theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010. \p Simon Lightwood: The table below outlines the number of employment tribunal claims lodged against the central Department for Transport (DfTc) in each of the last five years. As requested, this information is broken down by unfair dismissal claims and claims under the Equality Act 2010.

Unfair Dismissal

Equality Act

2021

0

<5

2022

<5

<5

2023

0

<5

2024

<5

<5

2025 (to 24 Oct 2025)

<5

<5
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Sarah Edwards:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the time taken for Section 278 approvals on SME development timelines. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government recognises that the road adoption process under the Highways Act 1980, including Section 278 agreements where developers modify existing public highways, has become increasingly fragmented and prolonged across England. This has contributed to a decline in road adoption rates. In response, the Department for Transport is conducting research to better understand the underlying causes and identify opportunities for improvement.
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John McDonnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83230 on Skilled Workers: Visas, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to income thresholds in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, HC 997, published on 1 July 2025, on the number of people employed on Skilled Worker Visas in the transport sector who no longer have leave to remain. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department for Transport has not produced a formal estimate of the number of individuals across the transport sector who may no longer have leave to remain as a result of the changes introduced in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 997) on 1 July 2025.

The changes to income thresholds only affect those in the Skilled Worker route when they next make an application to change employment, extend their stay, or settle. Until this happens, those who have been in the route since before 4 April 2024 continue to be subject to lower overall salary requirements.

The Department is working with the transport sector and the Migration Advisory Committee to consider if any transport jobs should be included on the temporary shortage list.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the West Coast Main Line in December 2025 and January 2026 on commuters. \p Simon Lightwood: Network Rail has been working closely with operators to try and keep passengers on trains for as much of their journey as possible during this period of essential works. The Settle to Carlisle line will be used as a diversionary route for long-distance services for the first time in a decade. Rail replacement buses will also be available to assist passengers to continue their journeys onwards.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of approved driving instructors in Lincolnshire in each of the last five years. \p Simon Lightwood: Information on the number of approved driving instructors by postcode, including for Lincolnshire is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/driving-instructor-and-motorcycle-instructor-register-data.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May 2025 to Question 53618, if she will make an estimate of potential cost savings from introducing a rolling programme of electrification. \p Simon Lightwood: The department has not made an estimate of the potential savings of a rolling programme of electrification; however, we recognise the potential benefits such a programme could have for reducing the cost of delivering electrification infrastructure in this country. Officials are working closely with Network Rail to deliver updated plans for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway over the next 25 years that considers both track and train and the significant recent progress in battery technology and will consider potential cost savings as part of this process.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2025 to Question 76329 on Roads: Capital Investment, on what date she plans to publish the final version of the Road Investment Strategy 3. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department for Transport intends to publish the final version of the third Road Investment Strategy by the end of March 2026.
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Laura Kyrke-Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve collaboration across local authority borders on bus routes. \p Simon Lightwood: Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) already work closely together when tendering bus routes that cross shared boundaries, and in delivering their Bus Service Improvement Plans. There are also requirements set out in the Transport Act 2000 for LTAs to take account of the effect of an Enhanced Partnership on neighbouring areas, and for policies on bus services in neighbouring LTA areas to be considered when developing any franchising arrangements.

The Government has updated its bus franchising guidance to LTAs to make clear that they should consider cross-boundary services during any franchising assessment process. This includes as part of the commercial case, where they should set out how they intend to facilitate cross-boundary services to deliver relevant targets in both authorities’ areas.

In addition, the Government’s Bus Services Act 2025 puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders. This Bill is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England, including services that cross local authority boundaries.

The Act gives franchising authorities greater scope to grant service permits to operators wishing to provide non-franchised services which enter a franchising area from another area. Franchising authorities will be able to take account of these proposed cross-boundary services’ benefits in all the areas where the service would run, not just the franchising area as before. This will enable franchising authorities to better harness the additionality the market can provide in delivering these important services and take a more holistic approach to cross-boundary bus provision.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 May 2025 to Question 53618, when she expects updated plans for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway over the next 25 years to be a) concluded and b) published. \p Simon Lightwood: Officials from the Department for Transport are working closely with Network Rail to produce their new 'Long-term Planning for Rail Decarbonisation' strategy, any plan which arises from this strategy will cover 25 years and set out a realistic, affordable, and deliverable approach to a net zero railway, with consideration for the bespoke electrification needs of freight operators. We expect Network Rail to engage with industry as part of the development of this strategy and we expect to see a draft of this strategy before the end of this year.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82744 on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, whether her Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned an assessment of the potential impact of the revised national road maintenance capital allocations on local highway maintenance performance indicators. \p Simon Lightwood: As set out at the Spending Review, the £24 billion of capital funding that was announced to maintain and improve our motorways and local roads will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

The Government will confirm highways maintenance funding allocations for local highway authorities in due course.

