Written questions by Dodds.

What funding schemes his Department provides for medical researchers.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public, and the NIHR also funds global health research. Funding opportunities can be accessed from the NIHR website, at the following link: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-opportunities The NIHR also provides a wide range of applicant‑led funding streams that support high‑quality research across all areas of human health and care which can be accessed at the following link: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-funding/funding-programmes

What applicant-led funding streams are available to medical researchers.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public, and the NIHR also funds global health research. Funding opportunities can be accessed from the NIHR website, at the following link: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-opportunities The NIHR also provides a wide range of applicant‑led funding streams that support high‑quality research across all areas of human health and care which can be accessed at the following link: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-funding/funding-programmes

What steps he is taking to assess the need for the provision of the vaccination against Covid for (a) children and (b) adults who are suffers of Long-Covid.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 February 2026 to Question 108759.

In regard to the upcoming closure of the the UK Rare Diseases Framework, what alternative evaluation methods will be used to assess and ensure the continued improvement of access to specialist care, treatment and drugs for patients with rare diseases.

The UK Rare Diseases Framework was published following the National Conversation on Rare Diseases, which received nearly 6,300 responses. This helped identify the four priorities of the framework in tackling rare diseases: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals; better coordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs.The Government remains committed to improving the lives of those living with rare conditions, and will be publishing the next England Rare Diseases Action Plan to update on these priorities as in previous years. The evaluation of England’s action plans is expected to complete in May 2026. We recognise that despite the progress that has been made there remains considerable unmet need for people living with rare conditions. Ministers from all four nations have agreed to extend the UK Rare Diseases Framework by one year to January 2027, recognising the continued relevance of its four priorities, including improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. We will engage with the rare diseases community to help shape the next steps.

What assessment has he made of the potential merits of increasing NICE's cost-effectiveness thresholds used to evaluate Highly Specialised Technologies for rare diseases.

There are currently no plans to increase the cost‑effectiveness threshold for the highly specialised technologies (HST) programme. The HST programme already operates at a much higher threshold than standard National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals, reflecting the challenges of bringing treatments for very rare conditions to market, and NICE has been able to recommend nearly all the treatments that have been evaluated through the HST programme for National Health Service use.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing vaccinations against Covid-19 for children and adults who have Long Covid.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious disease, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has increased due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity, following recovery from infection, and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.The focus of the programme is on vaccination of the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed. These are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. In line with JCVI’s advice, in autumn 2025 a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to:- adults aged 75 years old and over;- residents in care homes for older adults; and- individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed.On 15 December 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice for spring 2026 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to the same groups as in autumn 2025 and previous spring campaigns.Long term health consequences following COVID-19, including post-COVID syndromes, such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI COVID-19 sub-committee. The JCVI’s view is that it remains uncertain whether additional COVID-19 vaccine doses, for example the fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, have a significant effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people. The JCVI keeps all vaccination programmes under review.

What discussions he has had with NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the annual meeting held to discuss progress and the role of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and the Innovative Medicines Fund in supporting access to treatments for people living with rare diseases.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of people living with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework. One of the priorities of the framework is improving access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs.We have continued to review the effectiveness of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, and the Innovative Medicines Fund. These access pathways across the regulatory and access system are designed to support innovative treatments being made available earlier to patients who need them, including people living with rare diseases. The last meeting was held in July 2025, and included representatives from the Department, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as well as patient advocacy groups, industry, and clinical researchers. Further detail will be reported in the England 2026 Rare Diseases Action Plan, to be published in spring 2026.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)'s current Highly Specialised Technologies Guidance, specifically where it does not recommend a treatment for a rare disease where treatment would have a substantial effect of a medicine on quality and length of life, but is not recommended due to cost-effectiveness estimates being higher than what NICE usually considers an acceptable use of NHS resources for Highly Specialised Technologies.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) operates a separate Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) programme to evaluate a very small number of medicines and treatments developed for ultra‑rare, severe and life‑limiting conditions. It uses specific methods and a much higher cost‑effectiveness threshold than standard technology appraisals, enabling NICE to recommend treatments at prices that reflect the complexities of ultra‑rare diseases. The HST programme has secured access for National Health Service patients with very rare diseases to effective treatments that NICE would not have been able to recommend through its standard technology appraisal process, with 31 out of the 33 medicines that it has evaluated through the HST programme recommended for NHS use.There will unfortunately always be occasions when NICE is unable to recommend a treatment through the HST programme despite the use of a much higher cost-effectiveness threshold. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently and on the basis of a thorough assessment of the available evidence.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of reasonable adjustments for disabled doctors and medical students in the NHS.

