Written questions by Snowden.

What steps he is taking to increase the availability of virtual GP appointments.

We are expanding capacity in general practice (GP) which will help deliver more virtual and face-to-face appointments to patients.In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of an additional 2,000 GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. We have invested an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes. Additionally, the new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 practices across England in order to deliver 8.3 million more appointments each year.As a result of these efforts, eight million more appointments have been delivered this year compared to last.

What steps are being taken to ensure equal access to stoma care across all regions of the UK.

The Government is committed to ensuring patients across the United Kingdom have equitable access to high quality care, including those who need stoma surgery. As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.Demand for stoma care services will vary across regions. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and assessing the quality and availability of stoma care services at a regional level and in accordance with their local populations’ health needs.

Whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the (a) quality and (b) availability of stoma care services.

The Government is committed to ensuring patients across the United Kingdom have access to high quality care, including those who need stoma surgery. As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.No recent assessment has been made about the quality and availability of stoma care services. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and assessing the quality and availability of stoma care services at a regional level and in accordance with their local populations’ health needs.

What guidance his Department provides to (a) NHS local health boards and (b) trusts on treating jellyfish stings.

The General Medical Council sets the overall standards and outcomes for medical training, and the Royal Colleges develop the specific curricula for each medical specialty.The Department does not provide guidance to National Health Service trusts or integrated care boards on this topic. Patient-facing information on how to treat jellyfish stings is already available on the NHS website.

What (a) access to stoma nurses, (b) psychological services and (c) home delivery of supplies does the NHS provide to people living with a stoma.

National Health Service Talking Therapies Long Term Conditions Services provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with depression and anxiety disorders, who also have a long-term physical health condition, such as those living with a stoma. All integrated care boards (ICBs) are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways. ICBs are legally responsible for commissioning the majority of health services, including stoma-related services like home delivery of supplies, in accordance with their populations’ health needs.The Department does not hold the information requested on access to stoma nurses.

What steps he is taking to help tackle regional variations in the uptake of the Advice and Guidance scheme; and what support is being provided to regions with lower adoption rates.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, outlines actions to significantly increase the use of Advice and Guidance (A&G), including reducing geographic variation. This includes the introduction of funding from April 2025 for general practitioners to recognise the importance of their role in ensuring patient care takes place in the most appropriate setting, as well as developing supporting resources such as an A&G toolkit with guidance for commissioners, referrers and secondary care clinical teams.The Department and NHS England closely monitor progress on A&G volumes, and there are robust mechanisms for system oversight and reporting. This includes the operational delivery framework for integrated care boards. The framework sets out a roadmap to help services develop their ability expand and improve their use of A&G across seven themes and with a set of minimum standards for best practice. This is helping NHS England work with local teams to address known barriers causing variation of uptake in A&G, including use of digital platforms, improving the quality of A&G, and workforce planning, training and development.

What assessment he has has made of the potential impact hospital specialists providing advice through the Advice and Guidance scheme on their workload; and whether additional (a) resources and (b) staffing have been provided to specialist departments to manage this increased demand for consultation.

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is a proven method of reducing unnecessary referrals into elective care, by diverting potential referrals where specialist advice determines that the most appropriate setting for care is in primary or community settings. Unnecessary referrals can waste valuable clinical time assessing and or treating patients in secondary care who could be cared for in the community. Allocating existing resources and staff time to handling A&G requests reduces demand for first outpatient appointments where a referral to secondary care is not considered necessary, so where referrals are made, they are a good use of patient and clinician time and result in the most appropriate treatment.NHS England is leading a programme of work to improve clinical job planning to support trusts to provide high quality and timely A&G responses back to general practitioners alongside their existing work with patients. There are also robust mechanisms for system oversight and reporting on A&G, including the operational delivery framework for integrated care boards to identify and help resolve local operational barriers to delivering increased A&G volumes.

What the average waiting time is for a first appointment with a consultant in NHS trusts in Lancashire.

Tackling waiting-lists is a top priority for the Government. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments. More than double that number, 4.9 million more appointments, have now been delivered in England.On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach 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 National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029.Across trusts in Lancashire, 67.1% of people are waiting for first attendance within 18 weeks as of 27th July 2025. This includes the Lancashire and South Cumbria Community Trust, at 93.8%, Morecambe Bay, at 76.3%, Mersey and West Lancashire, at 73.7%, East Lancashire, at 64.3%, Blackpool, at 61.0%, and Lancashire Teaching, at 60.7%.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consumption of high caffeine energy drinks on health services in Lancashire.

On 3 September 2025, the Government published its consultation on banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years in England, an important step towards fulfilling our Plan for Change commitment to create the healthiest generation of children ever.We estimate the proposals could reduce childhood obesity rates by the equivalent of 40,000 children and deliver health benefits worth £7.7 billion through improved health outcomes. In addition, we estimate the proposals could provide NHS savings of £127 million, social care savings of £84 million, and reduced premature mortality is expected to deliver an additional £1.2 billion of economic output.The Department of Health and Social Care has not assessed the potential impact of the consumption of high-caffeine energy drinks on health services in Lancashire.The consultation and accompanying impact assessment are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-the-sale-of-high-caffeine-energy-drinks-to-children.

