Written questions by Johnson.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of using technology within vapes to verify the age of vape users.

It is concerning that youth vaping has more than doubled in the last five years and that one in four children aged between 11 and 15 years old tried vaping in 2023. That is why we are committed to bringing about definitive and positive change to stop future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine. To do this, we are acting to reduce the appeal, availability, and accessibility of these products to children whilst not impacting on their use as a quit aid for adult smokers.The Government’s policy, as set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, is that all products are age verified at the point of sale rather than the point of use.We are examining the role of certain technology in vapes as part of our secondary legislation programme, and we are currently running a call for evidence on vapes which explores this area, and which we would encourage stakeholders to respond to. In addition, next year we will run a consultation on introducing smoke-free and vape-free places, restrictions on vape packaging, and on changing how and where vapes are displayed in shops.

With reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of 27 March 2025, Official Report, column 447WH, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the research study led by Dr Rebecca Bromley entitled Fetal Exposure Study (FES): Understanding Clinical Teratogen Syndromes.

The Department will give careful consideration to the findings of Dr Bromley’s study, once the research has been finalised and published. The Department recognises the importance of robust, evidence-based research in shaping policy and improving outcomes for those affected by prenatal exposure to certain medications. We remain committed to reviewing emerging evidence and will ensure that the implications of this study are fully assessed in the context of existing and future departmental policies.

With reference to HM Treasury's and HMRC's document entitled Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy - consultation, published on 28 April 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of lowering trends in the level of sugar consumption on trends in the level of artificial sweetener consumption.

No formal assessment has been carried out by the Government to date. While businesses are required to declare the sweeteners that have been used in products in the ingredients panel on food packaging, they are not required to provide information on the amounts of sweetener that have been used. Without this information, it is not possible to undertake a robust assessment of the levels of sweeteners that are used in products or consumed or how this has changed over time.United Kingdom legislation dictates the amount of additives, including sweeteners, that can be used and in which products, along with any specific conditions of use. Compliance is monitored by the Food Standards Agency and supported in assessing the safety of additives by the independent Committee on Toxicity.On 2 April 2025, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published a position statement on the World Health Organization guideline on non-sugar sweeteners. The SACN concluded that the evidence of a risk to health from consuming non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) is inconsistent. The SACN made a precautionary recommendation that intake of NSS be minimised. With greater certainty of the impact of sugars on health, the SACN recommended that “swapping sugars for NSS may help reduce sugar intake from foods and drinks (and so reduce energy intake), at least in the short term. The long-term goal is to limit both sugar and NSS intake”.The SACN also recommended that the Government monitor the sweetener content of food and drinks, evaluate the impact of policies on intakes of sweeteners and compel industry to make publicly available data on the amounts of individual NSS within foods. The SACN also made several research recommendations including exploration of innovative ways to reliably monitor exposure to NSS.

When he expects the independent maternity and neonatal investigation to publish its final recommendations.

The independent maternity and neonatal investigation will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. The investigation will publish its final report and recommendations in Spring 2026.

What discussions he has had with the food industry on the proposed update of the Nutrient Profiling Model.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes implementing junk food advertising restrictions on TV and online, introducing mandatory healthy food sales reporting for large businesses and setting new targets to increase the healthiness of sales in all communities, and boosting the impact of our advertising and promotions restrictions by applying the updated Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM).The existing advertising restrictions and the location and volume price promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink use the NPM 2004/5 to determine which products are ‘less healthy’ and therefore in scope of the restrictions. The NPM 2004/5 is out of date, and we committed in the 10-Year Health Plan to updating these standards to reflect the latest dietary advice. This will strengthen the restrictions and more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.We have started to engage with stakeholders across sectors of the food and drinks industry and will continue this ahead of and during a consultation period in 2026 on the policy application of an updated NPM to ensure stakeholders can feed in their views.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Big Brush Club on rates of dental decay among children who participated in that scheme.

