theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline numbers provided by his Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date. \p Karin Smyth: The information requested is not held in the format requested. The NHS England 111 calls offered and abandoned are all published. The NHS 111 Minimum Data Set was the official source of Integrated Urgent Care data from 2011 until the end of March 2021, and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/iucadc-new-from-april-2021/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/

The annual national data is provided for each financial year. The Integrated Urgent Care Aggregate Data Collection was published as experimental statistics from June 2019, using April 2019 data, until May 2021, using March 2021 data. This data collection is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/iucadc-new-from-april-2021/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available to expand training and retention of allied health professionals. \p Karin Smyth: We are expanding routes into clinical professions, including allied health professions, through apprenticeships. Apprenticeships provide new routes into professional work, help boost retention, and give existing staff new ways to progress in their career, as well as widening access to opportunities for people from all backgrounds and in underserved areas.

To remove financial barriers to training, the NHS Learning Support Fund provides all eligible allied health profession students with a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year in addition to student loans.

For the training of current staff, it is the responsibility of individual employers to invest in the future of their workforce and ensure appropriate ongoing training and continuing professional development to ensure they continue to provide safe and effective care.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. To support this ambition, the Government will introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how a) treatment plans b) payment plans are determined based on the patient’s status of i) British Citizen ii) Citizen of a British Overseas territory. \p Karin Smyth: Treatment plans are agreed between clinicians and patients based on clinical needs. Only those who are not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom are required to pay for healthcare in England unless an exemption applies. Payment plans are agreed between trusts and the patient based on their individual circumstances, and where it is appropriate to do so.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Yasmin Qureshi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expedite the roll-out of surgical hubs. \p Karin Smyth: Dedicated and protected surgical hubs transform the way the National Health Service provides elective care by focusing on providing high volume low complexity surgery, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

That is why we are investing in hubs as part of the £1.65 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 announced at the 2025 Spending Review to support NHS performance across secondary and emergency care.

Since the Government came to office, 22 more surgical hubs have opened, bringing the total to 123 operational across England. We are committed to increasing that number over the next three years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on reducing waits for elective procedures. \p Karin Smyth: As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, to help ensure patients get timely access to the procedures they need.

We promised change, and we’ve delivered early, with a reduction in the waiting list of over 230,000 since the Government came into office, despite over 26.4 million referrals onto the list in that period.

We also exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments, tests, and operations in our first year of Government, having delivered 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025.

This progress has been made through setting ambitious targets, investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has been made of the average number of lost work days for (a) public sector employees (b) private sector employees (c) self employed patients waiting for pre-booked NHS operations and procedures. \p Karin Smyth: No recent estimate has been made on the average number of lost work days for public sector employees, private sector employees, or self-employed patients waiting for pre-booked National Health Service operations and procedures.

We recognise the importance of supporting patients to return to work where they can. That is why the Further Faster 20 (FF20) initiative was announced in September 2024, to deploy expert advice to NHS trusts in areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity to get patients treated faster. This programme is part of the plans to reduce the number of people that are unable to work due to long-term sickness, which is at its highest level since the 1990s. FF20 co-exists alongside other interventions, including reducing demand, which are positively impacting the waiting list, and it is challenging to disentangle the impact of one from the other.

The Government is committed to addressing health-related economic inactivity, which is crucial for enhancing public health, strengthening communities, and boosting the economy. By reducing economic inactivity, we can also alleviate demand on the NHS, thereby improving its performance. Analysis conducted by NHS England and the Office of National Statistics demonstrates there could be multi-billion-pound benefits in achieving the Government’s Plan for Change’s ambition to meet the referral-to-treatment standard for elective procedures.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of ambulance response times in rural and semi-urban areas. \p Karin Smyth: We acknowledge that ambulance performance has not consistently met expectations in recent years, and we are taking serious steps to improve performance across the country including rural and semi-urban areas. That is why we published our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, which commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year.

The National Health Service constitutional standards for ambulance response time metrics are measured with an average figure as well as a 90th centile standard which means that trusts are held to account for the response times they provide to all patients, improving the performance management of the ‘long tail’ of delayed ambulance responses that we know can particularly affect rural and semi-urban areas. Recent NHS England figures show a 23-minute improvement in the Category 2 90th centile response time compared with last year.

Local NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for service commissioning decisions in their local communities, including ambulance provision for rural and semi-urban communities. ICB funding allocations for ambulance services take account of rurality and patient density to cover the longer travel distances to incidents and greater time required to convey patients to hospitals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support NHS Trusts with energy and estate maintenance costs. \p Karin Smyth: The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan commits to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise the importance of supporting NHS trusts to manage and maintain their estates using operational capital allocations.

