theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 13804 on Civil Service: Workplace Pensions, if he will list the non-Civil Service organisations whose employees are eligible for the Civil Service Pension Scheme. \p Georgia Gould: A list of the non-Civil Service organisations whose employees are eligible for the Civil Service Pension Scheme is available in the public domain and can be found on the member section of the Civil Service Pension website.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22040 on Government departments: trade unions, which unions pay their trade union membership subscriptions via check-off in the Cabinet Office; how many members pay in that way; and at what cost to his Department. \p Georgia Gould: The Cabinet Office does not deduct trade union subscriptions from staff via payroll.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 1283 on Public Finance, whether there have been recent reviews of the process outlined in the Cabinet Manual for access talks. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The process for access talks remains as set out in the Cabinet Manual; these arrangements have not been formally reviewed since publication.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 38758 on Cabinet Office: Contracts, whether the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service was involved in the approval of payments to the Boston Consulting Group in March 2024. \p Georgia Gould: The Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service is not involved with the process for the approval of payments to suppliers. The purchase to pay process is managed between the Cabinet Office Finance team and the respective Contract Manager.

At the time of this work, the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service was a member of the CO Investment Committee which was responsible for the approval of whole life investment spend for projects and programmes over £1m. In addition to this, all professional services spend over £100k required the approval from the Investment Committee and the Minister for Cabinet Office.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Ministers' Gifts and Hospitality: Publication Guidance, published on 30 January 2025, if he will add large social media companies including (a) X, (b) Meta and (c) Tik Tok to Annex C. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Cabinet Office publishes a monthly register of all gifts and hospitality received by ministers in a ministerial capacity. This includes gifts and hospitality received by social media companies.

The Government keeps the guidance on Ministers' Gifts and Hospitality under review. There are no current plans to include representatives of social media companies under the guidance for senior media figures.
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Ruth Jones:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the Office for National Statistics was of (a) designing, (b) building and (c) running the winter covid infection survey in (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 1st April is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 105.7KB)
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether officials in his Department are allowed to use DeepSeek. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 March 2025 in response to question UIN 38348.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on whether any arm’s length bodies are members of Stonewall. \p Georgia Gould: Information on how issued funding is spent by arms length bodies, including any membership of third party organisations, is not gathered centrally.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25850 on Government Departments: Advertising, if he will list (a) each of the seven instances of campaign-specific flexibility and (b) the date on which each was approved. \p Georgia Gould: There are no plans to publish the list of instances of campaign-specific flexibility.

All requests for campaign-specific flexibility are considered on a campaign by campaign basis. Platforms and publishers are assessed on their unique offer to reach our audiences and the context of the campaign, weighing against the risks, to offer a way for us to increase campaign efficiencies
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23677 on Gender Dysphoria: Health Services, if he will make it his policy to place a copy of the revised guidance in the Library. \p Georgia Gould: As was the case with the previous Gender Reassignment guidance under the last administration, which was not published, there are no current plans for the revised Gender Reassignment guidance to be published once it has been finalised. This is consistent with the approach taken for other internal HR policies.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14952 on Departmental Coordination, whether the mission boards are Cabinet sub-committees. \p Georgia Gould: Yes, Mission Boards are Cabinet committees. The list of Cabinet committees has been placed in the House of Commons library and published on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees).
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the portal for all transparency data announced in July 2023 has been cancelled. \p Georgia Gould: The portal, announced by the previous Government in July 2023, did not receive funding at the time and this remains the case.

This Government has already introduced tangible improvements to transparency data, notably the monthly Register of Ministers’ Gifts and Hospitality, published centrally by the Cabinet Office on GOV.UK
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the headcount is of the team administering the test-and-learn programme; and what proportion of the fund is allocated to cover their costs. \p Georgia Gould: The Programme will deploy Test and Learns teams into the frontline around the country over the next three years to design and test innovative solutions to our biggest public service challenges in partnership with local places – and ensuring that local learning informs national policy decisions.

The Cabinet Office is working across government and with local partners to codesign the detailed approach.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) Permanent Secretaries and (b) Second Permanent Secretaries are employed on fixed term contracts. \p Georgia Gould: The majority of Permanent Secretaries (First and Second) are permanent civil servants, on permanent contracts. Exceptionally, fixed term contracts may be offered to external candidates, for example in the case of specialist roles.