No assessment has been made of this locally commissioned scheme. However, supervised toothbrushing is evidence based and cost effective, with a five-year return on investment of £3.06 for every £1 spent. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-oral-health-supervised-tooth-brushing-programme-toolkit/commissioning-and-delivering-supervised-toothbrushing-schemes-in-early-years-and-school-settingsThe national supervised toothbrushing programme currently underway is targeting up to 600,000 three- to five-year-olds in the most deprived areas of England. This is backed with investment of £11 million in 202525/26 and a five-year collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive. The National Institute of Health and Care Research will evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the national targeted supervised toothbrushing programme, where we expect an impact on population outcomes from two years of implementation. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/evaluation-national-targeted-supervised-toothbrushing-programme-england/2025435

How many (a) schools, (b) nurseries and (c) early years settings have signed up to the Big Brush Club supervised toothbrushing scheme.

The Big Brush Club is commissioned across seven integrated care boards (ICBs) in the National Health Service South West region in England to deliver supervised toothbrushing at schools and nurseries. The total number of schools participating is 738. The number of nurseries and early years settings are not available separately, but the total number of nurseries and early years settings participating, combined, is 462.The national supervised toothbrushing programme now being implemented across England will reach up to 600,000 children between the ages of three and five years old in the 20% most deprived Lower Super Output Areas according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. This is backed by £11 million funding to local authorities in 2025/26 and a five-year partnership with Colgate-Palmolive. Where there are existing schemes in place, there is local flexibility to provide additional programmes, including those for older or younger children, those with special educational needs and disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

How many posts have been (a) allocated and (b) filled in the dental recruitment incentive scheme, broken down by (i) region, (ii) integrated care board and (iii) in total.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have started to recruit dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.Golden Hello data will be published next year and will consist of data showing the regional distribution of the original allocation of posts and the number of posts recruited to at both a national and regional level.

What assessment he has made of the quality of (a) maternity and (b) neonatal services in each of the 14 NHS Trusts chosen for the maternity and neonatal investigation.

The Department has not selected which trusts to include in the independent maternity and neonatal investigation.The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s maternity patient survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s perinatal mortality rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback. Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.The chair’s selection of the 14 trusts has been made with a view to ensuring a diverse mix of trusts, including variation in case mix, trust type, geographic and demographic coverage and views expressed by families. By taking this approach, the investigation can capture learning from a wide range of provision and experiences, ensuring that the findings are relevant across the system.The Department does not specifically hold data on whether National Health Service trusts are high performing, poor performing, and/or substantially improved. The latest available data on all 14 trusts is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/

With reference to the press notice entitled 14 NHS trusts the focus of national maternity investigation, published on 15 September 2025, which NHS Trusts selected for the maternity investigation were examples of (a) high performing, (b) poor performing and (c) substantially improved Trusts.

The Department has not selected which trusts to include in the independent maternity and neonatal investigation.The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s maternity patient survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s perinatal mortality rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback. Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.The chair’s selection of the 14 trusts has been made with a view to ensuring a diverse mix of trusts, including variation in case mix, trust type, geographic and demographic coverage and views expressed by families. By taking this approach, the investigation can capture learning from a wide range of provision and experiences, ensuring that the findings are relevant across the system.The Department does not specifically hold data on whether National Health Service trusts are high performing, poor performing, and/or substantially improved. The latest available data on all 14 trusts is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/

With reference to the press notice entitled 14 NHS trusts the focus of national maternity investigation, published on 15 September 2025, what criteria his Department used to decide which NHS Trusts would be included in the maternity investigation.

The Department has not selected which trusts to include in the independent maternity and neonatal investigation.The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s maternity patient survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s perinatal mortality rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback. Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.The chair’s selection of the 14 trusts has been made with a view to ensuring a diverse mix of trusts, including variation in case mix, trust type, geographic and demographic coverage and views expressed by families. By taking this approach, the investigation can capture learning from a wide range of provision and experiences, ensuring that the findings are relevant across the system.The Department does not specifically hold data on whether National Health Service trusts are high performing, poor performing, and/or substantially improved. The latest available data on all 14 trusts is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of NHS England on levels of NHS service provision, in the context of (a) the closure of the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme and (b) and reductions in levels of availability of hyperbaric chamber services.

Volunteers play an important role supporting and complementing National Health Service services, staff, and patients but they do not replace staff or services. Following the closure of the NHS Volunteer Responders programme, all volunteers have been signposted to other NHS and voluntary sector organisations to continue their volunteering. Referrers were informed of the change in service provided so that they can source alternative support for their patients if needed. In addition, there are over 70,000 volunteers who continue to support NHS trusts directly in over 300 different volunteer roles, as well as many local voluntary sector organisations that provide other forms of support.NHS England is committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for anyone who requires Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). This will be achieved through the commissioning of six geographically dispersed services across England. The geographical scope of these services will ensure that there are no more than four hours travelling time by road from coastal locations, furthest borders or between neighbouring commissioned HBOT centres. This is in line with good practice guidelines.

