Written questions by Lockhart.

If he will take steps to ensure that women considering abortion are provided with comprehensive information on all available options, including parenting, adoption, and perinatal palliative care.

In line with the Department’s required standard operating procedures for the approval of independent sector places for termination of pregnancy in England, women seeking abortion services must be given impartial, accurate, and evidence-based information so that they are able to make an informed choice about their preferred course of action.The National Health Service website provides factual information on abortion, including directing people seeking impartial information and support to their general practice or to regulated organisations such as Brook, for under 25 year olds, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, MSI Reproductive Health Choices UK, and National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service. All the main abortion providers offer pregnancy counselling, which includes advice on options such as parenting and adoption.Following a diagnosis of fetal anomaly, women and their partners must receive appropriate counselling and support. At no stage should there be a bias towards abortion. All staff involved in the care of a woman or couple facing a possible termination of pregnancy must adopt a nondirective, non-judgemental, and supportive approach. It should not be assumed that a woman will choose to have a termination, and a decision to continue with the pregnancy must be fully supported. In addition, the charity Antenatal Results and Choices offers information and support for people who have received a diagnosis after antenatal screening.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impacts of the decriminalisation of abortion on (a) clinical safeguards, (b) informed consent procedures, (c) access to alternative support services, and (d) the protection of vulnerable women.

The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion for a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967. The bill will now continue its progress through Parliament.Informed consent is separate from the requirements set by the Abortion Act for two doctors to certify that a woman meets the grounds for abortion. Consent to treatment means a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test, or examination. For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision. These principles will continue to apply irrespective of whether abortion is decriminalised.As part of standards set by the Care Quality Commission, abortion services must be able to prove that they have processes in place to ensure that all women and girls are seeking services voluntarily. It will also remain a requirement for an abortion service, as laid out in the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures, that staff should be able to identify those who require more support than can be provided in the routine abortion service setting, including where there is evidence of coercion.Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults accessing their services. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and coercion and know how to respond. In addition, we expect all providers to have due regard to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s national safeguarding guidance for under-18 year olds accessing early medical abortion services.The Department is continuing to monitor abortion related amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill and will consider whether current arrangements are sufficient or if additional guidance is needed.

Whether his Department plans to review the 24-week abortion gestational limit in light of recent scientific evidence on foetal pain and advances in neonatal care.

There are no plans for the Government to review the gestational limits of abortion. It is for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion, including gestational time limits.When the time limit was last reduced in 1990, there was a clear consensus from the medical profession that the age of viability had reduced from 28 weeks to 24 weeks gestation. There is currently no clear medical consensus that the age of viability has reduced below 24 weeks.The Government does not formulate policy on fetal sentience and fetal pain. The review and determination of fetal sentience and its implications for abortion and clinical practice is reached through professional medical consensus and clinical guidance.The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has carried out a comprehensive review into fetal awareness evidence. Published in December 2022, the review concluded that the evidence to date indicates that the possibility of pain perception before 28 weeks of gestation is unlikely.

What guidance his Department issues to abortion providers on informing women of alternative support services and pathways before an abortion is undertaken.

The Department’s required standard operating procedures for the approval of independent sector places for termination of pregnancy, or abortion, in England sets out that women requesting termination of pregnancy must be given impartial, accurate, and evidence-based information, both verbal and written, delivered in a clear, understandable, and non-judgemental way. This includes informing women about their options so that they can make an informed choice about their preferred course of action. As early as possible, women should be provided with detailed information including alternatives to abortions, for instance, adoption and motherhood. Their choice should be respected without any unnecessary delay.

What recent steps he has taken to implement the National Suicide Prevention Plan; and what further steps he is taking to help tackle suicide rates.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention. The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable. NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/ The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the guidance. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies and giving patients better access to all-hours support directly through the NHS App.

Whether his Department plans make an assessment of the use of (a) fibrous forms of talc, (b) tremolite and (c) actinolite in products used by the NHS.

From a medicines perspective, additives in medicines, termed excipients, are required to comply with the standards laid down in pharmacopeial monographs and can only be included in medicinal products at levels that are considered to be safe.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is aware of general concerns in relation to the presence of asbestos in talcum powder. However, pharmaceutical grade talc has strict controls on the presence of asbestos. The British Pharmacopeia monograph for Purified Talc states that “Talc derived from deposits that are known to contain associated asbestos is not suitable for pharmaceutical use”. Furthermore, testing is required to confirm the absence of asbestos.NHS Supply Chain procurement activities require suppliers to comply with United Kingdom regulatory requirements such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service or international equivalent accreditation for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and ISO 13485, to ensure that products procured under NHS Supply Chain frameworks and used within the National Health Service in England are subject to rigorous safety assessments.

