Written questions by Johnson.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in her Department are in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance.

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in her Department are eligible to receive Continuity of Education Allowance.

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

When he plans to publish the renewed Women's Health Strategy.

Work is ongoing to renew the Women’s Health Strategy, which we aim to publish this Spring. In the meantime, we are committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, and strong progress has already been made in turning the commitments in the 2022 Women's Health Strategy into tangible action. 5.2 million extra appointments were delivered in the Government’s first year, we are tackling gynaecology waiting lists using the private sector, and we have made emergency hormonal contraception free in pharmacies across England.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in her Department that are posted overseas receive Continuity of Education Allowance.

Under the long-standing arrangements for continuity of education, 237 officers received Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in academic year 2024-25. This figure represents approximately 11 per cent of officers posted overseas. Eligibility for CEA is based on a range of factors that vary over time, so the Department does not hold a centrally maintained figure for the total number of overseas staff who may be eligible for CEA at any given point.

What assessment he has made of the potential of (a) vaping and (b) passive vaping on the risk of invasive meningococcal disease.

There is established evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of meningococcal disease. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of meningococcal carriage and meningococcal disease by damaging the nasopharyngeal mucosa and suppressing immune responses.Vaping could plausibly carry similar risks for carriage but the association with increased risk of disease is unknown.When either active or passive smoking occurs in an enclosed and intimate setting over a prolonged period, the risk of transmission is increased.The highest risk of transmission is associated with prolonged exposure to droplets of saliva.Where there has been repeated or prolonged salivary exposure in an enclosed and intimate venue such as a nightclub, the risk is higher.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) smoking and (b) passive smoking on the risk of invasive meningococcal disease.

There is established evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of meningococcal disease. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of meningococcal carriage and meningococcal disease by damaging the nasopharyngeal mucosa and suppressing immune responses.Vaping could plausibly carry similar risks for carriage but the association with increased risk of disease is unknown.When either active or passive smoking occurs in an enclosed and intimate setting over a prolonged period, the risk of transmission is increased.The highest risk of transmission is associated with prolonged exposure to droplets of saliva.Where there has been repeated or prolonged salivary exposure in an enclosed and intimate venue such as a nightclub, the risk is higher.

How many overseas prescriptions are dispensed in a) the UK and b) England i) in total, ii) by medicines dispensed and iii) by origin country.

The United Kingdom only recognises overseas prescriptions from European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland. Most medicines, with the exception of schedule 1 to 3 controlled drugs and specials, prescribed in these countries can be dispensed by United Kingdom pharmacies, so long as the prescriber is from a profession recognised by the statutory guidance that is legally entitled to issue a prescription of that kind in the country in which the prescription is issued.As they are dispensed as private, or non-National Health Service, prescriptions, we do not have any data for the number of EEA/Swiss prescriptions that have been dispensed in the UK.

Whether the current Chair of the adult clinical reference group for adult gender dysphoria services refused to comply with requests for data for the date linkage study which was recommended by the Cass review.

It is well documented that a number of adult gender clinics were unwilling to collaborate with data sharing requests made of them previously, in respect of the data linkage study, and that this meant that the data linkage study was unable to proceed at the time. Further engagement with a range of stakeholders has since led to small but important proposed improvements in study design. These have been subject to positive feedback from representatives of commissioned adult gender clinics and should support collaboration on data sharing once the necessary research approvals are in place to enable the study to begin. Given the importance of this study as part of the wider national gender research programme, the Department will continue to closely monitor progress in partnership with NHS England and consider whether any further support is required to enable study delivery.

How many convictions there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions across England and Wales for a wide range of offences in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UKThe offences that constitute unlawful abortion include procuring an illegal abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.Information centrally held does not specify how many of these convictions are linked to the use of the pills-by-post scheme.The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to the pills-by-post scheme.

How many charges there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.

The Home Office does collect and publish official statistics on the number of charges for the offences of ‘Procuring illegal abortion’ offences and ‘intentional destruction of a viable unborn child’ recorded by the police in England and Wales.However, it is not possible to separately identify investigations relating to the termination of pregnancy through the pills-by-post scheme in data that is held centrally.

How many prosecutions there have been for offences relating to the termination of pregnancy through the the pills-by-post scheme.

The At-Home Early Medical Abortion or EMA (known as the “pills by post” scheme), was implemented to allow eligible individuals to receive medication to terminate a pregnancy of less than 10 weeks via post after a telephone or video consultation. Introduced in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to improve access to care, the scheme was made permanent in August 2022.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of prosecutions for offences relating to the illegal use of medication expressly procured to cause an abortion. To establish number and outcomes of prosecutions where relevant offences relating to the misuse of medication were prosecuted would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost.Management information is available which shows the number of offences charged by way of Sections 58 and 59 (administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion / procuring drugs, instruments to cause abortion) and Section 1 (child destruction) in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2025. Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 { 1(1) }Offences Against the Person Act 1861 { 58 }Offences Against the Person Act 1861 { 59 }2020-20210002021-20222212022-20234532023-20243502024-2025066Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data are held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

Pursuant to the written statement on 26 February 2026 titled Data Linkage Study, what is his expected timeframe for research and ethics approval.

Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the data linkage study to begin, including the laying of an updated statutory instrument, or Order, to provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data for the specific purpose of the study, that are potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. In parallel, refreshed research approvals are currently being sought from the Health Research Authority (HRA). The HRA provides independent scrutiny and approval of research studies, with the outcome of the data linkage study’s application expected in the next few weeks. Both the new order and HRA study approvals will need to be in place before the study, including data sharing, can begin.

On what date he plans to bring into force the provisions of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill.

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 5 March 2026. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 (Commencement) Regulations 2026 were made on 5 March 2026, which brought into force all provisions of the Act on 6 March 2026.

Pursuant to the written statement on 26 February 2026 titled Data Linkage Study, whether he plans to complete the data linkage study before the Pathways puberty blockers trial commences.

The data linkage study is an important commitment within a wider national gender research programme, which is being jointly delivered by NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.The data linkage study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. It is important to highlight that as the study is not designed as a comparative clinical trial, it will not provide direct evidence on the cause or effect of any individual treatment approach, nor provide evidence relating to any treatment’s safety or efficacy. Its findings will relate to a former, decommissioned model of NHS care and to a previous cohort of children and young people with gender incongruence.The PATHWAYS suite of studies, including the currently paused clinical trial, and the data linkage study, have very different designs and will generate different types of new evidence. They remain separate elements of the wider national gender research programme, and their delivery timelines are not co-dependent.

Pursuant to the written statement on 26 February 2026 titled Data Linkage Study, whether he expects the data linkage study to be completed before the abolition of NHS England.

The Department currently expects the data linkage study analysis to have been completed, or be close to completion, by April 2027, dependent on the timing of research approvals being secured. However, should any remaining actions be required to complete, and publish the findings of, the study at the point NHS England is abolished, these will transfer as legacy delivery commitments for completion by the Department.

Pursuant to the written statement on 26 February 2026 titled Data Linkage Study, what the small but important improvements in study design are to which he refers in his statement.

Small but important proposed improvements include refining the data sharing requirement of adult gender clinics, so that data is only requested that directly relates to the study cohort. Careful consideration has also been given to how best to run the study-specific data opt out so that it is simpler and more accessible to individuals in the study cohort, and can remain open longer. This will provide the parallel benefit of reducing the administrative burden on individual gender clinics.

How many deaths there have been of (a) women, (b) babies and (c) stillbirths where the termination of pregnancy through pills-by-post has been considered a contributory factor.

The information requested is not routinely collected centrally.The Department collects information on abortions in England and Wales via the HSA4 abortion notification form. The HSA4 form includes a section for recording the death of a woman within 14 days of an abortion, where this is known to abortion providers. This is not routinely published because the 14-day time frame limits the data’s usefulness for counting the total number of deaths amongst women following abortion. Also, it does not record whether the method of abortion, including home use of early medical abortion pills, was a contributory factor in a death.Since 2020, zero deaths of women following an abortion have been reported to the department via the HSA4 form, rounded to the nearest five. Following the 2023 abortion statistics publication, all data is rounded to the nearest five. As a result of this change, counts of zero can mean no or a small number of procedures in the given field.Information on the deaths of women, babies following a live birth, and stillbirths are recorded by the Office for National Statistics using data derived from information collected in death registrations. However, it is unusual for wider contextual factors such whether the deceased had taken early medical abortion pills at home to be recorded on the death certificate.

With reference to the Written Statement of 23 February 2026 on Clinical trials, HCWS1347, in which the letter from MHRA refers to correspondence from 7 November 2025, if he will publish that correspondence.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is not releasing the 7 November letter at this point as the decision is the subject of litigation, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency does not comment on ongoing litigation proceedings.

Whether he has reviewed the findings of the independent analysis commissioned by Prostate Cancer Research on the economic model used by the UK National Screening Committee.

The independent analysis commissioned by Prostate Cancer Research was submitted to the UK National Screening Committee’s public consultation on its draft recommendation on screening for prostate cancer. This consultation has now closed, and the committee is considering the responses.We anticipate a final recommendation on screening for prostate cancer soon. Following this, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will make a decision on whether to accept the recommendation, and what next steps are needed.

Whether he plans to conduct a full Equality Impact Assessment as part of the decision making process on prostate cancer screening recommendations.

Yes, a full equality impact assessment will be undertaken as part of the decision-making process on prostate cancer screening recommendations.On 28 November, the UK National Screening Committee opened a 12-week public consultation on a draft recommendation on screening for prostate cancer. This consultation has now closed, and the committee is considering the responses.We anticipate a final recommendation soon. Following this, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will make a decision on whether to accept the recommendation, and what next steps are needed. Any policy developed from the recommendation will be supported by an equality impact assessment to ensure that health inequality that could be caused by the policy will be mitigated against.