An additional £500m of highways maintenance funding was announced this financial year, alongside new reporting requirements for local authorities. This includes the publication of an annual transparency report detailing how the funding has been used and the outcomes achieved. These reports will enable the Department and the public to better understand the impact of investment over the next four years.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with local councils on ensuring that there are sufficient road grit boxes for road users to use in winter 2025-26. \p Simon Lightwood: Responsibility for winter road maintenance, including grit boxes, is a devolved matter. As such this answer relates only to England.

Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 places a duty on highway authorities to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.

It is for local highway authorities to determine what the most appropriate measures are to achieve this, based on local circumstances.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59359 and the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 77650 on Motorcycles: Bus Lanes, how many and what proportion of respondents to the consultation were (a) in favour of and (b) opposed to allowing motorcycles to access bus lanes by default. \p Simon Lightwood: This information is contained in the ‘Motorcycles in bus lanes consultation outcome’ published on 21 November 2024 and available here:

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/motorcycles-in-bus-lanes
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of out of area taxi operations on public safety. \p Lilian Greenwood: The primary purpose of the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime is public safety. Since coming into Government, we have been actively looking at ways to improve the existing licensing regime.

We have committed to legislate to address the issues raised in Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We want to achieve two outcomes; the first is ensuring we have consistently high safeguarding standards and the second is that there is no unintended reduction in the availability of licensed taxi and private hire vehicle services, which could disproportionately impact women and girls and disabled people, who rely on these services the most. We are considering all options – including out-of-area working, national standards, enforcement and transferring licensing to local transport authorities - seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.

We are currently reviewing licensing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance issued by the Department on actions they should take on licensing matters including safety. All licensing authorities have reported that they require the highest level of criminal background checks for taxi and private hire vehicle driver licence applicants – an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists. Where safety recommendations from the guidance are not being followed, licensing authorities will be held to account.
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider ringfencing funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

We are committed to working with the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting more research and capacity-building programmes. As part of our approach, together with the Medical Research Council (MRC), we are actively exploring next steps in ME/CFS research, as outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan. This includes a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical interventions for post-acute infection syndromes and associated conditions, including ME/CFS. This funding opportunity is one component of our approach to improve evidence around the diagnosis, management, and treatment of post-acute infection conditions, including ME/CFS. We are also planning an NIHR and MRC hosted showcase event for post-acute infection conditions research, including ME/CFS and long COVID, in November to stimulate further research in this field.

We have previously discussed ringfenced funding with the ME/CFS community during the development of the Final Delivery Plan for ME/CFS, as well as at subsequent meetings and roundtables on ME/CFS and long COVID. However, this is not usual practice for research funders as applications in all areas should compete for the funding available to uphold transparency and accountability. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including ME/CFS. Our position is that welcoming applications on ME/CFS to all programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding and the type of research which can be funded.

There has been no specific comparative review on the level of funding for research into ME/CFS compared to other illnesses. The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the NIHR, including on ME/CFS. Research funding is available, and applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to update impact assessments for Part IX Drug Tariff reform in the context of methodological changes following the introduction of interchangeable size bandings. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Impact Assessment was shared at the consultation stage which took place between October 2023 and January 2024. It was subsequently updated to reflect the industry feedback received throughout the process, with the final version being released in August 2024.

Further detail has since been provided on the assessment of wound care in line with the existing principles that products will be grouped into clinically comparable clusters.

Therefore, when NHS Prescription Services apply these principles to wound care dressings, it is expected that dressings will be grouped into different sizes, reflecting the fact that different sized dressings meet different clinical needs.

The programme is now in the implementation stage, and the impacts will be reviewed through the agreed evaluation process for Wave 1, in collaboration with industry.
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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 reduce health inequalities experienced by deaf people. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: It is for individual National Health Service organisations, including NHS trusts and integrated care boards, to comply with the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations have a legal duty to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are as accessible to disabled people, including deaf people, as they are for everybody else. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to support deaf patients.

Health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed in the National Repository, a digital system within the NHS where key patient information is stored to enable health and care workers to record, share and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated.

Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, published in September 2023, the flag went live in the National Care Record Service and is being rolled out across England.

Since 2016, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.

