Written questions by Mayer.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the process for compensating general practitioners for the use of health facilities owned by local authorities.

General practices operate as independent businesses, providing National Health Services, and practices are eligible for reimbursement of certain costs. Terms depend on the ownership or occupation arrangements for the property, as set out in the Premises Costs Directions (PCDs) 2024.The PCDs are directions to NHS England from my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in relation to reimbursements of certain costs incurred by General Medical Services contractors, relating to their practice premises, principally notional rent or rent reimbursement, and some day-to-day running costs. This applies to properties owned by local authorities.

What steps he is taking to support NHS dentists to reduce waiting lists by Local Dental Committee area in the East of England.

Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend and there are no centrally held national waiting lists for NHS primary dental care. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements.NHS dentists are required to keep their the NHS.UK website profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS 111.The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April 2024 to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election. We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising treatment for those with urgent or more complex care needs. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

What steps he is taking to expand the role of optometrists in delivering community-based eye care, including shared care schemes.

Integrated care boards can already commission community-based eye care services. Improvements in IT connectivity and the development of single points of access between primary care optometry and secondary care will also support more care being delivered in the community, including under shared care arrangements.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of families who will benefit from the financial support package to cover travel costs to and from cancer appointments in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) England.

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families across the United Kingdom.Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committing up to £10 million a year to a new fund open to all children and young people in England with cancer and their families regardless of income, to support them with the cost of travelling to and from treatment. This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.The Department has not made a formal estimate of the number of families who will benefit from the financial support package to cover travel costs to and from treatment in Bedfordshire specifically. However, the Department’s work to-date estimates that approximately 3,100 young cancer patients will benefit across England.

Whether he plans to revise his Department’s autism strategy when the current one expires in July 2026, in the context of the provisions of section 1 of the Autism Act 2009.

On 23 January 2026, we published our response to the House of Lords Autism Act 2009 Inquiry Committee’s report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy. We welcomed the committee’s report, and are carefully considering its recommendations, as well as our approach to developing a new national autism strategy, and we will set out a position, including our plans to engage with stakeholders, in due course.We recognise that a large amount of evidence was gathered by the committee and we will consider this evidence, along with evidence from various other reviews, papers, and reports. We recognise that meaningful engagement will take time, so a balance will need to be struck as to what level of further engagement is required. The current strategy will remain in effect until a revised strategy is published.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure an adequate (a) supply and (b) distribution of the flu vaccine in (i) Bedfordshire and (ii) East of England, in light of the emergence of the H3N2 “subclade K” virus.

The supply and distribution of flu vaccines for the majority of NHS England’s flu programme is managed by individual providers. NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) work with the pharmaceutical sector to support adequate supply, understand provider ordering, and signpost providers to the continued availability of stock towards the end of the season. There is currently good availability of flu vaccines in Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes. Local practices and pharmacies have not reported any significant disruption to supply or distribution. NHS England regional teams monitor availability of appointments and stock levels, and are working with community pharmacies, general practices, and other providers to identify and escalate any providers that need further support with supply, which the NHS England Regional Vaccination Operations Cell will assist with. For the children’s flu programme, the UKHSA centrally procures and manages the supply of all vaccines to ensure that eligible children aged under 18 years old who present for vaccination can be offered an appropriate vaccine. Supply remains available throughout the entire flu season. Flu vaccines for children are made available to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform ImmForm. General practices are able to place weekly orders and receive weekly deliveries of children’s flu vaccines from the UKHSA. School immunisation teams are able to place orders and receive deliveries up to twice per week.

What proportion of (a) women and (b) men eligible for NHS health checks have had those checks in the last year, broken down by parliamentary constituency in the East of England.

The Department does not hold data on NHS Health Checks broken down by sex or by parliamentary constituencies. Local authorities, who are responsible for commissioning the NHS Health Check, may hold this information locally.The NHS Health Check should be offered once every five years to eligible people, which means if everyone expected was offered a check and completed one, we would expect 20% of the total eligible population to receive a check each year.The following table shows the proportion of the total five-year eligible population who had an NHS Health Check in each local authority in the East of England in 2024-2025:AreaPercentage of the total five-year eligible population who received an NHS Health Check in the year 2024/25England9.0East of England9.4Cambridgeshire13.2Luton11.9Essex11.4Norfolk11.0Southend-on-Sea10.5Thurrock8.8Peterborough7.8Hertfordshire7.2Suffolk6.0Central Bedfordshire5.4Bedford5.3 To improve access to the programme we are piloting an online NHS Health Check so that people can undertake a check at a time and place convenient to them.

What steps he is taking to improve childhood vaccination coverage rates in (a) Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) the UK.

