Written questions by Roome.

When the Government plans to publish the response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 4 recommendations on the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

Awaiting answer.

Whether there are plans to deliver capital funding to local ICB's to support local training hubs or centres for dental development to support dental workforce recruitment and retention, especially in rural and coastal areas like North Devon.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the North Devon constituency, this is the Devon ICB.ICBs receive allocations of capital funding each year to cover primary care requirements and overall strategic objectives. They are able to use the capital on dental facilities should they consider that a priority. In 2026/27, the funding available across all ICBs is £122 million for primary care, and £195 million for overall strategic objectives.We are determined to rebuild NHS dentistry and deliver a dentistry service fit for the future. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan and ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.We are also committed to fundamentally reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of capacity for the General Dental Council’s Overseas Registration Examination; and what discussions he has had with the General Dental Council on reducing waiting times for Part 2 of that examination and on the affordability of recent increases in examination fees for overseas-qualified dentists.

The Government recognises the challenges faced by overseas-qualified dentists seeking to sit the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE), particularly in relation to waiting times.The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dental professionals in the United Kingdom and therefore is responsible for determining the standards that professionals wishing to practise in the UK must meet in order to be registered.The GDC has recently put in place a new delivery contract which will significantly increase capacity across both parts of the ORE. This represents an unprecedented expansion in exam throughput, with capacity for Part 1 and Part 2 sittings expected to increase to 2,400 and 1,500 places per year respectively. Overall, the expansion is projected to deliver a more than fivefold increase in the number of overseas-qualified dentists able to complete the ORE and join the register by 2028. This significant increase in capacity will enable greater throughput of the examination and is therefore expected to reduce waiting times for ORE candidates over the coming years. In addition, the GDC is developing a new candidate portal, including a revised booking system, as part of the new contract. This is due to be in place for exams scheduled in 2027.As an independent regulator, it is for the GDC to determine the appropriate fee level to effectively run the ORE examination. The GDC has indicated that the fee increase is necessary to support greatly expanded capacity under the new contract, including specialist facilities, examiners, quality assurance, and VAT on delivery costs.The Royal College of Surgeons of England provides an alternative route for overseas-trained dentists, the License in Dental Surgery. In March 2026, the Government announced grant funding to support an expansion of this examination route, which is expected to increase final exam places tenfold by 2028, from approximately 180 to a projected 1,800.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure Parkinson's patients are supported with speech and language therapy.

Awaiting answer.

What plans his Department has to provide additional funding to support the delivery of the dental hygienist apprenticeship where the cost of clinical training exceeds the apprenticeship funding band.

The Government recognises the important role that dental care professionals, including dental hygienists, play in the delivery of National Health Service dentistry.The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for managing the apprenticeship levy and setting the funding rules for employers.

Whether he plans to update national guidance for ICBs on gluten free prescription, including for people on low incomes.

There are no plans to change the current national guidance for integrated care boards (ICBs) on gluten‑free prescribing. In England, gluten‑free bread and mixes may be prescribed for people with coeliac disease, with eligible products listed in Part XV of the Drug Tariff. Prescriptions may be issued following a shared decision between prescriber and patient, taking account of local and national guidance.Under current legislation, ICBs may restrict product choice or end gluten‑free prescribing where this is appropriate for their population, while meeting their legal duties on equality and reducing health inequalities. As autonomous bodies, ICBs determine local prescribing policies within their allocated resources.NHS prescription charge exemptions support those with the greatest need. People on low incomes who do not qualify for an exemption can access help through the NHS Low Income Scheme or use prescription prepayment certificates, which allow unlimited prescriptions for a fixed cost.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure The Renewed Women's Health Strategy for England, published April 2026, improves gynaecology care in regions with local shortages of gynaecologists.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy was published on 15 April 2026 and sets out a bold, long‑term plan to transform how the health and care system listens to, supports, and delivers for women and girls across all regions in England.It puts women’s voices and choices at the centre of care, drives faster improvements in services and outcomes that matter most to women, and tackles long‑standing health inequalities across the life course. The strategy aligns with the 10-Year Health Plan to shift care into the community, harness digital innovation, and strengthen prevention so women can live healthier, more fulfilled lives.The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

What steps his Department is taking to increase access to computed tomography coronary angiogram machines, including to increase the number of successful heart transplants.