The Government’s recently published 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy set out 10-year maintenance budgets for the public estate, confirming £6 billion per year for the maintenance and repair of the NHS estate up to 2034/35.

Within this overall figure, the Government is providing over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26 and has now allocated a further £15.6 billion directly to providers over the following four years, from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Providers have also been given further five-year operational capital planning assumptions covering 2030/31 to 2034/35, allowing them to plan longer term with confidence and accelerate investment decisions aligned to local priorities, including repairs and maintenance.

In addition to operational capital, the Estates Safety Fund, established in 2025/26, will continue, with £6.75 billion investment over the next nine years to target the most critical building repairs and ensure safe environments for healthcare delivery.

We also continue to support trusts to drive down their energy bills and boost their resilience. Since 2020 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has funded over £1 billion in NHS energy projects. This now being bolstered by the Department for Health and Social Care’s £130 million collaboration with Great British Energy. This is funding solar installations at approximately 260 NHS sites and is estimated to deliver lifetime energy bill savings for the NHS of up to £325 million, with the average NHS site estimated to save approximately £35,000 a year in energy bills.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 73327 on Alan Milburn, if he will list which other areas of health policy Mr Milburn has recused himself from. \p Karin Smyth: Prior to appointment, non-executive candidates are required to declare all relevant interests. Appropriate mitigations are then put in place and approved by the Department.

This process was carried out for the Rt Hon. Alan Milburn, whose interests, and any updates to them, are available in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and on the GOV.UK website in alignment with Government policy.
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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the projected slippage is against efficiency plans across integrated care systems in the current financial year. \p Karin Smyth: For 2025/26, there is an efficiency and savings target of approximately £11,076 million across all integrated care systems. At month six, the projected delivery for the year remains all but on track against the total efficiency and savings target, with a forecasted shortfall of £5.7 million.

The table below sets out the efficiencies and savings delivered by systems since 2022:

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

Efficiencies and savings delivered by systems (£bn)

5.0

7.3

8.7
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of care being delivered in (a) temporary and (B) non-purpose built environments on patient outcomes. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We recognise that the practice of providing clinical care in corridors is unacceptable and are committed to eradicating it from our NHS.

Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June, sets out steps we are taking to achieve this. Backed by a total of nearly £450 million of capital funding, we are expanding Same Day Emergency Care and Urgent Treatment Centres, helping to avoid unnecessary overnight admissions to hospital and supporting more efficient diagnosis, treatment and discharge for patients.

The plan also includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care. NHS England has been working with trusts since 2024 to put in place new reporting arrangements related to the use of temporary escalation spaces, to drive improvement. The data quality is currently being reviewed, and we expect to publish the information shortly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England routinely monitors Category 1–2 ambulance response times by incident type. \p Karin Smyth: There are clearly defined national standards for patient access to urgent and emergency care with a clinically led model that prioritises those in the greatest need. While NHS England routinely monitors and evaluates Category 1 and 2 ambulance response times by clinical condition, e.g. cardiac arrest or stroke, NHS England does not record the cause of the incident, e.g. assault or injury sustained during a burglary. The requested data on the number of ambulance callouts for violent or assault-related injuries and injuries sustained during a burglary or break in is not centrally collected. Similarly, response and handover times for such incidents are not available. No specific assessment has been made of ambulance delays on the survival and recovery rates for these victim groups.

For data on crime-related incidents, including assaults and burglaries, please refer to police-recorded crime data, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of accident and emergency capacity pressures on patient safety at Basildon Hospital. \p Karin Smyth: We acknowledge that accident and emergency care performance has not consistently met expectations in recent years, and we are taking serious steps to address this.

Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to at least 78% of accident and emergency patients being admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours by March 2026.

We are putting significant funding into expanding urgent and emergency service access for those most in need, including new Urgent Treatment Centres and Same Day Emergency Care facilities. This will mean 800,000 fewer accident and emergency patients waiting over four hours this year.

