Written questions by Griffiths.

What data the Department holds on testing of suspected illicit or non-compliant (a) cigarettes, (b) vaping products, (c) heated tobacco products, and (d) nicotine pouches in each of the last three years; what proportion of samples tested contained prohibited substances, nicotine concentrations above applicable legal limits, or other substances assessed as presenting a health risk; and whether those data are available for (i) West Sussex and (ii) Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.

Awaiting answer.

How many NHS audiology providers in England are subject to (i) high assurance, (ii) partial assurance and (iii) improvement support under NHS England’s national audiology improvement programme; and what assurance status applies to NHS providers delivering audiology services in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.

Awaiting answer.

Whether NHS England collects comparative data on waiting times for specialist audiology services, including tinnitus, cochlear implant, balance disorder and complex hearing loss pathways; and what the latest available waiting time data is for patients served by NHS providers in West Sussex.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he has undertaken an assessment of geographical variation in access to cochlear implant assessment and treatment services in England; and what the average travel distance and travel time is for patients resident in West Sussex referred for cochlear implant assessment and treatment.

Awaiting answer.

Whether NHS England has made an assessment of trends in the level of variation in referral pathways for adult audiology services in England, including referrals between community providers, NHS trusts and specialist centres.

Awaiting answer.

What the outcome was of the NHS England Elect Audiology Improvement Collaborative; and whether he plans to publish its findings and recommendations, including data relating to NHS providers serving West Sussex.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of serious maternity incidents at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust since 2018.

Stabilised and adjusted perinatal mortality rates at University Sussex Hospitals in 2024 remained unchanged from 2020, at 5.49 per 1,000 births. In both time periods, the trust perinatal mortality rates were 5% to 15% lower than comparable trusts. However...

Whether his Department has made an assessment of disparities in maternity outcomes across Sussex by (a) ethnicity, (b) deprivation level and (c) geography.

From January to December 2025, the rate of postpartum haemorrhage of 1.5 litres or more at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx) was highest for Black or Black British women, at 45.6 per 1,000 deliveries, followed by Asian or Asian B...

Whether his Department has made an assessment of maternity staffing levels at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust since 2018.

As of March 2026, there are 409 full time equivalent midwives working in the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. This is 20, or 5.2%, more than last year and 20, or 5.2%, more than in March 2021.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure that lessons identified by the Donna Ockenden review into maternity services in Sussex are implemented by NHS organisations.

Sussex families were closely involved in the design of the review through meetings with the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in March and April 2026. Donna Ockenden has since been appointed as Chair of the Independent review into mate...

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that families affected by maternity care failings in Sussex can engage effectively with the independent review chaired by Donna Ockenden.

Sussex families were closely involved in the design of the review through meetings with the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in March and April 2026. Donna Ockenden has since been appointed as Chair of the Independent review into mate...

Further to the Answer of 13 March 2026 to Question 117218 on NHS, whether his Department assessed the potential merits of exercising the call-in power under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006 for proposed changes to services at Zachary Merton Hospital.

The Department has not received a notification under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006 about changes to services at Zachary Merton Hospital and has not undertaken an assessment of potential impacts.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been asked by the Hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton to intervene in this matter and will consider and respond to that request in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2026 to Question 117219 on NHS, whether changes to services at Zachary Merton Hospital had been notified to his Department under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006.

The Department has not received a notification under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006 about changes to services at Zachary Merton Hospital and has not undertaken an assessment of potential impacts.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been asked by the Hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton to intervene in this matter and will consider and respond to that request in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of a proposed reduction in community inpatient capacity at Zachary Merton Hospital on the level of (a) the use of virtual wards, (b) care at home, and (c) provision at other community hospital sites in West Sussex.

The Department has not received a notification under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006 about changes to services at Zachary Merton Hospital and has not undertaken an assessment of potential impacts.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been asked by the Hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton to intervene in this matter and will consider and respond to that request in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the variation in diagnosis times and access to treatment for heart valve disease by (a) region and (b) demographic group in England and West Sussex.