Together with the National Health Service and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), we are taking action to improve uptake of childhood immunisation rates in Bedfordshire, the East of England and across England.We have set out actions to improve uptake across England in our 10-Year Health Plan as well as our strategy for Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life. Putting these plans into action, we have recently launched a campaign to promote awareness and confidence in vaccination. This will run throughout the year. We are also exploring new ways of delivering vaccinations including health visits and community pharmacy, with pilots for administering vaccinations as part of health visits starting from January 2026. We are also working with families and schools to improve the consent process to help children get vaccines at school and, during 2026-27, we will give parents access to their child’s vaccination health record via the My Vaccines hub on the NHS App.Regions and local areas are taking tailored and targeted action to improve immunisation rates and ensure that vaccination services best meet the diverse needs of their local populations.In the East of England, further measures include a trailblazing community and school age immunisation service in which the school vaccination provider also delivers catch-up in community clinics for all childhood vaccines; a dedicated call / recall telephone call centre focussed on measles, mumps and rubella vaccines; and regular training sessions for primary care nurses as well as a local enquiries inbox.In Bedford and Central Bedfordshire, more local activity includes a new community vaccinations hub at Bury Park, Luton; a new initiative at Bedfordshire Hospitals Foundation Trusts to invite children attending hospital appointments for vaccination if needed; work with specialist health inclusion health visitor teams to improve uptake in the Gypsy Roma Traveller community; home visits for some families who require vaccines delivered at home; work with SEND schools where pupils may have missed childhood vaccinations; and monthly monitoring of individual GP practice uptake rate with targeted support to practices with lower uptake.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of asking the National Screening Committee’s to review the evidence on risk-stratified screening.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) already consider risk stratification in screening programmes.Last year the National Health Service moved from annual diabetic retinopathy testing for all people over 12 years of age with diabetes, to every two years for lower risk individuals. This followed a UK NSC recommendation.This year, the NHS adopted the UK NSC’s recommendation to move from age-based screening intervals in the cervical screening programme to risk-based intervals. Women with a positive HPV test (high-risk) are screened annually while the general population of women ages 25 – 64 will be screened every five years. The UK NSC are also working with Australian researchers to determine whether HPV vaccination status should be a risk stratification screening consideration.The UK NSC is considering risk stratification in breast screening. Work is underway with researchers to look at whether women with denser breasts should have a different screening approach, and consideration is being given to whether certain genetic mutations may require further stratification in the breast screening programme.

What estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of extreme weather related to climate change since 1 January 2020.

The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Health Effects of Climate Change report estimated that heat-related mortality from climate change and related socio-economic change in England could cost approximately £6.8 billion per year in the 2020s, rising to £14.7 billion per year in the 2050s.The Department is supporting the improvement of National Health Service sites in order to reduce these impacts by investing £30 billion over the next five years in maintenance and repair, alongside £5 billion which has been allocated specifically to address the most critical building issues.For estimating future costs of extreme weather, decisions on key Government spending are subject to clear requirements through the Green Book. This includes supplementary guidance which covers the impacts of climate change, and which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-book-supplementary-guidance-environment This ensures that policies, programmes, and projects are resilient to the effects and future costs of climate change, and that such effects are being taken fully into account when appraising policy options.

Whether he has made an assessment of the readiness of integrated care boards to assume responsibility for commissioning vaccination and immunisation services.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester East on 29 September 2025 to Question 76374.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing NHS trusts to reduce mileage reimbursement to incentivise use of pool vehicles.

Whilst no specific assessment has been made, the NHS Staff Council, which has responsibility for maintaining the Agenda for Change system of pay and terms and conditions, is currently negotiating a new mechanism that will assess the costs of motoring to determine mileage reimbursement rates. Further updates from the NHS Staff Council’s work will be made in due course.

What recent discussions his Department has had with Integrated Care Boards on (a) increasing vaccination rates for and (b) prevention of measles.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declared a national standard incident response for measles on 10 July 2025 to oversee the risk assessment and public health response to the increase of measles cases in England and coordinate the multi-agency input to the response nationally with the aim of limiting further spread. The Department, UKHSA and the National Health Service are already working with local partners to undertake community and stakeholder engagement to raise awareness that measles is circulating, promote the importance of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination and target catch-up efforts at key under vaccinated communities and in a range of settings.NHS England is working with local health teams, including integrated care boards, to monitor reported measle cases, provide advice and support local communities to be aware of action they can take to protect themselves, including getting vaccinated.Building on the MMR coverage gains achieved in 2023/24, NHS England continues to deliver national and regional improvement plans that include activities to strengthen the routine vaccination offer and to address inequalities by supporting MMR catch up vaccination by school age vaccination services in schools and community settings, for example, summer ‘catch up’ immunisation clinics are being stood up in some of the areas of England with the lowest MMR uptake including Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton and St Helens.  In London, childhood vaccination clinics have been stood up in outbreak areas including targeted community clinics, pharmacies offering MMR and we are working with school immunisation services to deliver some MMR catch up in schools once term starts. Additional steps are being taken which will strengthen efforts to reduce the risk of future measles outbreaks, including bringing forward MMR vaccination for children so they are protected sooner. There are also plans to explore new ways of delivering vaccinations such as greater use of community pharmacies and during at health visits. Further to this, a new national communications and marketing campaign will kick off in August 2025 with a brand-new programme of always on activity to reach parents, pregnant women and multicultural audiences and encourage uptake of MMR as well as other vaccinations. It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations they are entitled to, for themselves, their families, and wider society.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) update and (b) improve NHS IT systems.