In July 2025, we published our 10-Year Health Plan which commits to reducing accident and emergency waiting times in the longer-term, by shifting care into the community with Neighbourhood Health Services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Lizzi Collinge:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure that individuals who have signed an S1 certificate and reside abroad are correctly recorded as non-resident for NHS purposes; and what measures are in place to prevent or recoup costs for any routine NHS treatment received in the UK by such individuals. \p Karin Smyth: The Department publishes guidance for United Kingdom-issued S1 holders when moving and retiring abroad. UK-issued S1 holders should notify the relevant UK authorities, including their general practitioner, so their general practice registration can be removed. The full guidance can be found at the following link:

www.gov.uk/guidance/moving-living-or-retiring-abroad

The S1 scheme is part of Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements between the UK and European Economic Area/Switzerland. In England, people with a registered UK S1 residing abroad are exempt from charging under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 while on a temporary visit. The National Health Service is required to check for the S1 entitlement before applying this exemption. There are therefore no measures in place to prevent or recoup costs from people holding a UK-registered S1. In exchange for providing this additional benefit for UK S1 holders, the UK receives a discount to costs for their healthcare in the country where they live.
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John McDonnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of renegotiating current private finance debt to fund neighbourhood health centres with any potential savings. \p Karin Smyth: Private finance initiative contracts are not held by the Department. Contracts are held between the local National Health Service trust and their respective private finance company.

The Department’s Private Finance Centre of Best Practice (CoBP) team, together with the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, provides expert support and advice to public authorities with private finance initiative contracts, to improve the performance of existing contracts and manage their expiry.

The Department focuses on supporting trusts to assess the costs and performance of their contracts, to help maximise support for frontline services and make every penny of our NHS funding count. The Department supports trusts on a case-by-case basis considering all options available whilst maintaining contractual compliance. The contracts were let for a prescribed period of time, with the terms set at the outset with limited areas for renegotiation. The CoPB team, however, continues to assess opportunities to refinance debt where possible and where it would provide value for money.

As set out in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy (the Strategy) and the 10-Year Health Plan, in addition to significant capital investment, the Government would explore the feasibility of using new Public Private Partnership (PPP) Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs).

The Budget, published on 26 November 2025, builds on the Strategy and the 10-Year Health Plan by confirming that the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme will deliver new NHCs through upgrading and repurposing existing buildings and building new facilities through a combination of public sector investment and a new model of PPPs.

To ensure the NHC PPPs are managed transparently and are fiscally sustainable, these partnerships will be budgeted for as if they are on a balance sheet.

Delivering new NHCs through a combination of public investment and PPPs will also allow, for the first time, for evidence to be built and compared between different delivery models.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what has his department identified as the drivers of the recent trend in specialised commissioning high cost devices as noted in the NHS England Financial performance update of 22 September 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The most significant driver of the growth in the expenditure noted in the financial update is an increased volume in clinical activity and the use of implantable devices to treat patients. This has been driven by the overall growth in elective activity as part of the elective care recovery programme.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent data he holds on Accident and Emergency attendance levels at Basildon Hospital and associated patient safety indicators. \p Karin Smyth: The data is not available in the format requested. NHS England collects and publishes monthly data on the total number of attendances for all accident and emergency types, including Minor Injury Units and Walk-in Centres. The total number of accident and emergency attendances at Basildon Hospital in October 2025 was 12,475. Please note this data is provisional, and that finalised figures will be published next month. The data is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2025-26/
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with (a) Meta, (b) TikTok and (c) other social media platforms on regulating the (i) promotion and (ii) marketing of (A) unlicensed and (B) counterfeit (1) weight-loss drugs and (2) medicines. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) provides regulatory guidelines through the Blue Guide which apply to the advertising of medicines on social media, and must be observed by any organisation or individual promoting medicines to the public. There are no current plans to meet with individual social media platforms, but the MHRA welcomes any engagement on how to deliver effective messaging to ensure public and patient safety.

Sourcing weight loss medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not authorised for use. Products purchased in this way may not meet the MHRA’s strict quality and safety standards and could expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.

Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices. This includes regular engagement with social media companies, e-commerce, and the internet industry to identify, remove, and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.

The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Last year, the MHRA and its partners seized more than 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines, including those usually issued on prescription. Additionally, it disrupted thousands of links to websites and social media pages selling medical products to the public illegally.

A recent example of the MHRA’s enforcement activity is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-smashes-majorillicitweight-loss-medicine-production-facility-in-record-seizure.

The MHRA’s FakeMeds campaign provides advice to people in the UK who are considering buying medication online, outlining how products can be accessed from safe and legitimate sources. Further information is available at the following link:

https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/
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Sir Mark Hendrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many BSL-interpreters were provided at the outset for patients seeking healthcare treatment in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) England over the last 12 months. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The information requested is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients in the community.

On 30 June 2025, a revised Accessible Information Standard (AIS) was published. 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 AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the National Health Service are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using these services.