The Government is committed to expanding access to diagnostic imaging, including computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), through investment in new and expanded community diagnostic centres and wider imaging capacity.Improved access to CTCA supports earlier and more accurate diagnosis of coronary artery disease and can contribute to pre-transplant assessment. In the context of heart donation, CTCA may be used selectively to assess donor heart suitability, particularly in higher-risk donors. NHS Blood and Transplant is currently progressing work to improve access to CTCA in selected donors to support safe decision-making and potentially improve organ utilisation.The Government continues to prioritise and support access to computed tomography scanning services. Through ongoing capital investment in computed tomography assets, we have seen an 11% increase in the total number of computed tomography scanners recorded across the country, from March 2023 to March 2025. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostic-imaging-dataset/national-imaging-data-collection/

What assessment he has made of the causes of prescription medicine shortages in the UK, including reported shortages of aspirin 75mg dispersible tablets and supply disruption affecting carbamazepine (Tegretol) prolonged-release tablets; and what steps he is taking to improve national medicines supply.

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. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.The Department is currently not aware of any supply issues affecting Tegretol prolonged-release tablets.The Department is aware of a recent disruption to the supply of aspirin tablets due to manufacturing issues and knock-on increased demand. The issues have been addressed, and we are working with suppliers to aid a return to normal supply as soon as possible with stock regularly being made available for pharmacies to order.We continue to work with manufacturers and United Kingdom distributors to maximise supply to pharmacies and hospitals across the country. The Department is closely monitoring the situation and expects supplies to return to normal in the coming weeks.In August 2025, the Department published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilience supply of medicines, setting out our actions to strengthen supply chain resilience, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines#next-stepsThe Department has committed to providing a published update on progress in 2026.

What assessment his department has made of the phased rollout of tirzepatide weight management injections, prescribed by GPs to Cohort 1 of those with the highest clinical need since 2025, for initial trial under NHS England's Prevention Programme (Obesity).

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally required to fund National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)-recommended medicines within three months of final approval. NICE granted a phased rollout of tirzepatide for obesity to manage National Health Service resources and establish new care pathways. Tirzepatide became subject to a legal requirement for ICBs to fund its use in specialist weight management services from March 2025, and in primary care from 23 June 2025. Access is being prioritised for those with the highest clinical need.Publicly available prescribing data shows that prescribing of tirzepatide has increased between April and December 2025, reflecting the early stages of phased implementation in primary care. As these medicines are licensed for multiple indications, national prescribing data cannot distinguish between use for obesity and diabetes.NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and ICBs to monitor early implementation and support local pathway development. It will update its interim commissioning guidance as planned, and NICE will review progress after three years, including whether rollout can be accelerated if system capacity allows.

Which Departmental body is responsible for promotion of careers in dentistry; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements for promoting dentistry careers in (a) Devon and (b) other areas.

Strengthening the dental workforce is key to our ambitions. We intend to set out next steps on the dental workforce soon. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.No specific departmental body is responsible for the promotion of dentistry careers however, the responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England. For the North Dorset constituency, this is Dorset ICB.Integrated Care Boards are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. The scheme is designed to encourage relocation to areas with workforce challenges, to attract new workforce to the NHS, and to retain those who might have otherwise moved into private practice.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the UK and manages the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).NHSBT encourages recording an organ donation decision on the ODR through national campaigns, including case studies from donor families, transplant recipients and patients waiting for a transplant. Where appropriate, NHSBT works with individuals with an established public profile to reach new audiences. NHSBT’s partnerships with the likes of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Association, the passport application process and the NHS App are currently the most effective routes to engaging people to record their decision.NHSBT also partners with NHS organisations, charities, and community groups, such as the National BAME Transplant Alliance and South Asian Heritage Trust, to increase community engagement. This is supported by NHSBT’s Community Grants Programme, which supports over 30 community and faith/beliefs organisations to leverage their specialist knowledge, understanding and footprint in minority ethnic communities. More information on the Programme is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/In February 2026, the Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly formed by the Department and NHSBT, published recommendations to increase societal action for organ donation, which included actions to maximise the potential of the ODR and encourage more people to record a clear and informed organ donation decision. NHSBT is working with Government and other partners to implement the recommendations, and a five-year programme is being developed to drive further progress.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2026 to question 111483, what his Department's evidential basis is for the cost estimate of £1-1.5 billion for the rebuild of North Devon District Hospital under Wave 3 of the New Hospital Programme.

