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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to DEP2025-0538/ MHCLG Flights July 5 2024- May 31 2025, deposited on 24 July 2025, for what reason his Department took flights from London to Newcastle. \p Samantha Dixon: These flights were taken as part of a Ministerial Visit. The former Deputy Prime Minister attended a joint visit with the Department of Business and Trade, and the inaugural meeting of the Mayoral Council in Newcastle on 10 October 2024.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to with reference to DEP2025-0538/ MHCLG Flights July 5 2024- May 31 2025, deposited on 24 July 2025, for what reason his Department travelled from London to Islamabad. \p Samantha Dixon: Earlier this year, the then Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement visited Pakistan on official government business to undertake diplomatic and humanitarian engagements, including meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the discontinuation of funding of support services for the preparation of neighbourhood plans does not reduce community input into planning decisions. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 66166 on 21 July 2025.
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Paul Holmes:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has commissioned on (a) land value capture and (b) land valuation taxation since 4 July 2024. \p Matthew Pennycook: In summer 2024, my Department commissioned the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to provide a viability study to support proposals for new ‘Golden Rules’ for Green Belt development. These proposals were set out in the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system, published in July 2024. The revised NPPF and a response to the public consultation was published in December 2024.
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Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to consult neighbourhood groups on proposed noise reforms; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those reforms on local residents. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The government is exploring a range of reforms proposed by the recent Licensing Taskforce to support the hospitality industry and night-time economy. This includes considering whether the ‘agent of change’ principle should be strengthened in the licensing regime to better protect existing licensed premises and residents. We have launched a call for evidence, which will provide an opportunity for the public and a range of stakeholders – including neighbourhood groups – to shape any future changes. We also intend to explore how we can improve the implementation of the ‘agent of change’ principle as it applies in the planning system and will consult on a new set of national policies for decision-making later this year.
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Sir James Cleverly:What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) public bodies on the planned implementation of the definition of Islamophobia into the work of (i) government and (ii) public bodies. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Should government accept the recommendations of the Islamophobia Definition Working Group, the definition used will be non-statutory. It will enable government and other relevant bodies to have a greater understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities. We will consider the advice of the Working Group, including discussing across government, before confirming next steps in due course.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take with local authorities to encourage social cohesion at a neighbourhood level in Lancashire. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The government has recently announced the Pride in Place programme, which will support up to 244 of Great Britain’s most in-need neighbourhoods with up to £20 million each over the next decade. Our long-term investment is designed not only to address deprivation, but also to rebuild social capital and strengthen community ties in these areas, with a portion of funding expected to support cohesion-related projects. In Lancashire, funding is being provided to Accrington, Burnley, Darwen, Rawtenstall, Nelson, Shadsworth & Intack in Blackburn, Fleetwood, Little Layton & Little Carleton in Blackpool, Ribbleton in Preston, Morecambe West End, and Skelmersdale South East.

The Pride in Place programme will target long-term investment to the communities that need it most, but some areas also need more immediate support to tackle local priorities. The Pride in Place Impact Fund will provide £150 million to up to 100 places, with each place receiving £1.5 million over two years to improve the places and spaces valued by local people. In Lancashire, the following local authorities have each been allocated £1.5 million from the Price in Place Impact Fund: Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Preston.

Furthermore, MHCLG is co-ordinating cross-Government efforts to develop a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion - working in partnership with local government, communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the accessibility of graduate employment opportunities in each (a) region and b) subject. \p Andrew Western: The Department for Education publishes employment and earnings outcomes of graduates and postgraduates each year, based on data collected by the Higher Education Statistics Authority, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the Department of Work and Pensions. The publication includes breakdowns by region, with data on graduate movement between regions before, during, and after study, as well as by subject studied, including detailed information on the industries graduates enter. The publication can be found here: LEO Graduate and Postgraduate Outcomes, Tax year 2022-23 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. This data has been available since 26th June 2025.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the 50 PLUS: Choices scheme. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Since the launch of the Midlife MOT, we have reached older people through multiple channels to help them assess their health, finances and skills.