If he plans to make interim payments to people affected by sodium valproate as recommended in the Hughes report on Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, including around interim payments. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.

When he plans to respond to the recommendations of the Hughes report on Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.

How many (a) women of child bearing age, (b) girls, (c) boys and (d) men are receiving prescriptions for sodium valproate as of 11 September 2025.

Prescription data is collected by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).The NHSBSA bases prescription data on processed prescription data for each three-month period. This is a commonly used method for presenting prescription data for prescriptions given for chronic conditions that can last longer than one month.The latest available prescription data is from the period between April and June 2025.The following information is extracted from the NHSBSA ePACT2 database, using British National Formulary chemical substance sodium valproate (0408010W0) and valproic acid (0402030Q0, 040801020), prescribed in England. The following numbers of patients were prescribed one or more item between April 2025 and June 2025: (a) 16,400 females aged 18-54(b) 2,400 females aged 0-17(c) 6,000 males aged 0-17(d) 91,800 males aged 18 or over

What information his Department holds on the number and proportion of children who are not up-to-date with their vaccinations by the demographic characteristics of those children.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors trends in the level of childhood vaccination rates by upper tier local authority, region and country level. Data on coverage of all routine childhood immunisations are published quarterly and annually by UKHSA. Quarterly data are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2024-to-2025-quarterly-dataAnnual data are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-annual-reports.Data by demographic characteristics is not collected.In England, the UK Health Security Agency is working closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners at the national regional and local levels to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.To raise awareness of potential vaccination benefits and increase awareness of the programmes amongst health professionals, parents, carers and the wider public, UKHSA provides a comprehensive suite of public facing resources and assets, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, including easy read, British Sign Language and braille. UKHSA also provides comprehensive clinical guidance including e-learning programmes and training for healthcare professionals. These are available at the following link:https://find-public-health-resources.service.gov.uk/

How many and what proportion of people aged between 75 and 79 have received the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) measures the coverage of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).The RSV adult vaccination programme in England began on 1 September 2024. Only data for the catch-up cohort, namely adults aged between 75 and 79 years old before the programme start date, has been published. The latest data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rsv-older-adults-vaccination-coverage-in-england/rsv-vaccine-coverage-report-in-older-adults-for-catch-up-cohorts-in-england-july-2025As of 31 July 2025, the overall vaccine coverage in the catch-up cohort reached 63.4%.All adults turning 75 years old on or after 1 September 2024 will be eligible for the routine programme and should be offered a single dose of the RSV vaccine. A one-off catch-up campaign for those already aged between 75 and 79 years old on 1 September 2024 will be undertaken at the earliest opportunity.The total number of individuals who have received an RSV vaccine is available from NHS England at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/vaccinations-rsv/

What estimate he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for people aged between 75 and 79 on the number (a) deaths, (b) hospital admissions and (c) GP appointments.

The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) analysis in the Lancet journal in April indicated 30% fewer respiratory syncytial virus hospital admissions in 75- to 79-year-olds than would have occurred without vaccination. This was seen after around 40% of eligible older people had taken up their vaccination and uptake has since increased.The full analysis is available at the following link:https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00346-0/fulltext.At the June 2025 meeting of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, UKHSA presented new estimates of averted deaths and admissions in those aged 75 to 79 years. This was based on enhanced hospital surveillance and conservative estimates of vaccine waning over three seasons.They estimate:112.8 admissions prevented per 100,000 doses [around 890 vaccines prevents one admission]8.6 deaths prevented per 100,000 doses [around 11,600 vaccines prevents one death]Before the vaccine roll-out, predictive analysis suggested that with high uptake, the 75–79-year-olds programme could prevent 17,000 GP attendances.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2025 to Question 66246 on General Practitioners: Recruitment, what the minimum length would be of that significant period.

The 10-Year Health Plan set out that we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out further details in due course.

How many and what proportion of irregular migrants arriving by small boat receive health screening.

The Department and NHS England do not hold the information requested.