Written questions by Roome.

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.

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.

How many wave one schemes under the New Hospital Programme have begun construction.

Of the 16 schemes in Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme (NHP), the Derriford Emergency Care Hospital commenced construction in October 2025. Poole Hospital and the remaining stages of Brighton 3Ts hospital (for the Sussex Cancer Centre) are in the pre-construction period and are expected to enter main construction later this year.The remaining 13 schemes continue to progress to main construction commencing as set out in the plan for implementation, available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementation

What steps his Department is taking to ensure patients moving between different regions of the UK are not disadvantaged in NHS waiting lists.

It is unacceptable that patients across the United Kingdom continue to wait lengthy periods for treatment, and it is imperative that the elective waiting list is a top priority for all four nations. These national standards apply across England, including the ambition that 92% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral.Local systems and providers have different access policies which dictate the steps that need to happen during a provider transfer. Some providers will accept a transfer of care, while others will require a new referral from primary care. To ensure that people are seen in accordance with clinical need, all waiting lists are subject to clinical prioritisation at a local level. The National Health Services triages patients waiting for elective care, including surgeries, ensuring the order in which patients are seen reflects clinical judgement on need as well as taking into account overall wait time. These steps aim to ensure that patients moving between regions are treated equitably and that waiting times are managed consistently.Across England, patients have a right to request their local integrated care board find an alternative provider when they have been waiting, or expect to wait, over 18 weeks to begin treatment for consultant-led care.Health is predominantly a devolved issue, with each UK nation operating its own NHS system, including separate waiting lists, and associated rules and guidance. Moving between countries generally means starting a new referral process under the designated nation’s system. However, similar prioritisation processes will occur to ensure that patients are seen and treated based on clinical need.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential severity of winter pressures on the NHS during winter 2025-2026.

We continue to monitor the impact of winter pressures on the National Health Service over the winter months.The Department is continuing to take key steps to ensure the health service is prepared for the colder months. This includes taking actions to try and reduce demand pressure on accident and emergency departments, increasing vaccination rates, and offering health checks to the most vulnerable, as well as stress-testing integrated care boards and trust winter plans to ensure they are able to meet demand and ensure patient flow.Flu is a recurring pressure that the NHS faces every winter. There is particular risk of severe illness for older people, the very young, pregnant people, and those with certain underlying health conditions. The flu vaccine remains the best form of defense against influenza, particularly for the most vulnerable, and continues to be highly effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.

What plans the Department has to ensure continuity of funding for Early Support Hubs beyond March 2026; and how will they be integrated into the introduction of Young Futures Hubs from next year.

The early support hubs were originally funded by the Shared Outcomes Fund, which provided £8 million of top-up funding to expand open-access, community services and to build the evidence base for early intervention services for children and young people's mental health. The project was initially funded in 2024/25 for one year and we were able to extend the programme for an additional year to 2025/26.In addition to expanding access to support, early support hubs have played a key role building an evidence base to support the introduction of young futures hubs next year. The evaluation findings are directly informing our young futures hubs programme. Young futures hubs will bring services together to support young people with emerging needs, including early mental health advice and wellbeing interventions. As we launch the first 50 young futures hubs, we will work with local areas and partners to build on learning from the early support hubs pilot.Our aim is to set up 50 hubs where they will have the most impact over the next four years. The design and implementation of the programme in future years will be informed by our work with early adopters. We will set out more details in due course.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) nurses and (b) other healthcare professionals currently exposed to hazardous medicinal products; and if he will publish an estimate of how many and what proportion of healthcare workers would be affected by the introduction of a definition of hazardous medicinal products.

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of nurses and other healthcare professionals exposed to hazardous medicinal products. The Department has not made an estimate of how many and what proportion of healthcare workers would be affected by the introduction of a definition of hazardous medicinal products. Any incidents involving staff exposure to hazardous medical products are reported and handled through local National Health Service body reporting procedures. Risk assessments should be undertaken routinely and mitigations put in place to minimise any environmental exposure to health care professionals, and others, relating to hazardous medicinal products.

How many procurement contracts exceeding £5 million have been issued by his Department in the last five years.

Since 1 January 2021, 118 contracts with a value of £5 million or more have been awarded by the Department.

What research his Department has commissioned on (a) reproductive health outcomes and (b) other long‑term health effects of occupational exposure to hazardous medicinal products among nursing staff; and what assessment his Department has made of the costs to the NHS of sickness absence related to such exposure.

