (a) at the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust and (b) in England as a result of increased humidity in operating theatres. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_367

Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with his Norwegian counterpart on (a) the Northern Lights project and (b) the viability of emulating their non-pipeline transport of carbon dioxide in the UK. \p Sarah Jones: On 7th May 2025, the Secretary of State met with Minister Aasland, his Norwegian counterpart, on the occasion of signing a Green Industrial Partnership with the Norwegian Government. This recognised the importance of continued collaboration on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS), including a commitment to initiate work to identify gaps and challenges to the development of our common North Sea as a hub for carbon storage. Sharing knowledge from current projects, including the Northern Lights CCS project, will play an important role.

Our recently published Industrial Strategy: Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan emphasised how the UK’s favourable geology offers capacity to safely store up to 78 billion tonnes of CO2 and the potential to offer international CO2 storage services. Non-pipeline transport, especially the transport of CO2 via ship, will help maximise this geological potential.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_368
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_368

Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the potential contribution of the Norwich to Tilbury Great Grid upgrade to his target for low carbon generation of electricity by 2030; and when he expects this infrastructure will be operational. \p Michael Shanks: National Grid have now submitted their Development Consent Order application to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration.

The Government does not comment on the merits of live planning applications, which, subject to the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to accept the application for examination, will be subject to rigorous, independent assessment and advice by the Examining Authority – to inform the Secretary of State’s final decision.

The project currently has an earliest in-service date 2031, and NESO’s independent advice on 2030 Clean Power demonstrates that failing to bring this forward to 2030 will reduce clean power on the GB grid by 1% and could increase constraint costs by £2.8bn p.a.