theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support newly qualified midwives in securing employment following the completion of their training placements. \p Karin Smyth: On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and will ensure thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment.

Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives, to further ease the recruitment strain.

These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.
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Daniel Francis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of exempting people with sickle-cell anaemia from prescription charges. \p Karin Smyth: There are no plans to amend the list of medical conditions that provide eligibility for free prescriptions to include sickle-cell anaemia.

Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with sickle-cell anaemia may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with three-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in instalments, allowing the holder of a 12-month certificate to get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to urgent care services in areas where there is no A&E department within 10 miles. \p Karin Smyth: Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local communities, as they are best placed to take those decisions.

The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26 sets out the planned action to be taken to improve services this year. Backed by almost £450 million, it will expand urgent and emergency care facilities to provide faster care for patients, including those services outside of acute hospitals.

The 10-Year Health Plan focuses on shifting urgent care into the community through new Neighbourhood Health Services. This will improve the experience and care that people receive, rather than having to go to hospital unnecessarily, while more timely access to primary care and better proactive care for long term conditions will reduce demand into urgent and emergency care.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) NICE and (b) NHS England on the (i) availability of and (ii) access to new treatments for patients with secondary breast cancer. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers and Department officials have regular discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England on a range of issues including access to new treatments.

NICE makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether all new licensed medicines, including medicines for secondary breast cancer, should be routinely funded by the NHS. NHS England funds all NICE-recommended treatments for breast cancer with the funding available from the point of a positive draft NICE decision. Since 2018, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed, including treatments for advanced breast cancer, such as Truqap and Korserdu, which are now available to eligible NHS patients. NICE recommended treatments are available to NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the British Medical Association on medical students receiving less than two hours of teaching on eating disorders throughout their undergraduate training. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has not had conversations with the British Medical Association about the amount of teaching on eating disorders in undergraduate medical training. The standard of training for doctors is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC sets the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approves courses and medical schools to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the GMC’s outcome standards.

Since the 2024/25 academic year, medical students graduating from UK universities have been required to pass the Medical Licensing Assessment, for which the GMC has published a content map documenting the conditions which students are expected to have knowledge. This is available at the following link: https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/mla-content-map-_pdf-85707770.pdf. Eating disorders are included in the content map.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made in ensuring additional NHS appointments are made available to people in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. \p Karin Smyth: Tackling waiting lists is a top priority for this Government. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments. More than double that number, 4.9 million more appointments, have now been delivered in England.

On 6 January, NHS England published a plan titled Reforming elective care for patients, which sets out a whole-system approach to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029. The plan is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/reforming-elective-care-for-patients/

Progress is being made in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency, which spans two integrated care boards (ICBs). In both ICBs, around 60% of patients wait under 18 weeks for elective care.

As of June, average waiting times have decreased across both ICBs, compared to the same period last year. Over the last 12 months there has been a 3.5 percentage point increase in the number of people waiting less than 18 weeks. The number of patients waiting over a year has also decreased by 2%.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of Accident and Emergency intake staff. \p Karin Smyth: The 10-Year Workforce Plan, which will be published later this year, will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, including in vital services such as Accident and Emergency, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
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Sir John Whittingdale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of cancer patients receive treatment within 62 days in (a) England and (b) Maldon constituency. \p Karin Smyth: The latest data for England shows that 67.1% of people started treatment within 62 days of referral. Data on the 62 day referral to treatment cancer waiting time standard is available by integrated care board (ICB) area, but not by constituency. The Maldon constituency falls within the Mid and South Essex ICB, and therefore the following table shows the proportion of cancer patients who receive treatment within 62 days in June 2024 and June 2025, and the change over this 12 month period, for both England and the Mid and South Essex ICB:

Cancer

62 day standard (85% standard)

June 2025

National

67.1%

ICB

43.5%

June 2024

National

67.9%

ICB

47.8%

12-month change

National

-0.8%

ICB

-4.3%
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase funding for newly qualified nurse positions in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. \p Karin Smyth: On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified nurse in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and will ensure that thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment.

These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to (a) recruit, (b) train and (c) retain (i) radiologists and (ii) clinical oncologists. \p Karin Smyth: We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places, including for radiology and clinical oncology, meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. Over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training places, with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need.

We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will consider reviewing the Allied Healthcare Professional status list to include chiropractors as part of the government’s wider review of the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: Integrated care boards are able to make independent decisions on which health professionals they employ and may commission a limited amount of chiropractic treatment.

