theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) stakeholders, (b) NGOs and (c) interest groups have been consulted on the NHS 10-Year Plan by (i) his Department and (ii) NHS England since 4 July 2024. \p Karin Smyth: Throughout the 10-Year Health Plan’s engagement activity, we have engaged with over 1,600 stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, and patient groups to hear their ideas for change. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a list of organisations that made a submission to the Change NHS engagement portal, and the organisations that were members of the 10-Year Health Plan Partners Council.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-04)

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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the New Hospital Programme Review on NHS staffing levels in Wave 2 and Wave 3 hospitals. \p Karin Smyth: An equality impact assessment was carried out for the review of the New Hospital Programme which included assessing the extent to which service users, including staff, might be impacted by these delivery proposals, with specific reference to the impact that these might have on relevant protected characteristics. This was laid in the House Library and published on 20 January, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-equality-impact-assessment

Appropriate National Health Service staffing levels are determined locally. We will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-04)

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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to support national campaigns which (a) raise awareness of glaucoma and (b) encourage regular eye tests for preventable sight loss conditions. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department seeks to support national campaigns where possible, such as national eye health week. The NHS.UK website provides information about glaucoma and the importance of regular sight tests whilst also providing information about entitlement to free National Health Service sight tests.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-04)

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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to consult health professionals as part of the changes to the Carr-Hill formula funding model for GP practices. \p Stephen Kinnock: The review of the Carr-Hill formula will draw on a range of evidence and advice from experts, such as the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, and will involve consultation with the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association. Further detail on the review will be confirmed in due course.
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Lola McEvoy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using Darlington as a pilot case study for the place based reforms to the Green Book. \p Darren Jones: Following the Green Book Review 2025, the government has committed to introducing place-based business cases. These will help to identify the right combination of long-term interventions needed to unlock growth in a particular area. The government will set out further details on place-based business cases in due course.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 45, clause 15, of the National Security Document 2025: Security for the British people in a dangerous world, whether the announced 2.6 per cent of defence spending from 2027 will be classified as core defence spending. \p Darren Jones: The National Security Strategy 2025 was published on 24 June 2025. It confirms that by combining an increase in funding with recognition of the vital contribution the Single Intelligence Account plays to our national defence, the UK will spend 2.6% on NATO qualifying defence spending from 2027. This will be classified as core spending.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government press release entitled UK to deliver on 5% NATO pledge as Government drives greater security for working people, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the 4.1 percent of GDP spent in 2027 will be classified as core defence spending. \p Darren Jones: This government is confident that it will spend at least 4.1% GDP on NATO qualifying defence and security related spend in 2027. This will comprise 2.6% core defence spend which we have already announced, and at least 1.5% on defence and security related spending.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-04)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with her Welsh counterpart on the universal basic income pilot scheme in that country. \p Darren Jones: The Chancellor regularly meets with the Welsh First Minister. During their last engagement, the issue of universal basic income was not discussed.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government press release entitled UK to deliver on 5% NATO pledge as Government drives greater security for working people, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the announced commitment to spend 1.5 percent of GDP on resilience and security represents new money. \p Darren Jones: NATO provides reporting guidelines for the 1.5% defence and security related spending. It will include investments that raise the overall resilience of our societies, such as energy security, telecommunications, and infrastructure, as well as the execution of defence plans, expanding industrial capacity and innovation and counter hybrid actions.

Our National Security Strategy confirms our belief that these types of investment are vital to national security and we are pleased that this is now recognised by NATO. As set out in the Spending Review 2025, this government is making significant investment into these areas and we are confident we will meet the 1.5% target on defence and security related spending.