The Government has not commissioned any research on the reproductive health outcomes or long-term health effects of the occupational exposure of nursing staff to hazardous medicinal products. No assessment has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of sickness absence related to this.Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have their own policies and procedures in place to manage and reduce sickness absence, including any reasonable adjustments to allow people to return to work and/or prevent future absence. It is important that employers across the NHS take a preventative and proactive approach to supporting their staff and keeping them healthy.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of data provided by (a) NHS England Estate Return Information Collection and (b) Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment.

The Estate Return Information Collection (ERIC) and Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) collections are undertaken by NHS England.ERIC collects data on the size, cost, and quality of the National Health Service estate. The 2024/25 ERIC data collection underwent a detailed validation process before its publication on the 16 October 2025.The 2025 PLACE collection is currently underway. It provides an assessment of the quality of the NHS patient environment from the patient’s perspective. It is undertaken by independent assessors who should, as far as possible, reflect the patient population. Teams should be a mix of people who use the building/site and should broadly reflect the local population using the service.

How many private delivery partners have declined to deliver a contract for his Department on the basis of concern for protection of intellectual property or private commercial interest in the last five years.

The Department must comply with the legal requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, since February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 in taking forward all procurement exercises leading to the award of a contract to a supplier. Compliance is managed by a professional procurement official within the Department’s Commercial Directorate who is assigned to each procurement exercise. Business cases following the Government’s standard five-case model, setting out the strategic, economic/value for money, financial, commercial, and management case, are required for all procurements over £5 million. The Department’s Commercial Assurance Board (CAB) considers and approves high value, from £10 million to £30 million of capital or £50 million in revenue, business cases or high-risk commercial cases across the Department and its Arms’ Length Bodies. In addition, the CAB acts as commercial ‘keyholders’ for the business cases presented to the committees below, ensuring that commercial factors are considered when recommendations are made by:the Department of Health and Social Care Investment Committee;the Joint Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Investment Committee;the Joint Investment subcommittee; andthe Digital Investment subcommittee.Suppliers are invited to bid for contracts using the standard contract terms and conditions in use by the Department and across the Government. These include intellectual property (IP) clauses which grant the buyer a licence to use the supplier’s IP in the context of receiving and benefiting from the deliverables being bought. These typically allow sub-licensing under certain conditions and restrictions designed to avoid unfair exploitation of supplier IP. Standard terms and conditions are available on the GOV.UK website. By submitting a bid, suppliers are accepting the Department’s standard terms and conditions as set out above.

What due diligence his Department undertakes before the selection of contract delivery partners for major programmes.

The Department must comply with the legal requirements under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, since February 2025, the Procurement Act 2023 in taking forward all procurement exercises leading to the award of a contract to a supplier. Compliance is managed by a professional procurement official within the Department’s Commercial Directorate who is assigned to each procurement exercise. Business cases following the Government’s standard five-case model, setting out the strategic, economic/value for money, financial, commercial, and management case, are required for all procurements over £5 million. The Department’s Commercial Assurance Board (CAB) considers and approves high value, from £10 million to £30 million of capital or £50 million in revenue, business cases or high-risk commercial cases across the Department and its Arms’ Length Bodies. In addition, the CAB acts as commercial ‘keyholders’ for the business cases presented to the committees below, ensuring that commercial factors are considered when recommendations are made by:the Department of Health and Social Care Investment Committee;the Joint Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Investment Committee;the Joint Investment subcommittee; andthe Digital Investment subcommittee.Suppliers are invited to bid for contracts using the standard contract terms and conditions in use by the Department and across the Government. These include intellectual property (IP) clauses which grant the buyer a licence to use the supplier’s IP in the context of receiving and benefiting from the deliverables being bought. These typically allow sub-licensing under certain conditions and restrictions designed to avoid unfair exploitation of supplier IP. Standard terms and conditions are available on the GOV.UK website. By submitting a bid, suppliers are accepting the Department’s standard terms and conditions as set out above.

Whether his Department required any private commercial suppliers or delivery partners previously contracted to work on the New Hospital Programme to be excluded from working on the New Hospital Programme Review.

The review of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) was led by a Director from the NHP Sponsor team in the Department. They were supported by a number of officials from the NHP Sponsor team in the Department along with officials from NHS England, with input from the NHP’s interim commercial and delivery partners and officials in HM Treasury. The NHP developed the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis tool with support from its interim commercial and delivery partners.