The AIS implementation guidance outlines support for people with hearing loss, and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/accessible-information-standard-implementation-guidance/#:~:text=Common%20types%20of%20communication%20support%20and%20alternative%20formats

NHS England is rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that there is a single, simple and comprehensive scheme providing up-front support with the running costs of medical devices provided by the NHS. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Within NHS England, financial support is already provided for certain specialist National Health Services to offset increased energy costs faced by patients using medical equipment at home. This includes patients using home haemodialysis or home oxygen concentration. In line with the commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to help ensure more health vulnerable households also receive assistance with costs associated with their care.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is leading the development of an ambitious new Warm Homes plan and Fuel Poverty Strategy to help make homes warmer, more comfortable, and more energy efficient. The Department of Health and Social Care is working hard to ensure that expanding support for patients who use NHS-provided electrical medical devices in their own home is included in the Fuel Poverty Strategy.
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Martin Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of attempted suicides attended by ambulance staff. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department has made no such assessment and there are currently no plans to collect this data centrally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Sir Mark Hendrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the RNID report entitled Still Ignored: the fight for accessible healthcare; what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the communication barriers and health inequalities for deaf and hearing-impaired people are reduced. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Under the 2010 Equality Act, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients.

NHS England published a revised Accessible Information Standard (AIS) on 30 June 2025 and 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 National Health Service are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using services.

In July 2016, NHS England published the report Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A Framework for Clinical Commissioning Groups. This framework supports the newly established integrated care boards in England to make informed decisions on maximising value for local populations and providing consistent, high quality, integrated care. It also addresses inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.

NHS England is also rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately. Guidance and free training on the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag are available for health and social care staff.
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the MHRA allows an AAI prescribed to someone else to be used on a person having an anaphylactic reaction. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Regulation 238 of the Human Medicines Regulation 2012 permits the administration of adrenaline by auto-injector for use in anaphylaxis for the purpose of saving a life. The regulation does not specifically provide for, or prevent the use of, an adrenaline auto-injector, supplied under a named prescription for another person, in an anaphylactic emergency.

Regulation 235 and Schedule 17 of the Human Medicines Regulation also permits the supply and administration of adrenaline without a prescription, including auto-injectors, to and by named categories of individuals that are suitably trained, and certain institutions and organisations, such as schools. The regulation does not prevent the use for administration of an auto-injector prescribed to someone else.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of replacing prescriptions for low protein foods with targeted financial support for patients with Phenylketonuria to buy products directly. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department is not planning to assess the feasibility of replacing prescriptions for low protein foods with targeted financial support for individuals with phenylketonuria (PKU).

In England, low protein products are available to all eligible patients on prescription and are listed in Part XV of the Drug Tariff. The provision of these products on prescription ensures that patients with PKU have direct and reliable access to the foods needed for managing their condition.

Targeted financial support schemes have been shown to introduce additional complexity for patients and the National Health Service.

Patients with PKU may also be eligible for prescription charge exemptions, depending on their circumstances. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Luke Akehurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when people with brain cancer will have access to personalised vaccines as part of their NHS treatment. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: There are currently no personalised cancer vaccines with a marketing authorisation for use in the United Kingdom. All new, licensed medicines, including personalised cancer vaccines, are evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which makes recommendations on whether they should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims wherever possible to issue recommendations on new medicines close to the point of licensing, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation, bringing forward patient access by up to five months.

The measures that we announced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan will enhance NICE’s collaboration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and will support faster access to medicines for NHS patients in England.

Further, the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform set up to accelerate the development of cancer vaccines and speed up access to mRNA personalised cancer vaccine clinical trials for cancer patients. The CVLP has been instrumental in accelerating trial activity in cancer research, with CVLP sites driving faster activation and enrolment timelines. The platform is designed to be company- and clinical trial type-agnostic. Any company that wishes to deliver trials via the platform, including those developing vaccines for brain tumours, can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research.
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to set out (a) where responsibility sits for action to prevent the availability of tan- enhancing products containing Melanotan II and (b) the steps that have been taken to prevent the availability of tan-enhancing products that are illegal. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the regulation of medicinal products and medical devices in the United Kingdom.

Although tanning is not considered to be a medical purpose, injectable products containing Melanotan 1 or Melanotan 2 have been determined as medicinal products due to their similarity to the authorised medicine Scenesse.

In relation to nasal sprays containing Melanotan 1 or 2, there are no equivalent authorised medicines and in the absence of medicinal claims, they are not regarded as medicinal products.

Medicinal products must hold a relevant Marketing Authorisation to be legally sold and supplied in the UK. This also guarantees that the medicines have been tested for conformity with strict standards of quality, safety, and efficacy.