Along with all other NATO allies, the UK will report against the new categories of defence spending at the next NATO reporting deadline.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-04)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 45, clause 15, of the National Security Document 2025: Security for the British people in a dangerous world, whether the announced 2.6 percent of defence spending from 2027 will include any expenditure on resilience and security. \p Darren Jones: The National Security Strategy 2025 was published on 24 June 2025. It confirms that by combining an increase in funding with recognition of the vital contribution the Single Intelligence Account plays to our national defence, the UK will spend 2.6% on NATO qualifying defence spending from 2027. This 2.6% will be considered core defence spending.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-04)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 45, clause 15, of the National Security Document 2025: Security for the British people in a dangerous world, if she will list (a) all government departments that will be included in the commitment to spend 2.6 percent of GDP on defence expenditure from 2027 and (b) the financial quantum in each case. \p Darren Jones: The National Security Strategy 2025 was published on 24 June 2025. It confirms that by combining an increase in funding with recognition of the vital contribution the Single Intelligence Account plays to our national defence, the UK will spend 2.6% on NATO qualifying defence spending from 2027.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief on levels of food production. \p James Murray: The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.

The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery in England from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This will boost productivity and protect the natural ecosystems underpinning food production and broader economic activity, which will support food and economic security.
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Markus Campbell-Savours:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the VAT threshold for (a) wine merchants and (b) other small businesses; and what steps she is taking to (a) support those businesses and (b) promote economic growth while maintaining compliance with fiscal policies. \p James Murray: At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are kept out of the VAT system.

As set out in the Plan for Change, the Government’s priority mission is to deliver strong, secure and sustainable economic growth to boost living standards in every part of the UK. Supporting businesses to grow is at the heart of this mission. The Government will be announcing further support for small businesses as part of the Small Business Strategy being published later this year.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the cost of living on households in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency. \p James Murray: The Government is taking a comprehensive approach in response to increasing costs: supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations. The Plan for Change outlines key milestones, including raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom to put more money back in people’s pockets. In the latest data, living standards (as measured by real household disposable income per capita) are already growing at their fastest quarterly rate in two years.

The Government has set out the next steps in delivering our approach for regional growth, spreading growth across the country through investment and reform. This will benefit people across the country, including in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.
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Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the fiscal impact of the US-UK trade deal. \p Emma Reynolds: On 8 May 2025, the Prime Minister and the President concluded a landmark economic deal between the United Kingdom and the United States. The deal was defined in the General Terms for the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD). On 16 June, the Prime Minister and the President agreed further progress towards that goal and the initial implementation of commitments.

The Office for Budget Responsibility is the government's official forecaster responsible for assessing the UK economic and fiscal outlook. The OBR will publish its next official forecast in the Autumn.
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Andrew Ranger:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT for the hospitality sector. \p James Murray: VAT is the UK’s third largest tax. It is forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26, which funds public services. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

HMRC estimates that the cost of a 12.5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £6.5 billion this financial year, or £8 billion if it were to include alcoholic beverages.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of Gift Aid claims have been rejected in each of the last five years. \p James Murray: The average processing times for Gift Aid claims over the last five tax years are below:

Tax Year

Average Working Days to Pay

06/04/2024

to

05/04/2025

3.16

06/04/2023

to

05/04/2024

3.24

06/04/2022

to

05/04/2023

2.84

06/04/2021

to

05/04/2022

3.49

06/04/2020

to

05/04/2021

4.08

HMRC does not hold information centrally on what proportion of Gift Aid claims have been rejected in each of the last five years.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she if taking to help ensure that funding from the National Wealth Fund benefits t(a) nations and (b) regions across the UK. \p James Murray: This government has set a strong mandate for the National Wealth Fund to deliver on priorities across all the regions and nations of the UK.

The National Wealth Fund also works collaboratively with the Scottish National Investment Bank, Development Bank of Wales, and the Northern Ireland Executive. It has dedicated directors in each of the UK’s four nations to support the NWF’s view of markets across the country.
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Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on financial services. \p Emma Reynolds: The US is our single largest financial services trading partner and relations are strong. As hosts of the top two global financial hubs, both nations benefit from deep, global financial markets and strong trade ties.

The General Terms for the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal agreed on 8 May confirm that we will negotiate digital trade provisions that include financial services. The General Terms can be found here. However these General Terms are only the first step in our negotiations on a wider economic deal.