The Private Sector Midlife MOT pilot programmes concluded at the end of June 2024 and the evaluation can be found here: Private Sector Midlife MOT Pilots qualitative research interim findings - GOV.UK. The evaluation report on the JCP Midlife MOT was published in September 2025: Jobcentre Plus Midlife MOT qualitative research - GOV.UK. We have other evaluation work in progress covering a range of 50 plus policies, with a synthesis of evaluation findings which we are currently planning to publish next year.

Our new Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.
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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help improve the availability of (a) free and (b) independent benefits-related advice services in Nottingham. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Department for Work and Pensions signposts customers to the following services in Nottingham, with which it has an active relationship.

St Anne’s Advice, Disability Support and Citizens Advice Centre all recently attended a DWP Health and Wellbeing event, to support customers with health conditions, and regularly attend our Disability Employment Adviser Cafes which provide an informal environment in Nottingham where the DWP works in collaboration with partners to support customers.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hours of (a) initial and (b) refresher training Universal Credit agents receive on supporting claimants with learning disabilities or mental health conditions; and at what intervals refresher training is mandated. \p Andrew Western: Universal Credit agents and Work Coaches receive a range of training to equip them to support customers with health conditions, learning disabilities, and additional or complex needs throughout their role.

Key training includes:
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of universal access to fracture liason services on the number of preventable deaths from hip fractures each year. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of Fracture Liaison Services on preventable deaths from hip fractures.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people with a Parkinson’s diagnosis were diagnosed by a specialist; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that proportion. \p Ashley Dalton: Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults published by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people with suspected Parkinson's disease are referred for an expert clinical diagnosis by a specialist without delay, and that the diagnosis should be reviewed regularly by a specialist.

While a formal diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease should always be undertaken by a specialist, NHS England does not hold information centrally to audit this.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will take steps to make Integrated Care Boards coterminous with strategic authorities. \p Karin Smyth: The English devolution white paper made clear the Government’s long-term ambition to align public service boundaries, including health and strategic authority boundaries. We reaffirmed this commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025. Our aim is that integrated care boards should be coterminous with strategic authorities wherever feasibly possible.

I also refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS915 I made to the House on 9 September 2025, which provided an update on further progress.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the planned (a) budgetary reductions and (b) structural reorganisation in NHS Devon on (i) waiting times for surgery and (ii) emergency care. \p Karin Smyth: No formal assessment has been made on the potential impact of the planned budgetary reductions and structural reorganisation in NHS Devon on waiting times for surgery and emergency care.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board (ICB) running costs and NHS provider corporate cost reductions in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy.

We have recently announced the Spending Review settlement which provides an additional £29 billion of annual day-to-day spending in real terms by 2028/29, compared to 2023/24. Ahead of asking the National Health Service to commence a multi-year planning round, we are now carefully reviewing how the settlement is prioritised, including making provision for redundancy costs.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out that ICBs must focus on their role as strategic commissioners, ensuring the best possible value in securing local services that improve population health and reduce inequalities.

Each ICB is therefore responsible for considering local needs to meet the expectations set out in planning guidance.

As of August 2025, 62.1% of pathways in NHS Devon ICB were completed within 18 weeks. This has improved by 3.4 percentage points since August 2024.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing regulations requiring private healthcare providers to publish standardised pricing for diagnostic services in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has not carried out an assessment of the potential merits of introducing regulations requiring private healthcare providers to publish standardised pricing for diagnostic services.

In 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded an investigation into the private healthcare market and published a report which concluded that the lack of sufficient publicly available performance and fee information on consultants was a feature in the provision of privately funded healthcare services by consultants, giving rise to adverse effect on competition. The report is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/533af065e5274a5660000023/Private_healthcare_main_report.pdf

The Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014 was made in response, and the CMA continues to monitor compliance to improve competition. The order is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542c1543e5274a1314000c56/Non-Divestment_Order_amended.pdf

The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) was set up following the report to publish information about the safety, quality and costs of private healthcare.