The Department recognises that variation in the provision of heart valve disease (HVD) services exists across England is taking action to address this.NHS England is strengthening consistency in the diagnosis and treatment to reduce variation in HVD diagnosis, including in West Sussex. This included echocardiography workforce initiatives to increase diagnostic capacity for HVD referrals for 2024/25. In 2025, the Getting It Right First Time programme published new and revised cardiology pathways to reduce delays and guide clinicians through diagnostic steps and treatment planning, and enhanced recovery protocols for Aortic Stenosis (advanced HVD).In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the British Heart Foundation are partnering for the £50m Inequalities, which will fund a five-year consortium to generate research focused on tackling inequalities in ethnic minorities, deprived communities and unequal cardiovascular disease outcomes between women and men. More information is available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/new-50m-funding-to-tackle-inequalities-cardiovascular-disease

What proportion of heart valve disease cases were diagnosed at an advanced stage in (a) England and (b) West Sussex; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the role of primary care in achieving early detection.

The National Health Service is continuing to work to reduce waiting times for elective care as part of the Government's commitment to return to the NHS Constitution standard of 92% of patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks. The information requested on waiting times is not held in the format requested. Between January and December 2025, 73.3% of completed cardiothoracic surgery, for instance coronary artery bypass grafts, valve replacements, both aortic and mitral, lung cancer surgery, such as lobectomies, and aortic aneurysm repairs, referral to treatment pathways with a known clock start were completed within 18 weeks. This excludes 134 completed pathways with an unknown clock start date. In 2024/25, NHS England provided funding for 13 pathway improvement projects to have a positive impact on reducing the time for referral to treatment for patients with severe, symptomatic left sided valvular disease.

What was the average time between diagnosis and treatment for heart valve disease in (a) England and (b) West Sussex in the last five years; and whether he plans to set maximum recommended timeframes on this matter.

The National Health Service is continuing to work to reduce waiting times for elective care as part of the Government's commitment to return to the NHS Constitution standard of 92% of patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks. The information requested on waiting times is not held in the format requested. Between January and December 2025, 73.3% of completed cardiothoracic surgery, for instance coronary artery bypass grafts, valve replacements, both aortic and mitral, lung cancer surgery, such as lobectomies, and aortic aneurysm repairs, referral to treatment pathways with a known clock start were completed within 18 weeks. This excludes 134 completed pathways with an unknown clock start date. In 2024/25, NHS England provided funding for 13 pathway improvement projects to have a positive impact on reducing the time for referral to treatment for patients with severe, symptomatic left sided valvular disease.

What was the average time between first presentation with symptoms and confirmed diagnosis of heart valve disease in (a) England and (b) West Sussex in the last five years.

The National Health Service is continuing to work to reduce waiting times for elective care as part of the Government's commitment to return to the NHS Constitution standard of 92% of patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks. The information requested on waiting times is not held in the format requested. Between January and December 2025, 73.3% of completed cardiothoracic surgery, for instance coronary artery bypass grafts, valve replacements, both aortic and mitral, lung cancer surgery, such as lobectomies, and aortic aneurysm repairs, referral to treatment pathways with a known clock start were completed within 18 weeks. This excludes 134 completed pathways with an unknown clock start date. In 2024/25, NHS England provided funding for 13 pathway improvement projects to have a positive impact on reducing the time for referral to treatment for patients with severe, symptomatic left sided valvular disease.

What is the average waiting time for diagnostic tests, including echocardiograms, for suspected heart valve disease in (a) England and (b) NHS trusts serving West Sussex for which the latest data is available.

An echocardiogram is the primary diagnostic test for suspected heart valve disease. Waiting times for echocardiograms are published in the diagnostics waiting times dataset (DM01) at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/Data is not available in DM01 for other tests used in the diagnostic pathway, for example electrocardiograms, chest X-rays, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography scans, and/or stress tests.As of the end of February 2026, the latest available data, the DM01 data shows that the median time patients were waiting for an echocardiogram in England was 3.2 weeks. The median time for patients waiting for an echocardiogram at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust was 2.2 weeks.

If he will publish the findings and recommendations of the JCVI’s review of meningococcal B vaccination policy for adolescents and young adults.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an expert scientific advisory committee that advises the Government on eligibility for vaccination and immunisation programmes. The JCVI has been consulted on the immediate vaccine response to the outbreak and clinical effectiveness of potential future outbreak response vaccination strategies.The JCVI holds three committee meetings a year, usually on the first Wednesday of February, June and October. The draft minutes of each meeting will be published within six weeks of the meeting. In some circumstances, when the frequency of meetings is increased, it may not be possible to upload meeting minutes within six weeks.On 17 March, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also announced to the House of Commons that the JCVI has been asked to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines to assess, for example, an expanded offer to older children and/or young adults. The JCVI will provide updated advice to the Department this summer around whether, and to what extent, a vaccine programme for older children and/or young adults would be clinically effective as well as an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of such a vaccination programme.