The Government will provide further updates as appropriate.
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Sir Mel Stride:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the G7 agreement on global minimum tax on additional revenue to the public purse in each of the next five financial years. \p James Murray: The Chancellor, alongside her G7 counterparts, has reached an understanding on a proposed path forward for the global minimum tax, Pillar 2 of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost increase of (a) delivering Pharmacy First services, (b) dispensing costs and (c) employment of pharmacy staff between 2023-24 and 2025-26. \p Stephen Kinnock: The funding agreed seeks to address inflation and activity increases in the sector. We are now working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. We will announce the outcome of the consultation in the normal manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pharmacies his Department expect to close in the next financial year if the pharmacy contract remains unchanged. \p Stephen Kinnock: Community pharmacies are private businesses, and the Department does not have sight of their individual financial positions. We are now working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have secured for 2024/25 and 2025/26 is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. We will announce the outcome of the consultation in the normal manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26770 on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services, whether the results from the NHS England stocktake will be published. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England’s long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, stocktake aimed to collate information about service commissioning, activity, and delivery, to provide a national overview of the services commissioned by integrated care boards as part of their core activity. The stocktake was completed for an internal NHS England committee and, therefore, there are no plans to publish the findings. However, those findings did confirm the widely recognised challenges of significant variation in care delivery across England, and a lack of comprehensive activity data.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide funding for the additional (a) diagnostics and (b) treatment arising from the detection of early-stage lung cancer through the national lung cancer screening programme. \p Ashley Dalton: Funding for national lung screening is set by NHS England. The Department has set stretching targets for the National Health Service to improve cancer performance next year, and the Spending Review prioritised investment into the health service, with a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department over this year and next. Departmental settlements for future years will be set out in due course, following the conclusion of phase two of the Spending Review in late spring 2025.

We will get the NHS diagnosing cancer earlier, including lung cancer, and treating it faster, so more patients survive. As a first step we have delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week during our first year in Government to ensure earlier diagnoses and faster treatment for those who need it most. We will address diagnostic waiting times, providing the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce cancer waits. The NHS will also maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics.
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Michelle Welsh:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for the covid-19 vaccination from Autumn 2025 to include people with severe lung conditions. \p Ashley Dalton: The independent Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of severe illness, involving hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19. On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme, covering vaccination in 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

The Government is considering the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2025 carefully, and will respond in due course.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will begin to distribute funding generated from the statutory Gambling Levy. \p Ashley Dalton: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is progressing work on the design of the new commissioning programme to prevent gambling related harms, alongside counterparts in Scotland and Wales, and is working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury. Decisions on how the levy will be governed will be confirmed in due course.
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Mr Calvin Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the National Screening Committee on the evidence that will be used to inform the criteria for a prostate cancer screening programme. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory committee which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries of the United Kingdom on all aspects of population and targeted screening, and supports implementation. It uses research evidence, pilot programmes, economic evaluation, expert stakeholders, and consultation to assess the evidence for national screening programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria covering the condition, the test, the treatment options, and the effectiveness, ethics, and acceptability of the screening programme.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been appraised of the UK NSC’s evidence review for prostate cancer screening which is currently underway. This will cover modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. This will include different potential ways of screening the whole population as well as targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher than average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.

Once the modelling and evidence review are complete it will be considered by the UK NSC. Subject to no further revisions being required, the UK NSC plans to hold a public consultation towards the end of 2025. After this, the UK NSC will make a recommendation. Ministers will then be asked to consider whether to accept the recommendation.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for smoking cessation programmes in the 2025-26 financial year. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is providing £70 million of additional funding for local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England in 2025/26. We will invest £10 million of new funding in 2025/26 to support Trading Standards to tackle underage and illicit tobacco and vape sales, and to support the implementation of the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The Government is also investing over £100 million over five years to boost HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force’s enforcement capabilities to tackle illicit tobacco, supporting the Illicit Tobacco Strategy. Decisions on other smoking cessation programmes will be announced in due course.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including a dedicated chapter within the National Cancer Plan on children and young people. \p Ashley Dalton: The structure of the National Cancer Plan document will be decided in due course. However, the plan will address the unique experiences of children and young people with cancer. To support this, on 4 February 2025, we relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure the National Cancer Plan includes prevention measures to help tackle the wider modifiable risk factors of cancer beyond smoking. \p Ashley Dalton: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year.