No assessment has been made. Employers have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to consider and make reasonable adjustments for employees who have a disability, taking advice from their local occupational health and human resources department.The NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard sets out metrics to enable organisations to understand the experiences of disabled staff and to develop and publish an action plan. Year on year comparison enables trusts to demonstrate progress against the indicators of disability equality.

How many and what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled postgraduate medics entered medical training in the latest period for which data is available.

Post graduate medical training is initially through the two-year foundation programme, followed by progression to specialist training programmes.NHS England publishes monthly data on the National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) workforce in England. This includes data on the recorded disability status of Foundation year 1 doctors. Further information is available at the following link, in the file ‘NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables’:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsFor doctors entering medical specialty training, in the 2024 NHS medical specialty training programme, 285 doctors had a recorded disability, which represents 2.1% of all doctors accepting an offer, while 13,099, or 94.6%, recorded no disability, and for a further 462, or 3.3%, the disability status was not known/not recorded.Each year NHS England published the disability status of applicants, including a count of those accepting posts, for each individual medical specialty to help future cohorts in their application processes. This information is available at the following link:https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/equality-and-diversity

Pursuant to the Answered of 22 October 2025 to question 81944 on Perinatal Mortality, which four trusts have not fully implemented version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care bundle.

The four trusts that are not fully compliant with version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle are the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, and the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.Implementation is overseen through NHS Resolution’s Maternity Incentive Scheme, a financial incentive to encourage trusts to implement safety actions to improve maternity safety. Trusts are required to demonstrate that they are on track to comply with all elements of the care bundle.

With reference to the Competition and Markets Authority's report on Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Market Study, publish on 14 February 2025, what steps his Department is taking to improve the regulation of the powdered baby milk industry.

The Government remains committed to giving every child the best start in life. Whilst breastfeeding has significant health benefits, we recognise that for those families that cannot or choose not to breastfeed, it is vital that they have access to infant formula that is affordable and high quality.The infant formula regulations set robust nutritional and compositional standards which mean that all infant formula for sale in the United Kingdom are suitable for meeting the nutritional requirements of babies regardless of the price or brand. The regulations restrict the inappropriate marketing and promotion of infant formula that can mislead consumers and may discourage breastfeeding.The Government welcomes the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into the UK’s infant formula and follow-on formula market. We have been working closely with the devolved administrations to consider its recommendations. We will respond in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the affordability of powdered milk in relation to Healthy Start vouchers.

The funding for Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, and milk. It can also be put towards the cost of infant formula.The Healthy Start scheme is kept under review and in April 2026 the value of the weekly payments will increase by 10%.

What steps he is taking to work towards a national standard for a bereavement care pathway.

Wider bereavement support is commissioned locally, in accordance with the needs of the local population. NHS England has developed guidance to support integrated care boards with their duty to commission palliative care services within integrated care systems. This statutory guidance states that commissioners should ensure that there is sufficient access to bereavement services. Experts from the bereavement sector, such as the National Bereavement Alliance, have also published the Bereavement Support Service Standards which can be found on their website. These standards are voluntary and can be used by services as part of a regular review of their service design and their provision of bereavement services. All trusts in England are signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway for pregnancy or baby loss, which aims to ensure that all bereaved parents are offered equal, high quality, individualised, safe, and sensitive care. The pathway covers a range of baby loss circumstances, including miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, neonatal death, and sudden infant death syndrome. For bereavement support after suicide, NHS England has commissioned Support After Suicide to help systems develop bereavement support services, including developing core standards.

What steps he is taking to ensure that NHS England's guidance entitled Saving babies’ lives version three: a care bundle for reducing perinatal mortality, updated on 24 April 2025, is implemented across NHS trusts.

All trusts are implementing version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle to reduce the rates of stillbirth, preterm birth, and to optimise neonatal care. As of May 2025, 116 out of 120 trusts were fully compliant, which is a 10% increase since April last year.Implementation is overseen through NHS Resolution’s Maternity Incentive Scheme, a financial incentive to encourage trusts to implement safety actions to improve maternity safety. Under Safety Action 6, National Health Service trusts are required to demonstrate that they are on track to comply with all elements of the care bundle.To do this, trusts must meet quarterly with their integrated care board (ICB) to review implementation progress, and ICBs must confirm that providers are on track to full implementation for the trust. This local oversight approach is in line with the NHS Operating Framework.