On 10 October 2025, the CMA recognised the PHIN meeting the silver milestone on its journey toward being fully compliant with the CMA’s Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014. This recognised the PHIN engaging with the sector to facilitate compliance with the order so that 96% of consultants publish their consultation fees for self-pay patients, exceeding PHIN’s 90% target. Currently, 96% of all private procedures are carried out by consultants whose fees are on the PHIN website. The CMA’s letter recognising this milestone is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68e789cd187483de54d76690/_CMA_letter_to_PHIN_welcoming_achievement_of_silver_compliance_milestone.pdf

Where private healthcare providers are delivering services for NHS patients, this is delivered at NHS tariff prices.
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Tim Farron:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to radiotherapy treatment in the North West of England. \p Karin Smyth: Decisions about funding for radiotherapy treatment are taken at a local National Health Service level, rather than by the Department, and there are no plans to change this.

All cancer patients have access to radiotherapy treatment. Decisions about cancer treatment are typically made by clinicians and multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) current and (b) projected workforce needs for specialist Parkinson’s (i) consultants and (ii) nurses in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has made no specific assessment of the adequacy of the current or projected workforce needs for specialist Parkinson’s consultants or nurses in Surrey Heath constituency.

Integrated care boards will plan, commission, and oversee the provision of local National Health Service services to meet their population’s needs.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) increase capacity and (b) reduce inequalities in accessing respiratory diagnosis. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to increasing the capacity of respiratory services and is improving access to these services through new community diagnostic centres (CDCs).

All standard and large CDCs are required to offer diagnostic respiratory tests, such as spirometry and full lung function tests, as part of their core testing offer.

The 2025/26 capital guidance confirmed that £1.65 billion of capital funding is being allocated to support National Health Service performance across secondary and emergency care across 2025/26 more broadly. This includes funding to enable the completion of 2024/25 CDC schemes, as well as to expand existing and build new CDCs.
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Sir Desmond Swayne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish (a) the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation and (b) the selection criteria used by the Investigation team to assess those trusts. \p Karin Smyth: The 14 National Health Service trusts to be looked at in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation were announced on 15 September 2025. There are no plans to publish the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s Maternity Patient Survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s Perinatal Mortality Rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback.

Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations or reviews, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS hospital beds are in private rooms. \p Karin Smyth: The information requested is not available.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of funding rape and sexual abuse support services. \p Karin Smyth: The Government recognises the vital importance of rape and sexual abuse support services.

NHS England funds sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) which provide crisis care, medical and forensic examinations and onward referral to other support services. NHS England spent £57.6m on SARCs in 2024/25. NHS England regions also commission voluntary sector organisations to support victims and survivors, totalling £4.5m in 2024/25.
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Leigh Ingham:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation of cosmetic procedures; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost of treating complications from such procedures. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to addressing longstanding concerns around the safety of the cosmetics sector. On 7 August we announced our plans to introduce legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.

In addition, the Government has also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under the proposed scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed. To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.

Further details of the Government’s commitments are available in the Government’s response to the 2023 consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/licensing-of-non-surgical-cosmetic-procedures

The Department does not have data on the annual costs to the National Health Service of treating complications from cosmetic procedures. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.
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Catherine Fookes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure patients living near the England-Wales border receive timely care after a cross-border referral. \p Karin Smyth: It is unacceptable that patients across the United Kingdom continue to wait lengthy periods for treatment and it is imperative that the elective waiting list is a top priority.

We have committed to closer working with the Welsh Government as a step towards sharing more insights and practice so that we can cut waiting lists across the UK and build a National Health Service that is fit for the future.

There are special cross-border arrangements for patients who live on the English-Welsh border to make sure they receive healthcare without confusion or delay, and that patient data can be accessed by relevant professionals. We will continue to ensure these arrangements support high-quality care for patients in both England and Wales.

To support these arrangements, NHS England and the Welsh Government have also published two sets of data on cross-border care as a starting point for greater transparency and closer working relations across the Devolved Governments.