When appointed to a Permanent Secretary role, Permanent Secretaries (First and Second) are appointed on fixed term tenures, typically for five years. Where appropriate, and with the Prime Minister and relevant Minister’s approval, tenure may be extended.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 15471 on Office for Equality and Opportunity: Gender and Sexuality, whether the Civil Service People Group formally recognises any (a) genders, (b) sexual orientations and (c) gender identities. \p Georgia Gould: Data collection on gender identities, genders or sexual orientation is delegated to departments.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2024 to Question 4697 on Civil Servants: Incentives, at what point in the year Cabinet Office civil servants are typically given such incentive payments of shopping vouchers; whether such vouchers can be used for paying utility bills; and how much his Department has spent on Love2Shop Gift Cards since 5 July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: In-year vouchers can be given at any point in the year. The vouchers cannot be directly redeemed for utility bills, but have a wide range of retail outlets where they can be spent. The Cabinet Office does not use Love2Shop vouchers.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much time his Department allocates to each of the cross Civil Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion networks for staff who work in his Department. \p Georgia Gould: There is no specific allocation of network time allocated to each of the cross Civil Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion networks, for staff who work in the Cabinet Office.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether every regulated public (a) appointment and (b) re-appointment is published on the Announcement section of the website entitled Apply for a public appointment; and how long each announcement page remains on that website. \p Georgia Gould: All regulated appointment and reappointment announcements should be published on the Apply for a public appointment digital service, unless the appointing department determines that the appointment is of a sensitive nature.

All announcements remain on the service indefinitely and are archived within the National Archives catalogue.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to lay a new Official Statistics Order to designate the Fair Work Agency’s statistical outputs as official statistics. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 31st March is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 107.0KB)
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Public Bodies Handbook – Part 2: The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed Great British Railways against the requirement that the creation of a new arm's length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department for Transport provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests in Chapter 2 of that guidance Great British Railways met. \p Georgia Gould: The Department for Transport is currently working through the approval process to establish Great British Railways as an Arm’s Length Body. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers viable delivery mechanisms and the three tests.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question HL4631 on Cabinet Office: Standards, if he will publish that template. \p Georgia Gould: His Majesty's Government can confirm that:

As was the case under the previous administration, the template is intended solely for internal departmental use and will not be released publicly.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20702 on Foreign Investment in UK: National Security, if he will publish mitigation measures taken as a result of final orders issued in the last year with the 2024-2025 NSI annual report. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Government publishes notices of final orders made on GOV.UK - this includes cases that are blocked, unwound, or cleared subject to conditions. The notices include a high level summary of what mitigation measures are imposed on the parties.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has issued guidance to (a) the civil service and (b) arm’s length bodies on paying back severance payments if civil servants made redundant rejoin the (a) civil service, (b) NHS and (c) wider public sector. \p Georgia Gould: Whilst the NHS and some wider public sector organisations will have their own arrangements, any individual who leaves under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, and later returns to the same organisation, or another one that uses the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, within six months, must pay back a proportionate amount of their compensation.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 634, if he will list the reviews relevant to national security that are taking place across the Government that will be included in the development of a new National Security Strategy. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: As announced by the Prime Minister, a new national security strategy will be published in June, ahead of the NATO Summit.

There are several reviews and strategies being developed across government that will be taken into consideration. This includes the Strategic Defence Review, Defence Industrial Strategy, AUKUS Review, Industrial Strategy, and Trade Strategy. The Strategy will also take into account other ongoing national security policy development.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has a strategy for identifying people for the future award of honours and dignities. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Cabinet Office Honours team is working with other government departments to make the honours system representative of UK society, this is in line with the Prime Minister’s priorities for the honours system.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has provided on whether a linked donation which a Parliamentary candidate benefits from but given to a national political party during the 2024 general election short campaign, must be declared in the candidate’s Representation of the People Act return. \p Sir Jeremy Wright: The Electoral Commission publishes guidance for candidates and agents on donations that are held on a candidate's behalf by a party, such as in a local party fighting fund. How a donation must be reported depends on the intention of the donor and who controls the donation once received.

If a donation is held by the party but made with the intention that the candidate benefits and is made available to the candidate, it must be declared in the candidate's spending return.

If there is no intention to donate to the candidate, or the donation is received and controlled by the party, this is likely to be a party donation. If the party then uses the donation to benefit the candidate, the candidate may need to report a seperate donation from the party.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on the inclusion of local Electoral Returning Officers within the definition of local authorities for the Re-use of Public Sector Information. \p Sir Jeremy Wright: The Electoral Commisson has not produced guidance on the inclusion of local Electoral Returning Officers within the definition of local authorities for the Re-Use of Public Sector Information.

