theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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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 impact of the decline in the People's Health Trust's turnover and funding on local public health initiatives. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government recognises the valuable part played by third sector organisations in tackling health inequalities and the social determinants of health, and commends the work of the People’s Health Trust in providing funding and support to left-behind communities.

Much of what determines our health and wellbeing is influenced by factors other than health services. The roots of sickness too often lie in poverty, poor housing, poor education, poor work, and poor access to the things that make life worth living like culture, sport, and recreation. We are taking action on the social determinants of health, through our Health Mission, to reduce the gap in healthy life expectancy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Dame Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve care for people with arthritis. \p Ashley Dalton: Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making.

As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The GIRFT programme is continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high-quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future.

Our recently published 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these will help deliver improvements to arthritis care in all parts of the country.

More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 63143 on Defibrillators, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to ensure defibrillator manufacturers are encouraged to signpost buyers to register new devices with the Circuit network. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department for Business and Trade is not involved in the management or regulation of defibrillator manufacturers.

The Circuit is the independently operated national automated external defibrillator (AED) database, developed by a partnership of the British Heart Foundation, the National Health Service, the Resuscitation Council UK, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives. The Circuit provides a national database of where defibrillators can be found so that ambulance services can quickly identify the nearest defibrillator.

To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government committed to improving access to AEDs in public spaces and to reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED Fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.

Applications to the fund were allocated based on where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Cat Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention of 27 March 2025 in the debate on Hughes Report: First Anniversary, Official Report, column 472WH, if he will publish (a) her letter and (b) the response from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health. \p Ashley Dalton: Following the debate on Hughes Report: First Anniversary, I met and put on record my discussion with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron), who confirmed that 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. The Department does not plan to publish the letter, and it did not require a response from Baroness Merron. 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 (2025-07-21)

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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure the provision of specialist training for healthcare professionals on (a) the symptoms of, (b) complications arising from and (c) available support for people affected by Foetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England is exploring options for strengthening the provision of specialist training for healthcare professionals when supporting people impacted by sodium valproate through its Fetal Exposure to Medicine Pilot project. The pilot project is being led by the Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The pilot project started in December 2024 and will run for 18 months, and provides assessment and expertise to support diagnosis and treatment planning for people impacted by sodium valproate and other anti-seizure medication. The pilot project will be presenting initial learning and key themes, including staff development and training recommendations for healthcare professionals, to NHS England at the end of September. This will inform wider discussions about service delivery models and wider coverage across England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to support people affected by foetal valproate spectrum disorder. \p Ashley Dalton: Everyone who has been harmed from sodium valproate has our deepest sympathies.

To improve the support available to children and adults impacted by sodium valproate, NHS England commissioned a Fetal Exposure to Medicine Pilot project. The pilot project is being led by the Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The pilot project started in December 2024 and will run for 18 months, and provides assessment, expert advice, and treatment planning for people impacted by sodium valproate and other anti-seizure medication. The pilot project will be presenting initial learning and key themes to NHS England at the end of September to inform discussions about future service delivery models and options for wider coverage across England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has provided NHS equipment to help manage infection control in health settings in Gaza. \p Ashley Dalton: There have been no donations of National Health Service equipment specific to infection control. However, the Government recently announced a £7.5 million package to strengthen medical care in Gaza and the region, including additional funding for UK-Med and the World Health Organization in Egypt. The Government’s funding has provided 1.3 million items of life-saving medicines and enabled UK-Med to support over 500,000 patient consultations across Gaza.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of applications to the vaccine damage payment scheme since 2020 have been successful on appeal,by vaccine type. \p Ashley Dalton: Data from the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), shows that 22,408 VDPS claims were received between 1 November 2021 and 4 July 2025. 1.1% of these have been successful, with a further 0.1% having been successful following an appeal, known as a mandatory reversal. Of the claims received:

These figures are based on total applications received. Some of these applications will not yet have been assessed or were invalid.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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John McDonnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce a 24/7 single point of access for (a) palliative and (b) end of life care (i) advice, (ii) guidance and (iii) support. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The guidance makes specific reference to commissioners defining how their services will meet population needs 24 hour a day, seven day a week, and includes a priority action for ensuring that staff, patients, and carers can access the care and advice they need, whatever time of day.

