theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Damien Egan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist appointments. \p Karin Smyth: Cutting elective care waiting times, including for ear, nose, and throat services (ENT), is a key priority for the Government. Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments, compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. The latest data from August 2025 shows the ENT waiting list, currently at 627,206, has reduced by 31,000, or 4.7%, since the start of July 2024.

ENT is identified as a priority in the Elective Reform Plan. Specific actions to reform ENT include expanding non-surgical community-based ENT services, maximising pharmacy first approaches, and developing one-stop clinical models to support patients needing ear care and patients with rhinitis. We are also focussing on reducing unwarranted variation in surgical pathways, supporting nationwide adoption of high-flow operating lists, and promoting greater ENT and paediatric ENT access at surgical hubs.

Surgical hubs focus on driving improvement in six high volume specialties, including ENT. There are currently 124 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England. Additionally, as outlined in the Elective Reform Plan, we will continue to promote greater ENT access at surgical hubs and greater partnership working with the independent sector to deliver more non-urgent care, free at the point of use.
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Dr Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in levels of anaesthetic workforce availability on elective surgery waiting times. \p Karin Smyth: No specific recent assessment has been made by the Department on the impact of the levels of the anaesthetic workforce’s availability on elective surgery waiting times. Local providers are best placed to make decisions on workforce capacity to reflect local service demand and circumstances.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decriminalisation of abortion of women who are (a) vulnerable and (b) subject to (i) coercion and (ii) abuse: and what steps he plans to take to protect them. \p Karin Smyth: No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.

The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.

The safeguarding of children, young people and adults who are at risk is a fundamental obligation for everyone who works in the National Health Service and its partner agencies. Following the decriminalisation of abortion for pregnant women acting in relation to their own pregnancy, the Department will consider whether sufficient safeguards are already in place or whether additional guidance is needed.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of decriminalising abortion on the (a) rights and (b) responsibilities of medical professionals. \p Karin Smyth: The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.

Under section 4(1) of the Abortion Act 1967, medical professionals have the right to refuse to participate in terminations of pregnancy, other than where the termination is necessary to save the life of, or prevent grave injury to, the pregnant woman. This right is limited to refusal to participate in the procedure(s) itself and not to pre- or post-treatment care, advice or management.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve facilities for healthcare workers. \p Karin Smyth: The NHS Health and Wellbeing Framework highlights the importance of getting the basics right such as providing access to good quality rest areas, food, and drink options.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals and support to work healthily and flexibly.

The New Hospital Programme will mandate that staff welfare spaces must occupy at least 6% to 7% of the total net internal area footprint for schemes that are fully compliant with the new standardised designs. This 6% to 7% minimum allocation will continue to be protected and maintained through the full life cycle of the building.
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Dave Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to consult people with lived experience of dementia on the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia. \p Stephen Kinnock: We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

On 28 October, Alzheimer’s Society held a World Café event on behalf of the Department to help ensure that people living with dementia were able to feed in at an early stage to the development of the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia.

Policy leads from the Department attended the session, along with representatives from Alzheimer’s Society, to hear from those living with dementia, their family members, and their carers, both paid and unpaid. This event aimed to foster open dialogue and help inform the development of the modern service framework.

We intend to further engage with a range of partners over the coming months to enable us to build a framework which is both ambitious and practical, to ensure we can improve system performance for people with dementia both now and in the future.
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated for prospective studies into anti-seizure medications other than Sodium Valproate in pregnancy since 2018. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Between 2020 and 2024 the Department, through its research delivery arm the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), has invested approximately £5.34 million through direct awards to research into anti-seizure or anti-epilepsy medication in pregnancy. This figure reflects the total budget for research awards that were active during this period. The most recent funding in this area was £2.68 million to a research award which commenced in June 2023. Since 2018, the NIHR has invested approximately £5.33 million through direct awards to prospective research studies into anti-seizure medications other than sodium valproate. This figure reflects the total budget for research awards that were active during this period. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not received specific funding for research in this area from the Department. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of maternal health, including anti-seizure medications in pregnancy.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned on (a) reproductive health outcomes and (b) other long‑term health effects of occupational exposure to hazardous medicinal products among nursing staff; and what assessment his Department has made of the costs to the NHS of sickness absence related to such exposure. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government has not commissioned any research on the reproductive health outcomes or long-term health effects of the occupational exposure of nursing staff to hazardous medicinal products. No assessment has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of sickness absence related to this.

Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have their own policies and procedures in place to manage and reduce sickness absence, including any reasonable adjustments to allow people to return to work and/or prevent future absence. It is important that employers across the NHS take a preventative and proactive approach to supporting their staff and keeping them healthy.
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Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81693 on General Practitioners: Insurance, answered on 12th October 2025, how many GPs are covered under the professional indemnity insurance; and what the cost to the public purse of this insurance was in the last 12 months. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The cost to the public purse of the state clinical indemnity schemes, such as the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice and the Existing Liabilities Scheme for General Practice, for 2024/2025 is outlined in NHS Resolution’s corporate accounts, which are available at the following link:

https://resolution.nhs.uk/about/corporate-reports-and-publications/

State funded schemes for clinical indemnity cover general practice (GP) activities under National Health Service contracts, such as the General Medical Services contact, the Personal Medical Services contact, and the Alternative Provider Medical Services contact. Costs incurred under the state funded clinical indemnity schemes therefore include GPs, practice nurses, and other staff carrying out activities in connection with GP activities under NHS contracts. We do not hold information on these costs which are disaggregated by GPs.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce reliance on (a) voluntary and (b) charitable organisations to deliver core mental health services for older people; and what steps his Department plans to take to provide sustainable statutory funding to fill service gaps covered by the voluntary sector. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government values the huge contribution that voluntary and charitable organisations play in supporting older people with their mental health.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments and neighbourhood mental health centres, and increasing access to talking therapies and evidence-based digital interventions.

Spending on mental health support is forecast to increase by £688 million in cash terms this financial year. Details of future funding arrangements, including integrated care board allocations over the next three years, will be set out across revenue finance and contracting guidance, capital guidance, and published allocations in due course.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 35028 on LGBT Veterans Independent Review, what progress he has made on recommendations (a) 31, (b) 35, (c) 36, (d) 38 and (e) 42. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: For recommendation 31, NHS England, in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (GPs), continues to encourage participation in the Veteran Friendly GP accreditation scheme. To date, over 99% of primary care networks have at least one accredited GP in their area. For recommendation 35, since June 2025, 100% of National Health Service trusts have been accredited as ‘veteran aware’. This achievement, led by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, reflects a national commitment to providing compassionate, personalised care to the Armed Forces Community.

As for recommendations 36 and 38, I refer the Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 31 October 2025 to Questions 84296 and 84297.

Finally, for recommendation 42, we recognise the importance of training for NHS staff on the needs of the Armed Forces Community. The NHS National Armed Forces Training and Education Programme will see NHS staff across England receiving dedicated training to help them identify and support patients with military backgrounds. This will be provided through a variety of channels: face to face; webinars; train the trainer; and e-learning. This launched in October 2025 and is supported by £1.8 million of investment over three years.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance and information his Department issues to clinicians to assist in early diagnosis of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: NHS England is working with eating disorder services and local commissioners to improve access to assessment and treatment for all children and young people with a suspected eating disorder, including those presenting with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).

In 2019/20, NHS England funded seven community eating disorder teams, one in each region in England, as part of a pilot programme to improve access, assessment, and treatment for children and young people with ARFID. The training from these pilots is now available for local areas to commission for their community children and young people’s eating disorder services.

The NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) has prioritised work to improve ARFID pathways. The ICB’s specialist provider collaborative appointed a dedicated ARFID project lead to develop and share best practice across the region. This work has supported improved clinical networking, supervision, and training materials, and resulted in the development of information and resources for families and service users.

Within the Tees Valley, eating disorder services provide assessment and treatment for patients with moderate to severe ARFID, and they have developed a specific ARFID pathway. Support for people with mild to moderate ARFID presentations is also available through local voluntary sector organisations such as Eating Distress North East.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of utilising shareable health data to help (a) fire and rescues services and (b) local authorities identify vulnerable residents. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department has not made a formal assessment of using health data in this way but is aware of exploratory work underway in the National Health Service, including in Greater Manchester. This year the Department is working to tackle the underlying barriers to linking health and non-health data to improve outcomes and is supporting a small number of priority projects.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cancer drugs have been approved for use in (a) 2021-2022, (b) 2022-2023, (c) 2023-2024 and (d) 2024-2025. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The following table shows the number of cancer medicines that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in each of the last four full business years:

Year

Number of recommendations

2021/22

36

2022/23

36

2023/24

28

2024/25

37

The information provided includes all medicines recommended for routine use for some or all of the eligible patient population, and medicines recommended for managed access through the Cancer Drugs Fund.
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Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with Secretary of State for Education of the potential impact of amending Schedule 17, Part 1, Paragraph 12(b) of The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable schools to obtain new adrenaline nasal sprays for the treatment of allergic reactions on children with allergies . \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Officials at the Department are in the early stages of considering if potential amendments to Schedule 17 of the Human Medicines Regulations (HMRs) 2012 are required.

Should amendments to the HMRs be required, the Government will conduct a public consultation to ensure that the views of stakeholders are carefully considered, prior to any changes being made.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of repeat offenders have access to specialist (a) mental health and (b) substance misuse treatment while in custody. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: People in prison are entitled to the same standard and range of health and social care services as they would receive in the community. All prisoners, regardless of whether or not they are repeat offenders, should have access to integrated mental health services. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison.

We are committed to ensuring that all offenders can access high-quality treatment that enables them to recover from their problems with drug or alcohol use as quickly as possible. We will continue to ensure that the full range of evidence-based treatment interventions is available to address the wide range of drug needs presented by people in secure and community settings, including abstinence-based interventions to support recovery from drug dependency.
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Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the difference in availability of Omaveloxolone (Skyclarys) as a treatment for Friedrich's ataxia in (a) Scotland and (b) England and Wales; and if he will make it his policy to require the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to set out the reasons for which new drugs that (i) have been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (ii) are available in Scotland are not available in England and Wales. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Department has made no assessment of the reasons for the difference in the availability of omaveloxolone (Skyclarys) as a treatment for Friedrich's ataxia in Scotland, England, and Wales.

Decisions on the availability of medicines are taken by the respective health authorities in each nation of the United Kingdom. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for making recommendations on the use of new medicines in England, while Scotland has its own processes through the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

NICE publishes the reasons for its decisions on its website, and the Department has no plans to require NICE to set out the reasons for differences between its recommendations and the SMC’s. NICE was unable to make a recommendation on the use of omaveloxolone for treating Friedreich's ataxia in people aged 16 years old and over because the manufacturing company, Biogen, withdrew its evidence submission. NICE will review this decision if Biogen decides to make a new submission.
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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 the provision of (a) counselling and (b) other psychological support for victims of crime. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: We recognise that too many victims and survivors of crime are not getting the mental health support or care they need.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments and neighbourhood mental health centres, and increasing access to talking therapies and evidence-based digital interventions.

The recently published Medium Term Planning Framework sets targets for integrated care boards to expand coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement Support schemes by 2029.

We continue to work with all parts of the system, including the National Health Service, policing, and justice services, to support and protect victims of crime.
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Lauren Edwards:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 80707 on Hospitals: Special Educational Needs, if he will publish a breakdown by region of the over three million people who have completed the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure that their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. The Government is rolling out its preferred package, the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training (Oliver’s Training) on Learning Disability and Autism, to the health and adult social care workforce.

