Written questions by MacNae.

What steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to Healthy Babies services for babies in constituencies that cross multiple local authority boundaries.

We know that many local authorities have strong ties with other areas in their region, and some Healthy Babies services may be delivered across local authority boundaries. Current Family Hubs and Start for Life programme guidance encourages local authorities to consider how best they can collaborate with other areas in their region in improving outcomes for babies, children, and their families.Healthy Babies is one element of our broader commitment to supporting babies, children and families. From April 2026, Best Start Family Hubs will expand to every single local authority, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help all local authorities to integrate a range of statutory and non-statutory health and family services.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that the rollout of Healthy Babies is compatible with the 10 Year Health Plan’s commitment to match Start for Life (Healthy Babies) services.

The Government has a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and to give every baby the best start in life. Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies plays a crucial role in achieving this. We are committed to delivering the 10-Year Health Plan ambition to match Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, to Best Start Family Hubs over the next decade.Healthy Babies is one element of our broader commitment to supporting babies, children, and families. From April 2026, Best Start Family Hubs will expand to every single local authority, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help all local authorities to integrate a range of statutory and non-statutory health and family services. We will continue to work in partnership with all local authorities, including those not receiving Healthy Babies funding, to support the integration and co-location of health services within Best Start Family Hub networks, laying the foundations for the future expansion of Healthy Babies services.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 91494, if the UK Health Security Agency will publish its assessment of the need for mandatory notification for Group B Streptococcus.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plays a key role in addressing group B streptococcus (GBS) infection both through routine service activities and innovative research.The UKHSA does not believe that there is a rationale at present for GBS being added to the Health Protection Notification Regulations. There are no immediate and specific public health actions required to be taken in response to a case being diagnosed. Whilst periods of enhanced surveillance suggest routine surveillance may be underestimating numbers of infections, this has not been audited to identify the source and reason for discrepancies between different sources of reports during these periods. Given the largely automated nature of laboratory surveillance, making GBS notifiable would not necessarily address any deficits in reporting.The list of notifiable disease is kept under review by the Department with the UKHSA involvement. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-protection-notification-regulations-2010-proposed-amendments/outcome/government-response-to-the-health-protection-notification-regulations-2010-proposed-amendments

What steps he is taking to help lower (a) legal and (b) overall costs incurred through clinical negligence.

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn.The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps in due course.

What his planned timeline is for the data collection, evaluation and interim decision for the in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).The UK NSC recommended an in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn blood spot screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in National Health Services in 2023. Since then, the SMA Newborn Screening ISE Partnership Board was set up to plan and develop work to shape the ISE, and progress is being made. This includes planning the duration of the ISE and planning for newborn laboratories to screen blood spot samples for SMA. The laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE are under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England. The researchers and the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) will be responsible for determining the number of babies and services that will be required to answer the research questions.Earlier in the year, the NIHR published their Health Technology Assessment research brief to appoint researchers for this work. Applications closed at the end of September 2025, and final funding decisions are expected in spring 2026. A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.A recommendation by the UK NSC on newborn screening for SMA is expected following the conclusion of an ISE, which is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a screening programme for SMA.

How newborn screening laboratories can join the in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).The UK NSC recommended an in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn blood spot screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in National Health Services in 2023. Since then, the SMA Newborn Screening ISE Partnership Board was set up to plan and develop work to shape the ISE, and progress is being made. This includes planning the duration of the ISE and planning for newborn laboratories to screen blood spot samples for SMA. The laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE are under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England. The researchers and the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) will be responsible for determining the number of babies and services that will be required to answer the research questions.Earlier in the year, the NIHR published their Health Technology Assessment research brief to appoint researchers for this work. Applications closed at the end of September 2025, and final funding decisions are expected in spring 2026. A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.A recommendation by the UK NSC on newborn screening for SMA is expected following the conclusion of an ISE, which is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a screening programme for SMA.

What discussions his Department has had with the Civil Procedure Rule Committee on the implementation of fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence claims valued up to £25,000.

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn.The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) repealing or (b) amending Section 2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948.

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn.The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a screening programme for group B Streptococcus in pregnant women.

On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).The UK NSC last reviewed the evidence to screen for group B streptococcus (GBS) at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017 and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms.This was because the test currently available cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk and those who are not.This means that many women would unnecessarily be offered antibiotics during labour, with the balance of harms and benefits from this approach being unknown.The National Institute for Health Research funded a large-scale clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against the usual risk factor-based strategy.Recruitment to the trial ended in March 2024 and a report is expected in early 2026. The UK NSC Secretariat is in contact with the researchers. The UK NSC will review its recommendation considering the evidence from the trial, after the report is presented.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of designating group B Streptococcus as a notifiable disease.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not recommend adding Group B Streptococcus as a notifiable disease. Existing national surveillance effectively captures Group B Streptococcus infections, monitors trends, and informs antibiotic prescribing policy. The UKHSA has assessed that mandatory notification for Group B Streptococcus would provide no additional public health benefit beyond this.

When his Department plans to confirm the funding settlement for Start for Life services from 1 April 2026; whether that funding settlement will include the (a) increased geography and (b) widened age range of the programme; and whether ring-fenced funding will be allocated to provide (i) parent-infant relationship support, (ii) perinatal mental health support and (iii) infant feeding services.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda for a decade of renewal to create a new model of care to improve the nation’s health. Over the next decade, we will give every child the best start in life by expanding Start for Life services and by integrating zero-to-five-year old’s health and children’s services within communities, with a strong focus on the critical first 1,001 days. Building on the £126 million funding boost for the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26, an additional £500 million will enable Best Start Family Hubs to be rolled out to every local authority from April 2026. The Government recognises the importance of providing local authorities with certainty on financial allocations and we will communicate outcomes, including grant details and delivery expectations where applicable, with local authorities when we have more information to share.