NICE guidance on the service delivery of end of life care for adults also includes recommendations about 24 hour a day, seven day a week access to care. Although NICE guidance is not mandatory, there is an expectation that commissioners and service providers take the guidelines into account when making decisions about how to best meet the needs of their local communities.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Cameron Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the consistency of the quality of care in England. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for ensuring the quality of care in England. It assesses all health and social care service providers registered with the CQC for compliance against the statutory standards set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. It also assesses how well local authorities deliver adult social care by looking at their performance against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. The CQC takes enforcement action against a provider for non-compliance.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out new statutory and non-statutory measures and clearer accountability to ensure transparency on quality of care. The CQC’s statutory powers will be extended to access all publicly held data relating directly or indirectly to care quality. Non-statutory measures include revitalising the National Quality Board and having it develop a new quality strategy by March 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to establish a National Care Agency to (a) set minimum standards of care and (b) maintain a national register of care workers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to a well-supported adult social care workforce who are recognised as the professionals they are. Enhancing the skills of staff working in adult social care is vital to ensuring that the care provided is of good quality, fair, personalised, and accessible. Promoting opportunities to develop skills and knowledge is essential to raising the status of adult social care as a career. We have expanded the first ever national career structure for adult social care, the Care Workforce Pathway, adding new roles and clear career pathways. Backed by £12 million for training through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, this supports staff development and recognises the vital work care professionals do.

The Government is committed to transforming adult social care to create a National Care Service and to improving the lives of people drawing on care, unpaid carers, and the social care workforce. We have also launched an independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Casey, as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission's Terms of Reference are sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to define its remit and to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a statutory entitlement to regular respite breaks for unpaid carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.

The Better Care Fund includes funding that can be used for carer support, including short breaks and respite services. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.

We have 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.

In addition, through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the under-diagnosis of ADHD in girls; and what targets have been set for improving identification rates by 2026. \p Stephen Kinnock: We recognise that diagnosis rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are lower in women and girls and lower than the best evidence on prevalence. This may reflect differences in how ADHD present in males and females, which may make ADHD more difficult to identify in women and girls.

ADHD assessments should be undertaken by appropriately skilled clinicians who consider several factors before coming to a clinical decision. Integrated care boards and health professionals should have due regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines when commissioning and providing health care services, including ADHD assessment services. NICE guidelines on ADHD set out considerations for clinicians when assessing for ADHD, including highlighting that ADHD may be under-recognised in women and girls.

NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, 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 to be published later in the year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
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Jake Richards:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on implementing 24/7 mental health text lines. \p Stephen Kinnock: Mental health crisis text services are an important part of delivering accessible and effective mental health support across the country. NHS England has confirmed that integrated care boards have plans to have 24 hour a day, seven day a week mental health crisis text services in place nationally by spring 2026. Integrated care boards who intend to procure these services via open-market approaches will publicly publish their intentions in the usual way.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the feasibility of allowing general practitioners to initiate ADHD diagnostic referrals for school-age children. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available the appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including decisions on local referral processes for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. General practitioner teams can already refer patients for an ADHD assessment, both for adults and school-age children, where this is clinically appropriate and indicated according to NICE guidelines.

NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, 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, with the final report expected to be published later in the year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

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Michelle Welsh:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for people leaving hospital and moving to a care home. \p Stephen Kinnock: The statutory hospital discharge guidance sets out that people leaving hospital, including those who will be moving to a care home, should be supported throughout the discharge process and post discharge. The discharge process should be person-centred, strengths based, and driven by choice, dignity, and respect. Individuals should be supported to make fully informed decisions, in conjunction with their wider family or unpaid carers.

Local areas should have agreed protocols for collaborating with onward care providers regarding the individual’s hospital discharge through care transfer hubs, including agreed pathways for raising and resolving any concerns post-discharge.

In 2025/26, there is £9 billion available through the Better Care Fund. Integrated care boards and local authorities should jointly plan how to use this funding to meet local health and care needs, including after discharge.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support people who have been newly diagnosed with (a) blindness and (b) severe visual impairment in Fylde. \p Stephen Kinnock: When someone is newly diagnosed as sight impaired or severely sight impaired, they become eligible for a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI). This can act as referral route to local authorities who, under the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014, are responsible for ensuring that people with visual impairments in their area access the right care and support. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014. In addition, under the Equality Act (2010), local authorities must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.

