Written questions by McMurdock.

What steps he is taking to raise awareness of the importance of (a) early intervention and (b) routine check-ups among men.

We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, and which will be informed by a call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The call for evidence closed on 17 July 2025. The responses are informing the development of the strategy.

What steps he is taking to support charities that provide make a wish experiences for children undergoing cancer treatment.

The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. NHS England is taking steps to improve the experience of children in hospital and their families, including young cancer patients. To improve standards for the provision of play in hospitals, the Taskforce on Children’s Play in Healthcare has developed national guidance on play provision for commissioners and new national play standards for service providers. NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/ The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of sensory rooms in hospitals on the treatment experience of children with cancer. On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England, which will include further details on how we will improve play provision for children and young people with cancer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of sensory rooms in hospitals on treatment experience of children with cancer.

The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. NHS England is taking steps to improve the experience of children in hospital and their families, including young cancer patients. To improve standards for the provision of play in hospitals, the Taskforce on Children’s Play in Healthcare has developed national guidance on play provision for commissioners and new national play standards for service providers. NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/ The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of sensory rooms in hospitals on the treatment experience of children with cancer. On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England, which will include further details on how we will improve play provision for children and young people with cancer.

What recent steps his Department have taken to (a) improve patient outcomes and (b) reduce waiting times for patients in Essex living with prostate cancer.

To improve outcomes for patients with prostate cancer, including in Essex, NHS England has introduced a best-practice timed pathway for prostate cancer so that those suspected of prostate cancer receive an MRI scan first, which ensures that only those men most at risk of having cancer undergo an invasive biopsy. The Government has also invested £16 million towards the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial, which is seeking to find ways to catch prostate cancer in men as early as possible. The ‘AI in Health and Care Award’ has also been established, which aims to accelerate the testing and development of AI technologies. £113 million has already been allocated to support 86 AI technologies. Three of these projects specifically relate to prostate cancer, one of which is the Paige prostate cancer detection tool, developed by the University of Oxford. The Department will publish a National Cancer Plan later this year which will include details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across England, reduce waiting times for diagnosis and treatment, and ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

Whether his Department plans to support adaptive clinical trials for cannabinoid treatments tailored to children with drug-resistant epilepsy.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is funding two trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children. Further detail on the trials can be found on the NIHR’s website, at the following link:https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR131309The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with epilepsy, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for epilepsy.

What recent steps his Department has taken to ensure (a) better patient outcomes and (b) reduced waiting times for residents in Essex awaiting appointments for Parkinson's disease.

There are a number of initiatives at the national level supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s throughout England, including the United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology. NHS England has established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions. A toolkit is being developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which will include components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services. Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, including for Parkinson’s patients in Essex and the rest of England. We have surpassed our commitment to deliver an extra two million elective appointments, having delivered 5.2 million additional appointments in our first year in Government. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029. Between August 2024 and August 2025, we reduced the number of incomplete neurology pathways by almost 10,000, or 4.3%, from 236,621 to 226,432, and reduced the average waiting time for neurology services from 16.7 weeks to 15.4 weeks. Additionally, 56.1% of patients referred were seen within 18 weeks, up from 53.1% at the same point last year. This is lower than the national average and we are continuing our efforts to improve this, recognising that this is a challenged specialty. The January 2025 Elective Reform Plan commits to reforming outpatient services by supporting general practitioners and hospital doctors in working together better, to ensure referrals are used when a patient really needs hospital care, through increased uptake of Advice and Guidance.

What estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating children with drug-resistant epilepsy who do not respond to conventional medications; and whether his Department is funding research of alternative treatments to ensure those children still receive sufficient medical care.

No estimate has been made of the annual cost to the National Health Service of treating children with drug-resistant epilepsy who do not respond to conventional medications. A detailed costing exercise is only usually undertaken where there is a new evidence-based treatment to potentially introduce.At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with epilepsy, including the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology.The Department funds research into epilepsy via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has funded a range of ongoing and completed epilepsy research, including research into the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation as an alternative treatment for children and adults living with drug-resistant epilepsy, and research on implementing ketogenic diet therapy for children and young people with epilepsy.The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including alternative treatments for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Whether his Department plans to ensure that (a) medical and healthcare education and (b) training curricula include guidance on the appropriateness of wearing (i) perfume, (ii) aftershave and (iii) other fragranced products in clinical settings.