NHS England published a revised AIS on 30 June 2025. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women are being treated with hormone replacement therapy. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The NHS Business Services Authority releases official statistics on patients prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The latest available data shows that there were 2.8 million female patients aged 18 years old or over who were prescribed HRT in England, that was subsequently dispensed in the community, from July 2024 to June 2025. Further information, including monthly data to June 2025, is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/hormone-replacement-therapy-england/hormone-replacement-therapy-england-april-2015-june-2025
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77387 on Hormone Replacement Therapy, what steps he is taking to support women receiving treatment with Testo-100 HRT implants following (a) the recent recall of current stock by the distributor and (b) the current lack of alternative supplies of HRT implants. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department continues to work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and can confirm that we have engaged with specialist importers to understand if they can source this product, but unfortunately, they have not been able to. We have also approached a supplier which has a product that is licensed in the United States but are yet to receive a response.

In the longer term, the MHRA is working with the importer Smartway, in an expedited fashion, to encourage full United Kingdom Marketing Authorisations for these products in 2026, which if successful, should bring about a safer and more stable supply.
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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of value-based procurement for MedTech innovation for (a) the New Hospital Programme and (b) current NHS sites; and what steps his Department takes to ensure that the NHS has adequate flexibility in allocated budgets to take into account inflation when projects are delayed by 6 months or more. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department is developing Value Based Procurement (VBP) Standard Guidance to improve consistency in National Health Service procurement of medical technology in England, and to ensure taxpayer’s money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff and the environment.

In September 2025, the Department launched the VBP Pilots in which 13 existing trusts will test the VBP Standard Guidance. During the pilots, the Department will assess the usability of the Guidance including its effectiveness to procure innovative technology, before publication of the final Guidance in early 2026. The New Hospital Programme is out of scope for these pilots.

The Spending Review 2025 settlement allocated a £2.3 billion real terms increase, or £4 billion cash increase, in Departmental annual capital budgets from 2023/24 to 2029/30. As this is a real-terms funding settlement, this assumes a level of inflation, with capital budgets growing in line with projected inflation. HM Treasury also agreed to grant additional flexibilities, including the relaxation of some ringfences, for the Department to manage capital budgets. This will support systems’ and providers’ abilities to maximise delivery against agreed priorities and measured outcomes.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Part IX medical devices process on (a) supplier confidence and (b) future investment in the UK medical devices market; and what steps he is taking to (a) improve and (b) reduce the time taken for that process. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: As part of our development work on Part IX of the Drug Tariff reforms, we have undertaken detailed assessment of the impacts on the market and suppliers. We have worked closely with industry and the joint Department and Industry Drug Tarff Committee to ensure we understand the likely impact. The reforms are designed to support innovation while also addressing unwarranted price variation for similar products. The new enhanced assessment process will allow comparison between products based on their merits, which will increase transparency and competition and, by extension, patient choice. This approach is intended to encourage new innovative products and small and medium-sized businesses to enter the market. Suppliers may also, for the first time, apply to list products temporarily for up to two years to allow them to generate evidence to support a longer-term listing. Through temporary listings, the Department is ensuring early National Health Service access to innovative products, providing a clear and transparent route to market.

To improve the listing process, we are introducing a robust assessment framework for products, including independent clinical advisory panels supported by patient representatives. An updated application form is being introduced to streamline the process, and the NHS Business Services Authority is recruiting additional resources for renewals. We are engaging with industry throughout the process, with opportunities to collaborate on any changes during the post-action review after each category is reviewed. This review will enable us to understand if the new process operates in the way that is expected and to make any adjustments as needed. It will also review process steps to ensure its as optimal for industry as possible.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Integrated Care Boards maintain timely ADHD (a) assessment and (b) diagnosis services. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.

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

NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June, with the final report expected in the coming weeks. We will carefully consider its recommendations.
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Tim Farron:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide additional funding for social care services to help support patients to (a) leave hospitals and (b) be treated at home. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government is committed to ensuring that people can leave hospital promptly and receive care in their own homes where appropriate.

For 2025/26 approximately £9 billion has been made available through the Better Care Fund (BCF) to enable integrated care boards and local authorities to deliver better joined-up care. One of the objectives of the BCF is to support the shift of services from hospital to home.

From 2026/27, the BCF will be reformed to provide consistent joint funding for services that are essential for integrated health and social care, including rehabilitation and recovery support.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of introducing financial support for the cost of temporary wheelchairs for children following discharge from an NHS hospital. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and ensuring every child gets the support they need. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services.

