Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the submissions from (a) Greece, (b) Slovakia, (c) Romania and (d) Czechia on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through the EU TRIS process.

The Technical Regulatory Information System notification is a standard process which applies under the Windsor Framework. It is not an approval process. The Government’s position remains that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will apply in Northern Ireland and is consistent with both our domestic and international obligations.

What the projected cost is of the abolition of NHS England, including staff redundancy packages, consultancy fees, administration and restructuring costs.

The abolition of NHS England will involve some upfront costs associated with organisational change. £1 billion is the estimated overall cost of redundancy exits across the Department, NHS England, and the integrated care boards. In the 2025 Autumn Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that HM Treasury would bring forward £860 million of the Department’s SR25 settlement to support with the upfront costs. By reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication, the Government will unlock savings of £1 billion per year by the end of the Parliament, equivalent to the cost of over 115,000 extra hip and knee operations.The Government is committed to ensuring that Parliament and the public are appropriately informed of exit costs, as well as material consultancy, administration, and restructuring costs. Information will be published at the appropriate time, in line with established reporting mechanisms, to ensure transparency and accountability. The Department will continue to provide updates as the reforms progress.

What assessment has he made of the impact of the analysis that the July and November five day resident doctors’ strikes are estimated to have cost £500 million by the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic Financial Outlook (page 122).

We stand by the approximate £500 million figure as a reasonable estimate of the combined cost of resident doctor strikes so far this year in July and November 2025. This figure is based on actual costs from July 2025, approximately £240 million, and an initial estimate for November 2025 based on similar levels of activity output and turnout, to those seen in July. We will continue to update the estimate for November strikes as new data becomes available, in line with receiving business as usual financial data from National Health Service systems.

What assessment has he made of the impact of the findings by the study of 1,005 GPs entitled “General practitioners’ adoption of generative artificial intelligence in clinical practice in the UK: An updated online survey”, published in the Digital Health science journal on 25th November 2025 that stated that 35% of doctors used AI for writing documentation, 27% for differential diagnoses and 24% for treatment or referrals despite having no formal training or oversight.

The Department is aware of the study published in Digital Health on 25 November 2025 regarding the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) by general practitioners (GPs). AI has the potential to transform health and care services by improving health outcomes, enhancing patient safety, and reducing costs. However, it is crucial to rigorously and regularly evaluate AI technologies to ensure they work safely, ethically, and effectively in different clinical settings.The Department is currently assessing the implications of these findings through engagement with NHS England, the General Medical Council, and other stakeholders. Guidance is also being developed to ensure safe and ethical use of AI in clinical settings, which includes requirements for training and accountability, and working with regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for health and Care Excellence to develop evaluation pathways for AI tools. This is to ensure the AI tools meet standards equivalent to other regulated medical technologies, and whether additional safeguards or standards needed to mitigate risks to patient safety and data security are explored.We will continue to monitor emerging evidence and ensure that any integration of AI into clinical practice is underpinned by appropriate oversight, transparency, and professional responsibility.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81534 on Hinchingbrooke Hospital: Medical Records, what steps he has taken to provide funding to ensure Hinchingbrooke Hospital can provide its core capabilities in their digital systems.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital is part of the North West Anglia Foundation Trust (NWAFT). All National Health Service trusts complete an annual self-assessment of their digital maturity against the seven dimensions of the What Good Looks Like framework. The results of this assessment have not yet been released. Further information is available on the What Good Looks Like framework at the following link: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/digitise-connect-transform/what-good-looks-like/what-good-looks-like-publication/ NHS England is supporting NWAFT to produce a robust and affordable Outline Business Case to procure an Electronic Patient Record that meets the core capabilities set out by the NHS England Frontline Digitisation programme. This includes providing procurement support, subject matter expertise, and funding, including both capital and revenue. NHS England has provided £9.7 million to support NWAFT with these activities to date.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October to Question 81534 on Hinchingbrooke Hospital: Medical Records, what the outcome was of the review of the strategic outline case for the new hospital as part of the New Hospitals Programme.

The Strategic Outline Case for the New Hospital Programme scheme at Hinchingbrooke Hospital was approved by the Department’s Joint Investment Committee on 22 October 2025 and has since been approved by ministers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81534 on Hinchingbrooke Hospital: Medical Records, when his Department assessed the level of digital maturity at Hinchingbrooke Hospital; and what level was identified.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital is part of the North West Anglia Foundation Trust (NWAFT). All National Health Service trusts complete an annual self-assessment of their digital maturity against the seven dimensions of the What Good Looks Like framework. The results of this assessment have not yet been released. Further information is available on the What Good Looks Like framework at the following link: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/digitise-connect-transform/what-good-looks-like/what-good-looks-like-publication/ NHS England is supporting NWAFT to produce a robust and affordable Outline Business Case to procure an Electronic Patient Record that meets the core capabilities set out by the NHS England Frontline Digitisation programme. This includes providing procurement support, subject matter expertise, and funding, including both capital and revenue. NHS England has provided £9.7 million to support NWAFT with these activities to date.

What the scope is of Exercise PEGASUS.

