Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 321–340 of 408 · Department of Health and Social Care
If he will meet with representatives from the Lobular Moonshot Project campaign.
The Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser recently met with the Lobular Moon-Shot Project to discuss opportunities, and will convene a follow up meeting with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in due course.
If he will consider funding the Lobular Moonshot Project for invasive lobular breast cancer.
The Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser recently met with the Lobular Moon-Shot Project to discuss opportunities, and will convene a follow up meeting with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in due course.
What steps his Department is taking to help increase the uptake of at-home cervical screening tests.
From January 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months or more following routine invitation.Self-sampling will help detect high-risk human papillomavirus, prevent cancer, and save lives in those who currently do not access clinician led screening. However, for those attending clinician testing, a shift to self-sampling might result in a programme that is not yet proven to be of equal efficacy. Further studies to consider whether self-sampling could be used across the whole population are being developed.
Whether the Government plans to provide financial support to voluntary blood bike charities undertaking urgent medical transport services for the NHS.
Currently, there are no plans at a national level to provide financial support to voluntary blood bike charities undertaking urgent medical transport services, and NHS Blood and Transplant does not use the service of blood bikes.Decisions to commission support for local services are taken at an integrated care board and trust level. Hospitals can, on occasion, choose to arrange their own transport for blood using contractors, couriers, or charity volunteers, such as the blood bikes, which currently deliver 2% of the blood products used by hospitals across England.
Whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the (a) physical and (b) mental health outcomes of women who act as surrogates.
Ensuring that women are healthy during their pregnancy is important for ensuring good outcomes for women and babies. This includes surrogates, also known as gestational carriers. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee reviews the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including surrogates. The last 10 years of evidence were recently reviewed, and further information on the findings of this review can be found at the following link:https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/our-authority-committees-and-panels/scientific-and-clinical-advances-advisory-committee-scaac/#hidden-text-79513bc0-43bb-4f5d-8aa7-fb3fe2c792e0-1General practitioners are contractually required to offer a maternal consultation between six and eight weeks postnatally which all women, including surrogates, are entitled to. This consultation should be holistic and balance how physical and mental issues can impact each other. The consultation’s focus includes a review of the mother’s mental health and general wellbeing, and the return to physical health following childbirth and pregnancy.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS trusts provide consistent (a) care and (b) guidance to intended (i) parents and (ii) surrogates.
The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family. To support intended parents and surrogates, the Department has published the guidance Care in surrogacy: guidance for the care of surrogates and intended parents in surrogate births in England and Wales, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/having-a-child-through-surrogacy/care-in-surrogacy-guidance-for-the-care-of-surrogates-and-intended-parents-in-surrogate-births-in-england-and-wales
If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of current funding arrangements for people whose homes require adaptations for health reasons.
In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government departments more widely on relevant issues.We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.
What steps he is taking to reduce wait times for orthodontic appointments for Fylde residents.
Integrated care board (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry and orthodontic services, to meet the needs of the local population. For Fylde residents, this is the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB. To support ICBs in their duties, NHS England has published a number of documents, including a clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity, which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-standards-for-dental-specialties-orthodontics/The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
If he will make it his policy to work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to improve access to funding for people whose homes require adaptations for health reasons.
In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government departments more widely on relevant issues.We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.
What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS-funded fertility treatment in Fylde constituency.
We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service-funded treatment are still appropriate.In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
What steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of people on the bone marrow donors register.
The UK aligned stem cell registry, a national register managed collaboratively by Anthony Nolan, DKMS UK, NHS Blood and Transplant, and the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, has over 2.3 million potential stem cell donors registered. The British Bone Marrow Registry is now known as the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry, and forms part of the UK aligned stem cell registry.The Department is taking action to increase the number of people on the UK aligned stem cell registry by funding the Stem Cell Programme, with £2.4 million for the period from 2022 to 2025. The programme is being delivered by NHS Blood and Transplant and Anthony Nolan. It aims to enhance the resilience of the United Kingdom’s stem cell supply by strategically recruiting donors to the UK aligned stem cell registry. It focuses on recruiting those most likely to donate and on addressing health disparities through targeted campaigns, with a focus on ethnic minority communities. By increasing the pool of potential donors, the programme seeks to improve the availability of matches in the UK, ultimately reducing waiting times for patients in need of stem cell treatment. Funding to both organisations has been extended by one year to 2025/26.
What steps his Department is taking to support HIV (a) prevention and (b) care services in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.
The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030 and is developing the new HIV Action Plan which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address ways to improve and support HIV prevention and HIV care services across the whole of England, including in Lancashire and the Flyde constituency.Local authorities such as the Lancashire County Council are responsible for commissioning comprehensive open access to sexual health services, including HIV prevention. It is for individual local authorities to commission HIV prevention services that best suit their population. In 2025/26, the Department has increased funding through the Public Health Grant to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.NHS England is responsible for providing HIV treatment and care, which continues to have very high coverage and effectiveness across England. Commissioning responsibility for adult specialist services for people living with HIV has been delegated by NHS England to the integrated care boards.
