Written questions by Carden.

What steps his Department is taking to improve diagnosis times for young people with cancer.

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, including children and young people. To achieve this, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer.The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how we aim to improve diagnosis rates for people across England.

Whether his Department has had discussions with (a) dentists and (b) dentist representatives on the recent dentist pay award.

The Department formally consults with the British Dental Association on the details of contract uplift proposals before these are implemented, as the recognised representative body for dentists. We consulted the British Dental Association on the proposed uplift for 2024/25, as we do each year.The Government implemented the overall uplift to contract values on 29 January. Uplifted payments will be made in March, backdated to 1 April 2024.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a public inquiry into the safety of PIP breast implants.

There are currently no plans to commission a public inquiry into the safety of Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) breast implants.As part of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) market surveillance for medical devices, we worked with the National Health Service and other health partners to ensure the PIP issue was properly investigated. PIP breast implants were withdrawn from the market in 2010. It is important to note that while PIP implants are associated with a higher risk of rupture, leading to symptoms such as tenderness or swollen lymph glands, there is no evidence linking ruptured PIP implants to serious long-term health issues.As with any medical device, breast implants do not come without risks. The current advice from the MHRA remains that anyone with a PIP breast implant should consult with their doctor about the possibility of removal. The NHS and MHRA provide guidance for patients on the available options for PIP implant removal. This is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pip-implants/Since PIP breast implants were withdrawn, two independent reviews have identified lessons learnt, specifically the Howe Review in 2012 and the Keogh Review in 2013. The health system has since enacted important changes. As a result of the Keogh Review, since 2016 the Breast and Cosmetic Implant Registry collects data on all types of breast implant and removal surgeries in England and Scotland, aiming to help detect emerging safety issues and trace patients if necessary.The MHRA is developing a future regulatory framework for medical devices that will ensure that patients have access to the safe and effective medical devices they need. The first step is the introduction of new Post-Market Surveillance regulations, which will come into force in June, and will put in place strengthened legal requirements for how manufacturers monitor and report on their devices once they are being used in the real world. We intend to follow this with updates to the UK Medical Device Regulations later this year, which will bring further improvements to device traceability and patient safety by introducing additional measures that must be taken before a product can be placed on the market. This will include requirements for unique device identifiers, implant cards, new rules to ensure that claims are consistent with the intended purpose, and changes to the classification of some medical devices, such as implantables, to better reflect the potential risks to patients and ensure risk proportionate requirements for manufacturers.

What recent discussions his Department has had with University Hospitals of Liverpool on the Critical Incident declared on 7 January 2025.

NHS England’s regional teams have worked closely with the integrated care boards to ensure that appropriate action is taken to address and mitigate the issues identified within each declared critical incident, including at the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the US Surgeon General’s recommendations to include health warnings on alcohol labels; and whether he has plans to re-visit his Department's closed consultation entitled Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives, published on 28 September 2023.

The Government is committed to building a National Health Service fit for the future, with a greater emphasis on the prevention of avoidable health harms, supporting people to live well for longer.We have noted the United States Surgeon General’s recommendations, and will continue to consider how alcohol labelling can be improved to support consumers in making informed decisions about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting low risk consumption.

How much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in each year since 2021.

The following table shows the amount the Department spent on consultancy fees, each year since 2021:Year2022/232021/222020/21Spend£4,092,000£252,815,000£188,978,000Source: the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts within the Accountability Report, in the table on expenditure on Consultancy, Agency and Temporary workers.The value for 2020/21 has been amended from previous Parliamentary Questions as a prior year adjustment for 2020/21 was reflected in the 2021/22 Annual Report and Accounts to account for £17,365,000 for the vaccine taskforce, which was transferred from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, amending the value for 2020/21 from £171,613,000 to £188,978,000. The table excludes the date for 2023/24. Fully audited figures for 2023/24 will be available upon the publication of the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts later this year.

When he plans to respond to the email of 18 July 2024 from the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton on care supporters.

I have responded to the Hon. Member’s letter.