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

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
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Stuart Andrew:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to minimise wastage of covid-19 vaccine doses during autumn 2025; and whether he plans to review eligibility guidance to allow unused doses to be administered to people under 75 clinically suitable to receive them. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for the procurement, storage, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The UKHSA seeks to minimise wastage by ensuring that the volumes of COVID-19 vaccine that are procured are in line with forecasted demand.

NHS England is committed to minimising vaccine waste across all COVID-19 vaccine suppliers. National and regional teams work closely with vaccination providers on a very regular basis to monitor stock levels and to ensure vaccines are used within the shortest possible timeframe.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The Government has accepted JCVI’s advice on eligibility for the autumn 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme and has no plans to review eligibility for this campaign. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a ban on (a) vaping and (b) smoking outside (i) pubs, (ii) restaurants and (iii) nightclubs. \p Ashley Dalton: The Tobacco and Vapes Bill allows the Government to expand current indoor smoking restrictions to outdoor public places and workplaces via secondary legislation. The bill also gives the Government powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free also vape-free. Exactly which settings should become smoke-free and vape-free will be subject to a full consultation. However, we are not considering extending smoke-free or vape-free places to outdoor hospitality settings, such as outside pubs, restaurants, and nightclubs.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Mounjaro, also called tirzepatide, is available to people who meet the clinical criteria for weight management. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimated that approximately 3.4 million people are eligible for tirzepatide, known by the brand name Mounjaro, to treat obesity. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a legal duty to make NICE-recommended medicines available to the eligible population alongside the appropriate behavioural and lifestyle support.

The National Health Service is rolling out access to tirzepatide, prioritising those with the greatest clinical need. Approximately 220,000 people are expected to benefit in the first three years of implementation. The NHS is developing and testing new models of care, including community-based services and digital technologies, and will speed up the roll out if possible. Progress on the NHS rollout of tirzepatide will be reviewed by NICE in three years.

NHS England is providing support for NHS ICBs, including providing:

- additional funding to support the delivery of services within primary care and the cost of obesity medicines in line with interim commissioning guidance; and

- a centrally funded wraparound care service ‘Healthier You: Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing’ to refer patients to.
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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation in Camborne and Redruth constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Health Service in Cornwall has a comprehensive cardiovascular training programme in place for primary care staff. This is a key initiative to increase awareness of prevention, cause and management of stroke, atrial fibrillation, acute coronary syndromes and heart failure.

The NHS locally report over nine in ten patients with atrial fibrillation in Camborne and Redruth are treated with anti-coagulants, with treatment rates having increased across Cornwall over the last three years with biggest increases in areas with highest deprivation.

The NHS in Cornwall is also working to prevent, identify and treat linked conditions such as diabetes, alcohol dependency and high blood pressure and to support lifestyle changes that can improve atrial fibrillation symptoms, coronary heart disease, strokes and transient ischemic attacks as well as other cardiovascular conditions such as peripheral arterial disease.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of cervical cancer self-sampling on reaching under-screened populations; and what targets he has for the uptake of (a) in-clinic and (b) at-home self-sampling options. \p Ashley Dalton: Both the impact assessment and the equality impact assessment on the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling for the under-screened population in the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme have been published and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

The UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation for the use of HPV self-sampling was permissive, meaning the NHS can, but does not have to, implement it. They should use it where they believe it can have a useful impact on supporting uptake. There are therefore no national targets at this time.
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UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_197

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase cancer survivability rates in Devon. \p Ashley Dalton: Early cancer diagnosis is a key priority for the Government, as the chances of survival are higher if cancer is diagnosed at an early stage.

The Department recognises that cancer patients, including those with in Devon, are often waiting too long for referral and treatment. As the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and treatment, NHS England has delivered an extra 100,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week since the start of this administration. This is supported by an increase in capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new MRI and CT scanners. The government is investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS and opening up community diagnostic centres (CDCs) at evening and weekends, including three CDCs located within NHS Devon Integrated Care Board, to help diagnose cancer earlier.

Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan for England. The plan will include further details on how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including brain cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_198

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the availability of health play (a) services and (b) professionals for children. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, which includes ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it.