Exercise PEGASUS is a pandemic preparedness exercise, based on a novel enterovirus, led by the Department, with the UK Health Security Agency. It has been the largest simulation of a pandemic in the history of the United Kingdom and has involved all Government departments, the devolved administrations, local resilience forums, and other key stakeholders. Live participation in the exercise took place between September and November 2025, simulating the lifecycle of a pandemic, including emergence, containment, and mitigation, and sought to test decision-making processes at every level. A fourth phase, for recovery, is planned to be exercised via a ‘table-top’ in 2026.

How many people have been injured by fireworks in each of the past five years.

The following table shows the number of hospital admissions due to “discharge of firework” in each of the past five financial years: External causes admissions data:Financial yearDischarge of firework2020/211162021/221322022/231092023/241132024/25123Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity, available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity These figures do not represent the total number of people injured by fireworks as data is not collected for those who do not attend accident and emergency or are not admitted.

What was the outcome of the national exercise for pandemic preparedness conducted in 2025.

The national pandemic preparedness exercise, Exercise PEGASUS, which focused on the emergence, containment, and mitigation phases of a pandemic, concluded live participation on 5 November 2025. Evaluation of these three phases is underway, and a fourth phase, focussed on recovery, is planned to be exercised in 2026. The Government has committed to communicating the findings and lessons of the exercise as recommended by the COVID-19 inquiry and a post-exercise report will be delivered in due course.

How many staff redundancies there will be following the abolition of NHS England.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate costs in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy.Good progress is being made, with NHS England having sought expressions of interest for a voluntary redundancy scheme. We are still in the process of prioritising funding for exits, there is detailed design work to do on the structure of the new organisation, and there will be natural turnover that means not all reductions will be delivered by voluntary exit or redundancy. At this point we do not therefore have a firm estimate for numbers of staff redundancies.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 77257 on North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust: Medical Records, by when the outline business case would need to be approved to meet the timeline for the new hospital opening at Hinchingbrooke.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is currently part way through the business case process for a new Electronic Patient Record, working to submit its outline business case (OBC) in 2026. NHS England is supporting them to produce a robust and affordable OBC which meets their core capabilities as set out by the NHS England Frontline Digitisations Programme. This includes providing procurement support, subject matter expertise, and funding, including capital and revenue.Hinchingbrooke has also recently submitted its strategic outline case for its new hospital as part of the NHP, which was considered by the Joint Investment Committee on 22 October 2025, and a decision is pending.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 77257 on North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust: Medical Records, when he expects discussions between NHS England regional and national colleagues to take place on the (a) approvals and (b) funding for the outline business case.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is currently part way through the business case process for a new Electronic Patient Record, working to submit its outline business case (OBC) in 2026. NHS England is supporting them to produce a robust and affordable OBC which meets their core capabilities as set out by the NHS England Frontline Digitisations Programme. This includes providing procurement support, subject matter expertise, and funding, including capital and revenue.Hinchingbrooke has also recently submitted its strategic outline case for its new hospital as part of the NHP, which was considered by the Joint Investment Committee on 22 October 2025, and a decision is pending.

What the cost to the public purse has been of redundancy packages for staff following the abolition of NHS England.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and NHS provider corporate cost reductions in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy.Redundancies are anticipated to cost approximately £1 billion in total, with most exit activity concentrated in 2025/26 and 2026/27, to release savings as soon as possible and to align to the available funding. The precise split between financial years and organisations is being worked through as operational delivery planning progresses.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72364 on Electronic Patient Records, what steps his Department is taking to help support the North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust to procure a modern enterprise-wide electronic patient record system.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2025 to Question 81534 and on 22 October 2025 to Question 82444.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72364 on Electronic Patient Records, what assessment his Department has made of the digital maturity of the North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2025 to Question 81534 and on 22 October 2025 to Question 82444.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72364 on Electronic Patient Records, what Electronic Patient Records systems are approved for procurement by NHS trusts.

National Health Service trusts procure suppliers from the Clinical Digital Health Solutions Framework, details of which are available at the following link: https://www.commercialsolutions-sec.nhs.uk/frameworks/clinical-digital-health-solutions-cdhs#nav-suppliers

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72364 on Electronic Patient Records, what level on the HIMMS EMRAM model are hospitals in the New Hospital Programme required to be upon completion of their building.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2025 to Question 81534 and on 22 October 2025 to Question 82444.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of updating GP guidance to allow GPs to have proactive conversations on prostate cancer.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) commissioned an evidence review looking at screening for prostate cancer. We anticipate a public consultation on the findings of this review later this year and a recommendation by the committee in the first quarter of next year.Consideration of changes to the guidance for general practitioners regarding prostate cancer will be taken based on the findings of the evidence review.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national standard offering for glaucoma testing.

Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local population and for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet them, which could include glaucoma referral filtering services.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on the diagnosis and management of glaucoma, reference code NG81, recommends that people planning eye care services should consider commissioning referral filtering services, for example, repeat measures, enhanced case-finding, or referral refinement, for chronic open angle glaucoma and related conditions. This guideline is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng81The Getting It Right First Time programme is currently developing best practice guidance for glaucoma services to support the adoption of high standards across the pathway, from detection onwards.