Written questions by Beales.

What steps he is taking to update the existing regulations on (a) composition, (b) marketing and (c) labelling of commercial infant and toddler foods to ensure products are suitably nutritious.

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of wellbeing in later life.It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional and compositional standards for commercial baby food. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.

Whether the NHS 10-year plan will include steps to improve (a) prevention of, (b) early diagnosis for and (c) treatment for lung conditions.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the county.More tests and scans delivered in the community to allow for earlier diagnosis, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including respiratory conditions, closer to home. Earlier diagnosis of conditions will help people manage their conditions, prevent deterioration, and improve survival rates. Taking action to reduce the causes of the biggest killers, such as enabling a smoke free generation, can further help prevent lung conditions.

Whether he plans to take steps to allow doctors to prescribe Abiraterone.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new, licenced medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE for eligible patients in line with its recommendations.The NICE has published guidance recommending abiraterone for the treatment of metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer before chemotherapy is indicated and for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen. NHS England funds abiraterone for these indications of prostate cancer in line with the NICE’s recommendations, making it routinely available for clinicians to prescribe to eligible patients.NHS England considered abiraterone as an off-label treatment for hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer through its clinical policy development process in 2024/25. Through this process, NHS England confirmed that there was sufficient supporting evidence to support the routine commissioning of abiraterone in this indication and it was ranked in the highest priority level. However, NHS England could not identify the necessary recurrent funding to support commissioning of abiraterone, or any other treatments within the prioritisation round. Ministers are considering further advice on this issue.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NICE Late Stage Assessment on intermittent catheters on the ambition to move more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community.

The Department commissions the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to undertake Late-Stage Assessments (LSAs) to help commissioners, clinicians, and patients identify the most effective products that offer the best value for the National Health Service.The NICE’s LSA of intermittent urethral catheters for chronic incomplete bladder emptying focuses on urethral catheters used in primary care and community settings. This will ensure that as more healthcare is delivered in community settings, commissioners, clinicians, and patients will be better informed when identifying the most effective and best value for money intermittent catheters in a crowded market.

What assessment his Department has made of how the NICE Late-Stage Assessment programme aligns with the ambitions of the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan.

Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan and the wider industrial strategy, the Government will take targeted, concerted, and aggressive action to unlock growth. The plan will focus on enabling world-class research and development, making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to start, scale, and invest in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation and reform. This approach will support high-growth businesses, deliver better health outcomes, and cement the UK’s global leadership in life sciences. Backed by deep engagement with industry, the plan will tackle barriers head-on and lay the foundations for long-term, sustainable growth. The reforms to Part IX of the Drug Tariff and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) late-stage assessments align with this approach by supporting the adoption of innovation. The Part IX reforms include a new two-year temporary listing mechanism so that innovative products can be made available for patients more quickly. The NICE’s late-stage assessments are a central element of the NICE’s lifecycle approach to evaluation, valuing incremental innovation in transformative products once they have become established or widely available to the National Health Service. The assessments will provide guidance on value, especially where there are claims of improvements and innovation over time, to support NHS commissioners, procurement teams, patients, and clinicians to select the most effective and cost-effective products, from those available on the market.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the review of Part IX of the Drug Tariff does not adversely impact investment by the medtech sector.

The Department is working closely with industry through the Drug Tariff Committee to finalise the detail of the update to the product categorisation and listing process of Part IX of the Drug Tariff. The Department remains committed to ensuring that the reforms represent a positive change for patients, the National Health Service, and the medical technology sector. For example, to support innovation and inward investment, a new two-year temporary listing mechanism will be introduced so that innovative products can be made available for patients more quickly.

What steps he is taking to help reduce inequalities in prostate cancer outcomes.

The Government understands that more needs to be done to improve outcomes for all people with prostate cancer. To address disparities and find ways to better detect prostate cancer earlier, we have invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms. This research will aim to address some of the inequalities that exist in prostate cancer diagnosis by targeting black men in trial recruitment, ensuring that one in ten participants are black men. We have also asked the National Screening Committee to review the evidence for prostate cancer screening, including for high-risk groups. The NHS England Cancer Programme also commissions clinical cancer audits, which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients, including those with prostate cancer.Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will develop a new National Cancer Plan. The plan will seek to improve outcomes and address disparities for all cancers, including for prostate cancer. A call for evidence, seeking contributions from individuals and organisations, including ideas on how to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for prostate cancer, is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the review of Part IX of the Drug Tariff supports the NHS 10 Year Plan in shifting care from (a) hospital to the community, (b) treatment to prevention and (c) analogue to digital.

Part IX of the Drug Tariff covers medical technology products prescribed in the community. In 2025, the Department is updating the product categorisation and listing process, following extensive engagement with patient groups, the National Health Service, and industry. The updated categorisation will support the NHS to prescribe the right products for patients. The new listing process will, for the first time, include the patient’s voice and clinical subject matter experts in the decision-making process, and a new temporary listing process will support early access for patients of innovative products able to support the three big shifts.

If he will ensure that the review of Part IX of the Drug Tariff is aligned to the Life Sciences Sector Plan.

Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan and the wider industrial strategy, the Government will take targeted, concerted, and aggressive action to unlock growth. The plan will focus on enabling world-class research and development, making the United Kingdom one of the best places in the world to start, scale, and invest in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation and reform. This approach will support high-growth businesses, deliver better health outcomes, and cement the UK’s global leadership in life sciences. Backed by deep engagement with industry, the plan will tackle barriers head-on and lay the foundations for long-term, sustainable growth. The reforms to Part IX of the Drug Tariff and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) late-stage assessments align with this approach by supporting the adoption of innovation. The Part IX reforms include a new two-year temporary listing mechanism so that innovative products can be made available for patients more quickly. The NICE’s late-stage assessments are a central element of the NICE’s lifecycle approach to evaluation, valuing incremental innovation in transformative products once they have become established or widely available to the National Health Service. The assessments will provide guidance on value, especially where there are claims of improvements and innovation over time, to support NHS commissioners, procurement teams, patients, and clinicians to select the most effective and cost-effective products, from those available on the market.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of NICE’s Late Stage Assessments on the attractiveness of the UK for inward investment from medtech companies.

The Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to undertake Late-Stage Assessments (LSAs) to help commissioners, clinicians, and patients identify the most effective products that offer the best value for the National Health Service. LSAs benefit health technology manufacturers by giving all manufacturers a transparent, robust, and evidence-based process for demonstrating the added value of their products.

What steps he is taking to reduce inequalities in (a) still-birth rates and (b) maternal mortality related to (i) class and (ii) ethnicity.

It is unacceptable that there are such stark inequalities for women and babies. It is a priority for the Government to make sure that all women and babies receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location, or ethnicity.We are supporting NHS England as it delivers its three-year plan to make maternity and neonatal care more personalised, safe, compassionate, and equitable for women and babies. As part of this, all Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems are implementing their equity and equality actions plans, which include targeted interventions to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. All trusts are implementing version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, brain injuries, neonatal deaths, preterm births, and inequalities. We are working closely with NHS England, and the wider sector, to identify further interventions to address inequalities for women and babies. Some of these will require time to implement, but we also need to ensure that there are immediate actions that can begin to drive forward improvements now. This includes the targets needed to drive change, in line with the Government’s commitment to setting an explicit target to close the black and Asian maternal mortality gaps.

What steps he is taking to increase staffing levels in maternity services.

The Government is committed to tackling the retention and recruitment challenges that face the National Health Service. Bringing in the staff we need will take time, but this is a priority for the Government.NHS England is leading a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure that the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits. This includes building a compassionate and inclusive culture, supporting staff wellbeing, and promoting flexible working opportunities. As a part of this, there are interventions in place specific to the maternity and neonatal workforce, such as creating a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, support on pensions, investing in unit-based midwife retention leads. We are also boosting the midwifery workforce through undergraduate training, apprenticeships, postgraduate conversion, and return to midwifery programmes.

What his planned timeline is for negotiations on reform of the NHS dental contract.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.We continue to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending school-based counselling on reducing child and adolescent mental health service waiting lists.

The Government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.

How many Mpox vaccines were delivered in each month since January 2024.

The following table shows the number of Mpox vaccines delivered each month from 1 January 2024 to 31 January 2025, as well as the total Mpox vaccines delivered in that period:MonthNumber of Mpox vaccinations administeredJanuary 2024804February 20241,069March 2024900April 2024612May 2024899June 2024894July 2024704August 20242,856September 20242,078October 20244,329November 20241,713December 20241,271January 2025293Total18,422The data was extracted on 5 February 2025 and is based on aggregate data submissions from sexual health or genitourinary medicine clinics.

What the level of vaccine uptake is by (a) ethnicity, (b) region and (c) socio-economic group.

This information is not held in the format requested. The total number of mpox vaccinations administered in England in 2023/24 financial year was 21,225. The total number of mpox vaccinations administered in 2024/25 financial year to date currently stands at 15,649. The latest vaccine coverage statistics are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptakeInfluenza and COVID-19 coverage data can also be viewed in the weekly flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports, which are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2024-to-2025-seasonChildhood vaccination coverage statistics in England are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of integrating Mpox vaccines into routine sexual health services for higher risk groups.

NHS England is planning for a routine Mpox vaccination programme, whilst continuing to offer vaccination to eligible cohorts in areas with the highest density of the eligible population as part of the response to the recent Mpox outbreaks.NHS England has recently opened additional Mpox vaccination sites across the country to support the access for eligible individuals, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/2025/02/nhs-opens-new-mpox-vaccination-sites-across-england/The programme will be delivered through Sexual Health Services who have experience in the assessment, identification, and vaccination of those who are at increased risk of Mpox infection.

How many mPox vaccines were given in England in the 2023-24 financial year; and how many have been given to date in the 2024-25 financial year.

The total number of Mpox vaccinations administered in England in the 2023/24 financial year totalled to 21,225. The total number of Mpox vaccinations administered in the 2024/25 financial year to date currently stands at 15,649.The data was extracted on 5 February 2025 based on aggregate data submissions from sexual health or genitourinary medicine clinics. The data covers a period of 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, and 1 April 2024 to 31 January 2025.

What assessment his Department has made with NHS England of the efficacy of booster vaccinations for mPox.

An assessment of the efficacy of booster vaccinations has not been made as there is currently no requirement for mpox booster vaccinations.There is currently insufficient evidence to support routine boosters of mpox vaccination in immunocompetent individuals, namely people with the ability to produce a normal immune response; further information is contained in Smallpox and mpox: the green book, chapter 29, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smallpox-and-vaccinia-the-green-book-chapter-29

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of regularly publishing data on incidents of corridor care in the NHS.

The Government is clear that patients should expect and receive the highest standard of service, and is determined to tackle the issue of corridor care.Discussions on how to improve urgent and emergency care services are continuing, and we will continue to keep the data available and published to support that aim under review. Before the spring, we will set out the lessons learned from this winter and the improvements that we will put in place ahead of next winter.