We are taking steps to update the process by which individuals receive their CVI form, to improve the signposting of patients newly certified as sight impaired or severe sight impaired to local sight loss charities for additional support.
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Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) salaried and (b) partner GPs in each of the last ten years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The following table shows the number of general practice (GP) partners nationally, both full time equivalent (FTE) and as a headcount, as of March in each of the last 10 years:

GP partners

Year

FTE

Headcount

March 2016

21,523

24,060

March 2017

20,595

23,088

March 2018

19,810

22,402

March 2019

19,030

21,640

March 2020

18,130

20,814

March 2021

17,327

20,096

March 2022

16,957

19,766

March 2023

16,599

19,358

March 2024

16,143

18,889

March 2025

15,599

18,309

In addition, the following table shows the number of salaried GPs nationally, both FTE and as a headcount, as of March in each of the last 10 years:

Salaried GPs

Year

FTE

Headcount

March 2016

7,080

10,558

March 2017

7,469

11,166

March 2018

7,902

11,952

March 2019

8,310

12,719

March 2020

8,684

13,446

March 2021

9,567

15,014

March 2022

9,828

15,349

March 2023

9,808

15,444

March 2024

10,511

16,763

March 2025

11,801

18,866

Notes:
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Dr Danny Chambers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the identification of young carers by adult mental health services. \p Stephen Kinnock: Local authorities are required by law to take reasonable steps to identify young carers in their area that need support, and to undertake an assessment of need, where appropriate. To support local authorities in their child protection duties, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in December 2024, contains provisions that will strengthen multi-agency working with children and families by introducing a new duty on safeguarding partners, including local authorities, police, and health services.

We recognise that, when someone is admitted to a mental health hospital or detained under the Mental Health Act, young carers are not always appropriately identified by adult mental health services. To improve this, as part of the reforms to the Mental Health Act, we plan to encourage individuals to make the presence of any young carers known in their Advance Choice Document. This document is intended to be a source of key information for mental health professionals if the individual experiences a mental health crisis.

Furthermore, provisions in the Mental Health Bill aim to ensure that people who care for a patient’s welfare, such as young carers, are proactively involved in the patient’s statutory care plan by the clinician. We will include guidance in the revised Mental Health Act Code of Practice to help ensure young carers are appropriately involved and supported.

NHS England is working to support the identification of young carers and has recently published guidance for general practitioners. NHS England is also utilising data to help support greater joined up work between health, education, and social care.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will revise the Eatwell Guide to include explicit guidance on (a) limiting ultra-processed food and (b) promoting whole and minimally processed foods. \p Ashley Dalton: United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). In 2023, the SACN reviewed the scientific basis of UK recommendations in its report Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years.

The SACN also reviewed the evidence on processed foods and health in its 2023 and 2025 position statements, as well as non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) in a position statement published in 2025.

The SACN has made a number of recommendations for children in relation to the consumption of processed foods and drinks, for instance:

The SACN has concluded that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods which are high in energy, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, and which are and low in fibre. This is based on the nutrient content of many ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and concerns raised in relation to health.

The SACN’s recommendations align with our existing policies for supporting healthier diets and our advice to consumers. The SACN will continue to keep the topic under review.

Government dietary advice, as depicted in the Eatwell Guide, already shows that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and processed foods and drinks high in calories, sugar, saturated fat, and salt. For most people, following this advice would lead to a reduced consumption of UPFs.

The terms ‘whole’ and ‘minimally processed’ are not used in Government dietary recommendations because they are difficult to define and could be interpreted as including foods that we advise to eat less often and/or in small amounts, such as butter.

Further research is required to determine whether the processing itself, rather than the poor nutrient content of foods, has an impact on health, before any significant updates are made to the Eatwell Guide.
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Dame Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on strategies for reducing child obesity in the North East. \p Ashley Dalton: As part of our Health Mission, the Government is committed to ensuring that people live well for longer. This includes tackling the determinants that underpin stark health inequalities to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions and to create the healthiest generation of children ever.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England outlines a range of actions to address childhood obesity. We will fulfil our commitments to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children, ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16 year olds, and use our revised National Planning Policy Framework to give local councils stronger powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools. We will work with the Department for Education to update school food standards. To support the families most in need, we are expanding free school meals to all children with a parent in receipt of universal credit. The Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy consultation sets out proposals to further drive reformulation, including ending the exemption for milk-based drinks and reducing the minimum sugar thresholds. By the end of this Parliament, we will introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector.

These are national-level policies and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the Government’s approach of moving towards the prevention of ill health, including tackling obesity within its 10-Year Health Plan.

Specifically, in the North East, North East local authorities received a total of £256 million in Public Health Grant funding for 2025/26. Directors of Public Health oversee the use of the Public Health Grant, working in partnership with a range of stakeholders to maximise the health gain associated with local resources, including addressing levels of childhood obesity in the North East. This includes commissioning the National Child Measurement Programme. Additionally, Directors of Public Health from each local authority are working in partnership with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to support action to address childhood obesity through a North East and North Cumbria Healthy Weight and Treating Obesity Strategy.
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Government lead to establish a strategic mission for (a) rare and (b) less survivable cancers. \p Ashley Dalton: We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so more patients survive, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system

The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. The Government is committed to backing innovative clinical research ecosystem in the United Kingdom so that British patients can be among the first to benefit as we make the NHS fit for the future.

