theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to support mental health facilities in each of the last three years. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is for local commissioners and providers to decide the level of funding required to support the operation of individual mental health facilities, and this information is not collected centrally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is tacking to support community pharmacies in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises that pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system and is grateful to pharmacy teams across the country, including in North-East Somerset and Hanham, for their hard work, professionalism, and dedication in supporting patients in their communities, and for delivering a wide range of National Health Services.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. The Pharmacy Access Scheme provides additional funding to support pharmacies in areas where there are fewer.

This year, we will take forward legislation to enable all pharmacies to benefit from the efficiencies of hub and spoke dispensing and enable greater use of the skill mix in pharmacy teams to free up pharmacists to spend more time with patients.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to make a further announcement on social care reform. \p Stephen Kinnock: The independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Casey, is looking at what fundamental reforms will be needed as we build towards a National Care Service, including what social care should look like, who it should serve, and who should be responsible for its services.

This will be delivered in two parts. The first report will be delivered next year, with work able to begin on implementing its recommendations after publication.

We are also making tangible improvements in the short-term and laying the foundations for a National Care Service that will enable more people to live independently and make social care more productive. This includes funding more home adaptations for disabled and older people, the largest ever uplift to the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit, new standards for care technologies, and legislating for the first Fair Pay Agreement for care workers.

Meanwhile, the Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a national services framework for dementia as part of the NHS 10-year Health Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: The 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs, including people living with dementia. We are carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with dementia, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of current funding arrangements for people whose homes require adaptations for health reasons. \p Stephen Kinnock: In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government departments more widely on relevant issues.

We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the role that place-making in new towns could play in reducing demand pressures on the social care workforce. \p Stephen Kinnock: Ministers have regular discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues about a variety of issues, including, but not limited to, place-making in new towns.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes commissioning a diverse range of care and support services that enable people to access quality care. They also have responsibility to meet social care needs, and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.

The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and improve the retention of the domestic workforce. This is why we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector, so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work they do.

The Department has launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission forms a key part of the Government’s Plan for Change, recognising the importance of adult social care in its own right, as well as its role in supporting the National Health Service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

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Kim Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) parents and (b) carers reading to children in the early years on the mental wellbeing of (i) children and (ii) those (A) parents and (B) carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: No such assessment has been made. We know that according to research, reading helps to reduce stress levels and could be beneficial to mental health and well-being.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of change in demand for at home social care since 2019. \p Stephen Kinnock: The number of local authority-funded social care users in community care settings has risen by approximately 5% between 2019/20 and 2023/24, according to a 2024 National Health Service publication produced in conjunction with the Department. However, this publication only includes those care users who are funded by their local authority, and does not include those who may fund their own care.

The Department utilises projections of the future demand for care, including community care, published by the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre at the London School of Economics. These projections inform decisions about funding requirements made at fiscal events such as the Local Government Finance Settlement and the Spending Review.
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Marie Goldman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for supporting community pharmacy, in the context of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The Government is clear that it wants to make full use of the skill sets of both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help patients, which is why the Government has laid legislation that enables all pharmacies to use hub and spoke dispensing and will shortly lay legislation to enable the better use of people with mixed skills. This builds on the legislation to allow pharmacies to dispense in original packs and for pharmacy technicians to supply medicines. All of these measures support pharmacists to provide more care in the communities they serve and supports the Government’s ambition to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting close to home.

We have also improved and continue to work on the digital transfer of information between settings, allowing pharmacies to have access to patient records and to record the outcomes of the care they provide, supporting another of our ambitions to move from analogue to digital. The 10 year plan will build on these foundations and set out how we will build a health service fit for the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date he expects the final report of the independent ADHD taskforce to be published. \p Stephen Kinnock: The ADHD taskforce's final report is expected to be published later this year.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish a dementia strategy. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government wants a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

The 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi in his independent investigation into the National Health Service in England, and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs, including people living with dementia. We are carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with dementia, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.

As part of this work, we will consider how best to meet the needs of people with dementia, including whether it is appropriate to develop a dementia strategy.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the NHS 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance to include a target on dementia diagnosis. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government remains committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7% and agrees that timely diagnosis is vital to ensure that people with dementia can access the treatment and support they need.

The Darzi Investigation found that there were too many targets set for the National Health Service, which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or to be held properly accountable.