What steps he is taking to ensure that patients have timely access to innovative cancer medicines.

In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS is legally required to fund NICE recommended medicines, normally within three months of final guidance, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation. NICE aims wherever possible to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing to ensure that patients are able to benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost effective new medicines.The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the measures we are taking that will mean that patients are able to access medicines three to six months faster, including improved alignment between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s decisions and NICE guidance publication.In England in 2024/25, 93% of NICE recommendations for cancer treatments were positive. Positive includes recommended, optimised, recommended in the cancer drugs fund (CDF), and optimised in the CDF.Health is a devolved matter and as such it would not be appropriate for me to comment on access to medicines within the devolved administrations.

What steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for decisions on applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

The Department is working with NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the administrators of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), to process claims at a faster rate. We have scaled up and modernised VDPS operations through the digitisation of the claims process and increasing administration staff working on the VDPS. NHSBSA is also engaging with healthcare providers to improve the return rate of medical records, essential to assessing claims, including though submitting subject access requests.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of decriminalising abortion on the (a) rights and (b) responsibilities of medical professionals.

The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.Under section 4(1) of the Abortion Act 1967, medical professionals have the right to refuse to participate in terminations of pregnancy, other than where the termination is necessary to save the life of, or prevent grave injury to, the pregnant woman. This right is limited to refusal to participate in the procedure(s) itself and not to pre- or post-treatment care, advice or management.

Whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a compensation scheme for people adversely affected by Covid-19 vaccinations.

I would like to reiterate my deepest sympathies to all those individuals who have experienced harm following vaccination, and to their families.The long-standing Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payment Act 1979. The VDPS is not designed to be a compensation scheme and does not prejudice the right of the individual to pursue a claim for damages through the courts.The Government recognises that concerns have been raised regarding the VDPS, including by some of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination. Ministers continue to consider options for reforming the scheme.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decriminalisation of abortion of women who are (a) vulnerable and (b) subject to (i) coercion and (ii) abuse: and what steps he plans to take to protect them.

No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.The safeguarding of children, young people and adults who are at risk is a fundamental obligation for everyone who works in the National Health Service and its partner agencies. Following the decriminalisation of abortion for pregnant women acting in relation to their own pregnancy, the Department will consider whether sufficient safeguards are already in place or whether additional guidance is needed.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of decriminalising abortion on (a) levels of public confidence in the protection of unborn children and (b) societal attitudes towards the value of life.

No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of telemedicine for first-trimester abortions on the number of criminal prosecutions in the last five years.

The Government has not made an assessment on the connection between the number of prosecutions for unlawful abortions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. Parliament decides the circumstances under which abortion can legally be undertaken.In 2022, Parliament voted to amend the Abortion Act 1967 to allow eligible women in England and Wales to take one or both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks at home, following a consultation with a clinician either in person, by telephone or by electronic means. The Department works closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, and abortion providers to ensure that abortions are provided safely, in accordance with the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967.Abortion continues to be a very safe procedure for which major complications are rare at all gestations. The evidence-base for home use of early medical abortion pills has been assessed by leading statutory and professional organisations and it is recognised to be a safe procedure in evidence-based guidance, including the World Health Organisation’s abortion care guideline, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 2022 report on best practice in abortion care and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines on abortion care.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential link between the use of gabapentin and cognitive impairment in patients.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. Medicines are authorised on the basis that the benefits exceed the risks, and all products are licensed by the MHRA before being placed on the market.Product information for gabapentin currently carries warnings of potential side effects of confusion, mental impairment, amnesia, and anxiety, and therefore patients should be advised to exercise caution until they are familiar with the potential effects of the medicinal product. All new safety information continues to be carefully considered, and regulatory action will be taken if considered necessary.All medicines have side effects, although not everyone will experience them. The MHRA encourages anyone who suspects or experiences a side effect of their medicine to report it to the MHRA through the Yellow Card scheme.

What steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to (a) maternity and (b) bereavement care services for Black and Asian families.