There are no plans by either the Department or NHS England to review the health and care professions that are classified as an allied health profession.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS employees employed on a Level 7 Apprenticeship in each of the last five years. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not hold the information requested.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of waiting times for NHS treatment of plantar fasciitis. \p Karin Smyth: No recent assessment has been made specifically on plantar fasciitis waiting times. However, as set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for fibromatosis care, wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget that has enabled us to fulfil our pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments early. More than double that number, 4.9 million more appointments, have now been delivered.

The majority of treatment for plantar fasciitis is done within primary care settings, with only a small fraction of patients requiring treatment at hospitals. Data presenting a more detailed breakdown, specific to plantar fasciitis wait times, is not held by the Department.
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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the operation of NHS Practitioner Health beyond March 2026. \p Karin Smyth: Looking after the mental health of our hardworking National Health Service staff is a priority for the Government.

The National Staff Mental Health Treatment Service currently supplied by NHS Practitioner Health is funded until March 2026, and work is being completed to re-commission this service for the next three years, aligned to the Multi-Year Spending Review, from 2026 to 2029.

More recently, the 10-Year Health Plan committed to roll out Staff Treatment Hubs. These hubs will provide a high-quality occupational health service for all NHS staff.
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Bobby Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that referrals for ME/CFS are not rejected solely on the basis of a long covid diagnosis being mentioned in GP notes. \p Ashley Dalton: We published the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Final Delivery Plan on 22 July 2025. The plan focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.

Within the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan’s actions, NHS England will co-design resources, including a template specification for systems to improve services for mild and moderate ME/CFS. Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care, with NHS England, will explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for very severe ME/CFS.

The template specification for mild and moderate ME/CFS will be developed nationally through engagement with stakeholders, drawing on local expertise and models, and existing evidence.

In order to improve awareness and understanding of ME/CFS amongst healthcare professionals, the Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes.

Commissioning of post-viral services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs) and the output of the above engagement aims to support ICBs with their local commissioning decisions based on their local population needs.
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Bobby Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve coordination of care for long covid patients who require multi-disciplinary support. \p Ashley Dalton: Across the NHS in England, there are services supporting people with post-COVID syndrome (long COVID). These services offer physical, cognitive and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation. More information is available on the NHS England website at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/post-covid-syndrome-long-covid/.

Since April 2024, the commissioning of post-COVID services has been the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), following the closure of the national post-COVID programme.

NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services, which sets out the commissioning, service requirements and oversight of post-COVID services by ICBs in England for adults and children and young people. It outlines the elements that post-COVID services should include and the principles of care for long COVID. The commissioning guidance is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-guidance-for-post-covid-services-for-adults-children-and-young-people/.

People with long COVID symptoms should see their GP, who will be able to refer them to services depending on their clinical needs.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) inform and (b) educate parents about the new chickenpox vaccine, and to tackle vaccine hesitancy. \p Ashley Dalton: On 29 August 2025, the Government announced plans to introduce chickenpox vaccination into the routine childhood immunisation schedule from 1 January 2026, using the MMRV vaccine which protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (varicella).

The launch of the chicken pox vaccination programme in January 2026 will see a press campaign with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England working together to inform and educate through the use of low and no cost communications. This will continue throughout the year with key bursts of activity on all childhood vaccines.

The Department will also launch a national childhood vaccination paid marketing campaign in February 2026 to encourage uptake of all childhood vaccinations for those aged 0-5 years and will include high impact advertising across video on demand, online video, radio, out of home posters and social media. This will be supported by partnerships across a range of sectors including retailers, nursery providers and charities. Activity will be upweighted to key low uptake communities and geographical areas across the country.

Ahead of the launch, NHS England is hosting vaccine confidence sessions for health care workers to help them have vaccine conversations and address questions or concerns with parents and carers.

Communications toolkits and assets will be issued to primary care teams across all regions to support the launch of the MMRV programme, which includes material for parents and carers on the new vaccination programme.
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Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of minimally processed foods (a) for children and young people and (b) in general. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government’s Eatwell Guide advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns.  Examples include the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.

A range of actions that have already been taken to create a healthier environment to help children eat a healthy, balanced diet including:

- the Healthy Start scheme which supported over 355,000 people in August 2025;

- the Nursery Milk Scheme which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers (in England and Wales) for a daily one-third pint portion of milk to children and babies; and

- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme which provides around 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.