Oliver’s Training is delivered in two tiers, depending on the level most appropriate for staff. Tier 1 is for general awareness and Tier 2 is a more detailed understanding of learning disability and autism. Each tier is comprised of an e-learning module and either a one-hour webinar, which is Tier 1, or a full-day in-person session, which is Tier 2, delivered alongside people with a learning disability and autistic people.

Information about uptake of Oliver’s Training is collected locally by employers. Over three million people have completed the e-learning package, the first part of the training, which is the same for both tiers. More than 2,700 people have been trained to deliver the second, interactive part of the training nationwide.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NHS emergency department opt-out testing programme on early diagnosis rates for (a) HIV, (b) hepatitis B and (c) hepatitis C. \p Ashley Dalton: A public health evaluation of the emergency department blood-borne virus opt-out testing programme for the first 34 sites taking part showed that there were 3,667 new diagnoses of hepatitis B, 831 of hepatitis C, and 719 of HIV between April 2022 and December 2024.

Approximately 50% of all people diagnosed with hepatitis B and hepatitis C were newly diagnosed through the programme, compared to 8.3% for HIV. The vast majority, or 73.4%, of people newly diagnosed had no record of a previous bloodborne virus test, which indicates that the testing programme has been successful in accessing a population with different demographics and risk factors to testing offered in other settings and supporting the earlier diagnosis of these individuals.

The public health evaluation of the emergency department opt-out testing programme is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bloodborne-viruses-opt-out-testing-in-emergency-departments/public-health-evaluation-of-bbv-opt-out-testing-in-eds-in-england-33-month-final-report-2025
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a framework model for functional neurological disorder (FND) care, including (a) FND care pathways, (b) the requirement for multidisciplinary teams trained in FND, (c) follow-up appointments for patients, and (d) mandatory training for (i) GPs, (ii) neurologists, and (ii) A&E staff. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) included information on functional neurological disorder (FND) in its guideline Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, code NG127, which covers symptoms and the appropriate referral pathways. The NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries also feature a detailed topic on FND, offering information on diagnosis and management. The guideline and Clinical Knowledge Summary are available, respectively, at the following two links:

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

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/functional-neurological-disorder/

We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, and with the right skills, to deliver the best care for patients, including those with FND, when they need it. We have recently published a call for evidence to gather views from stakeholders on the specific professions, roles, skills, and training needed to implement the reforms outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan for England.

More widely, the Elective Reform Plan has committed to reforming outpatient care, which will improve outcomes for patients with FND, through:

¾ clinical pathway reform, by transforming clinical pathways to build on the opportunity to deliver more activity in the community and increase the opportunities for patients to be referred straight to diagnostic tests;

¾ reducing unnecessary follow up care by using remote monitoring and widening access to Patient Initiated Follow Up so that more patients can have choice and control over if and when they require follow up care, freeing up appointments for patients who need them most; and

¾ focusing on the smaller aspects of service delivery than can make a big difference to productivity, by focusing on waiting list validation being properly funded as a form of activity, better use of outpatient clinical capacity, and making better use of clinic templates and job planning so clinicians have the right balance of activity to meet demand.
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Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of excluding (a) general practitioners and (b) other frontline medical staff from the covid-19 booster vaccination programme in autumn 2025 on (i) patient safety and (ii) workforce resilience; if he will take steps to amend the eligibility criteria. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI has advised that COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since it first emerged. The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19. On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026

On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2025, and in line with this, in autumn 2025 a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.

In line with JCVI advice, frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) and staff working in care homes for older adults are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination under the national programme for autumn 2025. This is following an extensive review by JCVI of the scientific evidence surrounding the impact of vaccination on the transmission of the virus from HSCWs to patients, protection of HSCWs against symptoms of the disease, and staff sickness absences.