This is why we have taken a new approach to NHS Planning Guidance this year, reducing the number of national directives from 32 to 18. We will only turn the NHS around by doing things differently. These are the first steps on our journey for long-term reform of the NHS.

NHS Planning Guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the NHS does, and the absence of a target does not mean it is not an area of focus.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies on supporting mental healthcare as part of the 10 year health plan in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other rural areas. \p Stephen Kinnock: The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver more care locally, including in rural areas like West Dorset, supporting people to stay healthier including with their mental health.

A neighbourhood mental health model, providing open access to specialist services and holistic support in community locations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is already being piloted in six locations and we plan to go further. There will be 85 new dedicated mental health emergency departments and people will get better access to mental health support directly through the NHS App.

We will also expand mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and new Young Future Hubs will provide additional support for children and young people's mental health.
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Sonia Kumar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10-year health plan will include policies on (a) community equipment services and (b) the timely provision of community care equipment. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government will deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, creating a truly modern health service designed to meet the changing needs of our changing population. Moving care from hospitals into the community and putting the building blocks in place to enable this to happen is at the heart of the 10-Year Health Plan.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, CP 1336, published on 11 June 2025, whether he considered increasing revenue funding for end of life care as part of the Spending Review. \p Stephen Kinnock: As part of the Spending Review, on 11 June, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a record investment in the health and social care system. Across the Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, the National Health Service in England will receive a 3% real terms growth in day-to-day spending, the equivalent to a £29 billion real terms increase in annual resource budgets.

At this stage, it is still too early to say how much funding will be allocated to palliative care and end of life care, as this will be worked through in the coming weeks.

The Government wants a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life, which is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.

We are also working to make sure the palliative care and end of life care sector is sustainable in the long term and are determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community through our 10-Year Health Plan.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to establish mutual recognition schemes for dental qualifications with other countries. \p Stephen Kinnock: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry.

As an independent regulator, it is for the GDC to determine the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to the dental register. Changes to the GDC’s legislation made in 2023 enable it to apply a range of assessment options in determining whether international dentist applicants have the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience for practice in the UK. This includes the ability to recognise overseas dentistry diplomas.

The GDC is currently consulting on its 2026 to 2028 Corporate Strategy, in which it has stated that it will develop a comprehensive and accessible framework for registering overseas-qualified dental professionals, considering routes to registration in a holistic way. We will continue to encourage the GDC to make full use of the flexibilities that the 2023 legislation introduced when developing this framework.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle (a) stigma and (b) discrimination against people with Down syndrome. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people, including people with Down syndrome. We are taking action to break down barriers to opportunity for people with Down syndrome and to raise awareness and understanding of their needs through the implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022. The act requires my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to give statutory guidance to the relevant authorities regarding the appropriate actions they should be taking to support the needs of people with Down syndrome.

We are taking forward the development of the draft statutory guidance as a priority and expect to publish it for public consultation this autumn. The draft guidance will set out the existing protection from discrimination for disabled people under the Equality Act, which applies to people with Down syndrome.

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, from 1 July 2022, Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care. We have published a Code of Practice to guide providers on how to meet this requirement.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to prioritise primary care audiology. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS Audiology services are locally commissioned, and the responsibility for prioritising primary care audiology lies with local National Health Service commissioners.

NHS England is supporting the integrated care boards to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve early diagnosis and support for children born with Down syndrome in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Stephen Kinnock: Pregnant people will be offered a screening test for Down syndrome between 10 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. If the screening test shows that the chance of the baby having Down syndrome is higher than one in 150, this is called a higher-chance result. People who receive a higher-chance result can decide to:

We are taking action to improve access to services for people with Down syndrome and to raise awareness and understanding of their needs through implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022. The act requires my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to give statutory guidance to the relevant authorities regarding the appropriate actions they should be taking to support the needs of people with Down syndrome.

We are taking forward the development of the statutory guidance as a priority and expect to publish it for public consultation this autumn. The guidance will help to clarify the help and services people with Down syndrome can expect to receive. The draft guidance will set out the process for diagnosing Down syndrome, and the support that health services should provide to a parent carrying a baby with Down syndrome.