In relation to processed foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt and free sugars, work on manifesto commitments is progressing through:

- implementing the TV and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink;

- consulting on plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old; and

- giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate.

Earlier this year, the Government committed to reviewing the School Food Standards to reflect the most recent government dietary recommendations. In particular, this will reduce levels of sugar and increase fibre in school food.

In August 2025, voluntary industry guidelines for commercial baby food and drink were published by government. The guidelines challenge businesses to reduce the sugar and salt content and improve marketing and labelling of foods and drinks aimed at children aged up to 36 months.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 67790 on Diabetes: Screening, when he expects the UK National Screening Committee to complete the review of the 2024 submission on autoimmune type 1 diabetes screening through blood testing. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is currently awaiting the outcome of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) assessment of the drug teplizumab, which is expected in November.

Once the NICE recommendation on teplizumab has been published, the UK NSC will look again at the 2024 annual call submission on autoimmune type 1 diabetes screening through blood testing and will consider whether a fresh review of the evidence for type 1 diabetes screening should be undertaken.
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Jim Dickson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to deliver the national lung cancer screening programme by the target date of end of 2029-30. \p Ashley Dalton: The NHS is taking crucial steps to improve cancer outcomes for patients across England, including for lung cancer. The NHS is currently rolling out the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme to people with a history of smoking.

The timescale for full implementation of the lung cancer screening programme, alongside further ten-year plan initiatives, will be specified in due course.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on including aplastic anaemia on NHS Inform. \p Ashley Dalton: Working under the United Kingdom Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as aplastic anaemia.

Collaboration at all levels across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales remains an underpinning priority. The Department works closely with colleagues across the devolved nations to ensure policy on rare disease is aligned across the UK, and that we share best practice and areas of learning.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of weight loss drugs on (a) public health outcomes, (b) obesity rates and (c) associated health conditions. \p Ashley Dalton: Obesity is estimated to cost the NHS £11.4 billion per year and wider society around £74.3 billion.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new medicines and health technologies for the National Health Service in England. NICE uses a structured process, including the assessment of clinical and economic evidence and the use of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), to determine if a new treatment offers good value for money. NICE takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, which may include public health outcomes and impacts on associated health conditions. These assessments allow NICE to make evidence-based recommendations on whether a medication should be routinely funded by the NHS.

The newest obesity medicines, semaglutide (Wegovy®) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) have been assessed and recommended by the NICE as clinically and cost-effective treatment options on the NHS for obesity. They can provide an effective tool, when prescribed alongside diet, physical activity and behavioural support, to support some people living with obesity to lose weight.

Clinical trials of Mounjaro® have found an average weight loss of approximately 20%. Weight loss is associated with significant improvements in both the management of existing conditions and the risk of developing weight related health conditions. Generally, greater weight loss is associated with more health benefits so obesity medicines could have a potential impact on a number of obesity associated health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnoea and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as on obesity rates.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) mobile or (b) school-based vaccination programmes as part of the catch-up campaign for chickenpox vaccination. \p Ashley Dalton: On 29 August 2025, the Government announced plans to introduce chickenpox (varicella) vaccination into the routine childhood immunisation schedule from 1 January 2026. Eligible children will receive a MMRV vaccine during routine GP appointments, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.

The eligibility criteria, including which age groups will receive the vaccine, will be announced ahead of the programme launch.

In line with the NHS vaccination strategy, NHS England are driving excellence in operational delivery by ensuring a high-quality core vaccination offer to eligible cohorts.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the successful rollout of the new chickenpox vaccination programme in areas with historically low vaccine uptake. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to promote vaccine uptake by providing diverse delivery methods to make getting vaccinated easier, increasing outreach efforts to under-served groups, and raising awareness of the dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases.

The launch of the chickenpox vaccination programme in January 2026 will see a press campaign with UKHSA and NHS England working together to inform and educate the public on the benefits of vaccination. This will continue throughout the year with key bursts of activity on all childhood immunisations.

The Department will also launch a national childhood vaccination paid marketing campaign in February 2026 to encourage uptake of all childhood vaccinations for those age 0-5 years and will include high impact advertising across video on demand, online video, radio, out of home posters and social media. This will be supported by partnerships across a range of sectors including retailers, nursery providers and charities. Activity will be upweighted to key low uptake communities and geographical areas across the country.