In the current era of high population immunity to COVID-19, additional COVID-19 doses provide very limited, if any, protection against infection and any subsequent onward transmission of infection. For HSCWs, this means that COVID-19 vaccination likely now has only a very limited impact on patient safety and reducing staff sickness absence. Therefore, the focus of the programme is on those at greatest risk of serious disease and who are, as a consequence, most likely to continue to benefit from vaccination.

Any HSCW who is otherwise eligible, because of their age or due to immunosuppression, is encouraged to take up the offer of vaccination.

The Government has accepted JCVI’s advice on eligibility for the autumn 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme and has no plans to review eligibility for this campaign. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.
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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve service provision for people with sarcoma in Cornwall. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England has published a national service specification, covering both bone and soft tissue sarcomas. The specification requires close working between sarcoma services and other National Health Service partners, co-ordinated by Sarcoma Advisory Groups, to improve care pathways.

Work is underway across both bone and soft tissue sarcoma provision to ensure that cancer care providers meet national service standards and improve care to patients across the country, including in Cornwall.

The Government welcomes the recent publication of Sarcoma UK’s sarcoma state of the nation report as it highlights the importance of early diagnosis, care co-ordination across complex pathways, research into new treatments, and survivorship. Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve outcomes for all cancers, including sarcoma.
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Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to reduce premature deaths in men. \p Ashley Dalton: We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The strategy will be informed by the Call for Evidence which closed on 17 July 2025. We aim to launch the Men’s Health Strategy later this year.
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Andy MacNae:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to confirm the funding settlement for Start for Life services from 1 April 2026; whether that funding settlement will include the (a) increased geography and (b) widened age range of the programme; and whether ring-fenced funding will be allocated to provide (i) parent-infant relationship support, (ii) perinatal mental health support and (iii) infant feeding services. \p Ashley Dalton: The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda for a decade of renewal to create a new model of care to improve the nation’s health. Over the next decade, we will give every child the best start in life by expanding Start for Life services and by integrating zero-to-five-year old’s health and children’s services within communities, with a strong focus on the critical first 1,001 days.

Building on the £126 million funding boost for the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26, an additional £500 million will enable Best Start Family Hubs to be rolled out to every local authority from April 2026.

The Government recognises the importance of providing local authorities with certainty on financial allocations and we will communicate outcomes, including grant details and delivery expectations where applicable, with local authorities when we have more information to share.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

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Aphra Brandreth:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to create a pathway for NHS (a) diagnosis and (b) care for (i) hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and (ii) hypermobility spectrum disorders. \p Ashley Dalton: Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission services which meet the needs of their local population, including for those with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders. It is the responsibility of ICBs, working with clinicians, service users, and patient groups, to develop services and care pathways that meet patients’ needs.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England will improve services for people with EDS and other long-term conditions by shifting care to the community with neighbourhood teams, expanding access to physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and using digital innovation to help patients self-manage and receive more integrated, personalised care. This approach aims to provide more proactive and accessible support by bringing services closer to home and making it easier for patients to access the help they need.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_358

John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the men’s health strategy; and whether it will include funding to help prevent (a) suicide and (b) premature death for men. \p Ashley Dalton: We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The strategy will be informed by the Call for Evidence which closed on 17 July 2025. We aim to launch the Men’s Health Strategy later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_359

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support (a) the Echo Centre in Liskeard and (b) other community-based neuro-rehabilitation services. \p Ashley Dalton: The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) is currently funding a community neuro-rehabilitation group meeting in the Echo centre in Liskeard. This has supported 48 people since January 2025, via a thirteen-week course, in a supportive group environment, to develop the skills, strength, and confidence to manage their condition independently and reduce their need for wider health and care services.

A community neurorehabilitation and stroke therapy team is funded by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB and provided by the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to provide assessments, treatment, and management for people with stroke and complex neurological conditions. This includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and supporting people with complex hospital discharges.