The Government recognises the importance of primary and secondary prevention within a holistic approach to improving cancer outcomes. With this aim, the plan will set out how we will fight cancer on all fronts, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment, and research, and we will look at a wide range of modifiable risk factors.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of poverty on access to (a) health and (b) dental care. \p Ashley Dalton: Whilst there has been no formal assessment made, it is recognised that people living in the most deprived areas can face challenges accessing health and dental care.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging health services that are accessible and that meet the health needs of their populations, and in doing so must also have regard to the need to reduce inequalities in access to health services.

In guidance on the preparation of integrated care strategies, updated in 2024, the Department has also explicitly outlined the need for integrated care partnerships to consider groups which may have the greatest need for services and the greatest difficulty in accessing them, and take steps to remove barriers and improve provision for these populations.

Free National Health Service dental care is available to people who meet a certain criterion, such as receiving low-income benefits. Support is also available through the NHS Low Income Scheme for those patients who are not eligible for exemption or full remission of dental charges. In line with the Government’s Health Mission, the Department’s goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind.
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Blair McDougall:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release of 28 November 2024 entitled, Secretary of State commits to first ever men’s health strategy, if that strategy will consider male incontinence. \p Ashley Dalton: On 28 November 2024, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced plans for England’s first Men’s Health Strategy, to be delivered this year. The strategy will consider how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men. The strategy will be informed by a call for evidence which will be launched shortly, and the remit of the strategy will be outlined in due course.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the meeting between PANS PANDAS and his Department on 19 November 2024, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for research into that condition. \p Ashley Dalton: We are supportive of the progress made by PANS PANDAS UK and the PANS PANDAS Steering Group to undertake a national surveillance study, develop a clinical guideline, and produce guidance for professionals, children, young people, and families.

Funding for research into rare diseases such as pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections is available through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and researchers in this area are encouraged to come forward with proposals that can further our understanding.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of potential impact of levels of deprivation on the mortality rate among cholangiocarcinoma patients. \p Ashley Dalton: We recognize that there are particular challenges for a number of different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts incidence and mortality rates, including for those with cholangiocarcinoma.

To improve early intervention and reduce mortality rates, NHS England’s Help Us, Help You campaigns seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the care they need. The current Help Us, Help You campaign is focused on addressing symptoms of abdominal and urological cancers, which includes cholangiocarcinoma.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to targeted treatments for patients with rare cancers, such as Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Erdheim Chester Disease. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to working with the pharmaceutical industry to develop a more efficient, more competitive, and more accessible clinical research system in the United Kingdom, ensuring that all patients, including those with rarer cancers like Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Erdheim Chester disease, have access to cutting-edge clinical research and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

We are also committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment, so that people with cancer, including rarer cancers, can get access to the care they need more quickly. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

Finally, the National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer, including rare and less common cancers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Jonathan Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of patent lengths on research into treatments for glioblastoma. \p Ashley Dalton: Intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom are not condition specific. The Government considers the UK’s current patent system to strike the right balance between incentivising research and innovation and supporting access to medicines for the National Health Service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_17

Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include cholangiocarcinoma in the target group of 75% of cancers diagnosed at stage one or two by 2028. \p Ashley Dalton: Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including cholangiocarcinoma.

To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We will continue to prioritise and improve early cancer diagnosis, including for cholangiocarcinoma, by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and better access to treatment.

Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and improving access to treatment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_18

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 31569 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, if he will breakdown the programme of work to reduce excess PPE stock. \p Karin Smyth: The programme to dispose of excess COVID-19 related personal protective equipment (PPE) stock through sales, donations, recycling and energy from waste concluded in January 2025.

The storage costs for COVID-19 related PPE incurred in January 2025 were £300,000. In January 2024 and January 2023, the storage costs were £7,700,000 and £18,600,000 respectively.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_19

Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to grant funding for cholangiocarcinoma research. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department invests £1.6 billion each year in research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. These investments are pivotal for informing the efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes, and include research into cholangiocarcinoma and cancers of the bile duct. An example of a current award is “a single arm pilot study of Brodalumab in the treatment of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis”, with a total award value of £751,000.