Together we aim to deliver faster, improved and more equitable health outcomes for all patients across the UK, helping patients to get the care they need, in a timely manner.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question HL4889 on Knee Replacements: Waiting Lists, what specific steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) knee replacements and (b) other orthopaedic operations. \p Karin Smyth: As of August 2025, the waiting list for Trauma and Orthopaedics, which includes patients waiting for knee replacements and other orthopaedic operations, stood at 866,426. Performance against the 18-week referral to treatment standard was 58.8%.

The Department is taking a range of specific steps to reduce waiting times for these procedures. To continue to expand and enhance surgical capacity, we have allocated £1.65 billion in capital funding in 2025-26 to support NHS performance across secondary and emergency care. As of September 2025, 123 surgical hubs are operational across England and we are committed to ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so more operations can be carried out. These dedicated and protected surgical hubs focus on high volume low complexity surgeries, with the majority of hubs undertaking trauma and orthopaedics procedures.

We are improving efficiency within existing capacity. Theatre utilisation within elective surgical hubs has shown a steady improvement from around 79% in August 2024 to an average of around 81% in August 2025, enabling a greater number of procedures to be undertaken across all specialties.

As part of the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, we are also optimising perioperative care to ensure patients are ready for surgery sooner. This includes encouraging patients waiting for surgery to engage in prevention health measures such as smoking cessation and weight management, ensuring more patients are assessed as fit to proceed to surgery, and therefore leave the waiting list faster.

This Government is committed to putting patients first and tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. These measures have already contributed to increased elective activity. We exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra 2 million operations, scans, and appointments in our first year, having delivered 5.2 million more appointments. This marked 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 NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.
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Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available to help Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust to recruit and retain specialist cancer (a) nurses and (b) other professionals. \p Karin Smyth: Recruitment to National Health Service roles is managed locally by NHS trusts and partner employers. However, NHS England is taking a range of actions to support the recruitment and retention of staff.

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

Over 1,000 Cancer Nurse Specialist (CNS) grants were made available to new and aspiring CNSs. This will benefit trusts across the country, including Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust. Additionally, NHS England funds the Aspirant Cancer Career Education and Development Framework, which sets out an end-to-end career pathway for nurses and other staff working in cancer to build their competencies to deliver the best possible care.

We will work with the university sector and colleagues across Government to ensure that we train the doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals that we need and maximise the contribution that our great research institutions make to the country.  We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.

Furthermore, we will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the NHS in the future. Over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. This will benefit patients across the country, including Buckinghamshire.
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) reduce paediatric surgical waiting times and (b) ensure timely access to treatment for children requiring surgery. \p Karin Smyth: Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out how the National Health Service will reform elective care services and meet the 18-week referral to treatment standard for all patients, including children and young people, by March 2029.  As a First Step to achieving this, we have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra 2 million operations, scans and appointments in our first year of government, delivering 5.2 million more appointments.

We have made it easier to track elective waiting times for children and young people through the publication of new demographic data as part of monthly inequalities statistical releases. This was a commitment in the Elective Reform Plan and is a big step forward in improving the transparency of waiting times and will provide accountability for children’s elective waiting lists.

The Plan also sets out several commitments specifically in relation to children and young people, including that integrated care boards and providers should ensure interventions are in place to reduce disparities for groups who face additional waiting list challenges; and primary and secondary care clinicians are to improve e-RS functionality (a national digital platform for referring patients into elective care), by including data to enable better prioritisation of children and young people.

Finally, the clinically-led Getting It Right First Time children and young people programme will continue to work with providers to ensure they are implementing best practice to improve children’s outcomes and waiting times across all medical and surgical specialities.
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) support available to ambulance staff who attend traumatic callouts and (b) suicide prevention training requirements for ambulance service managers in North East Hampshire constituency. \p Karin Smyth: The mental health of all National Health Service staff is a high priority, including ambulance staff as responders to emergency incidents. Ambulance trusts and the Association of Ambulance Trust Chief Executives have worked closely with NHS England to ensure there is a good range of health and wellbeing support for staff. This includes an ambulance sector specific suicide prevention pathway to provide immediate support 24/7 for staff experiencing suicidal ideation.

