Every parliamentary written question tabled by Alex Easton this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 27 · Department of Health and Social Care
What assessment he has made with the devolved Administrations of the resilience of the UK’s insulin supply chain; and whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of supporting increased domestic insulin manufacturing capacity in order to improve long-term supply security.
Awaiting answer.
If he will hold discussions with the devolved administrations to assess the potential merits of introducing a UK-wide screening programme for prostate cancer.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service in the four countries of the United Kingdom about all aspects of screening. The implementation of any UK NSC screening recommendation is a devolved matter.Officials from the devolved governments are observers at all UK NSC meetings, and the Department’s screening policy officials hold monthly catch-up meetings with their counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sharing planning and development work across the four countries enables working in parallel where there is a shared desire to do so.
Whether he has had recent discussions with UK Research and Innovation on increasing funding for research into invasive lobular breast cancer.
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between the Department for Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC). The Department for Health and Social Care and UKRI officials meet regularly to discuss a range of research investments to drive the maximum collective research impact on policy, practice, and individual lives.The MRC and the NIHR are committed to supporting the development of fundable research proposals in lobular breast cancer and continues to encourage researchers to submit high quality funding applications to funding programmes in this area.To further stimulate research in this area, in November 2025, the NIHR issued a highlight notice encouraging applications for new research into lobular breast cancer, to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term surveillance of patients.The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer. It remains committed to the role of research to drive a stronger collective understanding of the biology behind lobular breast cancer and to improve outcomes for women.
What discussions he has had with stakeholders on his Department's modelling of workforce numbers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
The Government will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026. This plan will set out action to create a National Health Service workforce which is able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.That engagement began well before the call for evidence was closed. In early November, ministers hosted an event with nearly one hundred representatives of partner organisations to hear views from across the health system.Engagement is now continuing while we analyse the submissions to our call for evidence, including a roundtable with medical royal colleges on 14 January, which I chaired.We have committed to publishing regular workforce planning. This will start with the 10-Year Workforce Plan, which will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be subject to independent scrutiny by our appointed external scrutiny panel.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the early flu season on (a) corridor care, (b) hospital capacity and (c) patient outcomes.
We continue to monitor the impact of flu and the performance of hospitals over the winter months.The Department is continuing to take key steps to ensure the health service is prepared for the colder months. This includes taking actions to try and reduce demand pressure on accident and emergency, increasing vaccination rates, and offering health checks to the most vulnerable, as well as stress-testing integrated care boards and trust winter plans to ensure that they are able to meet demand and ensure patient flow.Flu is a recurring pressure that the National Health Service faces every winter. There is particular risk of severe illness for older people, the very young, pregnant people, and those with certain underlying health conditions. The flu vaccine remains the best form of defense against influenza, particularly for the most vulnerable, and continues to be highly effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.
What steps his Department is taking to help improve access to (a) specialist healthcare, (b) information at diagnosis and (c) financial support for people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population, including for Parkinson’s. In doing so, the Government expects ICBs to take account of the relevant guidelines and best practice in designing their local services. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on Parkinson’s disease, code NG71, states that people with Parkinson’s should have an accessible point of contact with specialist services, which can be provided by a Parkinson’s nurse specialist, and that all individuals should be offered access to the services provided by these specialist nurses to support ongoing care and adviceNHS England has established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including for those with Parkinson’s. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions. A toolkit is being developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which will include components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services.NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and RightCare Toolkit for Progressive Neurological Conditions aim to improve care for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s Connect allows healthcare professionals to refer patients at the point of diagnosis directly to support that Parkinson’s UK offers, such as local support groups, a confidential helpline, and online learning resources.The Diagnosis Connect service will directly refer patients to specialist charities at the point of diagnosis for personalised advice, information, guidance, and support.The Department for Work and Pensions offers Personal Independence Payments (PIP) to individuals with health conditions or disabilities. However, there is currently no automatic entitlement to PIP in relation to a specific health condition, except in cases of people nearing the end of life.
What steps he is taking to help prevent patients being treated in (a) corridors, (b) converted office spaces, (c) gyms and (d) other inappropriate spaces in winter 2025-26.
