Written questions by Chambers.

How many shifts were recorded as not fully-staffed on England’s maternity units in each of the last five years.

Awaiting answer.

How many midwives started working in the NHS in each of the last five years.

NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. This covers staff working for hospital trusts and integrated care in England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. The published data includes information on the turnover of staff, including the number of staff who have joined active service in the preceding 12 months. This information can be found in the file NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Turnover – data tables, at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/february-2026Joiners are defined as any member of staff who was not active in the workforce 12 months previously who is present in the latest workforce data, hence joiners may include staff who are returning from longer periods of unpaid leave as well as those newly recruited, who may have been working in other health and social care settings previously.

How many undergraduates enrolled for a midwifery degree in each of the last 10 years.

Data published by the Office for Students in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES) collates figures submitted by individual higher education providers to give an indication of the number of students studying in each academic year.HESES data includes figures on undergraduate midwifery courses in England. The latest published data is for those starting courses in 2025. The following table shows the number of undergraduate starters on midwifery courses in England for 2016 to 2025:YearStarters20161,86020172,15020182,55020192,93020203,46020213,56520223,30520233,25520243,24520253,340Source: HESES 2018 to 2022.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that occupational therapists receive adequate training opportunities and support.

NHS England recognises the vital role occupational therapists play across the health and care system and is committed to supporting a skilled, sustainable workforce.Post registration training and development for occupational therapists is the responsibility of employers and is aligned to identified service requirements and individual learning needs. This support spans the full career pathway, including preceptorship or foundation practice for newly registered staff, enhanced and advanced practice roles, and consultant level practice.Employers are supported through a range of funded and accredited education and training routes. National Health Service trusts receive a dedicated Continued Professional Development funding allocation to enable registered allied health professionals, including occupational therapists, to access ongoing learning and skills development. In addition, a range of education and training grants are available, with funding routes and levels aligned to staff grade and stage of development. Training opportunities are designed to support priority service areas such as community and neighbourhood services, mental health, elective recovery, and population health, while also enabling occupational therapists to develop leadership, advanced clinical, education, and research capabilities.These arrangements ensure occupational therapists are supported to maintain and enhance their skills throughout their careers, respond to service needs, and deliver safe, effective, and high-quality care.

If he will commit to meeting with EDS UK before the end of the year.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and ministers regularly meet with a wide range of stakeholders, including patient groups and charities, to inform policy development and to understand lived experience. Officials from the Department have also engaged with organisations representing people affected by Ehlers–Danlos syndromes (EDS).While it is not possible to commit to specific meetings within a set timeframe, the Department remains open to continued engagement with EDS UK and other stakeholders as part of its ongoing work to improve care and outcomes for people living with complex and long‑term conditions.

Whether he plans to take steps to ensure that AI-based mental health tools do not replace access to human-delivered psychological support where this is clinically appropriate.

The Government is clear that artificial intelligence (AI) based tools must not replace access to human‑delivered psychological support where this is clinically appropriate.Digital and AI tools can be used to support mental health services and those in need of those services, for example by helping with administrative tasks, triage, or appointment management, and these benefits can enable clinicians to spend more time delivering direct care. However, decisions about treatment and care must always be clinically led and based on individual patient need.Publicly available AI applications that are not deployed by the National Health Service, such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, are not regulated as medical technologies and may offer incorrect or harmful information. People experiencing mental health difficulties are strongly encouraged to seek support from qualified professionals through NHS services or trusted charities.Spending across mental health services, both specialised commissioning and ICB combined, and including learning disability, autism, and dementia, is planned to increase to £20.616 billion in 2025/26, compared to £18.988 billion in 2024/25. Specific funding has also been allocated to expand mental health support in schools to 100% of institutions by 2029/30.

What role AI-based mental health tools are expected to have within NHS mental health services.

The Government is clear that artificial intelligence (AI) based mental health tools are intended to support and complement, not replace, National Health Service mental health services.Within NHS mental health services, AI based tools are expected to play a supporting role, for example by helping with administrative tasks such as appointment management, triage support, and updating clinical records, enabling clinicians to spend more time delivering direct, person‑centred care. AI may also support evidence‑based digital interventions, such as digitally enabled therapies, where these are clinically appropriate and have been properly evaluated.The Government is clear that AI based tools must not replace access to trained mental health professionals, particularly for people experiencing acute distress. Publicly available AI applications that are not deployed by the NHS, such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, are not regulated as medical technologies and may offer incorrect or harmful information, and people experiencing mental health difficulties are strongly encouraged to seek support from qualified professionals through NHS services or trusted charities.

What steps he is taking to improve accessibility to tofersen.

The Government recognises how important it is that patients with motor neurone disease are able to benefit from access to new clinically and cost-effective treatments. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating tofersen, a new licensed treatment for SOD-1 motor neurone disease, and the company is expected to make an evidence submission to support the appraisal in early June 2026.NHS England will explore whether an interim commercial agreement could be supported through the Innovative Medicines Fund should NICE issue a positive draft recommendation for tofersen. This would enable eligible patients to benefit from the treatment several months earlier than would otherwise be the case.

How his Department calculated the cost of additional spending on medicines over the spending review period.

In relation to the recently announced plans to increase the standard cost-effectiveness threshold used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), costs will start smaller but will increase over time as NICE approves more life improving and life-saving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.We have no plans to publish an impact assessment or details of the modelling which led to this estimated figure. This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our National Health Service and world leading life sciences without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.

Whether he plans to develop a national infection strategy.