On how many occasions his Department has withheld information due to the risk of prejudicing private commercial interest under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in this Parliament.

Since 5 July 2024 the Department has withheld information under section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 120 occasions. We do not differentiate in our reporting whether information has been withheld specifically under section 43(1), 43(2), or 43(3) of the act, nor is it detailed whose commercial interests the exemption relates to. Statistics on the number of times specific Freedom of Information exemptions are used by the Department are published by Cabinet Office on a quarterly and annual basis, and are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

What steps his Department is taking to support the provision of emergency co-responders in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas.

The Government recognises the important contribution of co-responders in improving response times, particularly in hard-to-reach rural and coastal communities.The Department supports the provision of emergency co-responders in rural and coastal areas through the Community First Responders (CFR) programme, where volunteers are trained by the ambulance service to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work.Ambulance trusts are responsible, on an individual basis, for taking decisions on the capacity and support needed to deliver their services in their local areas.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of funding rape and sexual abuse support services.

The Government recognises the vital importance of rape and sexual abuse support services.NHS England funds sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) which provide crisis care, medical and forensic examinations and onward referral to other support services. NHS England spent £57.6m on SARCs in 2024/25. NHS England regions also commission voluntary sector organisations to support victims and survivors, totalling £4.5m in 2024/25.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58827 on Trandolapril, for what reason does Trandolapril continue to be unavailable to patients.

Trandolapril capsules are supplied by two suppliers in the United Kingdom, who are both continuing to experience manufacturing issues. We are unable to confirm a resupply date currently due to these ongoing issues. The Department has issued comprehensive management plans to the National Health Service, which we continue to review. These include advice on alternatives, and how to manage affected patients.

What methodology his Department used to determine the banding of New Hospital Programme schemes under the New Hospital Programme Review, published on 20 January 2025.

As set out in the Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision support analysis (MCDA) tool was used to help prioritise schemes to support the development of funding options. Key data, including the criteria for clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost, and the estate conditions from each of the hospitals falling within the scope of the review, was inputted into the tool. The input data and scoring mechanism within the MCDA was reviewed by NHS England and Department colleagues to validate its appropriateness. The Plan for Implementation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementationAs part of the analysis, schemes were prioritised into upper, middle, and lower third scoring, which was then stress tested using the professional expertise and judgment of clinical, programme, construction, and finance colleagues from within the New Hospital Programme (NHP), the Department, and NHS England, to identify and overlay other factors of concern into the final options by reviewing the output of the MCDA and completing a further degree of testing to validate the results.The Information Commissioner’s Office has determined that the Plan for Implementation provides a comprehensive explanation of how the MCDA tool was used in the NHP review. This decision notice is available at the following link:https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2025/08/ic-381127-f6x5/

Whether his Department undertook stress testing in relation to the delivery schedule for the New Hospital Programme Schemes under the New Hospital Programme Review, published on 20 January 2025.

As set out in the Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision support analysis (MCDA) tool was used to help prioritise schemes to support the development of funding options. Key data, including the criteria for clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost, and the estate conditions from each of the hospitals falling within the scope of the review, was inputted into the tool. The input data and scoring mechanism within the MCDA was reviewed by NHS England and Department colleagues to validate its appropriateness. The Plan for Implementation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementationAs part of the analysis, schemes were prioritised into upper, middle, and lower third scoring, which was then stress tested using the professional expertise and judgment of clinical, programme, construction, and finance colleagues from within the New Hospital Programme (NHP), the Department, and NHS England, to identify and overlay other factors of concern into the final options by reviewing the output of the MCDA and completing a further degree of testing to validate the results.The Information Commissioner’s Office has determined that the Plan for Implementation provides a comprehensive explanation of how the MCDA tool was used in the NHP review. This decision notice is available at the following link:https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2025/08/ic-381127-f6x5/

What assessment, his Department has made of the accuracy of pharmaceutical needs assessments undertaken by local health and wellbeing boards.

Decisions on applications to open a new pharmacy are delegated from NHS England to National Health Service integrated care boards, and the Department does not hold data on how many applications were rejected or the reasons for these rejections. If a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) identifies a lack of need for a new pharmacy in the area, pharmacy contractors can still apply to open a pharmacy to provide benefits to the local communities that were not foreseen in the PNA.