We are investing more than £2 billion in National Health Service technology and digital to run essential services and drive NHS productivity improvements.In June 2023, NHS England agreed a Health Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is a strategic agreement between the NHS and Microsoft and underpins the national Microsoft licensing framework for NHS organisations. It delivers significant discounts and standardised licensing across the NHS and enables access to services.Security and compliance are significantly strengthened through national access to Microsoft Defender, Office 365 security tools, and integration with the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre. These tools standardise threat detection, data protection, and governance across the system, ensuring a consistent and elevated security posture. The MOU also supports a national IT operating model with service desks operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, centralised incident management, and streamlined onboarding.Operationally, the MOU delivers cost savings by eliminating redundant local contracts and enabling licence reconfiguration. It also positions the NHS for future innovation, with early access to artificial intelligence tools like Microsoft Copilot already embedded in the agreement. This ensures NHS organisations can scale digital transformation efforts while maintaining alignment with national strategy and funding models.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of integrated care board reconfigurations on patient access to healthcare services.

NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure, with the expectation of achieving a reduction in their running cost allowance. NHS England provided additional guidance to ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and NHS foundation trusts in a letter on 1 April 2025. This letter is available at the following:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/working-together-in-2025-26-to-lay-the-foundations-for-reform/These changes will form part of a package of measures, including the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan, that positively impact on patient care and safety by driving quality of care, productivity, and innovation in the NHS. ICBs will continue to deliver their statutory responsibilities and NHS England’s transformation team will continue to work with ICBs to develop their plans and to ensure implementation of the changes, whilst maintaining a focus on patient safety.

What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on promoting the (a) mental, (b) physical and (c) wellbeing aspects of (i) walking and (ii) cycling.

Ministers in the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Transport have discussed promoting the mental, physical, and wellbeing benefits of walking and cycling. The departments work together to align active travel with health objectives, such as reducing physical inactivity and health inequalities, and improving air quality. We are considering together how to incorporate health into the upcoming Integrated National Transport Strategy and Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

Whether his Department provide guidance on the handover of patient care between GPs and (a) dentists and (b) eye clinics.

The Department supports effective patient care handovers between general practitioners (GPs), dentists, and eye clinics through existing frameworks. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) 2018 guideline Emergency and acute medical care in over 16s: service delivery and organisation, code NG94, recommends structured handovers using tools like SBAR, or Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, for clear communication during care transitions that are applicable to these settings. The NICE’s 2015 guideline Medicines optimisation: the safe and effective use of medicines to enable the best possible outcomes, code NG5, advises sharing accurate medicine information when patients move between different providers.For dentists, the NICE’s 2015 guideline Suspected cancer: recognition and referral, code NG12, supports GP referrals for suspected oral cancer requiring clear communication. NHS England’s dental policies promote collaboration between GPs and dentists that are reinforced by the General Dental Council’s standards on documentation.For eye clinics, NHS England’s Eye Care Digital Playbook encourages secure communication for handovers between GPs, optometrists, and eye services. Referral guidance ensures GPs provide comprehensive patient details.

What steps his Department is taking to facilitate engagement with trade unions representing health and social care workers.

As we take steps to reform the National Health Service in England, the Government is committed to resetting relations with all NHS staff. As part of this, the Department engages regularly with trade unions representing staff working in the NHS and the social care sector, on a wide range of issues, including workforce policy and, more recently, the 10-Year Health Plan.This engagement includes regular, scheduled meetings with the healthcare trade unions in the national Social Partnership Forum, which I chair. We also continue to engage through national partnership structures such as the NHS Staff Council to understand unions’ views on pay and contractual arrangements.Furthermore, we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. As we work towards a Fair Pay Agreement, we are already consulting unions, and others from across the sector.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing the polices on issuing Penalty Charge Notices for patient transport service vehicles.

No assessment has been made by this Department of the potential merits of reviewing the policies on issuing Penalty Charge notices for patient transport service vehicles.NHS Trusts are expected to comply with the NHS Car Parking Guidance, from 2022, which covers both NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts. This applies to all NHS Trusts, including those that use private parking companies to operate their hospital car parks.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the speed of the delivery of the school vaccination programme.

The National Health Service is supporting catch-up efforts to return the coverage of school aged vaccination programmes back to their pre-pandemic levels. School aged immunisation service providers are commissioned to deliver a 100% offer for adolescent vaccine programmes, including for children not in mainstream education.Catch-up initiatives are also in place via schools and community clinic settings, and those who miss out on the adolescent immunisation sessions remain eligible in older years. General practices are also commissioned by NHS England to deliver catch ups for school aged children and young people on an opportunistic basis, to maximise vaccine uptake.NHS England continues to work with all key stakeholders at a regional level to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models to approach the robust delivery of school aged vaccinations.