The Government already has evidence-based policies in place to embed system-wide infection prevention and control measures to mitigate the impact of infection.For example, the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) for England provides guidance on infection control for National Health Service healthcare staff of all disciplines in all care settings. The NIPCM, last updated in July 2025, is a live document that is updated in line with new evidence and lessons learned. More broadly, the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) 2024 to 2029 contains targets and commitments to address rises in both infection and in antimicrobial prescribing that could arise as a consequence of infection. Further information on the UK 5-year action plan for AMR is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-5-year-action-plan-for-antimicrobial-resistance-2024-to-2029

What estimate he has made of the number of apps which offer mental health advice via (a) chatbots and (b) large language models.

The Department has not made an assessment or estimated the number of mental health advice chatbots and large language models.Publicly available artificial intelligence (AI) applications that are not deployed by the National Health Service, such as ChatGPT and Character AI, are not regulated as medical technologies and may offer incorrect or harmful information. Users are strongly advised to be careful when using these technologies.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of an independent national review into the use and oversight of ventricular assist devices in the NHS.

Guidance on the use of medical devices is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which has existing guidance on the use of left ventricular assistance devices available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg516

How many deaths have been recorded in inpatient mental health settings in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally. All deaths of children and young people under the care of Tier 4 inpatient children and young people’s mental health services are routinely reported to the Department via NHS England. Such deaths are also notified to the Care Quality Commission and the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health.Since 2019, there have been a total of 23 deaths of young people aged under 18 years old in contact with Tier 4 services, including those on home leave, or who had absconded. We are unable to provide the information broken down by year, as the annual data held by NHS England includes a small patient count of fewer than five cases which could lead to the identification of individuals.All providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission of the deaths of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The following table shows the number of deaths of patients detained under the Mental Health Act notified to the Care Quality Commission in the last five years:YearTotal202047420214052022410202333520243432025311Total2278Source: the Care Quality CommissionNotes:this data does not include deaths in mental health inpatient settings where the patient was not detained under the Mental Health Act; anddata for 2025 is up to 2 December 2025.This data is counts of notifications to the Care Quality Commission under Regulation 17 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, Notification of death or unauthorised absence of a service user who is detained or liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Whether he plans to reform the compensation formula for maternity negligence compensation.

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office’s report.The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.

What estimate he has made of the number of patients who no longer meet the criteria to reside in hospital in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital.

The Department does not hold data on the number of patients who no longer meet the criteria to reside at a hospital level. However, figures by trust are published monthly by NHS England, and are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/discharge-delays/acute-discharge-situation-report/For the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which includes the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, there were on average 159 adult patients, occupying 19.9% of adult acute beds, who had no criteria to reside but were not discharged by the end of the day in October 2025. This was 5.9% higher than the England average of 14% for October 2025.To support trusts to tackle discharge delays, the Government published a new policy framework for the £9 billion Better Care Fund (BCF) in January 2025. This gives the National Health Service and local authorities accountability for setting and achieving joint goals for reducing discharge delays and preventing avoidable emergency admissions and care home admissions. Some areas are receiving targeted support from the BCF support programme.

How many and what proportion of payouts from maternity services were rated by Care Quality Commission as (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c) requires improvement and (d) inadequate on safety in 2025.

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. NHSR has advised that the information is not held in the format requested.NHSR does not hold data on the number or proportion of maternity service compensation payouts categorised by Care Quality Commission (CQC) safety ratings.Clinical negligence payments often relate to incidents that happened many years ago. The legal test for negligence is completely separate from the criteria used by the CQC for safety ratings, which do not assess whether an incident meets the legal definition of negligence.

Whether he plans to allocate funding to innovative diagnostics to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP) highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use.Outcome six of the NAP commits to cross-sector working to develop diagnostics as a tool to tackle AMR. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has invested over £16 million into programme funding for AMR diagnostics research. The Department also funds the NIHR HealthTech Research Centres, which accelerate development of healthcare technologies, including diagnostics.

If he will host the Global Ministerial Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance in 2028.

The United Kingdom is looking forward to participating actively in the fifth Ministerial High-Level Conference on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which will be held in Nigeria in 2026. The Government is considering how best to celebrate the 2028 centenary of the UK's discovery of penicillin. We will internally consider whether this will include bidding to host the sixth Ministerial High-Level Conference on AMR, which will take place in 2028.

What steps he is taking to (a) support, (b) rollout and (c) ensure equality of regional access to whole Genome Sequencing for primary brain cancer patients; and what plans he has to review (i) refrigeration issues, (ii) access and (iii) speed of processing.

Genomic testing is delivered through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service via seven regional NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (NHS GLHs). Testing follows the National Genomic Test Directory, which includes whole genome sequencing (WGS) for neurological tumours, including primary brain cancers, for both diagnostic and treatment purposes. NHS England has produced national sample handling guidance for WGS of solid tumours, including brain tumours, to standardise collection, processing, and transport. This supports collaboration between neurosurgeons, pathologists, and NHS GLHs to maintain DNA quality and improve access to WGS. Approaches to the handling of fresh tissue have been reviewed, including the use of tissue stabilisers, to reduce some of the barriers of having to acquire, freeze, and transport the frozen tissue, which will speed up processes. These measures aim to address variability and ensure equitable regional access to WGS for brain tumour patients. NHS England monitors performance through Patient Level Contract Monitoring data and works with NHS GLHs to address variation and drive improvements.

What plans his Department has to include all low-grade (a) Astrocytomas and (b) gliomas that eventually become high-grade terminal cancers in its forthcoming cancer plan.

The National Cancer Plan is to be published this year and will include further details on how outcomes will be improved for all cancer patients, including those with astrocytoma and other brain tumours.The plan will include further details on speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.The Government recognises the significant impact of rare cancers, such as glioma brain tumours, on patients and on their families and carers, and has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours, and increasing life expectancy.