Written questions by Jones.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the residual value of second-hand electric vehicles.

The Government works closely with the automotive industry to monitor the health of the used electric vehicle (EV) market. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles attends a used EV industry steering group. This includes stakeholders representing independent and franchised dealerships, vehicle auctioneers, rental and leasing companies, and the repair sector. This group actively follows the development of prices and residual values in the used EV market. Industry intelligence suggests the recent volatility in EV prices was caused by shifts in the supply and demand of used EVs. Such shifts are likely to be felt more strongly in the used EV market, as it is still at an early stage. The Government expects prices and residual values to stabilise as the market matures.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of AI radiotherapy auto-contouring on (a) patient outcomes, (b) productivity and (c) workforce retention.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have huge potential in improving productivity across the National Health Service by supporting clinicians with faster and more accurate diagnosis, enhancing clinical decision-making about treatment plans, and reducing the administrative burden faced by healthcare staff. The Department and NHS England are developing guidance for the responsible use of these tools and how they can be rolled out to make the day-to-day operations of the NHS more productive and provide better outcomes for patients. The Department is focusing the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund on the integration of AI technologies in key, high-demand areas such as radiology, particularly for chest x-rays and chest computed tomography scans to enable faster diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in over half of acute trusts in England. This will not only allow patients to be diagnosed and treated sooner, but will also lower the demands on NHS staff, improving morale and staff retention. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), sponsored by the Department, evaluates new health technologies for NHS use, considering clinical effectiveness, value for money, and impacts on staff. As part of this, the NICE conducts Early Value Assessments (EVA) for developers, reviewing their AI tools before they are deployed. For the NHS, EVAs aim to give the NHS a clear signal about which innovations work, offer good value for money, and meet system needs, including productivity gains for staff. The NICE has recommended that AI technologies can be used in the NHS to help with the contouring of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans, to plan radiotherapy treatment for people having external beam radiotherapy. Technologies such as these have been shown to contour images almost two and a half times faster than a human. This reduction in time could support the reduction of backlogs, ensure patients receive treatment sooner, save money, and allow healthcare professionals to spend more time with patients.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce resource disparities among NHS Trusts for cancer (a) care and (b) treatment.

A £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available and accessible to patients. The National Health Service will also maximise the pace of the roll-out of the additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer.The National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre is currently undertaking a range of audits which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary. This will enable the NHS to understand where to increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this.The Department will also refresh the Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, so the NHS has the staff it needs to treat patients on time again.

When the Minister for Public Health and Prevention plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Wokingham of 21 January 2025 on blood cancer.

I replied to the hon. Member on 10 March 2025.

What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on data sharing to identify households eligible for energy social tariffs.

The department is working closely with other government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, to understand how we can better use and share data to better target support at customers that need help. I am also leading a working group with Energy UK and other stakeholders to consider how we can take further sustained action on improving affordability and accessibility of energy.

When his Department plans to respond to the hon. Member for Wokingham in relation to the correspondence of 5 February 2025 from the Leader of the House on the number of newly-qualified GPs employed under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme GP Sum in each integrated care board since August 2024.

I replied to the hon. Member on 4 April 2025.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of heat batteries on (a) peak electricity demand and (b) grid flexibility in the UK energy system.

Heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs and do not require outside space. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand, which could impact peak electricity demandThe Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) VAT reductions or grants and (b) other financial incentives to encourage the adoption of heat battery technology in UK households as part of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan.

VAT treatment is the responsibility of the Treasury, and they keep all taxes under review. Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) can benefit from zero rated VAT, until April 2027, and the Department continues to engage with the Treasury and HMRC regarding ESMs. Heat batteries are a promising technology but they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will use more energy to meet the same heating demand. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries in Government grant programmes as the supporting evidence base develops, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial.

What steps his Department is taking to improve public awareness and consumer advice on the benefits of heat battery technology as part of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan.

Heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs, do not require outside space, and can be cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstances. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand. The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries as the supporting evidence base develops.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of heat battery technology to the Warm Homes Plan; and what steps he is taking to support the (a) development and (b) deployment of heat batteries in domestic heating systems.

Heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs, do not require outside space, and can be cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstances. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand. The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries as the supporting evidence base develops.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing cancer stages.

Earlier diagnosis remains a key priority for the Government for stageable and non-stageable cancer types. For stageable cancers, there is a clear link between early staging and increased survival rates. Earlier diagnosis is also linked to better outcomes for non-stageable cancers. Many of the actions we are implementing to improve the earlier staging of stageable cancers, such as improving awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, and increasing referral routes and the availability of diagnostics, also have a positive impact on non-stageable cancer outcomes.Furthermore, to support the early diagnosis of non-stageable cancer types, NHS England currently implements non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations thereof, that can indicate several different cancers. From NHS England’s national evaluation, blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with non-stageable cancer types. It will aim to speed up diagnosis and treatment and will ensure that all patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

What steps he is taking with NHS England to help improve (a) early diagnosis rates of and (b) access to treatments for cholangiocarcinoma in the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board area.

Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including cholangiocarcinoma.To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We will continue to prioritise and improve early cancer diagnosis, including for cholangiocarcinoma, by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and better access to treatment.Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and improving access to treatment.

What steps he is taking to improve access to grant funding for cholangiocarcinoma research.

The Department invests £1.6 billion each year in research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. These investments are pivotal for informing the efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes, and include research into cholangiocarcinoma and cancers of the bile duct. An example of a current award is “a single arm pilot study of Brodalumab in the treatment of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis”, with a total award value of £751,000.The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cholangiocarcinoma research. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Whether he plans to include proposals to (a) improve earlier diagnosis and (b) increase access to treatments of cholangiocarcinoma in the National Cancer Plan.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year. The Prime Minister’s Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer.The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and earlier diagnosis to accessing treatment and ongoing care, and will apply to all cancer types, including rare cancers such as cholangiocarcinoma. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.

Whether he plans to include policies on rare cancer prognosis in the national cancer plan.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year. The Prime Minister’s Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer.The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and earlier diagnosis to accessing treatment and aftercare, including personalised care and care planning. It will apply this to all cancer types, including rare cancers. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.

If he will hold discussions with NICE on the introduction of comprehensive guidance on the management of cholangiocarcinoma.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance through its technology appraisals programme recommending several medicines for use in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma that are now funded by the National Health Service for eligible patients.

What assessment he has made of potential impact of levels of deprivation on the mortality rate among cholangiocarcinoma patients.

We recognize that there are particular challenges for a number of different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts incidence and mortality rates, including for those with cholangiocarcinoma.To improve early intervention and reduce mortality rates, NHS England’s Help Us, Help You campaigns seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the care they need. The current Help Us, Help You campaign is focused on addressing symptoms of abdominal and urological cancers, which includes cholangiocarcinoma.

What steps his Department is taking to help raise awareness of cholangiocarcinoma.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of including a dedicated chapter within the National Cancer Plan on children and young people.

The structure of the National Cancer Plan document will be decided in due course. However, the plan will address the unique experiences of children and young people with cancer. To support this, on 4 February 2025, we relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of deprivation on the incidence rate of cholangiocarcinoma.

We recognize that there are particular challenges for a number of different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts incidence and mortality rates, including for those with cholangiocarcinoma.To improve early intervention and reduce mortality rates, NHS England’s Help Us, Help You campaigns seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the care they need. The current Help Us, Help You campaign is focused on addressing symptoms of abdominal and urological cancers, which includes cholangiocarcinoma.