The Electoral Commission produces guidance on the roles and responsibilities of Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers in carrying out the statutory functions to deliver well-run electoral services.

The Information Commissioner's Office is responsible for enforcing data protection legislation and has produced guidance for publice sector bodies covered by the Re-Use Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (RPSI)
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37583 on Elections: Expenditure, what guidance the Commission has issued on (a) itemising and (b) listing notional spending below £50 in Representation of the People Act returns where the total notional expenditure from that organisation is greater than £50. \p Sir Jeremy Wright: The Elecotoral Commission has published guidance for candidates and agents on reporting notional expenditure. Property, goods, services or facilities received over the value of £50, provided for free or at a non-commercial discount, must be reported as candidate spending and as a donation. There are no requirements in law for candidates to report items of notional spending where the value is £50 or lower.

Candidates do not need to itemise or list individual items of spending with a value of £50 or below, even when they have received multiple items of spending from the same organisation with a total value over £50.

Agents are required to include the details of any reportable notional expenditure, and a declaration of its value in the candidate spending return.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the difference in the (a) process and (b) cost of completing a Power of Attorney in Scotland compared to England and Wales. \p Kirsty McNeill: The process and costs associated with Power of Attorney vary between legal jurisdictions within the UK due to the distinct legal frameworks in place. The processes and costs are a matter for the Scottish Government.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds take up journalism courses and training. \p Stephanie Peacock: It is key that the public feel represented and reflected by the media. Journalism plays an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and we are committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape. Encouraging more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter the industry may have a positive impact on the sustainability of the industry where it helps news publishers improve their appeal to currently underserved and under-represented audiences. Government believes that we need routes into journalism that are open to everyone, wherever they grow up.

High-quality apprenticeships available to support employers and learners in the news sector, including the Level 5 Journalist apprenticeship standard, are a means to help enable this. DCMS is working closely with DfE on their work to reform the growth and skills levy. The new growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers in England, and will be aligned with the Industrial Strategy to create routes into good skilled jobs.

This support complements the industry’s own efforts, and we welcome the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ (NCTJ) recent launch of the new phase of the Community News Project, a major initiative to strengthen local journalism and improve local newsroom diversity across the UK through apprenticeship placements. This project demonstrates the type of industry collaboration which can help secure the future of local journalism, which we want to further encourage through our Local Media Strategy.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the sustainability of local news outlets in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) North West of England. \p Stephanie Peacock: Sustainability of local journalism across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government, including in Greater Manchester and the North West of England. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops, and we recently held a roundtable discussion with local news editors from across the country, including from Manchester Evening news, to discuss our planned approach and explore further collaboration on the Strategy. We will announce further details in due course.
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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40390 on Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender Independent Review, if she will have discussions with the Welsh Government on the potential implications for their policies of the recommendations of the Sullivan Review. \p Jo Stevens: I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a wide range of matters.

The government has now published the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the previous government, which was also sent to the Welsh Government. We are considering the findings in light of ongoing policy work in this area.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the maternity care inquiry to include the limitations of coroners’ powers to hold inquests into stillbirths. \p Karin Smyth: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, recently announced an independent, national investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services, to look at the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. It will look at up to 10 maternity and neonatal units where there are specific issues, international evidence, adoption of best practice, and will engage in a system-wide investigation of maternity and neonatal care. This will include bringing together lessons from past reviews. The investigation will produce, by December 2025, one clear set of national recommendations to achieve high quality, safe care across maternity and neonatal services, and will ensure that women and families are listened to.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also announced the establishment of a Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce that will use the recommendations from the independent investigation to develop a national plan with families to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.

The Terms of Reference for the independent investigation and taskforce, including the investigation’s scope, are being developed with input from families and other key partners and are expected to be published shortly. We are not, therefore, able to confirm whether this will include reference to coronial powers.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many integrated care boards have a designated senior leader responsible for (a) neurology and (b) rehabilitation services. \p Ashley Dalton: This information is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for designating senior leaders as appropriate, as well as for commissioning most services for people with long term conditions including for neurology and rehabilitation services. ICBs are allocated funding by NHS England to meet local need and priorities and improve outcomes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

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Dr Beccy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of infection diagnostics on (a) levels of inappropriate antibiotic use and (b) the policies set out in the policy paper entitled UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029, published on 8 May 2024. \p Ashley Dalton: The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle AMR. A core commitment of the NAP is supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them. Outcome four specifically relates to strengthening antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship by improved targeting of antimicrobials and diagnostic tools.

