theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how is the value of the financial sum added weekly to an Aspen card calculated. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The level of the allowance given to those supported under section 95 and section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is reviewed each year to ensure it covers an asylum seekers’ essential living needs. Details of what is considered essential, can be found in the annual asylum support rate review reports, published on GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether additional funding will be made available for youth services in Huddersfield to (a) support early intervention and (b) reduce youth offending. \p Dame Diana Johnson: As part of our Plan for Change, the Safer Streets Mission is driving work across Government to divert young people away from crime.

To this end the Government has committed to the creation of a Young Futures Programme jointly led by the Home Office and Department for Education. Under this programme the Government will intervene earlier to ensure children and young people who are facing poorer outcomes and are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way. The programme also aims to create more support and opportunities for them in their communities.

As we continue to design the Young Futures Programme, we want to ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in this regard. In 2025/26 we are investing £47m via the Home Office in core grant funding to VRUs, including making over £4.3m available to the West Yorkshire VRU this year. This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes to divert young people away from crime.

In addition, the Serious Violence Duty requires a range of specified authorities, such as, the police, local government, youth offending teams, fire, health, and probation services, to work collaboratively, analyse the local problem, and put in place a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence within their local communities. In 2025/26, the Government has allocated £14.4m to continue the implementation and delivery of this Duty across all 43 police force areas in England and Wales. This includes £162k for West Yorkshire.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Steve Race:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Table 10 of the technical annex entitled The combined environmental land management offer, published on 19 March 2024, whether graziers grazing (a) cattle, (b) ponies and (c) native breeds at risk on moorland with a grazing density higher than that of designated low grazing areas due to (i) their geomorphology, (ii) climate and (iii) historic management practices are eligible for payments for actions for moorland and upland peat through the Environmental Land Management scheme. \p Daniel Zeichner: The publication cited has been superseded by the following:

The moorland offer is designed to help deliver our environmental objectives on moorland whilst supporting sustainable food production. Fundamental to sustainable grazing levels on moorland is the level of grazing pressure on that habitat over time. If this is right, then the grazing by preferential livestock (cattle and ponies) gives additional environmental outcomes.

The cattle and pony grazing supplemental actions in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier are designed to support this and provide tiered payments which reward their level of delivery. They are only eligible with the livestock grazing on moorland actions (UPL1-3) to ensure the benefits of grazing with preferential livestock are not lost. These actions specify a grazing livestock density that cannot be exceeded.

Supplemental actions supporting native breeds as risk on moorland aim to maintain or increase the number of rare native breed grazing livestock. These supplemental actions are only eligible with a base action. In SFI, applicants can choose to undertake a base action which does not limit grazing levels, for example Shepherding livestock on moorland actions (UPL7-UPL10).
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on requiring imports of (a) eggs, (b) pork and (c) fur to meet UK animal welfare standards to be permitted for (i) import and (ii) sale in the UK. \p Daniel Zeichner: Ministers and officials meet regularly to address these important topics. The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage.

All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. This includes ensuring imported meat products have been slaughtered to animal welfare standards equivalent to our domestic standards.

The Government recognises the concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 46277 on Forests: Commodities, what his planned timetable is to set out plans for tackling deforestation. \p Mary Creagh: The Government recognises the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential environmental merits of including Miscanthus as an incentivised crop under SFI 2026. \p Daniel Zeichner: The publication cited has been superseded by the following:

The moorland offer is designed to help deliver our environmental objectives on moorland whilst supporting sustainable food production. Fundamental to sustainable grazing levels on moorland is the level of grazing pressure on that habitat over time. If this is right, then the grazing by preferential livestock (cattle and ponies) gives additional environmental outcomes.

The cattle and pony grazing supplemental actions in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier are designed to support this and provide tiered payments which reward their level of delivery. They are only eligible with the livestock grazing on moorland actions (UPL1-3) to ensure the benefits of grazing with preferential livestock are not lost. These actions specify a grazing livestock density that cannot be exceeded.