What steps his Department is taking to increase public awareness of the (a) causes and (b) early prevention of plantar fasciitis.

The NHS.UK website, the primary source of public information on health conditions and health services for patients in England, provides information on plantar fasciitis, including details on the causes and symptoms of the condition, as well as information on self-care and when to see a health professional. This information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/plantar-fasciitis/

Whether any regional pilot schemes will be introduced prior to the national rollout of the chickenpox vaccine for children.

From 1 January 2026, general practices will offer eligible children a combined vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) as part of the routine infant vaccination schedule. There are no plans for regional pilot schemes prior to the national rollout of the chickenpox vaccine for children.The eligibility criteria for children will be set out in clinical guidance, which will be published in due course, covering which age groups will get the MMRV vaccine and when, to ensure the most effective protection for children.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people prescribed weight loss medication also adopt lifestyle changes.

Weight loss medications (semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide) are licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as clinically and cost-effective treatment options on the NHS for obesity. Both the license and NICE guidance for these medicines specify that they should be prescribed alongside a reduced calorie diet and physical activity. NICE guidance also states that healthcare professionals should arrange information, support, and counselling on additional diet, physical activity, and behavioural strategies when these medicines are prescribed.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning health services within their area in line with local population need and taking account of relevant guidance. This includes services to support lifestyle changes alongside the prescription of these medicines. NHS England have however also made a central wraparound service available which ICBs can use to support primary care prescription of these medicines. This central service focuses on nutrition, physical activity and psychological support.Private prescribers do not have to follow NHS or NICE guidance. However, they are expected to take account of appropriate professional guidance. This includes guidance from the General Medical Council which encourages the prescription of medicines in accordance with the terms of their license unless the prescriber concludes that they should go outside of the licence for medical reasons.

What plans he has to support partnerships between (a) local pharmacies and (b) drug and alcohol support charities to deliver harm reduction services in (i) Fylde and (ii) Lancashire.

Many community pharmacies provide locally commissioned services aimed at reducing harm from the misuse of alcohol and drugs. This includes supervised consumption of opioid substitution treatment medicines like methadone, needle and syringe programmes, and naloxone provision. Pharmacies also provide free healthcare advice, public health interventions, and signposting to relevant organisations and services.Local substance misuse services and community pharmacies should work together to help provide an effective service to people who use drugs and alcohol. This includes encouraging person-centred and trauma-informed treatment with shared decision-making. In 2024, the Department published guidance for community pharmacies delivering substance misuse services. This outlined good practice for delivering safe and effective care and advice on joint working between services and commissioners and community pharmacies. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-pharmacy-delivering-substance-misuse-services/community-pharmacy-delivering-substance-misuse-services#multidisciplinary-team-and-joint-working The Department is aware of the challenges in the ability of some community pharmacies to provide substance misuse services and has been supporting drug and alcohol treatment services to identify local solutions, including increased payment and some alternative models of provision of these services.In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing Lancashire with £10,424,106 to help improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems. All funding is provided at the Lancashire level, and it is for Lancashire County Council to determine how to meet needs in Fylde. This funding can be used to support local community pharmacies and drug and alcohol support charities to deliver harm reduction services.

What discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business and Trade on the potential impact of UK-US trade agreements on the price the NHS pays for medicines from American suppliers.

The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to assess the potential impact of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal on the life sciences and pharmaceutical sector. The Government is clear that we will only ever sign trade agreements that align with the UK’s national interests and the price the NHS pays for medicines will never be on the table for any trade agreement.

What regulations are in place to ensure the accuracy of health claims made in the marketing of protein supplements.

Legislation on Nutrition and Health Claims sets out the legal framework for businesses wanting to make nutrition and/or health claims on their products. A health claim is any claim that states, suggests or implies that health benefits can result from consuming a given food. These require health claims to be authorised on the basis they are supported by evidence and only health claims that are on the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims (GB NHC) Register of approved health claims can be used. The Register is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-nutrition-and-health-claims-nhc-register.Protein supplements are also regulated under Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, along with equivalent legislation for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as all other applicable food law. The labelling requirements set out in the regulations state that labelling needs to be clear and easy for consumers to understand.

What steps he is taking to enhance transparency on the data used in the approval process for weight loss drugs.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care and regulates medicine, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.If a drug is assessed to have a positive benefit-risk ratio, it will be approved. Following approval, the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) and Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) will be made available, which includes details such as the patient population and conditions the drug is approved for treating. The PIL containing this information in lay language and a patient-friendly format. In addition, a Public Assessment Report will be made available which contains the non-confidential parts of the MHRA's assessment report for that particular marketing authorisation.We continue to review practices to ensure that transparency is delivered as a key priority of the agency.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the readiness of NHS services in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire to deliver the chickenpox vaccine from January 2026.