The draft guidance will also raise awareness of the needs of children with Down syndrome in relation to health, social care, and education, and will set out practical steps that organisations should take to meet these needs.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase (a) awareness and (b) availability of Parkinson’s specialist nurses in primary care; and what proportion of GP surgeries have established referral pathways to such specialist support. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to improving care for people with neurological conditions, including those with Parkinson’s disease, and ensuring they receive the support that they need. With one in six people suffering from neurological conditions that can severely impact every aspect of their lives, it is vital we ensure that they, along with their families and carers, receive high-quality, compassionate care and access to the latest services and treatments. Having a better understanding of diseases like Parkinson’s is vital in making sure we can provide the right care at the right time.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) commission secondary care neurology services and interface with primary care to ensure there is access to specialist services. Parkinson’s specialist nurses are generally based in secondary and community care settings, depending on where the ICB determines is the best service provision for their locality.

All general practitioners should follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline 127 on the recognition and referral of people with suspected neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. Further information on NICE clinical guideline 127 is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng127

Regular support with a Parkinson’s disease nurse specialist is highlighted as a key intervention in NICE guideline 71, Parkinson’s disease in adults, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71/
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of social care workforce demand on levels of immigration in each of the last ten years. \p Stephen Kinnock: In February 2022, care workers became eligible for the Health and Care Visa and were added to the Shortage Occupation List. Senior care workers were added to the list of eligible occupations for the Health and Care Visa in January 2021.

Published data on entry clearance visa grants for the Caring Personal Services occupation code (613) illustrates the broad trend in international recruitment into adult social care in recent years.

This shows that 37,091 Health and Care Worker visas were granted to main applicants under the Caring Personal Services category in 2022. Volumes peaked in 2023, with 107,772 grants, before falling to 9,539 in 2024. This data does not include in-country visa grants.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of social care reforms on levels of demand for immigration. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment in adult social care and to improve domestic recruitment and retention.

The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and to improve the retention of the domestic workforce. We want it to be regarded as a profession, and for the people who work in care to be respected as professionals. That is why we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector, implementing the first universal career structure, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.

The Home Office has estimated an annual reduction of approximately 7,000 main applicants as a result of ending the overseas recruitment of care workers and senior care workers. This can be found in the technical annex of the Immigration White Paper, published 12 May 2025. The analysis in the technical annex will be refined and included within the relevant impact assessments accompanying the rule changes, as appropriate.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the proportion of boys and men aged between 10 and 50 that have suffered from mental health issues. \p Stephen Kinnock: The following table shows the percentage of male children and young people with a probable disorder, sorted by age group:

Age group in years

8 to 16

17 to 19

20 to 25

Male children and young people with a probable disorder

20.8%

15.4%

13.4%

Source: Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Survey 2023.

In addition, the following table shows the percentage of male adults with a common mental health condition, sorted by age group:

Age group in years

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 55

Male adults with a common mental health condition

13.5%

20.8%

14.9%

18.4%

Source: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24.
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Sonia Kumar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase funding for mental health services for children. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services, including support for children.

The 2025 Spending Review confirmed that we will fulfil our commitment to provide access to mental health support within schools in England by expanding mental health support teams to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30. This expansion will ensure that up to 900,000 more children and young people will have access to support from trained education mental health practitioners in 2025/26.

Additionally, we are continuing to provide top-up funding of £7 million to the 24 Early Support Hubs to expand their services, and we are also taking part in an ongoing evaluation of these services in 2025/26. This new funding will enable the supported Early Support Hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported.
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Calum Miller:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of rent under-valuation by the Valuation Office Agency on the ability of GPs to secure appropriate premises to meet patient demand in areas with high property costs. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department has worked closely with NHS England to consider the ability to deliver new purpose-built primary health care facilities within the current economic setting.

In the case of new developments, the Valuation Office Agency’s District Valuer Service (DVS) is commissioned by NHS England to offer an opinion on the proposed lease terms and lease rent of these new facilities, reflecting all value-significant attributes of the premises, including the premises location. In arriving at opinions of Current Market Rent (CMR), DVS valuers utilise the comparable valuation approach, identifying the best available evidence which is subject to analysis, adjustment, and weighting in order to apply to the subject property. This is in line with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ professional standard, Comparable Evidence in Real Estate Valuation, 1st edition. The relative value of individual locations, including high value areas, is fully considered and assessed by the valuer when arriving at an opinion of the CMR.