Supplemental actions supporting native breeds as risk on moorland aim to maintain or increase the number of rare native breed grazing livestock. These supplemental actions are only eligible with a base action. In SFI, applicants can choose to undertake a base action which does not limit grazing levels, for example Shepherding livestock on moorland actions (UPL7-UPL10).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Natural England on the potential impact of issuing a GL43 on the shooting season this year. \p Mary Creagh: In considering the issue of GL43 for this year’s shooting season, Defra took into account Natural England’s statutory advice, noting that the national transmission risk status of avian influenza in wild birds continues to be very high. This included a recommendation to exclude the Lundy Special Area of Conservation (SAC) from the scope of the licence and to include an additional licence condition, requiring best practice biosecurity measures to be undertaken and recorded when managing gamebirds, and those records be produced if requested by a wildlife inspector. The licence was published on 2 May.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of supporting the introduction of bottle deposit schemes in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) other rural communities. \p Mary Creagh: The Government has engaged with stakeholders as we developed policy for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drink containers, including two public consultations: the first in 2019 and the second in 2021. 83% of the 2,590 responses to the 2021 consultation supported a DRS. We also published the Final Impact Assessment on DRS for England and Northern Ireland in November 2024.

The Deposit Management Organisation, who will run the scheme, is legally required to ensure there is a comprehensive returns network, so that rural communities, like Yeovil, can easily redeem their deposits and people have convenient access to a return point wherever they live.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with producer country stakeholders as it designs the Forest Risk Commodities implementing regulation. \p Mary Creagh: We are carefully considering the views of producer country stakeholders in developing our approach to prevent UK consumption of forest risk commodities driving deforestation.

We will set out our approach to addressing deforestation in the UK’s supply chains in due course.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce environmental pollution caused by the spreading of sewage sludge on agricultural land. \p Emma Hardy: The Government recognises that wastewater treatment practices have changed in recent years and new risks may be emerging from the spread of treated sewage sludge to agricultural land.

The Government has been working with water companies on the Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP) to improve the evidence base contaminants in wastewater treatment. Phase 4 of CIP will investigate the impact of sludge application on soil, surface and groundwater. The results will help inform future policy.

The Government is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for spreading sludge. We recognise that effective and proportionate regulations are an essential tool to improve the water environment. However, further work is required before any proposal for change may be progressed.

The Government has also launched an Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system, which is the largest review of the industry since privatisation.

The Independent Commission’s Call for Evidence, published in February 2025, highlighted the Environment Agency’s recommendation to strengthen the regulatory framework for sludge application on land by incorporating the Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations 1989 into the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016.

A set of recommendations will be delivered by Q2 of this year. The UK government and Welsh Government will then respond and consult on proposals we intend to take forward.
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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she has made on a touring agreement with the EU. \p Chris Bryant: The UK Government remains in constructive dialogue with the EU on tackling the challenges facing UK musicians and their support staff when touring in the EU, as well as other EU reset priorities. Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and European trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič have been tasked with moving discussions forward and leaders will take stock at the UK-EU Summit in May.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-09)

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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the impact of the Business Rates Review on live entertainment venues. \p Chris Bryant: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. The Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27. To provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26. The Government is prioritising the creative industries, including live music, as part of the Industrial Strategy.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of tackling (a) trauma, (b) addiction and (c) mental health in reducing the rate of re-offending among young people; and whether she has had discussions with (i) UHub in North Down and (ii) other organisations that (A) provide counselling and (B) promote emotional well-being. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The Ministry of Justice recognises that addressing trauma, substance misuse and mental health challenges among young people is key to reducing re-offending rates – and that early intervention and prevention is an important part of this. In England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice has provided over £100 million to Youth Offending Teams this year, to support their delivery of needs-based interventions to reduce their risk of reoffending.