Significant work is also underway to strengthen the quality and consistency of suicide training across the health system. NHS England published Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. This is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 17 of his Department's publication entitled Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025, what progress has been made with reviewing local patient transport services. \p Karin Smyth: As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that reforming elective care must be done equitably and inclusively for all adults, children, and young people.

We know there is also geographical variation in waiting times. It is important patients do not miss or cancel hospital appointments due to a lack of affordable and/or accessible transport options in their area. This is why the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, committed to reviewing, developing and increasing the uptake of existing national health inequalities improvement initiatives.

NHS England are funding and co-ordinating a range of Patient Transport projects to explore more effective approaches to supporting patients with their National Health Service travel needs.

A number of trusts (including Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) are working on promoting, and streamlining the administration of the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) locally to better support eligible patients to access the transport support they need. A number of other trusts are offering targeted patient transport interventions, such as pre-paid bus tickets, to specific groups of patients who may need additional support to access their NHS care.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

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Sir Ashley Fox:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had on the future role of Nursing Associates within the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: The Secretary of State has not had any discussions on the future role of Nursing Associates specifically. The Government is committed to publishing a 10-Year Workforce Plan which will create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. We are working through how the Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_317

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether modelling of the number of clinicians needed to meet patient needs will help inform the proposed 10-year Workforce Plan. \p Karin Smyth: We will publish a 10-Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. 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. It will draw on a range of modelling and evidence to set out the best estimate of the workforce that is needed to deliver the 10-Year Health Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_318

Mohammad Yasin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to establish an independent inquiry into the historic prescribing of Diethylstilbestrol. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The issue of diethylstilbesterol (DES) and vaginal carcinoma in the daughters of women who took DES during pregnancy was reviewed by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) in the early 1970s. In 1973, the CSM wrote to all doctors to inform them of the results of a study into the topic from the United States, and the absence of identified cases in the United Kingdom.

The work of the committee predates the existence of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), when medicines vigilance was only in its infancy and there were no electronic records and no systematic monitoring of prescriptions.

There has been a step change in reporting and record keeping since this time, and today's regulatory frameworks are significantly different, with much stricter post-authorisation monitoring allowing for earlier identification and action on emerging safety issues. The MHRA regulates medicines supplied in the UK. Its activity spans the whole of a medicine’s lifecycle. The MHRA keeps the safety of all medicines under continual review.

Government advice currently is that routine cervical screening is appropriate for those who believe they were exposed to DES in utero. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-programme-and-colposcopy-management/5-screening-and-management-of-immunosuppressed-individuals

Participation in the National Breast Screening Programme is also recommended. Pregnant women who know that they were exposed in utero to DES should inform their obstetrician and be aware of the increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and preterm labour.

The Department does not have any plans to establish a public inquiry into the historic prescribing of DES.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_319

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set out how the role of multi-neighbourhood providers will differ from that of ICBs, in the context of the 10 Year Health Plan. \p Karin Smyth: Integrated care boards (ICBs) will act primarily as strategic commissioners of services to their local populations and will not be providing services directly to the public. They will be working to ensure the best possible care is delivered through commissioned providers with a focus on long-term strategic planning.

The multi-neighbourhood providers will be a voluntary provider arrangement for the delivery of coordinated services across a place or multiple neighbourhoods (populations of around 250,000), acting as a link between local general practice services and ICBs and trusts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_320

Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the provision of emergency co-responders in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas. \p Karin Smyth: The Government recognises the important contribution of co-responders in improving response times, particularly in hard-to-reach rural and coastal communities.

The Department supports the provision of emergency co-responders in rural and coastal areas through the Community First Responders (CFR) programme, where volunteers are trained by the ambulance service to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work.