Finally, the National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients with rare cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had deductions with Palantir Technologies Ltd on (a) profit-sharing arrangements and (b) access to derivative data linked to NHS research outputs. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England has entered into a contract with Palantir, the NHS Federated Data Platform Associated Services (FDP-AS) contract, which is available at the following link:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/0f8a65b5-23a2-4294-abb1-a7fd8efb3ad0

The FDP-AS Agreement does not include provision for profit sharing arrangements and Palantir does not have access or rights to any National Health Service data under the FDP-AS, beyond those as required to perform its function as a data processor under instruction by the NHS.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department monitors agreed (a) standards and (b) targets within privately-provided services; and whether there are any contractual consequences if performance targets are not met. \p Karin Smyth: The independent sector plays a vital role in partnership with the National Health Service, delivering more than 100,000 elective appointments and procedures every week for the NHS.

Contracts are awarded to independent sector providers (ISPs) in line with the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). The PSR was introduced by regulations made under the Health and Care Act 2022, and helps ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of patients and service users. Those providers in receipt of NHS contracts must meet additional requirements, including the standards set out in the NHS Provider License and the NHS Standard Contract.

ISPs are expected to deliver services agreed in contracts with integrated care boards (ICBs), progressing priorities set out in planning guidance, including an improvement in elective waiting time performance. ICBs can take action where these targets are not met. Data published monthly by NHS England on waiting list performance is used to track performance and ensure targets are being met, and can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Federated Data Platform’s architectural governance model includes constraints on cross-domain identity federation between (a) NHS instances and (b) other public sector deployments of (i) Foundry and (ii) Gotham. \p Karin Smyth: Each local organisation operates its own instance of the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), for which it is the data controller. These instances are designed to support local autonomy and governance, allowing organisations to opt into core products that enhance patient care delivery.

The architectural governance model of the FDP does not include provisions for cross-domain identity federation between National Health Service instances and other public sector deployments of Foundry or Gotham. Instead, the platform enables local organisations to connect and share information currently stored in separate systems, but only where there is a legal basis to do so. This ensures that data sharing is conducted within a safe and secure environment, respecting organisational boundaries and data protection obligations.

Further technical and governance details are outlined in the information governance framework for the FDP, which confirms that all data remains within United Kingdom sovereign zones and that access is restricted to authorised personnel. The information governance framework for the FDP is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/federated-data-platform-information-governance-framework/
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_176
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_176

Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of patients waiting to start treatment with the Medway NHS Foundation Trust in (a) July 2024 and (b) June 2025. \p Karin Smyth: Referral to Treatment data published by NHS England shows that the waiting list at the Medway NHS Foundation Trust was 43,722 at the end of July 2024.

Official statistics have not yet been released for June 2025, though the latest published data shows the waiting list was 40,087 at the end of May 2025. This marks a reduction of 3,635 in the waiting list from July 2024.

Provisional management information published by NHS England estimates the waiting list to be 39,980 in the week ending 29 June 2025.

Official statistics containing data for June will be published on 14 August.
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_177
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_177

Anna Sabine:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's timeline is for publishing its plan for Fracture Liaison Services. \p Karin Smyth: 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.
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_178
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_178

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) outputs and (b) intermediate artefacts generated via Foundry workflows are permitted to be retained by Palantir Technologies for the purpose of product refinement. \p Karin Smyth: All products, outputs, and intermediate artefacts generated within the Federated Data Platform, funded by the National Health Service under the NHS Federated Data Platform Associated Services (FDP-AS) agreement, are the intellectual property of the NHS, and Palantir is not permitted to utilise these for their own purposes. Further information on the FDP-AS is available at the following link:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/0f8a65b5-23a2-4294-abb1-a7fd8efb3ad0
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_179
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_179

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has conducted data transfer impact assessments on (a) access, (b) processing and (c) codebase maintenance undertaken by overseas Palantir staff. \p Karin Smyth: There is no overseas processing of data of any type by the Federated Data Platform (FDP) programme, and therefore transfer impact assessments are not required. This is laid out in the FDP Information Governance Framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/federated-data-platform-information-governance-framework/
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_180
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_180

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether pseudonymised NHS data processed within the Federated Data Platform is subject to remote (a) operability and (b) telemetry access by (i) engineers and (ii) DevOps teams located outside the UK. \p Karin Smyth: There is no overseas processing of data of any type by the Federated Data Platform (FDP) programme, and this includes synthetic data and all functionalities. This is laid out in the FDP Information Governance Framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/federated-data-platform-information-governance-framework/
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_181
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_181

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been admitted to hospital due to fire smoke inhalation in the last 12 months for which data is available. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England publishes data on hospital admissions and related diagnosis information, including finished admission episodes due to fire smoke inhalation.