As justice is devolved in Northern Ireland, I have not discussed youth justice matters with uHub in North Down. However, in England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice works with a range of organisations that provide counselling and promote emotional wellbeing, including through our Turnaround youth justice early intervention programme.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing a new approach to help tackle hyper prolific offending through (a) the monitoring of offenders, (b) effective intervention programmes and (c) the enforcement of appropriate legal penalties; and whether she has had discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the potential impact of its Reducing Offenders Unit on crime rates. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: We take prolific offending seriously and recognise that prolific offenders commit a disproportionate number of offences. Between 2000 and 2021, for example, prolific offenders represented nearly 10% of offenders but accounted for just over 50% of convictions.

That clearly cannot continue. That is why the Lord Chancellor asked David Gauke to specifically consider the issue of prolific offenders as part of the Sentencing Review, to ensure that we have fewer crimes committed by prolific criminals.

Prolific offenders often have a complex set of needs, and to tackle the underlying causes of offending community sentences may also have rehabilitative requirements attached, including drug, alcohol and mental health difficulties. We are:
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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to stop biological males being housed in E wing at HMP Downview. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: As of 1 May 2025, there were 7 transgender women held on E Wing. Other than on E Wing, there were no transgender women held in HMP Downview. The figures are compiled from local operational data and are therefore not directly comparable with official statistics on transgender prisoners covering the whole estate.

This Government inherited the policy regarding allocation of transgender prisoners from the previous Government and has not moved any transgender women into the women’s estate since taking office.

We are reviewing transgender prisoner policy in light of the Supreme Court ruling and will be able to say more about this in due course.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing stab vests to prison officers. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: HM Prison & Probation Service has commissioned a review to establish whether it is necessary for our brave and hard-working prison officers to wear Protective Body Armour (PBA) either routinely or when working in high-risk environments within the prison estate in England and Wales. This review will inform any future decision on the use of PBA in the prison estate in England and Wales and will report in early June.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Samantha Niblett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to abolish (a) Primary Care Support England and (b) any other NHS organisations, in the context of the abolition of NHS England. \p Karin Smyth: Work is progressing at pace to map functions, appraise options, and inform decision making on where NHS England’s functions will best sit.

There are important choices to be made, and ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team in NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to ensure the new joint centre will operate more efficiently, cut out unnecessary bureaucracy, and empower those working on the frontline.

In taking forward the work, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Alistair Strathern:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support NHS trusts to (a) recognise and (b) involve fathers as parents in (i) maternity and (ii) early childhood services. \p Karin Smyth: The National Health Service’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services recognises that listening and responding to all women, their partners and families, is an essential part of enabling and delivering safe and high-quality care. There are multiple initiatives in place that recognise and involve the role of fathers and other parents. These initiatives include:

- ensuring that fathers’ perspectives shape improvements to services and care, through Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships;

- encouraging fathers’ involvement in the care for their babies in neonatal units, through Family Integrated Care, helping to strengthen the parent-infant bond and infant health outcomes;

- providing evidence-based assessments and support for partners, including fathers, through Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services. This has helped 5% to 10% of fathers experiencing mental health conditions during the perinatal period;

- health visiting services that are parent focussed and which include both mothers and fathers, and which are including in perinatal mental health support; and

- the Department announcing £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme for 2025/26 in 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation in January 2025. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, including for fathers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of cutting ICB running costs by 50% on (a) Nottingham, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) other areas with higher levels of deprivation. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure, to achieve a 50% cost reduction in their running cost allowance. NHS England provided additional guidance to ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and NHS foundation trusts on 1 April 2025, with ICBs being tasked to develop plans by the end of May 2025 setting out how they will manage their resources to deliver across their priorities.

NHS England will be working closely with ICBs to support the development of these plans, ensuring that their implementation reduces duplication and supports patient care. Further details are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/working-together-in-2025-26-to-lay-the-foundations-for-reform/