Ambulance trusts are responsible, on an individual basis, for taking decisions on the capacity and support needed to deliver their services in their local areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_321

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the reasons for the difficulties in the recruitment of health staff in rural areas, in the context of his plans for a Neighbourhood Health Service. \p Karin Smyth: We have found that people tend to settle and practice in areas where they train, as identified on page 209 of the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2021 – Health in Coastal Communities, which is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60f98750e90e0703bbd94a41/cmo-annual_report-2021-health-in-coastal-communities-accessible.pdf

A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan is our workforce and how we ensure that we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the National Health Service needs to care for patients across our communities, including rural and coastal areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_322

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on (a) providing maternity care and (b) settling legal cases of medical negligence related to maternity care in each of the last four years. \p Karin Smyth: In regard to maternity care spend, according to the Patient-Level Costing dataset from the National Cost Collection for the National Health Service, the annual spend for providing maternity care was as follows:

Data is not yet available for the 2024/25 financial year.

NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence and other claims against the NHS in England. The table attached shows the spend on maternity clinical claims either closed or settled with a periodical payment order (PPO) between the 2021/22 and 2024/25 financial years, broken down by closure, or settlement PPO, year, for claims with obstetrics or neonatology as the primary specialty.

The data includes the damages and legal costs paid up until 31 March 2025. It does not include future periodical payments on settled claims that are due after the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

Please note that this is different to the value of claims “notified” in a year for obstetrics and neonatology. Data on “notified claims value” only includes an early estimate of the eventual settlement value if all the claims were to settle with damages.

PQ76621 - Table (pdf, 139.0KB)

PQ76621 - Table (pdf, 139.0KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_323

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the new NHS workforce plan will provide the number of specialists required for Parkinson’s care. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to publishing a 10-Year Workforce Plan which will create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including specialists across the full scope of National Health Service care.

We have set up a UK-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, biannual meetings across the Department, NHS England, devolved governments, and health services and Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions. The Forum has identified areas for initial focus, including workforce which featured as a key item on the agenda at the second meeting of the forum in September.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_324

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people impacted in utero by their mother's use of Debendox during pregnancy. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Debendox was originally available as a triple combination of doxylamine succinate, an antihistamine, pyridoxine hydrochloride, a form of vitamin B6, and dicyclomine hydrochloride, an antispasmodic. The product was later reformulated to remove dicyclomine hydrochloride following a review which concluded that dicyclomine did not contribute to the effectiveness of the other two ingredients. In the early 1980s, the medicine was available as a dual combination product, as doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride.

Since July 2018, the dual combination of doxylamine succinate 10 milligram and pyridoxine hydrochloride 10 milligram has been authorised as Xonvea, a safe and effective treatment for nausea and vomiting due to pregnancy in women who do not respond to conservative management, like changes in diet or other non-medicine treatments. As described in the product information for Xonvea, a large amount of data on pregnant women, including two meta-analyses with over 168,000 patients and 18,000 exposures to the doxylamine/pyridoxine combination during first trimester, indicates no malformative nor feto/neonatal toxicity due to doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride.

As with all medicines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will keep this issue under review and will carefully evaluate any new evidence which becomes available linking use of Debendox or Xonvea with adverse outcomes in pregnancy.

The Department has not made any recent assessments of the number of people exposed to Debendox and is not considering support or compensation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-17 conversation_325

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to expand the Further Faster 20 programme. \p Karin Smyth: The Further Faster 20 (FF20) initiative was announced in September 2024, run by the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) team in NHS England to deploy expert advice to National Health Service trusts in areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity to get patients treated faster.

Data from October 2024 to August 2025 shows waiting lists across these areas have been reduced by over 66,000.

Whilst there are currently no formal plans to expand the FF20 programme, key learnings have been taken from the FF20 work to date which are available to all trusts. This includes vital work on clinic template standardisation. An operational guide developed by GIRFT from FF20 trust engagement demonstrates to trusts across the country how they can unlock additional outpatient capacity and activity across relevant specialities. Work is ongoing to support trusts to adopt approaches outlined in this guidance.

GIRFT is a national programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients across more than 40 surgical and medical specialties, including diagnostics, day case surgery, outpatient services and clinical coding. GIRFT has already expanded its on-the-ground support to NHS trusts through the GIRFT Further Faster Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) programme to support 20 acute providers in England strengthen UEC pathways ahead of the winter period.