A range of factors were considered to produce cost estimates for schemes in the Plan for Implementation, for example, estimated size, cost per square metre, local and geographical factors, and consideration of construction-specific inflation costs. However, as pursuant to the answer on 13 February 2026 to Question 111483, these estimates are for planning purposes only, with final costs subject to the approval of a Full Business Case.

What assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of regional variations in reducing NHS waiting lists.

The Department and NHS England regularly monitor regional and trust level variation in National Health Service waiting lists to address variation in performance, so patients can expect to receive high quality care in a timely way, wherever they live. We are committed to returning to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of all patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. Our Reforming elective care for patients plan, published in January 2025, sets out how the NHS will reform elective care services equitably across all trusts and regions.As an interim goal, NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 has set the national ambition for 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement in performance. In the Medium-Term Planning Framework, every trust by March 2027 is expected to deliver a minimum of 7% improvement in 18-week performance or a minimum of 65%, whichever is greater.To support this improvement across all trusts, there is a robust performance management process in place. The new NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 ensures that there is public accountability for performance and NHS England national and regional teams work with systems and providers to support improvement. There is a specific process in place to identify, intervene and support the providers whose performance on elective waiting lists is most challenged, led by NHS England national and regional team.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the capacity within the construction industry to build schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme on schedule.

Through the New Hospital Programme’s commercial strategy and Hospital 2.0 Alliance we are increasing the capacity in the construction industry to support the construction of new hospital schemes.The programme is providing a clear and stable pipeline of construction projects, with opportunities for concurrent builds, and strengthening domestic and international appetite to engage with the programme.The Hospital 2.0 Alliance will provide a commercial environment that protects the supply chain from adverse levels of risk, provides more consistent and predictable returns on projects, and rewards performance with profit.

If his Department will publish the detailed scoring of MCDA analysis conducted under the New Hospital Programme Review for individual schemes once those schemes have been completed.

As set out in our New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool was used to support decision making and prioritisation of schemes, including the development of funding options.The Department has no plans to release the detailed scoring as the published NHP Plan for Implementation provides a comprehensive explanation of how the MCDA tool was used in the NHP review and the outcome of this decision making is evident in the waves individual schemes have been put into.

What steps his Department has taken to help ensure the timely implementation of Wave 0, Wave 1 and Wave 2 hospital schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme impacting Wave 3 schemes.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation sets out a credible plan, timeline, and budget, that will see all schemes in the programme delivered. We are focussing on the delivery of Wave 1 schemes, including the seven hospitals predominantly built with reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete. Through the NHP’s standardised approach, Hospital 2.0, we will build hospitals more quickly and cost-effectively. The programme will continually monitor progress against the plan to tailor support for schemes at different stages of readiness, including ongoing engagement to help navigate planning, progress enabling works and designs, and prepare for key approvals through business case process.

Whether operational savings secured from hospitals built to Hospital 2.0 standard under the New Hospital Programme: Plan for Implementation will be redirected to support the increased maintenance costs of hospital projects delayed under Wave 2 and Wave 3 of the New Hospital Programme Review.

The Government is investing £30 billion over five years, from 2025/26 to 2029/30, in the day-to-day maintenance and repair of the National Health Service estate.It is for trusts and integrated care boards to manage operational budgets, as the New Hospital Programme does not redistribute operational savings.As set out in the Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Plan, we are also providing a further five years of funding certainty for NHS estates maintenance, providing the confidence needed for long-term investment decisions and estates strategy.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) the Programme Team of New Hospital Programme has adequate levels of staff and (b) staffing vacancies do not delay the implementation of that programme.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) is a major Government programme and recognises the need to recruit, develop, and retain people with the specialist skills necessary to deliver the programme’s objectives. We recognise that having the right level of staff is integral to delivering the programme.The NHP remains committed to increasing its in-house resource and the programme continues to recruit into priority posts, ensuring delivery remains on track. The programme has appointed the Health Delivery Partnership, which has strengthened the capacity of the programme, giving flexibility to move teams around where expertise is required.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled New Hospital Programme; Plan for Implementation, published on 20 January 2025, what the evidential basis is for the estimated cost for the rebuild of North Devon District Hospital.

The cost estimates in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation are for planning purposes, and the total cost of each scheme is subject to the approval of its Full Business Case, as is standard for major infrastructure projects.The North Devon District Hospital is part of Wave 3 of the NHP and is not due to commence construction until 2035 to 2038.