The Government is also working to deliver outcome six of the NAP, which commits to cross-sector working to develop diagnostics as a tool to tackle AMR. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has invested over £18 million of funding into AMR diagnostics research. The Department also funds the NIHR’s HealthTech Research Centres, which accelerate development of healthcare technologies, including diagnostics.

NHS England’s AMR Diagnostic programme is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP’s commitments. The programme aims to improve current practice, enhance the evidence base, improve engagement and training, and overcome barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests. The ambition is to drive innovation in diagnostics within the system to improve antimicrobial stewardship and reduce the burden of infection and AMR. As part of this programme, NHS England is undertaking Horizon Scanning for new innovations, supporting research into point-of-care tests for key infections, and continuing to work with industry.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

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Iqbal Mohamed:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the review of the early access to medicines system will include Early Access Programmes of the type used for Givinostat; and what steps he is taking to (a) help tackle geographic variations in uptake and (b) improve equitable access to innovative treatments across the NHS. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs as a priority, and health equity as a cross-cutting theme. The Department understands the importance of rapid patient access to new medicines for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and has worked with NHS England to consider the issues raised by the Givinostat early access programme.

We are also working to review the effectiveness of access schemes for rare disease therapies. This will focus on the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, and the Innovative Medicines Fund, but will broadly consider access to rare disease therapies.
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Kevin Bonavia:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to enable earlier diagnosis for pancreatic cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government recognises that pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose early. Its symptoms are often vague and non-specific, meaning many patients are diagnosed at a late stage when treatment options are limited and outcomes are poor. This underlines the critical importance of improving routes to earlier diagnosis.

To address this challenge, the National Health Service has implemented non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways across England. These services support faster and more accurate diagnosis for patients who present with symptoms that do not clearly indicate a specific type of cancer, including those often seen in pancreatic cancer. There are currently 115 NSS services operating, ensuring more patients benefit from quicker access to the right investigations.

The NHS has launched a £2 million initiative funding 300 general practices (GPs) to identify pancreatic cancer early by screening high-risk patients over 60 years old with new diabetes diagnoses and unexplained weight loss for urgent testing. More than 300 GPs across England will begin using the initiative, with dozens rolling it out now, and the rest to be up and running in the autumn.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) recognition of the signs and symptoms of rare cancers by General Practitioners and (b) rate of referral to specialist diagnostic testing for patients who present with signs and symptoms of rare cancers. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including rare and less common cancers, earlier and to treat them faster.

The Department is taking steps to improve public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, including rare and less common cancers, through supporting the NHS in 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 ensuring that general practitioners have the right training and systems to identify cancer, including rare and less common cancers. The use of specific clinical decision support tools is agreed at a local level.

Furthermore, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type. The Department will continue to look at opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to transform diagnostic performance and ultimately bring down waiting times, including for cancer.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the NHS will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including for rare and less common cancers. The plan will aim to speed up diagnosis and treatment and will ensure that all patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_7

Dr Beccy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) noise and (b) air pollution on public health in densely populated residential areas. \p Ashley Dalton: In 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published the findings from a study that mapped the effects of transport noise on health and wellbeing across England. It was estimated that transport noise in England was responsible for the equivalent of 130,000 healthy life years lost in disability in 2018. The estimates are presented at local authority level to examine the spatial distribution of the health burden. This work was based on methods developed by the World Health Organization, and more information is available at the following link:

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/29/noise-pollution-mapping-the-health-impacts-of-transportation-noise-in-england/

Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom. The mortality burden in 2019 was equivalent to between 29,000 and 43,000 deaths for adults aged 30 years old and over. Some people are more affected because they live in a polluted area or are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives. UKHSA is developing an air pollution vulnerability indicator tool that will demonstrate which areas are most at risk from exposure to air pollution. This tool will help health professionals identify areas where interventions are needed most and will contribute to addressing local health inequalities related to air pollution more effectively.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_8

Dr Beccy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve access to healthcare for people experiencing rough sleeping. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including those experiencing homelessness.