The MHRA takes action when a medicinal product without appropriate authorisations is identified.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the current strategic approach to ME/CFS research; and whether his Department plans to develop a coordinated national research strategy for the condition. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: We have outlined our strategy to support myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), research in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan published in July. These steps include a research showcase event, a new funding opportunity for a development award focussed on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical interventions, and the announcement of new funded studies in health and care services, and research infrastructure and capacity-building.

We are determined to accelerate progress in the treatment and management of ME/CFS and will continue working with the ME/CFS community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting more research and capacity-building programmes.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including 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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to address the rising legal costs of clinical negligence. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.

As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office’s report.

The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people living with rare diseases in England have timely access to innovative medicines. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE plays a key role in supporting the adoption of innovative new medicines to improve outcomes for patients, at a price that reflects their value and is fair to the taxpayer.

NICE has a strong track record of recommending medicines for the treatment of rare diseases and its standard technology appraisal process has been proven to be suitable for the evaluation of these medicines, where companies engage constructively in the appraisal and commercial discussions with NHS England. NICE’s approval rate for medicines for rare diseases is in line with its overall approval rate for new medicines, with 91% of medicines licensed for rare diseases recommended for some or all of the eligible patient population since April 2024.

NICE’s also operates a separate highly specialised technologies programme (HST) which is reserved for a small number of medicines for very rare and very severe diseases. The HST programme uses a much higher cost-effectiveness threshold than a standard NICE appraisal, that recognises the challenges of developing medicines for very small patient populations.

The Government remains committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework, which includes improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs as one of its four priorities. We are committed to ensuring that this priority is a key driver of the action plans published under this framework.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the impact of Surrey ICB suspending ADHD and autism assessments for people using providers under the NHS Right to Choose pathway on wait times for adults and children to receive care for their ADHD or autism. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government has recognised that, nationally, the demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.

It is the responsibility of 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 autism and ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism and ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.

In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. NHS England has continued to support services to identify challenges and how they might overcome these.  NHS England also established an ADHD taskforce to better understand the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing timely and equitable access to services and support. We are pleased that the final report was published on 6 November, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking in collaboration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to ensure that clinical guidelines relating to cannabis-based medicinal products are consistent, evidence-based, and provide clarity to prescribers. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Rules around the electronic prescribing of cannabis-based medicines are no different to other drugs regulated in Schedule 2 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.

In England, the NHS Electronic Prescription Service enables the electronic transmission of prescriptions for Schedule 2 to 5 controlled drugs. As part of the robust system of governance and restrictions around the most addictive and harmful drugs, all private healthcare provider prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs cannot be transmitted by electronic means and must be issued on a paper FP10PCD prescription form. All paper copies of private prescriptions of Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs must be submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England’s Controlled Drug Accountable Officers have a statutory duty to monitor the management and use of controlled drugs in the National Health Service and private healthcare.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not provide guidance on the use of medicinal cannabis. The MHRA provides guidance on manufacturing, importing, distributing, and supplying unlicensed medicines, which includes cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans.

Current guidelines on the prescribing and use of cannabis-based medicinal products, reference code NG144, is published on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that digital exclusion is not a barrier to accessing primary care. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Digital technology is being used to help health and care professionals communicate better and enable people to access the care they need quickly and easily, when it suits them.

Since 1 October, general practices (GPs) have been required to keep their online consultations tools on throughout core hours, from 8am to 6:30pm, Monday to Friday, for non-urgent and routine requests.

Patients are able to get in touch with their GPs via an online form during these hours to request an appointment or raise a query.

We understand that not all patients can or want to use online services. To ensure that patients are not digitally excluded, the GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP. We have also committed to work with digital transformation teams in integrated care boards and with groups at risk of digital exclusion to ensure digital solutions are inclusive.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-01 conversation_57

Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has identified service gaps in the provision of primary care, mental health, dentistry and substance misuse services at HMP/YOI Downview. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Primary care, mental health, dentistry, and substance misuse services at HMP/YOI Downview are delivered under the national specification for integrated healthcare.

As part of the commissioning monitoring processes outlined in the NHS Strategic Commissioning Framework, which covers all National Health Service commissioned services, including health and justice, providers are measured against the mandatory performance indicators within the national specification and any potential inconsistencies in service delivery are identified.

Independent processes are also embedded within service delivery monitoring. These include annual healthcare needs assessments, equality impact assessments, Independent Monitoring Board reports, Care Quality Commission reports and inspections, and user experience consultations. An annual user experience has also been carried out across all prisons in the South East.