In support of this commitment, NHS England and Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, co-published the Play Well Toolkit in June 2025. The toolkit recognises the important role of health play teams and provides important guidance on best practice, enabling these teams to deliver child-friendly care. NHS England is promoting the Play Well toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_199

Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of opportunities to (a) enable earlier diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes and (b) reduce incidences of diabetic ketoacidosis; and what actions are being taken by (i) his Department and (ii) NHS England to support (A) research and (B) improved clinical practice in these areas. \p Ashley Dalton: The early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is important to reducing incidences of diabetic ketoacidosis. NHS England is working with experts and relevant stakeholder organisations to monitor the outcomes of the current research on the early detection of type 1 diabetes. To support integrated care boards, NHS England has convened experts and stakeholder organisations to consider emerging evidence and articulate what a pathway of care could look like given advancements in this field.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_200

Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) increase awareness of and (b) shorten diagnosis times for Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. \p Ashley Dalton: To improve awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) amongst healthcare professionals, and specifically general practitioners (GPs), the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link:

https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=500

The Syncope toolkit includes an e-learning module, a podcast, and a webinar, and provides GPs with information about the diagnosis and management of PoTS. The webinar gives GPs the opportunity to hear the lived experience perspective of a patient representative from PoTS UK.

The National Institute for Care Excellence has also published a clinical knowledge summary on the clinical management of blackouts and syncope, that provides advice for clinicians in the United Kingdom on best practice in the assessment and diagnosis of PoTS. This was last updated in November 2023, and is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029.

We surpassed our pledge to deliver an extra two million elective appointments, having now delivered 5.2 million additional appointments in our first year of Government. Waiting lists are coming down, as they have fallen by over 206,000 since July 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_201

Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps NHS England has taken to help identify (a) children and (b) adults at risk of pre‑symptomatic Type 1 diabetes; and what assessment has been made of (i) the uptake and (ii) effectiveness of those services. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Institute for Healthcare Research is funding the EarLy Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes (ELSA) study into the feasibility of screening for type 1 diabetes in children aged three to 13 years old. The ELSA study has tested over 24,000 people and is being run through schools, general practice surgeries, as well as through online recruitment.

The UK National Screening Committee advises the National Health Service on screening programmes and, in 2019, concluded that more research and evidence for the benefits of screening for autoimmune type 1 diabetes was required.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_202

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans NHS England Digital has in place to ensure that critical services continue to operate in the event of a major internet outage. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England ensures that its digital services are built with resilience and redundancy at their core. Critical systems are supported by robust technical architecture designed to maintain continuity where possible during disruptions. We have resilience in our internet access by having multiple connections and we are resilient to local and regional outages. However, a national internet outage would put all digital systems under pressure.

There are comprehensive business continuity plans and disaster recovery processes in place to mitigate digital service disruptions, which are regularly tested and reviewed to aid recovery from significant events.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_203

Alistair Strathern:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring that NHS speech and language therapy services use evidence-based intervention dosages for children with moderate to severe speech sound disorders. \p Ashley Dalton: All National Health Services, including speech and language therapy, should operate in accordance with the best available evidence-based practices. Where sufficient evidence exists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes formal guidance. Frontline services, including those delivering speech and language therapy, are expected to adhere to NICE guidance wherever it is available and applicable. A relevant NICE quality statement can be found at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs128/chapter/quality-statement-2-speech-and-language#quality-statement-2-speech-and-language

In 2020, Public Health England published the Best Start in Speech, Language and Communication guidance to support local commissioners and service leads in meeting the needs of children in the early years, which can be found in the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-start-in-speech-language-and-communication
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_204

Kate Osamor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of Prostate Cancer Research's report entitled Prostate Cancer Screening: The Impact on the NHS, published in 14 October 2025. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is guided by the independent, scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).

The UK NSC Secretariat has corresponded with Prostate Cancer Research and described the committee’s formal published approach to identifying and summarising high quality, peer reviewed published evidence.

The UK NSC Secretariat has read Prostate Cancer Research's report entitled Prostate Cancer Screening: The Impact on the NHS, and has discussed it with the Chair of the UK NSC.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_205

Cat Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on introducing mandatory health information on alcohol labels; and when he plans to publish a consultation on this matter. \p Ashley Dalton: In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthen and expand on existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. The plan can be accessed online at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future

Department officials are working at pace to review all available evidence and to develop policy options that will be used in a formal consultation in due course. We have met a range of stakeholders, and we are making plans for further stakeholder engagement to take place shortly. Stakeholder insights will help shape the policy, to ensure that labelling requirements are more effective.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-05 conversation_206

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of (a) women and (b) people have had a HPV vaccination in Poole constituency in 2025. \p Ashley Dalton: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage is presented for England at a national, National Health Service commissioning region, and local authority level. Data is not gathered at constituency level.

Vaccine coverage data for the routine school-aged HPV immunisation programme in England, including for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#hpv-vaccine-uptake