The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cholangiocarcinoma research. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_20

Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies on rare cancer prognosis in the national cancer plan. \p Ashley Dalton: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year. The Prime Minister’s Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and earlier diagnosis to accessing treatment and aftercare, including personalised care and care planning. It will apply this to all cancer types, including rare cancers. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_21

Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve the level of participation in clinical trials for (a) leukaemia patients diagnosed with acute subtypes and (b) all leukaemia patients. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to maximising our potential to lead the world in clinical trials and ensuring that clinical trials are more accessible.

The Department funded National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical research on leukaemia. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. These investments are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes, including leukaemia research.

The NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research which promotes participation in health and social care research, including research into leukaemia and the acute subtypes of leukaemia, by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_22

Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to publish a plan for improving outcomes for people living with musculoskeletal conditions. \p Ashley Dalton: Over 17 million people in England live with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition, and improving their health and work outcomes will help deliver the Government's missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.

The Get Britain Working white paper sets out the Government’s plans to reform employment, health, and skills support to tackle rising economic inactivity levels. MSK conditions are one of the leading conditions reported by people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness in the United Kingdom, and in the white paper, the Government announced that we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First Time MSK Community Delivery Programme, which will work directly with integrated care boards to further reduce MSK community waiting times.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_23

Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing cancer stages. \p Ashley Dalton: Earlier diagnosis remains a key priority for the Government for stageable and non-stageable cancer types. For stageable cancers, there is a clear link between early staging and increased survival rates. Earlier diagnosis is also linked to better outcomes for non-stageable cancers. Many of the actions we are implementing to improve the earlier staging of stageable cancers, such as improving awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, and increasing referral routes and the availability of diagnostics, also have a positive impact on non-stageable cancer outcomes.

Furthermore, to support the early diagnosis of non-stageable cancer types, NHS England currently implements non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations thereof, that can indicate several different cancers. From NHS England’s national evaluation, blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with non-stageable cancer types. It will aim to speed up diagnosis and treatment and will ensure that all patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_24

Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of midwife training with respect to (a) pay and (b) conditions and (i) the impact to the profession and (ii) the care that expectant parents receive. \p Karin Smyth: In addition to the student loans system, there is supplementary financial support available from the Department to midwifery students through the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). The LSF provides eligible midwifery students with a non-repayable training grant of £5,000 per academic year, with further financial support depending on personal circumstances. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review to strike a balance between ensuring that students are financially supported during their studies and delivering maximum value for money for the taxpayer. Apprenticeship opportunities are also available for those for whom a full-time university course is not practical or preferred, as well as postgraduate conversions and return to midwifery programmes.

Approved Education Institutions and practice partners are responsible for developing the content and design of academic and practice-based learning programmes in line with the standards of proficiency, conduct, and performance of midwives, as set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The NMC approves these programmes and ensures the quality of practice placements for students. It would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in this process, and we respect the independence and expertise of universities and regulators in designing standards that ensure public safety, including the safety of expectant parents.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_25

Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to strengthen (a) early intervention and (b) prevention strategies to reduce the number of people entering the cancer pathway. \p Ashley Dalton: To improve early intervention, NHS England is running the Help Us, Help You campaign, which was relaunched on 6 January 2025. The Help Us, Help You campaign seeks to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the National Health Service.

Furthermore, the Government recognises the importance of primary and secondary prevention within a holistic approach to improving cancer outcomes and reducing the number of people entering the cancer pathway. With this aim, the new National Cancer Plan will set out how we will fight cancer on all fronts, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment, and research.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_26

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has a policy on unconscious bias training in the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: In June 2023, NHS England published an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan that sets out targeted actions to address prejudice and discrimination in the National Health Service workforce. It is right that the NHS takes proactive steps to addresses prejudice and discrimination where it exists across the NHS workforce.

There is no national NHS-wide policy on unconscious bias training in the NHS. Individual NHS organisations have responsibility for training their own staff and provide relevant training where appropriate.

Some elements of unconscious bias training are available to NHS staff at both a national and local level and includes access to e-learning resources. NHS Employers has published a good practice framework for the delivery of equality and diversity training in the NHS and which includes unconscious bias training. This is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/system/files/2021-10/NHS%20good%20practice%20guidance_Final.pdf