As an adviser, DVS are not under-valuing any schemes or properties, but stating what the local market rent may be, with regard to relevant local market comparable evidence.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to speed up diagnosis and treatment for people living with dementia in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government wants a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data and to enable targeted support where needed.

We have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool to help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, and is available at the following link:

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-tool

To prepare for any potential new treatments, NHS England is working closely with regulators to ensure that arrangements are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatments as soon as possible.

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide that joined-up care.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on reducing overprescribing. \p Karin Smyth: I have discussed with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) concerns raised by Members of Parliament about the adverse effects of antidepressant prescribing, and what the MHRA can do to improve communication on the risks of different medicines.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff network events took place in his Department in May 2025; and what the names of those events were. \p Karin Smyth: Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the Department.

The Department had a total of seven staff network events that took place in May 2025. This number represents events led by the networks and does not include any scheduled meetings that are normally restricted to their members. The names of the events are listed as follows:

- Mental Health Awareness week: lived experiences panel event (Women’s Network);

- Tom Riordan in Conversation with the Men’s Health Network (Men’s Health Network);

- Women’s healthcare: ‘Ask the historians’ session (History Network);

- Reflections from clinician and social worker network members on working as mental health professionals (Social Worker Network and Clinicians Network);

- ADHD at work: How it affects us and what helps us (ADHD Staff Network);

- Mental Health Awareness Week – Higher Executive Officer-Senior Executive Officer Network Event (Higher Executive Officer-Senior Executive Officer Network); and

- From Higher Executive Officer to Senior Executive Officer: How to progress across grades (Higher Executive Officer-Senior Executive Officer Network).
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Pete Wishart:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason paramedics employed by air ambulance charities are excluded from eligibility for the Ambulance Service (Emergency Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal; and if his Department will review that policy. \p Karin Smyth: Employees of air ambulance charities and independent ambulance services are not eligible for the Ambulance Service (Emergency Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal as they are not employed by the National Health Service or an NHS foundation trust. There are no current plans to extend the eligibility of the award.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_45

Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NICE guidelines on treatments for restless leg syndrome. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not developed any guidelines on the diagnosis and/or management of restless leg syndrome (RLS) and has not evaluated any treatments for this condition. NICE has, however, commissioned a Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on the diagnosis and clinical management of RLS, which was updated in February 2025, and which can be used as a source of information for healthcare professionals. This CKS is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/restless-legs-syndrome/

There are currently no plans to develop a NICE guideline on RLS. NICE has an established prioritisation process overseen by a prioritisation board, for the identification of priorities for guidance development. Anyone is able to suggest a topic through the NICE website, at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/forms/topic-suggestion
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_46
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_46

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June to Question 61301 on Alzheimer's Disease: Drugs, if he will publish a (a) summary and (b) redacted version of the economic models used in the NICE appraisals of (i) lecanemab and (ii) donanemab. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) single technology appraisal process relies on information provided by companies to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new treatments. Some of this information, including the economic model, is considered commercially sensitive by the companies and is submitted to NICE in confidence. As a result, this material cannot be made publicly available. However, versions of the models with the commercially sensitive information redacted are available from NICE upon request, to registered stakeholders who have signed a confidentiality agreement, to inform their understanding of the evaluation.

NICE is committed to being as transparent as possible. While the economic models for lecanemab and donanemab cannot be published, the full committee papers, with confidential information redacted, are published. These contain a written description of the model design, inputs, and results. The appraisal committee’s consideration of the cost-effectiveness evidence is also documented in the published guidance. This ensures that stakeholders can understand the basis for NICE’s recommendations, even when certain technical details must remain confidential. The papers for lecanemab are available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11220/documents

In addition, the papers for donanemab are also available, at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11221/documents
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_47
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_47

Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment NHS England has made of the potential risks of dopamine agonists as a treatment for restless leg syndrome. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England has made no assessment. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) assesses all medicines before they are licensed in the United Kingdom, with regard to quality, safety, and efficacy. The licensed dopamine agonist medicines that are indicated for the treatment of restless leg syndrome (RLS) are ropinirole, pramipexole, and rotigotine.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recently revised its Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on the diagnosis and clinical management of RLS, which was updated in February 2025, and which can be used as a source of information for healthcare professionals. This CKS is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/restless-legs-syndrome/

Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by the doctor or healthcare professional responsible for that part of the patient’s care. Prescribers are accountable for their prescribing decisions. Prescribers must always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed, and that they take account of appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness, as well as the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards.
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_48
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_48

Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the installation of dosage counters in all NHS-provided emergency asthma inhalers. \p Karin Smyth: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) understands the term “emergency asthma inhalers” in this context to refer to reliever inhalers containing short-acting beta agonist (SABA) licensed for the rapid relief of symptoms during acute asthma attacks or bronchospasm, as well as for the prevention of exercise-induced bronchospasm. The MHRA is aware of ongoing safety concerns associated with the absence of integrated dose counters on SABA pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs), particularly the risk that patients may unknowingly use inhalers that are empty or near empty during an asthma attack.