Further work is underway to understand the impact of the group course held at the Echo centre, the need for wider services, and how the people receiving, or waiting for, neurorehabilitation are using the health and care services. This will be used to inform the longer term commissioning of health and care services in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and ensure they best meet the needs of residents.

Additionally, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan, the National Health Service in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is investing in services to prevent, where possible, conditions which require neurorehabilitation, such as strokes, and to reduce and delay the symptoms of conditions such as acquired brain injuries.

In August, NHS England updated its service specification for adult specialised neurology services. It states that neurology patients should have timely access to the full range of inpatient and outpatient specialised neurorehabilitation services. Service specifications are important in clearly defining the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

In October, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also published new guidance on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, including acquired brain injury. The guideline covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms due to acquired brain injury.
wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_360
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_360

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to immunisation programmes in each financial year since 2022-23. \p Ashley Dalton: We have interpreted “allocated” here to mean overall expenditure on vaccination and immunisation programmes. The expenditure by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on vaccination and immunisation programmes, including associated costs, is set out below. In total, the expenditure on vaccination and immunisation programmes across NHS England and the UKHSA was approximately:

These figures cover spend across England, except for COVID-19 vaccine procurement and associated costs, which are on a United Kingdom-wide basis.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_361

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the adoption of new technologies for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is supporting NHS England to actively adopt new technologies for cancer diagnosis, with focus on artificial intelligence (AI), liquid biopsies, and advanced genomic testing to speed up diagnosis and improve patient outcomes. As part of the plan, we have also committed to the expansion of the National Institution of Clinical Excellence’s technology appraisal process to cover devices, diagnostics, and digital products.

We have invested £146 million in a partnership with pharmaceutical companies and universities to harness science and innovation to detect and treat cancer sooner through trials for new technologies, including those using AI, two of which are developing technology for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Additionally, initiatives using digital technology to improve the identification of cancer symptoms in primary care include a new £2 million National Health Service programme, funding 300 general practices (GPs) to identify pancreatic cancer early by screening high-risk patients over 60 years old with new diabetes diagnoses and unexplained weight loss for urgent testing. More than 300 GPs across England will begin using the initiative, with the roll out having already begun, and the rest to be up and running by the end of the year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_362

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure (a) better patient outcomes and (b) reduced waiting times for residents in Essex awaiting appointments for Parkinson's disease. \p Ashley Dalton: There are a number of initiatives at the national level supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s throughout England, including the United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology.

NHS England has established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions. A toolkit is being developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which will include components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, including for Parkinson’s patients in Essex and the rest of England. We have surpassed our commitment to deliver an extra two million elective appointments, having delivered 5.2 million additional appointments in our first year in Government. This marks a vital first step 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 National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029.

Between August 2024 and August 2025, we reduced the number of incomplete neurology pathways by almost 10,000, or 4.3%, from 236,621 to 226,432, and reduced the average waiting time for neurology services from 16.7 weeks to 15.4 weeks. Additionally, 56.1% of patients referred were seen within 18 weeks, up from 53.1% at the same point last year. This is lower than the national average and we are continuing our efforts to improve this, recognising that this is a challenged specialty.

The January 2025 Elective Reform Plan commits to reforming outpatient services by supporting general practitioners and hospital doctors in working together better, to ensure referrals are used when a patient really needs hospital care, through increased uptake of Advice and Guidance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-11 conversation_363

Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England is taking to ensure continuity of care for children with rare or complex conditions when accessing frontline NHS services. \p Ashley Dalton: We are committed to supporting children with long term conditions and ensuring they receive the support they need, including referral to specialist services as appropriate. We want a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition, as well as their families and carers receive high-quality, compassionate continuity of care.

Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. The framework’s priorities include better coordination of care and increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals, including in primary care. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and published the fourth England action plan on 28 February 2025.