We recognise the importance of reducing barriers to healthcare services for those experiencing homelessness. This is why we supported the development and implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, code NG214, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214

The Department has recently published a progressive 10-Year Health Plan. We are committed to reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest, an ambitious commitment that shows that the Government is serious about tackling health inequalities and addressing the social determinants of health.
wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_9
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_9

Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to evaluate the potential impact of the Innovator Passport scheme on the average time taken for new health technologies to reach routine NHS use. \p Ashley Dalton: We are committed to ensuring that patients benefit from safe and effective innovations more quickly, that National Health Service organisations are supported to make informed, value-based decisions on medical technology, and that we put in place a low-friction procurement environment to support the medical technology (MedTech) industry, and in particular small and medium-sized enterprises in the United Kingdom.

To support this, we’re developing a digital product comparison platform called MedTech Compass. It will align with the new NHS Innovator Passport, making key information visible in one place, in order to avoid suppliers having to submit the same data to every NHS trust.

The current regulatory regime ensures that all medical devices placed in the market are safe, and MedTech Compass will only display products with Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approval.

The initial development phase of MedTech Compass, to test design concepts, will complete early next year and the findings of this phase will inform the specifics around how the system will operate.

An evaluation plan and metrics will be considered as part of the MedTech Compass development process, which may include measuring the time taken to adoption and other metrics informed by the initial development phase learnings.
wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_10
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_10

Michael Wheeler:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that lessons learned from the COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce will inform its approach to managing the shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). \p Karin Smyth: The Department has not conducted a 360-degree supply and demand forecast for pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). However, the Department is in regular discussion with suppliers of PERT on the latest stock availability and the actions that are being taken to mitigate the supply issue, including what steps suppliers are taking to ensure future supplies meet the long-term needs for patients in the United Kingdom.

The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market.

In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers of PERT wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers, and if authorised, these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.

While the Department's approach for managing the supply issues with PERT is not specifically informed by the COVID-19 Vaccines Taskforce experience, as we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues for PERT.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_11

Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the risk of insolvency among key providers of community equipment services. \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 (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_12

Jim Allister:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) pregnancies and (b) abortions involving girls under the age of 16 have been reported by (i) NHS and (ii) independent abortion providers to (A) the police and (B) local authority safeguarding teams in each of the past five years; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all such cases involving potential (1) rape and (2) sexual exploitation are being (a) referred, (b) investigated, and (c) prosecuted. \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/answers2025-07-17 conversation_13
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_13

Paulette Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of current funding on palliative care on an assisted dying service. \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 (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_14

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust and (b) Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB has improved according to his Department's matrices for performance and improvement since July 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board are in receipt of national mandated support via NHS England’s Recovery Support Programme.

Since July 2024, the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board have both demonstrated improvements across all areas of the requisite transition criteria, including finance, workforce, urgent and emergency care, governance, and leadership.

NHS England continues to support the trust and the integrated care board in a range of areas. We are working closely with NHS England to monitor the situation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-17 conversation_15

Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a public awareness campaign on foetal valproate spectrum disorder. \p Karin Smyth: There are mechanisms in place to minimise the risk of foetal harm associated with valproate, and to ensure that healthcare professionals are also able to support any babies and families that are affected. These are considered to be more targeted than a public awareness campaign.

The valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme ensures that women and girls taking valproate understand the potential risks should they become pregnant, are using effective contraception, and are regularly monitored. It is supported by educational materials for healthcare professionals and patients, and describes the neurodevelopmental disorders and major congenital malformations associated with the use of valproate in pregnancy, with information available electronically and in a hard copy format for healthcare professionals.

The programme was updated in January 2024 to reflect updated Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency advice that valproate must not be started in new patients, either male or female, younger than 55 years old, unless two specialists independently consider and document that there is no other effective or tolerated treatment, or there are compelling reasons that the reproductive risks do not apply. It was advised that women and girls of childbearing potential already receiving valproate should have their treatment discussed by two specialists at their next annual review. The requirement for two specialists to review these patients is a one off, and subsequent annual reviews required under the Pregnancy Prevention Programme are undertaken by a single specialist.

Further information on the valproate pregnancy prevention programmes is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/valproate-pregnancy-prevention-programme-actions-required-now-from-gps-specialists-and-dispensers

In addition, there are 14 Maternal Medicine Networks, in place across England, who provide expert care to women with complex medical conditions, including epilepsy, before, during, and after pregnancy, to ensure appropriate investigation and management to improve maternal and foetal outcomes.