We are doing everything we can as fast as we can to eliminate corridor care. The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so that patients can be treated with dignity.Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out the steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This plan includes a target to reduce the number of patients waiting over 12 hours for admission or discharge from an emergency department compared to 2024/25, with the aim of this occurring less than 10% of the time, and a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care.We will also publish new clinical operational standards for the first 72 hours of care which will support better hospital flow, which aims to reduce overcrowding and long waits.
Whether his Department plans to adopt the provisions set out in Annex XVI of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on products without an intended medical purpose.
The Government is working to deliver a future regulatory framework for medical devices that prioritises patient and public safety, gives patients access to the medical devices they need, and ensures the United Kingdom remains an attractive market for innovators.In 2021, the Government consulted on the future regulation of medical devices, including on proposals to bring certain products without an intended medical purpose but with similar risk profiles to medical devices into the scope of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002. We intend to conduct further consultation and engagement with trusted stakeholders on certain aspects of our proposed policy approach to the future enhancement of our regulations, including on our approach to products without an intended medical purpose. Moreover, the Government is committed to taking action to address longstanding concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is also exploring options for further regulation of cosmetic procedures, including the practitioners who perform them. We will set out the details of our approach in our response to the consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which we will publish as soon as possible.
What discussions he has had with NICE on its decision not to recommend the use of donanemab and lecanemab for Alzheimer's patients by the NHS.
Department officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including the progress of specific appraisals. NICE develops its guidance independently in line with its established methods and processes, and the Department is not able to direct NICE as to the substance of its recommendations. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken by an independent committee on the basis of the available evidence. NICE has not yet published final guidance on either lecanemab or donanemab. NICE published final draft guidance on 19 June 2025, and stakeholders now have an opportunity to lodge an appeal. NICE currently expects to publish final guidance in July this year.
What steps his Department is taking to help support people living with arthritis to stay physically active.
Guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the diagnosis and management of osteoarthritis recommends therapeutic exercise for all people with osteoarthritis that is tailored to their needs and that is part of a wider structured treatment package. It advises that, for people with osteoarthritis, long-term adherence to an exercise plan can help to reduce pain and increase functioning and quality of life. Further information on this guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226More widely, the Government and the National Health Service recognise the important role of physical activity in the prevention and management of long-term health conditions, including arthritis. The NHS Better Health Campaign promotes ways for adults, families, and children to move more, and signposts people, including those living with long term conditions who are ready to build movement into their routine, to digital support like the NHS Active 10 walking app.Local authorities and the NHS also promote and provide services for people living with long- term conditions, such as exercise on referral and social prescribing, including access to physical activity interventions, fall prevention, and walking groups.The Department, with Sport England, has delivered support and training to equip healthcare professionals to enable patients to move more to improve their physical and mental health. Sport England continues to support work in this area through the Physical Activity Clinical Champions programme, which is currently being piloted in local areas.NHS England is working closely with partners nationally and locally to explore how the NHS might galvanise support to make physical activity a core part of NHS care in order to benefit patients, NHS staff, and the wider public.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure the 10 Year Health Plan will benefit people with (a) arthritis and (b) other long-term conditions.
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving arthritis care and management of long-term conditions in all parts of the country.More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure people living with (a) arthritis and (b) musculoskeletal conditions have access to the (i) treatment and (ii) support they need.
Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making. As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The Joint Work and Health team and GIRFT are continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and in the future. The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. The Government has now exceeded its pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered over three million more appointments as a 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. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, with further information on both available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226
What steps his Department is taking to help improve care for people living with arthritis.
Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making. As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The Joint Work and Health team and GIRFT are continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and in the future. The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. The Government has now exceeded its pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered over three million more appointments as a 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. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, with further information on both available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226
What steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for treatment for people with arthritis.
Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making. As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The Joint Work and Health team and GIRFT are continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and in the future. The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. The Government has now exceeded its pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered over three million more appointments as a 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. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, with further information on both available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226
What steps the Government is taking to review the regulations surrounding the sale of potent medications such as (a) finasteride, (b) dutasteride, and (c) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors via telehealth companies, in the context of the correlation between these medications and long-term health conditions.