What steps he is taking to fund improved provision for addiction support services in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidence-based, high-quality treatment. Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet those needs. 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, as set out at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-2025-to-2026All funding is provided at the Lancashire level, and it is for Lancashire County Council to determine how to meet needs in Fylde.This year, the Government is providing an additional £70 million for local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England, building on existing funding made available via the Public Health Grant. Additional funding for Stop Smoking Services is based on the number of smokers in each local authority, and Lancashire has been allocated an extra £1,678,549 for 2025/26. In April 2025, a new statutory levy on gambling operators, expected to raise approximately £100 million per year, was introduced to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harms. The levy will be distributed across the three workstreams, with 50% allocated to NHS England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, to commission the development of effective treatment and support services at national and sub-national levels.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure access to NHS-funded fertility treatment for people in Fylde constituency.
We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service funded treatment are still appropriate.In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
If he will publish the cost-benefit modelling for the prescription of (a) donanemab and (b) lecanemab for patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published the company’s evidence submission, which includes the company’s evidence on costs and benefits, and the external assessment group report, which assesses the company’s evidence submission as part of the papers that were considered by the independent Appraisal Committee. Information that is commercially confidential has been redacted.The economic models themselves cannot be published because they contain commercially confidential information. The papers for lecanemab are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11220/documentsIn addition, the papers for donanemab are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11221/documents.
If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of communications in issuing heat alerts.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) operates a Weather Health Alerting (WHA) system in partnership with the Met Office, as part of its Adverse Weather and Health Plan (AWHP) for the health and social care sector. The UKHSA publishes annual reports which contain an assessment of the AWHP’s performance, including communication. The UKHSA collaborates with academic partners to assess how communications are received, and how guidance is utilised. The WHA system has approximately 35,000 subscribers. The UKHSA undertakes communication activity with the Met Office to ensure that the health system and the public are aware of periods of hot weather, the health risks of heat, and what action they should take. The UKHSA issues proactive communications for the first Heat Health Alert of any summer, and whenever an amber or red alert is issued.
Whether he has made an assessment of the capacity of care settings to cope with extreme heat in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator with oversight of quality and safety in health and care settings. Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 compels providers to assess the risks to the health and safety of service users receiving the care or treatment and to do all that is reasonably practicable to mitigate any such risks. This includes having an appropriate assessment of environmental risks, such as extreme heat events.The CQC would expect providers to follow national guidance on extreme heat safety and to follow any relevant heat alerts when these are issued.
What support his Department is providing to people with Alzheimer's disease in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.A review of the currently commissioned dementia post diagnostic support service for Lancashire and South Cumbria took place in 2023/24. The outcome of the review was a newly designed service specification, ensuring a consistent service model for all individuals who receive a diagnosis of dementia and who are currently living with dementia, and their carers, from point of diagnosis to end of life.Under this new service, individuals will be systematically referred upon diagnosis into a post diagnostic support service and will then be contacted by a named dementia navigator who will be the contact for the individual throughout their journey with dementia.Additionally, the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide that joined-up care.
What steps he is taking to help tackle (a) stigma and (b) discrimination against people with Down syndrome.
The Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people, including people with Down syndrome. We are taking action to break down barriers to opportunity for people with Down syndrome and to raise awareness and understanding of their needs through the implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022. The act requires my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to give statutory guidance to the relevant authorities regarding the appropriate actions they should be taking to support the needs of people with Down syndrome.We are taking forward the development of the draft statutory guidance as a priority and expect to publish it for public consultation this autumn. The draft guidance will set out the existing protection from discrimination for disabled people under the Equality Act, which applies to people with Down syndrome.Under the Health and Care Act 2022, from 1 July 2022, Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care. We have published a Code of Practice to guide providers on how to meet this requirement.
What recent steps his Department has taken to improve early diagnosis and support for children born with Down syndrome in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Pregnant people will be offered a screening test for Down syndrome between 10 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. If the screening test shows that the chance of the baby having Down syndrome is higher than one in 150, this is called a higher-chance result. People who receive a higher-chance result can decide to:not have any further testing;have a second screening test called a non-invasive prenatal testing, which is a blood test that can give a more accurate screening result, and can help people to decide whether to have a diagnostic test or not; andhave a diagnostic test, such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling straight away, which tells people for certain whether or not their baby has Down syndrome, but in rare cases can cause a miscarriage.We are taking action to improve access to services for people with Down syndrome and to raise awareness and understanding of their needs through implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022. The act requires my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to give statutory guidance to the relevant authorities regarding the appropriate actions they should be taking to support the needs of people with Down syndrome.We are taking forward the development of the statutory guidance as a priority and expect to publish it for public consultation this autumn. The guidance will help to clarify the help and services people with Down syndrome can expect to receive. The draft guidance will set out the process for diagnosing Down syndrome, and the support that health services should provide to a parent carrying a baby with Down syndrome.The draft guidance will also raise awareness of the needs of children with Down syndrome in relation to health, social care, and education, and will set out practical steps that organisations should take to meet these needs.