The MHRA has assessed the potential merits of mandating the inclusion of dose counters on SABA pMDIs. As part of this review, the MHRA has actively engaged with external national healthcare stakeholders and pharmaceutical industry to explore the feasibility of the integration. While the safety case for improved dose visibility is recognised, it is equally important to consider the potential impact of the product design change on supply resilience. The United Kingdom market for SABA pMDIs is currently limited to a small number of market authorisation holders and introducing a regulatory requirement without fully considering implementation timelines, material and personnel resources, and manufacturing capabilities could risk destabilising the supply of these critical medicines.

Rather than mandating dose counters on SABA pMDIs, the MHRA is currently pursuing a more flexible, proportionate approach to strongly recommend the inclusion of dose counters. This strategy seeks to improve patient safety outcomes while avoiding the risk of unintended supply disruption. The MHRA remains committed to working closely with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that any changes are introduced within a robust and pragmatic framework and timeline that safeguards patient access to essential respiratory medicines.
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_49
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_49

James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) increase and (b) ensure the ongoing availability of medical radioisotopes for NHS services. \p Karin Smyth: The Department regularly engages with suppliers, specialist clinicians, the British Nuclear Medicine Society, and the UK Radiopharmacy Group to support the continued supply of medical radioisotopes for the National Health Service. The Department continues to work with the NHS and other parts of the Government to better understand future needs for medical radioisotopes.
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_50
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_50

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the use of volunteer Community First Responders to respond to Category 1 medical emergencies. \p Karin Smyth: No guidance has been issued. Each ambulance trust has responsibility for the arrangements and publishing of guidance on their Community First Responder schemes.
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_51
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_51

Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Estates Safety Fund. \p Karin Smyth: The 2025/26 Estates Safety Fund is an essential first step towards addressing the poorest quality estates across the National Health Service and to ensuring hospitals are safe and sustainable. It will deliver vital safety improvements, enhance patient and staff environments, and support NHS productivity at approximately 400 hospitals, mental health units, and ambulance sites.

As my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the Spending Review, health capital budgets will increase to £14.6 billion by the end of the Spending Review period. Across this multi-year settlement, over £5 billion will be invested to address the most critical building repairs, and the 2025/26 Estates Safety Fund is the first step in delivering this targeted investment.
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_52
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_52

Andrew Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeline is for the restoration of a (a) normal and (b) stable supply of Concerta XL; and what contingency measures his Department is putting in place until then. \p Karin Smyth: The Department can confirm that the supply disruptions affecting various strengths of Concerta XL, generic name methylphenidate, tablets have now been fully resolved.

We continue to support the NHS England’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce, which brings together expertise from the National Health Service, education, and justice sectors to coordinate a system-wide response to rising demand. In collaboration with NHS England’s national ADHD data improvement plan, we are developing future growth forecasts to support improved demand planning. These forecasts will be shared with industry to help ensure a more responsive and sustainable supply of ADHD medicines.

We continue to work closely with the supplier of Concerta XL tablets to help ensure a stable and increased supply for the United Kingdom’s market. To further strengthen supply chain resilience, we are also engaging with new suppliers to expand the UK supplier base for generic bioequivalents of Concerta XL. This approach will help improve the availability and reduce the risk of future shortages for patients across the UK.

The Department also maintains and regularly updates a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website. This resource supports prescribers and dispensers in making informed decisions with patients. The list is available at the following link:

www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd
wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_53
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-03 conversation_53

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust on the potential impact of the level of funding on its capacity to deliver fire service co-responder support for Category 1 cardiac emergencies. \p Karin Smyth: No discussions have been held. Operational decisions on how best to improve services for patients and deliver value for money are taken at a local level by the relevant ambulance trust.