On 29 August, the Government announced plans to introduce chickenpox vaccination into the routine childhood immunisation schedule from 1 January 2026, using the MMRV vaccine which protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (varicella).The MMRV vaccine will be offered at GP practices as part of routine infant vaccination appointments.Any vaccination programme change carefully considers factors including National Health Service delivery and impact on other vaccination programmes.The Department, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency work closely together to inform and educate the public and health professionals and ensure system readiness to maintain the high standards of the UK’s world-leading vaccination programmes, including in Fylde and Lancashire.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the successful rollout of the new chickenpox vaccination programme in areas with historically low vaccine uptake.

The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to promote vaccine uptake by providing diverse delivery methods to make getting vaccinated easier, increasing outreach efforts to under-served groups, and raising awareness of the dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases.The launch of the chickenpox vaccination programme in January 2026 will see a press campaign with UKHSA and NHS England working together to inform and educate the public on the benefits of vaccination. This will continue throughout the year with key bursts of activity on all childhood immunisations.The Department will also launch a national childhood vaccination paid marketing campaign in February 2026 to encourage uptake of all childhood vaccinations for those age 0-5 years and will include high impact advertising across video on demand, online video, radio, out of home posters and social media. This will be supported by partnerships across a range of sectors including retailers, nursery providers and charities. Activity will be upweighted to key low uptake communities and geographical areas across the country.Ahead of launch, NHS England is hosting vaccine confidence sessions for health care workers to help them have vaccination conversations and address any questions or concerns with parents and carers. Communication toolkits and assets are also being issued to primary care teams across all regions to support the launch of the chickenpox programme, which will include material for parents and carers.

What recent assessment he has made of waiting times for NHS treatment of plantar fasciitis.

No recent assessment has been made specifically on plantar fasciitis waiting times. However, as set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for fibromatosis care, wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget that has enabled us to fulfil our pledge to deliver over two million more elective care appointments early. More than double that number, 4.9 million more appointments, have now been delivered.The majority of treatment for plantar fasciitis is done within primary care settings, with only a small fraction of patients requiring treatment at hospitals. Data presenting a more detailed breakdown, specific to plantar fasciitis wait times, is not held by the Department.

What steps he plans to take to improve access to information for (a) healthcare professionals and (b) patients on the risks and benefits of weight loss drugs.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) works hard to ensure that patients and healthcare professionals are provided with accurate and up to date information which allows them to make informed decisions about weight loss treatments.Information about the benefits and efficacy of weight loss medicines such as GLP-1 receptor agonists are made available within the Public Assessment Reports (PARs) for each product on the Products section of the MHRA website. Information on how a medicine works, how to use it, as well as all known side effects, are made publicly available through the product information. These documents are issued at the time of licensing and are updated as any new side effects are identified. This includes the Summary of Product Characteristics, which is intended for healthcare professionals, and the Patient Information Leaflet, which is provided to patients with the medicine. These documents are also published on the Products section of the MHRA website, which is available at the following link: https://products.mhra.gov.uk/.In addition, members of the public and healthcare professionals can access anonymised data on suspected side effects reported to the Yellow Card scheme via the interactive Drug Analysis Profiles (iDAP) platform. This ensures full transparency and enables anyone to view the types and numbers of suspected adverse reactions reported for a particular medicine.In addition to this, if new information becomes available about a risk of treatment, we communicate this to healthcare professionals and patients using a Drug Safety Update (DSU), which can be found on GOV.UK and are also flagged to key stakeholders or patient groups. These communicate what the risk is, how it can be minimised, and what healthcare professionals and patients should do if a patient suffers the side- effect. DSUs and other safety communications are also published in a monthly newsletter, the MHRA Safety Roundup, to which readers can subscribe to receive e-mail alerts when a new MHRA Safety Roundup is published. Users can use the search function to find Safety Roundup’s relevant to weight loss medications, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts?alert_type%5B%5D=mhra-safety-round-up.Due to the public interest and increasing use of GLP-1 receptor agonists in particular, in order to improve access to key information about these medicines, we have published public guidance online designed to raise awareness among patients about key safety considerations, including how to safely acquire and use GLP-1s, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and when to seek medical advice. This is a live document, which we update as necessary when there is safety information that we would like to highlight or if there is an area of public interest for which we can provide guidance.The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know.Reach of our safety messages has been strengthened by MHRA’s Head of Enforcement, Andy Morning, who has spoken publicly about how to gain safe access to GLP-1s across a number of media platforms including radio interviews and television appearances, to raise awareness of the risks associated with unlawful supply of weight loss medicines.The MHRA works closely with other organisations such as the General Pharmaceutical Council, who regulate pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), who produce guidance for the NHS and wider health and care system, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who regulate advertising, to collaborate on communicating with the public and sharing links to guidance and information within those communications.