What assessment he has made of the (a) mental and (b) physical health benefits of having access to (i) green and (ii) blue spaces for recreation.

The ability to access green and blue space is associated with improved physical and mental health and increased healthy life expectancy.The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people's health and wellbeing, and has committed to creating nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK National Screening Committee’s in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy covers a wide geography.

Planning and development work to shape the in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is ongoing. This is being steered by the SMA partnership board that includes Department officials, the UK National Screening Committee, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and patient and public representatives. The SMA partnership board has three sub-groups, one of which is the laboratory subgroup. This subgroup has experts with a broad range of experience of laboratory testing of newborn blood spots both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Their expertise ensures that laboratory requirements for successfully rolling out SMA ISE are fully considered and represented in the ongoing planning work.The number of laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE is under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England.The geographical coverage of the ISE is also under consideration by the SMA partnership board, and will be determined by the number of laboratories with the technology and processes needed to roll out the ISE.Earlier this summer, the NIHR advertised the research call for the SMA ISE, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/spinal-muscular-atrophy-screening/2025338A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.

What steps he is taking to involve laboratories in the in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

Planning and development work to shape the in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is ongoing. This is being steered by the SMA partnership board that includes Department officials, the UK National Screening Committee, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and patient and public representatives. The SMA partnership board has three sub-groups, one of which is the laboratory subgroup. This subgroup has experts with a broad range of experience of laboratory testing of newborn blood spots both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Their expertise ensures that laboratory requirements for successfully rolling out SMA ISE are fully considered and represented in the ongoing planning work.The number of laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE is under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England.The geographical coverage of the ISE is also under consideration by the SMA partnership board, and will be determined by the number of laboratories with the technology and processes needed to roll out the ISE.Earlier this summer, the NIHR advertised the research call for the SMA ISE, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/spinal-muscular-atrophy-screening/2025338A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of integrating OpenActive data standards into NHS clinical care pathways.

The Health and Social Care Act 2022, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and the Health and Social Care Information Standards (Procedure) Regulations 2025 establish a new legislative framework for setting mandatory information standards for public and private health and adult social care providers and IT suppliers in the health and care system. This will provide the basis for ensuring interoperability between IT systems.Standards will be introduced in a staged process following the procedure set out in the Health and Social Care Information Standards (Procedure) Regulations 2025. No assessment has yet been made of the potential of the OpenActive data standards.

Whether he plans to incorporate OpenActive data into the NHS app to help patients find local physical activity opportunities relevant to health conditions.

NHS England has no current plans to incorporate OpenActive data into the NHS App in this way. However, the Government recognises that data plays an important role in supporting the delivery of high-quality public services, helping to achieve the shift from sickness to prevention and building an NHS fit for the future.The 10-Year Health Plan sets out to build movement back into everyday life and get millions more people moving. Physical activity is part of this Government’s mission to improve health. Work is already underway through the NHS Better Health campaign and the ‘We are Undefeatable’ campaign to promote movement, remove barriers and make it easier for people with long term conditions to access physical activity. Raising awareness of the value of everyday movement, such as walking, cycling and wheeling is key in our mission to help people keep fit and healthy for longer.

What steps his Department is taking to prevent sudden and unexplained deaths in children.

We recognise the devastating impact of sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) on affected families and communities, and the importance of raising awareness of SUDC among relevant professionals, communities, and parents. Information on SUDC is available on the National Health Service website, which also signposts to the charity SUDC.UK. This can be accessed at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sidsAdditional information for parents on SUDC is available in the form of the booklet, When a Child Dies. The Healthy Child Programme plays an important role in supporting child health, wellbeing, and parenting confidence. This work is undertaken alongside partners to ensure that health messages are promoted across services.The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) who work in partnership with the NHS, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public. The NIHR welcomes proposals for research into a range of conditions, including SUDC, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing recommendation 6 of the National Child Mortality Data's report entitled Sudden and unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood, published in December 2022.

We recognise the devastating impact of sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) on affected families and communities, and the importance of raising awareness of SUDC among relevant professionals, communities, and parents. Information on SUDC is available on the National Health Service website, which also signposts to the charity SUDC.UK. This can be accessed at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sidsAdditional information for parents on SUDC is available in the form of the booklet, When a Child Dies. The Healthy Child Programme plays an important role in supporting child health, wellbeing, and parenting confidence. This work is undertaken alongside partners to ensure that health messages are promoted across services.The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) who work in partnership with the NHS, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public. The NIHR welcomes proposals for research into a range of conditions, including SUDC, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic

When he plans to publish the outcome of his Department's closed consultation entitled The licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which closed on 28 October 2023.

The Government is committed to taking action to address longstanding concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector, and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. 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 assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of active travel on levels of physical inactivity; and if he will take steps to publish a physical activity strategy.

The Department’s recent cycling and walking evidence review confirms the positive impacts on reducing levels of physical inactivity. Our evidence shows that integrating physical activity into daily routines through active travel can lead to substantial health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and mental health conditions. The Department of Health and Social Care is currently working with the Department for Transport and Active Travel England on an evidence review, which will further examine active travel’s effects on mental health, physical health, and health inequalities, as well as effective behaviour change techniques. Findings are expected by late-2025 to inform future policy.Whilst there are no plans to publish a specific physical activity strategy, addressing levels of physical inactivity will be a key part of the shift from treatment to prevention, as part of the Health Mission. Department officials work closely with colleagues across Government and the National Health Service to enable and deliver interventions that support this aim.