Every parliamentary written question tabled by Helen Maguire this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 370 · Department of Health and Social Care
What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making the OdonAssist available across all NHS Trusts.
OdonAssist is not currently available across National Health Service trusts and is only being used in the context of research in the United Kingdom. OdonAssist has not yet been fully evaluated for safety and efficacy compared with other methods of assiste...
Whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of including dramatherapy in the Neighbourhood Health Model Framework.
The Department has not made such a specific assessment. The Neighbourhood Health Framework sets out the overall approach to delivering more joined up, personalised and preventative care closer to people’s homes, with services designed to meet local popula...
What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making the Accessible Information Standard a statutory requirement.
A revised Accessible Information Standard (AIS) was published on 1 July 2025 and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/accessible-information-standard/ NHS England is supporting implementation of the standard. Mandatory informatio...
Whether vaccinations administered through NHS school immunisation programs are required to be uploaded to patients’ digital NHS records within a specified timeframe.
In line with our commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are continuing to develop a dedicated ‘My Vaccines’ tool in the NHS App. This will provide people with their and their children’s personal vaccination history and eligibility as well as the abilit...
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of vaccination records displayed on the NHS App for vaccinations administered through school immunisation programs.
In line with our commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are continuing to develop a dedicated ‘My Vaccines’ tool in the NHS App. This will provide people with their and their children’s personal vaccination history and eligibility as well as the abilit...
What steps his Department is taking to help tackle health misinformation online.
The Department takes the challenge of health misinformation seriously, recognising its potential impact on public health outcomes. We focus on delivering consistent, clinically assured messaging that builds public trust and confidence, positioning the Dep...
How many (a) complaints and (b) reports NHS England has received regarding (i) missing and (ii) incomplete vaccination histories on the NHS App in the last three years.
In line with our commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are continuing to develop a dedicated ‘My Vaccines’ tool in the NHS App. This will provide people with their and their children’s personal vaccination history and eligibility as well as the abilit...
What proportion of vaccinations delivered through school-age immunisation services are visible within the NHS App.
In line with our commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are continuing to develop a dedicated ‘My Vaccines’ tool in the NHS App. This will provide people with their and their children’s personal vaccination history and eligibility as well as the abilit...
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NHS restructure and merger on the employment of Allied Health Professions.
The proposed abolition of NHS England and associated transfer and modification of functions is subject to legislation and the will of Parliament. We will be engaging with partners inside and outside the organisations as the process to design the future De...
What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the NHS providing free detail repairs for teeth damaged by seizures.
We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems and may find it difficult to access dental care. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their population and ensuring that the re...
If he will put Women’s Health Hubs at the centre of the Neighbourhood health framework.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) should take a neighbourhood approach to women’s healthcare, ensuring women can get the care they need regardless of whether they speak first to a general practitioner (GP), hospital or other healthcare provider.We are support...
What assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the recommendations of the Tackling the GP Work Crisis report by the Royal College of General Practitioners
We welcome the findings from the Royal College of General Practitioners’ report on Tackling the GP workload crisis. Many of the recommendations align closely with our ongoing commitment to fixing the front door of the National Health Service by cutting re...
What criteria will be used in the appointment of the independent co-chair of the National Cancer Board.
The National Cancer Plan, published on 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions to be delivered within the next ten years, including the establishment of a reformed National Cancer Board. The role of the National Cancer Board will be to...
How much funding has been allocated to the National Cancer Plan for a) 2027-2028, b) 2028-2029, c) 2029-2030 d) 2030-2031, e) 2031-2032.
The Department has announced that the National Cancer Plan, published in February 2026, is backed by significant funding committed by the Government at the Spending Review.Investment which will support the delivery of the National Cancer Plan includes £20...
What criteria will be used in the annual summary of progress publication to evaluate the success of the National Cancer Plan’s implementation.
The Department has announced that the National Cancer Plan, published in February 2026, is backed by significant funding committed by the Government at the Spending Review.Investment which will support the delivery of the National Cancer Plan includes £20...
What steps his Department is taking to use screening programmes to share information and boost prevention awareness of Bowel Cancer.
The bowel cancer screening leaflet “Your guide to NHS bowel cancer screening” includes information on the symptoms of bowel cancer, with advice to see your general practitioner if you have symptoms, alongside information on the risks of bowel cancer with ...
What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the risk of bowel cancer through encouraging higher fibre diets in schools and other public sector settings.
There is strong evidence that eating a diet high in fibre is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer. Government recommendations on fibre are reflected in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide...
What steps his Department is taking to help support (a) women on gynaecology waiting lists and (b) the workforce delivering that care.
We are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, including for gynaecology. As of March 2026, the waiting list f...
What steps he is taking to help protect (a) resources and (b) infrastructure for the delivery of the National Cancer Plan in the context of the NHSE and DHSC merger.
The Government has protected specialist cancer leadership, confirmed Cancer Alliances as the main delivery partners, and aligned national resources and infrastructure within a single system. Clear accountability, safeguarded workforce capacity, and shared digital and delivery infrastructure ensure the plan will continue to be implemented consistently across England during organisational change.Progress against commitments will be monitored through a reformed National Cancer Board, jointly overseeing delivery and providing regular updates to ministers to ensure momentum is maintained during and after the merger.We will work to ensure a smooth transition during the merger of NHS England and the Department, so that the public continues to have access to high-quality cancer care.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the absence of a specific criteria to determine which providers were included in the Neighbourhood Health Framework on the equality of local care provisions.
The Neighbourhood Health Framework is designed to empower local leaders to develop and scale neighbourhood health, and to provide clarity and consistency to support joined-up working between integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities.The framework outlines the national minimum aims and objectives of Neighbourhood Health Services and maps the process systems should go through to establish local metrics and plans. The framework references how general practice, primary care, pharmacy, mental health provider, civil society partner, and social and community health services can work together to shift care from hospitals to communities. This is not an exhaustive list of all possible providers of neighbourhood health services but illustrates the types of providers with whom we are actively working. It is not prescriptive.No specific criteria were used to determine the providers that were included in the framework. The framework does not prevent other providers from being part of neighbourhood health services.It is important that reforms are locally led, as ICBs and local authorities are best placed to design services that make sense for their local populations. However, there are actions that work everywhere, so the framework sets out a minimum set of interventions for all ICBs to deliver over the next three years. This will provide the building blocks of an effective, joined-up Neighbourhood Health Service.We recognise that delivering a Neighbourhood Health Service will be an incremental process, as both local understanding develops and national reforms progress. We will regularly update the Neighbourhood Health Framework to reflect learning from communities.