In his letter to ICBs, Sir Jim Mackay committed to greater transparency and moving back to a fair shares allocation policy over time. The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB is within range of its fair shares allocation targets.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on 8 April 2025, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the redundancy package for staff being made redundant from NHS England (a) in total and (b) per integrated care board. \p Karin Smyth: The detailed plans for realising efficiency gains from this process are being formulated by a joint Department and NHS England programme team, which will include the mechanisms and timings for any exit processes. Any costs will be offset by the savings delivered by having a more efficient and less bureaucratic centre. Further detail on the costs and benefits will be provided as this work develops.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on 8 April 2025, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the closure of NHS England (a) in total and (b) per integrated care board. \p Karin Smyth: The detailed plans for realising efficiency gains from this process are being formulated by a joint Department and NHS England programme team, which will include the mechanisms and timings for any exit processes. Any costs will be offset by the savings delivered by having a more efficient and less bureaucratic centre. Further detail on the costs and benefits will be provided as this work develops.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he expects fixed sum payments to be awarded to people harmed by Sodium Valproate and surgical mesh implants during 2025. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Rosie Duffield:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will mandate the compulsory listing of health risks on adverts placed by the NHS and fertility clinics which seek egg donors. \p Ashley Dalton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the United Kingdom’s fertility sector regulator, has advised that it sets out strict requirements in its Licence Conditions and Code of Practice in relation to the recruitment of donors and the information that must be given to egg donors in advance of donating at United Kingdom licensed fertility clinics, which includes information about the potential immediate or longer-term health risks. The HFEA Code of Practice states that advertising should be designed with regard to the sensitive issues involved in recruiting donors and should follow the Advertising Standards Authority codes.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not considered additional compulsory listing of health risks on adverts for egg donors.
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve the effectiveness of the internal NHS complaints system. \p Ashley Dalton: Patients have the right to complain about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment, or service. The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 set out the minimum standards NHS organisations must adhere to in respect of their complaint handling arrangements.

The Department has worked closely with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on their work to develop the NHS Complaint Standards, which set out how organisations providing services in the NHS should approach complaint handling. The standards place a strong focus on several key aspects of complaint handling and set out practical advice and good practice to help NHS organisations improve.

In addition to these arrangements, the Care Quality Commission has an important role in ensuring NHS providers have an effective and accessible system for handling complaints from service users.
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support research into the use of digital cognitive assessments to improve early diagnosis of dementia. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has invested nearly £11 million of funding to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia via the Invention for Innovation programme.

In addition to NIHR funding, the Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme has provided funding to develop several digital cognitive assessments. For instance, through Innovate UK, the programme has awarded four United Kingdom based companies a share of the £4 million of funding to enable their biomarkers to be tested and validated in a large, diverse group of people, as part of the Bio-Hermes-002 study, which includes a series of tests which look at memory, language, and other cognitive skills.

The programme has also committed to investing £2 million into a quick and easy digital test of patients’ cognitive functions, to be included in the READ-OUT study, which could lead to more accurate diagnoses when administered with blood biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia. Some of these innovations could support improved diagnosis in the future, if validated for clinical use.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on dementia to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the health outcomes for children born by IVF. \p Ashley Dalton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that its expert Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee monitors new studies relating to health outcomes in children conceived by IVF. They last discussed this topic in February 2025, and the associated paper and minutes can be found on the HFEA website, at the following link:

https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/our-authority-committees-and-panels/scientific-and-clinical-advances-advisory-committee-scaac/

HFEA Register data is used in research studies which look at the effects of IVF on the health of children born, with further information about these studies, including details of current and previous projects, available on the HFEA website at the following link:

https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/data-research/
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people suffering from alcoholism in Romford constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidenced-based, high-quality treatment.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet these needs. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol services and recovery support, which includes housing and employment. Havering Borough Council, of which Romford is a part, will receive £400,302 from this additional grant funding in 2025/26. Further details are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-2025-to-2026/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026

Alongside the funding allocations, the Department also has a range of existing and forthcoming best practice resources and guidance that supports those working in the sector to tailor drug and alcohol treatment services to meet local needs, to improve treatment outcomes. For example, the commissioning quality standard provides guidance to local authorities on how to ensure they have a shared understanding of local need, including the experiences of diverse populations. The commissioning quality standard can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services

Later this year the Department will also be publishing the United Kingdom’s clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment. The aim of the guidelines is to improve and support good practice to achieve better outcomes for people with alcohol problems.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many human embryos were discarded in each of the last ten years for which information is available; and what uses discarded embryos are put to. \p Ashley Dalton: The following table, provided by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), shows the number of human embryos discarded in each of the last ten years for which information is available:

Year

Embryos discarded

2022

160,285

2021

172,665

2020

137,296

2019

173,130

2018

177,765

2017

175,616

2016

174,327

2015

175,478

2014

176,661

2013

170,654

Source: HFEA.