Ahead of launch, NHS England is hosting vaccine confidence sessions for health care workers to help them have vaccination conversations and address any questions or concerns with parents and carers. Communication toolkits and assets are also being issued to primary care teams across all regions to support the launch of the chickenpox programme, which will include material for parents and carers.
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Fred Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve paediatric care in hospitals. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and improving paediatric care in hospitals will be critical to achieving this ambition. Through the Elective Reform Plan, we have set out how we will deliver the 18-week referral target for all those waiting for care by March 2029, including children and young people. The Plan is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/reforming-elective-care-for-patients.pdf.

The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26, published jointly by the Department and NHS England on 6 June 2025, also outlines increasing the number of children seen within 4 hours of attending A&E as a priority area. To achieve this, NHS trusts have been asked to make use of urgent treatment centres and to revise services and standards to meet the needs of children and young people. The Plan is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve (a) awareness and (b) recognition of postural tachycardia syndrome among NHS clinicians. \p Ashley Dalton: To improve awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) among healthcare professionals, and specifically general practitioners, the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link:

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

It is the responsibility of local integrated care boards to work with clinicians, service users and patient groups to develop services and care pathways that are convenient and meet the needs of patients with PoTS.

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

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve access to treatments for metachromatic leukodystrophy. \p Karin Smyth: Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as metachromatic leukodystrophy. One of the framework’s priorities is improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and published the fourth England action plan on 28 February 2025.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE works closely with companies and the United Kingdom regulator with the aim of publishing guidance on new medicines as close as possible to the time of licensing so that patients can benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost-effective medicines. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance.

In 2022, NICE recommended the world’s first gene therapy atidarsagene autotemcel, also known as Libmeldy, for treating metachromatic leukoystrophy, which is now available to eligible NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.
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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 merits of increasing the amount of upfront funding allocated to ICBs in areas of expected high population growth. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards, to pay for the services they commission. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. Most funding is allocated as a non-ring-fenced budget, informed by a calculation of what would constitute a “fair share” of funding, taking account of population, age, need, deprivation, and health inequalities considerations. The population figures take account of Office for National Statistics population projections for the year in question. These projections take account of fertility, mortality, and migration, and so reflect expected high population growth.
wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_361
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_361

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase the availability of (a) daily and (b) weekly surgical appointments for operations in NHS hospitals. \p Karin Smyth: As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for surgical appointments, wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029.

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring lists and waiting times down. We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget that has enabled us to fulfil our pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments early. More than double that number, 4.9 million more appointments, have now been delivered.

We are also continuing to deliver dedicated and protected surgical hubs to deliver high volume low complexity (HVLC) surgery more efficiently. Surgical hubs help to create additional capacity for surgical appointments, whilst improving outcomes for patients. Health Foundation analysis found that HVLC activity was on average 21.9% higher in a trust with a new hub in the first year of opening, with effects seen within three months of opening.

We have committed to increase the number of surgical hubs over the next three years on top of the 120 currently operational. At the Autumn Budget 2024, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an additional £1.65 billion in funding to support NHS performance across secondary and emergency care, including for surgical hubs.
wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_362
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_362

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for urgent NHS operations in cases where patients are waiting significantly beyond the clinically recommended timeframe. \p Karin Smyth: It is unacceptable that patients continue to wait lengthy periods for treatment, especially where waits are for high priority surgical procedures.

We are committed to driving down waiting times. In January, we published our Elective Reform Plan, which sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to support our commitment to return to the NHS Constitutional Standard that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029.

We have already improved performance against this standard by 2.7% compared to last year, with performance increasing from 58.9% in June 2024 to 61.5% in June 2025. In the Operational Planning Guidance, we set a national target to reach 65% for Referral to Treatment performance by March 2026. The waiting list has reduced by over 252,000 in the past year, and we have exceeded our pledge to deliver an additional two million appointments, tests, and operations, having delivered 4.9 million more since July 2024.

There is a clear clinical prioritisation process, including for the cancer standards, where our expectation is that patients are seen very rapidly. All waiting lists are rightly subject to clinical prioritisation at a local level, ensuring that patients are prioritised in line with clinical need, while considering overall wait time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_363

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled NHS workers awarded real terms pay rises for second year in row, published on 22 May 2025, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse. \p Karin Smyth: Last year’s pay awards for National Health Service staff were among the biggest across the public sector. This year, we have announced above inflation, fully funded pay increases across all staff groups for a second year in a row. These thoroughly deserved pay rises demonstrate how the Government wants to work with staff in our shared ambition to rebuild the NHS. We have been able to fully fund these pay award thanks to the reforms we’ve made, including cuts to bureaucratic duplication and central running costs.
wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_364
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_364

Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of unfilled NHS roles in the North East. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England publishes a compendium of NHS Vacancy Statistics each quarter. The information currently provides four measures of the level of vacancies in the National Health Service, one of which presents management information collected by NHS England from NHS trusts on full time equivalent vacancies reported, which is the most commonly used measure. NHS England collects and publishes vacancies in the North East and Yorkshire as a single region, which is available in this publication.