It is a priority for this Government to make sure all women and babies receive high-quality and equitable access to care, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity. As part of NHS England's three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, all local areas now have in place Equity and Equality action plans. These plans tackle inequalities and barriers to access for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas and also set out how they will equip staff to provide culturally competent care. Integrated Care Boards are responsible for assuring implementation of these plans, and evidence suggests the plans have led to prioritisation of equity for mothers and babies, and increased engagement with service users. NHS England is also ensuring that maternity healthcare professionals receive training on culturally competent care, which can be a barrier to equitable access for black and Asian women. This is done through their Core Competency Framework and provision of the Cultural Competence and Cultural Safety in Maternity Services e-learning course. Over 15,400 maternity staff have completed this. NHS England has also embedded equity-focused leadership development through the Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme. All 150 maternity and neonatal units in England have participated in the programme.With regards to bereavement care services, all trusts in England are now signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, which covers a range of circumstances of baby loss. The aim is to ensure that all bereaved parents, regardless of their background, location or ethnicity, are offered equal, high quality, personalised, safe and sensitive care. In addition, ‘7 days a week’ bereavement services are being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death. We recognise that to deliver consistently high-quality care, much more is required. On 23 June 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced he would be launching an independent, national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to look at the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care, and to rapidly put in place solutions to improve maternity safety and quality. Alongside this, he also announced that we would be establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which he will chair. Membership of that taskforce will be representative of those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health.

How many additional (a) neonatal, (b) stillbirth and (c) maternal deaths have occurred since 2018 compared to the Government’s target to halve 2010 rates by 2025; and what steps he is taking to meet these targets.

While there has been some good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirths and neonatal death, the most recent data indicates that we are not on track to meet the Maternity Safety Ambition, set under the previous administration.We do not hold analysis on the specific ask, but we track progress against the ambition trajectory using various data sources, which are publicly available, including data from the Office for National Statistics and from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK. In 2015, the rate of neonatal death and stillbirths was 1.6 per 1,000 live births and 4.4 per 1,000 births respectively. In the period 2014 to 2016, the rate of maternal death was 9.8 per 100,000 maternities. The most recent data shows that: in 2023 the rate of neonatal death was 1.4 per 1,000 live births; in 2024 the rate of stillbirths was 3.8 per 1,000 births; and in the period between 2021 and 2023 the maternal mortality rate was 12.7 per 100,000 maternities.We are committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive the high-quality care that they deserve. This is why my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. The Government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and to be made up of a panel of experts and family, charity, and staff representatives, in order to identify the actions needed to improve care.But action cannot wait. We are also taking steps to improve care now. We have announced a package of immediate actions to boost accountability and safety. This includes a new system to better identify safety concerns to support rapid action and developing best practice standards to reduce maternal mortality.

What steps his Department is taking to help support research into immunotherapy treatments for (a) pancreatic, (b) brain and (c) other difficult-to-treat cancers; and whether he plans to provide additional funding to clinical trials in this area.

The Department invests in research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR continues to welcome high quality, high impact funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including research into immunotherapy treatments.The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic, brain, and other difficult-to-treat cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for cancer.The Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme and the Medical Research Council have co-funded and awarded a £9 million grant to the MANIFEST immunotherapy platform. The MANIFEST consortium is led by the Francis Crick Institute and is composed of academia, the National Health Service, and industry partners, with the aim of expanding and advancing UK immunotherapy research and development capabilities, supporting better targeting and improved efficacy of these expensive treatments, and will look to onboard new cancer types and indications as activity progresses.

When his Department plans to introduce a licensing and regulatory framework for practitioners in the aesthetic and cosmetic surgery industry.

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 recent discussions he has had with relevant professional bodies on the (a) clinical management and (b) treatment of hay fever.

No recent discussions have taken place on the clinical management and treatment of hay fever specifically, however, as part of the Expert Advisory Group for Allergy, Department policy officials meet regularly with the National Allergy Strategy Group, which includes the professional body, the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The most recent meeting was in April 2025.The Expert Advisory Group for Allergy, which was established in 2023, is co-chaired by the Department and the National Allergy Strategy Group, and brings stakeholders together to inform policymaking and to identify key priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies, including those with hay fever. The National Allergy Strategy Group is developing the UK National Allergy Strategy 2025-2035. The Department will carefully consider, and respond to, recommendations in the strategy when we receive it later this year.

What recent discussions he has had with Devolved administrations on improving support for people living with motor neurone disease.

My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, meets regularly with counterparts across the devolved administrations. We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, biannual meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations and health services, and the Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum, which met for the first time on 10 March 2025, brings key stakeholders together, to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including motor neurone disease.