Notes:

There is no further information collected by the HFEA after an embryo is discarded.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the success rate of IVF is in each of the last ten years for which information is available. \p Ashley Dalton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) publishes annual reports on their website which include success rates of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). The following table shows the success rate of IVF in each of the last ten years for which information is available:

Year of treatment

Birth rate per embryo transferred

2022

23%

2021

23%

2020

24%

2019

24%

2018

23%

2017

23%

2016

22%

2015

21%

2014

20%

2013

19%

Source: HFEA annual report on fertility treatment and the HFEA dashboard.

Notes:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_14

Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase public awareness of the risks of tuberculosis infection. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s joint Tuberculosis (TB) Action Plan for England 2021 to 2026 contains actions to encourage the use of new tools to raise awareness of TB in at risk populations and the healthcare workforce. Full details are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-tb-action-plan-for-england/tuberculosis-tb-action-plan-for-england-2021-to-2026.

The UKHSA produced a TB stakeholder communications toolkit which is shared widely at a national and regional level, including by the British Chamber of Commerce. A copy of the toolkit is attached.

The UKHSA continues to raise awareness through national, regional, and specialist media coverage, as well as through community engagement through our regional health protection teams. The UKHSA also commissioned a radio campaign for the Prison Radio Association to raise the prison population’s awareness of TB in England and Wales. Further campaigns are planned.

The NHS England funded Getting It Right First Time TB report, published in March 2025, noted numerous examples of information for awareness-raising for the public from both national and locally developed sources, often in multiple languages. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/girft-review-of-tuberculosis-national-report.pdf

PQ45751 - Document (pdf, 621.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_15

Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of cases of tuberculosis in Non-UK born individuals (a) visiting and (b) migrating to the UK. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s collaborative Tuberculosis (TB): action plan for England, 2021 to 2026 aims to reduce the numbers of cases of TB in non-United Kingdom born individuals migrating to the UK. The plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-tb-action-plan-for-england/tuberculosis-tb-action-plan-for-england-2021-to-2026

The UK pre-entry TB screening programme operates in 102 countries and is intended to reduce the importation of TB by screening applicants for long term visas, those greater than six months, from high TB incidence countries, those with more than 40 cases per 100,000 people. People are screened in line with the UK Technical Instructions, which are available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5cd18ae5e5274a34ee7f0275/UK_tuberculosis_technical_instructions_version_7.pdf

Identifying the contacts of people with active TB allows people who would be at high risk of developing the disease to be treated before they become ill. Enhancing contact tracing is a key pillar of the national action plan.

There is also NHS England’s Latent Tuberculosis Infection Testing and Treatment programme, for migrants from high TB burden countries within five years of entry to the UK. In 2023, 34,680 people were tested, an increase of over 100% compared with the pre- pandemic year of 2019.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_16

Tessa Munt:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 41044 on Radiotherapy, by how much the National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024-2025 was underspent; how much of the total 2024-2025 settlement was allocated for radiotherapy equipment; whether the £15 million additional funds were in addition to the 2024-2025 radiotherapy equipment settlement; and how much has been allocated from the 2025-2026 capital settlement for new radiotherapy equipment. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024/25 underspend figure is not yet available, although it should be included in the NHS’s annual accounts, which will be published later this year.

£15 million was allocated from capital underspend to replace ageing radiotherapy equipment, as per the answer I gave on 7 April 2025 to Question 41044. Any other spending on radiotherapy equipment was allocated at local level, and we do not hold details on this spend.

£70 million of central capital funding was announced as part of the Autumn Budget in 2024, which will be used to replace 28 machines during 2025/26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_17

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the most common reasons for cancelled NHS blood donation appointments in the last 12 months. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England.