Published vacancy data, including information on the definition of the collected data and the available timeseries, along with the measure’s strengths and weaknesses, is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey
wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_365
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_365

John Glen:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS employees with a declared terminal diagnosis die when in (a) employment and (b) retirement. \p Karin Smyth: Whilst the Department does not hold the information requested, it does hold information on the number of National Health Service staff applications for NHS pension benefits on the grounds of serious ill-health. These pensions may be paid where members of the NHS Pension Scheme are terminally ill and have a life expectancy of less than 12 months.

The following table shows the number of applications for serious ill-health pensions accepted by the scheme administrator, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), for the last five complete scheme years, and is correct as of 2 September 2025:

Scheme Year

Total Applications Accepted

2020/21

214

2021/22

222

2022/23

258

2023/24

265

2024/25

259

Source: NHSBSA

Notes: These figures do not include NHS staff who are terminally ill but do not meet the criteria for a serious ill-health pension, those who choose to not apply, and those who are not members of the NHS Pension Scheme. Therefore, the numbers of NHS employees with terminal diagnoses who die in employment and retirement may be greater than those set out in the table.
wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_366
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_366

James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS surgery waiting time information published on the NHS My Care Portal in the context of reports that these timeframes differ from those provided by NHS hospital trusts. \p Karin Smyth: Patients in England can choose the hospital for their first outpatient appointments via the NHS e-Referral Service and the NHS App, allowing them to view and choose from available appointments across different hospitals within the same region.

The National Health Service is a large, decentralized system, and individual NHS hospital trusts are responsible for managing their own patient portals, resulting in different systems and features. Each trust may set its own policies and internal delays before results are displayed in the portal, rather than linking them directly to the patient. A delay in displaying results is a common practice for sensitive test results linked to conditions such as cancer, to give doctors an opportunity to review them with the patient first.

The NHS ensures adequate data for My Planned Care by employing a multi-faceted approach, including centralised data collection and curation, implementing shared records for better data integration across systems, establishing robust data quality checks and reporting, adhering to strict information governance and security standards, and actively working to link diverse data sources. These processes support the provision of timely and accurate information on the My Planned Care website to help patients and healthcare professionals.

The NHS continues to invest heavily in the NHS App and in the past two years we have been implementing digital integration between acute hospitals and the NHS App, meaning that patients can now view their clinical pathway and appointments via the NHS App. We continue to work with hospital trusts to maximise the opportunities available to update patients via the NHS App, which is a key part of the 10-year plan to reform the NHS.

The NHS App has now been adopted by 88% of acute trusts, up nearly 20% since July 2024, which enables patients to view and manage their hospital appointments.

Analysis shows that hospitals that make the changes to plug their systems and processes into the NHS App key app features have improved elective care waiting times.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_367

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with charities on the potential merits of protecting the title Child Psychotherapist. \p Karin Smyth: Titles can only be protected for statutorily regulated professions. The title of ’child psychotherapist’ is not currently protected in law in the United Kingdom and the Government has no plans to regulate child psychotherapists. No discussions have taken place with charities on protecting the title of ‘child psychotherapist’.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_368

Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) ethical, (b) legal, and (c) safeguarding implications of UK residents entering commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas; and whether the Government plans to review the legal framework in such cases. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has no plans to review the legal framework for international surrogacy arrangements.

The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family.

The Government recognises that international surrogacy is a complex area, and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has published guidance for British nationals seeking international surrogacy arrangements.
wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_369
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_369

Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support Sussex Integrated Care Board to implement the Women's Health Strategy recommendations on access to fertility services for LGBTQ+ people. \p Karin Smyth: We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.

NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service funded treatment are still appropriate.

In light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-08 conversation_370

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS Trusts on improving access to helipads for emergency air ambulance services. \p Karin Smyth: No such discussions have been held. Air ambulances form a vital part of the emergency response to patients in critical need. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with NHS England and the Department for Transport to ensure that there is appropriate helipad accessibility available for air ambulances across the country.