The following table shows the total number of hospital admissions due to fire smoke inhalation in the last 12 months, for 2023/24:

Character code

Description

Finished admission episodes

X00

Exposure to uncontrolled fire in building or structure

149

X01

Exposure to uncontrolled fire, not in building or structure

30

X02

Exposure to controlled fire in building or structure

98

X03

Exposure to controlled fire, not in building or structure

104

X08

Exposure to other specified smoke, fire and flames

282

X09

Exposure to unspecified smoke, fire and flames

442

Total

1105

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, with further information available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/hospital-episode-statistics
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_182
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_182

Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to reduce waiting times for specialist operations. \p Karin Smyth: Tackling waiting lists, including for specialist operations, is a key priority for the Government. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an additional two million appointments, tests, and operations, having delivered 4.6 million more since July 2024. This additional 4.6 million includes specialist operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endoscopy.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.

The plan includes wide ranging reforms to improve patients’ access to, and experience of care, in part by reducing unnecessary appointments in favour of faster and more local diagnostics.

Dedicated and protected surgical hubs will transform the way the National Health Service provides elective care by focusing on providing high volume low complexity (HVLC) surgery, helping patients get quicker access to common surgical procedures. These surgical hubs help place HVLC surgeries away from the acute site, improving outcomes for patients, reducing pressures on hospitals, and improving capacity for more specialist procedures in the acute site. The Department is committed to increasing the number of hubs over the next three years, so that more operations can be carried out. Surgical hubs are endorsed by Getting It Right First Time, a national NHS England programme which undertakes reviews of specialities and identifies changes to improve how services are run, to create efficiencies and improve patient outcomes, including for surgical specialties.
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_183
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_183

Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Department of Health on the (a) operation of the Foundation Programme allocation process and (b) its potential impact on applicants in Northern Ireland. \p Karin Smyth: The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) manages the national application process for the UK Foundation Programme, issues guidance on foundation training, and promotes the consistent delivery of the Foundation Programme across the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland. The UKFPO is funded by, and is accountable to, the four UK statutory education bodies, including the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency.

NHS England is due to review the Foundation Programme allocation process. The review is aiming to commence in 2026. NHS England will advise stakeholders on how they can input in due course.
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_184
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_184

Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43317 on Prescriptions: Fees and Charges, what other exceptional reasons have resulted in the NHS Business Services Authority cancelling a penalty charge notice in each of the last five years, other than a medical condition that significantly impacted an ability to read or understand the form signed. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not hold the information requested. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), which issues Penalty Charge Notices, does not hold or collect data outlining the exceptional circumstances relating to an easement of a prescription penalty charge. Each case is handled on an individual basis, considering the specific circumstances presented to the NHS BSA.
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_185
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_185

Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has put mechanisms in place to allow NHS patients to provide feedback to the commissioners of publicly-funded private healthcare treatments. \p Karin Smyth: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are the National Health Service organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population, including local commissioning decisions around publicly funded healthcare treatments by private providers.

ICBs are also responsible for enforcing contracts with providers, including independent sector providers in their area, and are best placed to ensure providers are meeting the needs of their patients, delivering the best outcomes, and preventing delays. NHS patients can share their feedback to their local ICB, details of which can be found on the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/about-nhs-services/contact-your-local-integrated-care-board-icb/
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_186
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_186

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of regulation of private online providers offering weight loss medications. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has currently made no assessment of the adequacy of the regulation of private online providers offering weight loss medications.
wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_187
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-21 conversation_187

Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made on the adequacy of waiting times for audiology appointments in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester. \p Karin Smyth: We do not hold specific data on audiology waiting lists in the Stockport constituency, Greater Manchester, or nationally.

In May 2025, the waiting list for Ear, Nose and Throat, which includes audiology appointments, stood at 4,492 in the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, and stood at 37,477 in the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB). In the same month, Ear, Nose and Throat performance against the 18-week referral to treatment standard was 54.6% at the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, and 50.5% in the NHS Greater Manchester ICB.