NHSBT does not collect the reasons for short notice, within two days of the appointment, or advanced, further ahead, cancellations either by the donor or by NHSBT. Cancellations can, for example, be due to issues with community venues or due to NHSBT needing to urgently prioritise appointments for donors from those blood groups needed most to meet hospital demand, therefore postponing donors from other blood groups.

In the last 12 months, 109,808 appointments were cancelled at short notice, which is 5.2% of all appointments. 80,264 appointments were cancelled more than two days in advance, which is 3.8% of booked appointments.

Donors may also be deferred during a donation session if they do not meet the eligibility criteria, in place to protect either the donor or recipient’s health. The most common reason for donor deferral is haemoglobin levels.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_18

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that healthcare professionals in (a) emergency, (b) general and (c) wards receive adequate training related to sickle cell disorder. \p Ashley Dalton: Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as sickle cell disorder. This framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, which include increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals.

NHS England has launched several activities to improve staff knowledge and training aimed at healthcare professionals, including developing the ACT NOW campaign to improve awareness of frontline staff of what to do when people attend hospital in a sickle cell crisis, providing support to specialist staff for sickle cell and thalassemia through the Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centre network, and developing free e-learning to help staff, including those in accident and emergency, haematology, and ambulance services, to identify signs of a sickle cell crisis. Further information on the ACT NOW campaign is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/london/a-c-t-n-o-w-sickle-cell-acronym-pilot/

NHS England is working with clinicians and people with sickle cell disorder in Manchester to understand how to help people to better manage their disorder. The learning from this pilot will be shared nationally, to support others to embed a similar approach to care, that reflects the needs of their local populations.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_19
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_19

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of NHS blood donation appointments cancelled due to (a) low iron levels, (b) low haemoglobin and (c) travel to and from other countries. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England. NHSBT tests for haemoglobin levels rather than iron levels ahead of blood donation. In the last 12 months, 169,436 donations were deferred due to low haemoglobin levels, and 4,527 donations were deferred due to the donor’s recent travel to other countries where there is a risk of transmitting specific diseases to recipients via the blood donated.

Information for donors on eligibility to donate, including on haemoglobin levels and donation after travel, is available at the following link:

www.blood.co.uk
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_20

Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking additional steps to improve the quality of life of people living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. \p Ashley Dalton: We are committed to improving care and support for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We recognise how devastating the symptoms can be, and the significant impact they can have on patients and their families.

We aim to publish the final ME/CFS delivery plan by the end of June 2025, where one of the key themes is bettering the lives of those living with this debilitating disease, as well as boosting research, and improving attitudes and education.

The responses to the interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with the Government, National Health Service and external stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan, which will include actions to improve quality of life.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_21
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_21

Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken steps to provide forums for (a) officials and (b) Ministers to learn from international examples of best practice in the delivery of healthcare. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department routinely engages with partners from overseas to share knowledge and best practice, to support strategy and policy development across the Department.

As part of the 10-Year Health Plan engagement exercise, we have been working with international experts to understand different countries’ approaches to delivering healthcare, and the three shifts at the centre of the plan, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. In March, the Department jointly hosted two ministerial led roundtables with WHO EURO and Kings College London, where international experts shared experiences of implementing the three shifts. Attendees from around the world included former ministers, government officials, academics, and health system experts, to provide expert insight into international best practice.
wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_22
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-24 conversation_22

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to work with relevant authorities to raise awareness of the risk of sun exposure to ocular health. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Health Service website provides advice on how to protect your eyes in the sun. It recommends avoiding looking directly at the sun, as this can cause permanent eye damage, and advises people to wear sunglasses with the appropriate ultraviolet protection. Further information can be found on the NHS page on sun and sunscreen safety, at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/

Sun exposure can increase the risk of eye cancer. The Department is currently seeking views and ideas to inform the development of the National Cancer Plan for England, to meet the health mission goal to reduce the lives lost to the biggest killers. The consultation materials are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan