Written questions by Tomlinson.

What steps he plans to take to help (a) improve pay and conditions for frontline social care workers and (b) ensure that social care policy adequately addresses the requirements of people with severe disabilities.

We are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker representatives, employers, and others to negotiate pay, and terms and conditions in a responsible manner. This will help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, in turn supporting the delivery of high-quality care.We are making immediate improvements to improve the lives of people with severe disabilities, such as providing £711 million of funding to the Disabled Facilities Grant in 2024/25 and 2025/26, as we lay the foundations for a National Care Service.We will ensure that the needs and experiences of disabled people are at the heart of our future plans.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the severity modifier by NICE in 2022 on the provision of life-extending treatment to those with incurable secondary breast cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been monitoring the impact of the severity modifier since it was implemented in 2022. Data up to March 2025 shows that the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher with the severity modifier (85%) than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced (75%). The proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher with the severity modifier (81% compared to 69% with the end-of-life modifier).Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. This includes treatments for advanced breast cancer (such as Truqap and Korserdu), which are now available to eligible NHS patients.The severity modifier is therefore working as intended and there are currently no plans to adjust or change it in the near future. However, NICE has commissioned research on people’s attitudes to how the severity modifier should be applied that will inform future reviews of NICE’s methods.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle regional disparities in the (a) distribution and (b) availability of essential medications.

Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. We have drawn on up-to-date intelligence and data on the root causes of medicine supply issues, with manufacturing problems being the most dominant root cause.The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and to strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. We have plans underway to increase the awareness of our work.The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people in (a) care homes and (b) hospitals to have visitors in all circumstances.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024, and requires CQC registered care homes, hospitals, and hospices to facilitate visiting, unless there are exceptional circumstances which mean that it is not safe to do so.We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting by looking at Capacity Tracker data and intel from sector partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.

What steps he is taking to help support Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (a) to reduce waiting times, (b) limit the rejection of referrals and (c) improve trust in services by both (i) p

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are too long. We are determined to change that, which is why we will recruit 8,500 additional ...

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent changes to funding for nurse training on (a) the recruitment of mature graduates and (b) other nurse recruitment; and what plans he has

No such assessment has been made. Tuition fees and student maintenance loans for nursing training are set by the Department for Education. Through the Department of Health and Social Care, eligible students also continue to receive support whilst they are...

Whether his Department has commissioned research into the factors causing increased GP consultation rates.

The Department has not formally commissioned research into this topic. General practice consultation rates have increased in recent years, as a result of significant growth in the clinical workforce. This increase also represents a recovery from the abnor...

Whether his Department plans to take steps to improve training for service providers on (a) Tourette's syndrome and (b) other tic disorders.

NHS England’s e-Learning for Healthcare has produced modular online learning resources in relation to Tourette’s syndrome and other tic disorders, within its neurodevelopmental disorder and healthy schools programme domains, which are freely accessible to...

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for NHS treatment.

Patients are waiting too long to access the care they need, with over 6 million people waiting for treatment across 7.6 million pathways. Tackling this is a key part of our Health Mission. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step in our commitment to ensuring patients are treated within 18 weeks.