What steps he is taking to ensure that bereaved families are involved in the process for the consultation on secondary legislation to modernise regulatory frameworks.

The Government is preparing draft legislation which will modernise the regulatory framework for the General Medical Council. This will be subject to a statutory three-month public consultation, which will be published on GOV.UK website, and which will act as a blueprint for reforms to other professional regulators’ legislation.We welcome the views of anyone who has raised a concern about a healthcare professional, including individuals who have suffered harm or whose family members have suffered harm, through this consultation process.

With reference to page 58 of the policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, whether Danone's commitment never to introduce a high sugar product to children refers to the recommended levels of sugar for (a) children and (b) adults; and whether this applies to Alpro growing up milks.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out decisive action to tackle the obesity crisis and ease the strain on the NHS, as well as to create the healthiest generation of children ever. It details a number of actions that the Government will take, including plans to introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector, fulfilling commitments to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s and updating the UK Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) 2004/05. Danone’s published commitment is to never produce a product for children that is high in saturated fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) as defined by the UK Government’s current policy and legislation as a less healthy product.The Government’s policy and legislation being referred to uses the UK NPM 2004/05 to determine whether a product is classed as being HFSS or non-HFSS. The 2004/05 NPM does not assess individual nutrients in isolation (for example sugar), but it considers the balance of the ingredients and the nutrient composition of foods. The scoring system that underpins the UK NPM 2004/05 was based on dietary reference values for children aged 11 to 16 years’ old, but it was subsequently found to be equally applicable to foods and drinks consumed by those over the age of 5 years. The nutritional needs of infants and young children under 5 years differ from those of older children and adults. Therefore. the UK NPM 2004/05 is not currently regarded as suitable to assess commercially available food and drink products that are to be consumed only by children under 5 years, including Alpro Growing Up Milks.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of training of frontline NHS staff on (a) the definition of domestic abuse, (b) how professionals should respond to immediate and long-term risk and (c) the opportunity of perpetrator incarceration in engaging and safeguarding victims in the long term.

All National Health Service staff complete mandatory safeguarding training, which includes a focus on domestic abuse. This training gives staff the skills and knowledge to identify and respond to all forms of domestic abuse, as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which includes physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, psychological, emotional, or other abuse. All professionals are trained to identify the immediate and long-term risks of domestic abuse using blended learning methods including e-learning, in-person training, and supervision. Patient facing clinicians and staff complete more detailed mandatory safeguarding training, including further domestic abuse training relevant to their role. National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce the safeguarding responsibilities of staff and will support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.We are committed to making sure that those who have experienced violence and abuse can access the support they need, to manage short and long-term risk. We also know that for many survivors, the emotional and psychological aftermath can last long after the abuse itself ends and the perpetrator is incarcerated. Mental health support is one of the vital parts of the road to recovery. Anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis, including domestic abuse and assault victims, can speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. In addition, the 8,500 mental health workers we are recruiting will be trained to support people experiencing mental health challenges, including those who have experienced violence and abuse. The NHS is also piloting more specialised support and has launched local pathfinder projects for enhanced trauma-informed mental health support for survivors with the most complex needs.

How many and what proportion of training (a) modules and (b) courses on domestic abuse undertaken by frontline staff were (i) standalone and (ii) integrated with other training programmes broken down by discipline of staff.

Health professionals are trained to identify and respond to domestic abuse using blended learning methods including e-learning, in-person training, and supervision.It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that staff complete mandatory safeguarding training, which includes a focus on domestic abuse. Level 1 mandatory safeguarding training for all staff is captured on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). Each National Health Service provider holds its own ESR data which is not collated nationally, and therefore the Department does not hold the information requested. Staff will undertake further domestic abuse training relevant to their role.National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce the safeguarding responsibilities of staff and will support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.

Whether he has held recent discussions with the African Diaspora Malaria Initiative partnership.

The UK Health Security Agency and the Malaria Reference Laboratory work closely together and are in regular communication with the African Diaspora Malaria Initiative. The initiative is a diaspora-led charitable initiative whose primary objective is the eradication of malaria in the United Kingdom’s African diaspora.