There are no current plans to review the legal avenues of online prescribing and the dispensing of prescription-only medications.Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by the doctor or healthcare professional responsible for that part of the patient’s care, and prescribers are accountable for their prescribing decisions, irrespective of the forum in which these decisions are made.Clinicians are expected to work with patients to make decisions about their care and treatment as part of shared decision making, including discussing risks, benefits, and possible consequences of different options, in line with professional guidelines laid down by the General Medical Council, which are available at the following link:https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-practice-in-prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices
What steps his Department is taking to (a) improve support, (b) ensure equitable access to specialist services and (c) promote workplace adjustments for people living with migraine; and what plans he has to work with local health boards to (i) review the level of need for migraine-specific services and (ii) ensure appropriate provision.
As health is a devolved matter, no plans have been made to work with local health boards to review the level of need for migraine-specific services and ensure appropriate provision. In England, NHS England is responsible for allocating funding to integrated care boards (ICBs), which are, in turn, responsible for commissioning specialist migraine services that meet the needs of their populations, subject to local prioritisation and funding.The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on the diagnosis and management of headaches in over 12-year-olds, which was updated in December 2021. The NICE guideline provides recommendations on principles of care for people with migraines, which may include a multidisciplinary approach to care, based on clinical need, and involving access to a range of health professionals, including specialist neurology nurses, neurologists, and pain management specialists. Whilst NICE guidelines are not mandatory, the Government expects the healthcare system to take them fully into account when designing services.Occupational health as advisory support has a broad remit. It plays an important role in supporting employers to maintain and promote employee health and wellbeing through assessments of fitness for work, advice about reasonable adjustments, work ability or return to work plans, and signposting to treatment for specific conditions such as migraines.
What steps he is taking to improve mental health support for young people in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the United Kingdom; and whether he is allocating additional resources to ensure (i) timely and (ii) accessible mental health services for young people.
As health is a devolved matter, it is for the devolved Governments to decide how best to improve mental health support for children and young people in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.Plans for investment in children and young people’s mental health services will be known once the planning round for 2025/26 has concluded following the publication of system allocations and planning guidance for the next financial year. Devolved Governments, including Northern Ireland, will benefit from this additional funding through the Barnett formula.The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the 21st century. The Bill will amend the Act, which applies to England and Wales, and give children and young people detained under the Act greater choice, autonomy, rights, and support.
What steps his Department is taking to (a) increasing public awareness of the symptoms of, (b) provide timely access to (i) diagnostic tests and (ii) treatments for and (c) otherwise take steps to improve early diagnosis rates for ovarian cancer.
NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, including symptoms of ovarian cancer, as well as encouraging body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an early point. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer.It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including ovarian cancer, as quickly as possible, to treat it faster, and to improve outcomes. This is supported by NHS England’s key ambition on cancer to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.To ensure women have access to the best treatment for ovarian cancer, NHS England commissioned an audit on ovarian cancer. The aim of the audit is to provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the NHS and the need to improve cancer waiting-time performance and cancer survival. In particular, he has highlighted the need to improve the number of patients starting their treatment within 62 days of referral and to increase the number of patients diagnosed at an earlier stage.The Government will set out any further priorities on cancer, including on early diagnosis, in a national cancer plan. 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, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
With reference to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of sodium valproate on families affected by fetal valproate syndrome in Northern Ireland; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure a UK-wide redress scheme for those affected by that syndrome.
The impact of sodium valproate on families affected by fetal valproate syndrome in Northern Ireland is a transferred matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive, therefore an assessment has not been made by the Department of Health and Social Care.The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity. Although the Hughes Report and its recommendations only cover patients harmed in England, the Government recognises that any response will likely have implications for the whole of the United Kingdom, and is engaging with the devolved administrations on the Hughes Report.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with ADHD receive the level of support set out in the guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence entitled Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management, published on 14 March 2018.
The Department is currently considering next steps to improve access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments and support in England. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments and support, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision in England and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD and to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems in England, which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services, to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.