NHS organisations set their own policies locally and these generally form part of their unform policy. Although there is no national guidance in place, some organisations do advise in their own guidance that the wearing of perfumed products must be discrete and not overpowering.

What guidance his Department provides to NHS trusts on the wearing by healthcare staff in hospital settings of (a) perfumes, (b) scented laundry products and (c) other fragranced products; and what assessment has been made of the potential impact of such products on patients with (i) respiratory conditions, (ii) allergies, and (iii) fragrance sensitivities.

NHS organisations set their own policies locally and these generally form part of their unform policy. Although there is no national guidance in place, some organisations do advise in their own guidance that the wearing of perfumed products must be discrete and not overpowering.

How many and what proportion of children and young people on the waiting list for ADHD assessment had been waiting for over a year in June 2025.

For the first time, NHS England published management information on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment waiting times at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan; it has also released technical guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waits and diagnosis data as well as publishing more localised data in future.The most recent data, published in August 2025, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mi-adhd/august-2025NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June 2025, with the final report expected in due course, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

What estimate he has made of the number of new referrals for ADHD assessments in the past month.

For the first time, NHS England published management information on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment waiting times at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan. It has also released technical guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waits and diagnosis data as well as publishing more localised data in future.The most recent data was published in August 2025 and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mi-adhd/august-2025Data in this publication is sourced from a number of existing NHS England datasets and the publication is known to contain a number of data quality issues, more details about which are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mi-adhd/supporting-informationNHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June, with the final report expected later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

What steps he is taking to improve (a) infrastructure, (b) better understanding of complex patients and (b) staff (i) morale and (ii) experience in the 10 Year Health Plan.

The 10-Year Health Plan detailed our ambition to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future through three big shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.Regarding infrastructure, the plan set out our aim to establish neighbourhood health centres in every community over the course of the next 10 years, transforming healthcare access and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it most. We are also increasing health capital budgets to over £14.6 billion by the end of the Spending Review period, namely 2029/30, to invest in the NHS and wider health infrastructure, a £2.3 billion real terms increase from 2023/24 to 2029/30.To better our understanding of patients with complex health needs, we will set a new standard that, by 2027, 95% of people with complex needs will have an agreed care plan. As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will expect all care plans to be co-created with patients and cover their holistic needs, not just their treatment. They will align with national standards for high quality care but, within that, give patients significant choice and freedom.As set out in the plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. We will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions. We will also work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism and sexual harassment in the workplace.

What estimate he has made of the proportion of illegally traded medicines intercepted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Criminal Enforcement Unit.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) works hard to identify those involved in the illegal trade in medicines and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. The Agency also works closely with overseas health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners.Since 1 January 2025, the MHRA and its partners have seized over 8.5 million doses of unauthorised or falsified medicines at the United Kingdom border, together with another 3.9 million doses seized as a result of direct operational activity conducted by the CEU.

If he will provide certainty on funding to voluntary organisations delivering drug and alcohol treatment services.

Local authorities, both upper tier and unitary, are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support. This funding can be used by local authorities to support voluntary organisations to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services.To better support upper tier and unitary local authorities’ vital public health work, from 2026/27 we will bring together over £4 billion of public health funding for local government, by consolidating service specific grants into the Public Health Grant. It is our intention to publish indicative Public Health Grant funding alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, with final multi-year Local Authority Public Health Grant allocations published early in the new year. This will give local authorities more advanced notice of their total funding allocations, further empowering them to plan more effectively and better manage their services.

How many pharmacies in England provide (a) supervised needle exchange programmes and (b) other substance misuse services.

As of August 2025, there are 10,412 community pharmacies in England. Many community pharmacies provide locally commissioned services including supervised needle exchange programmes and other services such as naloxone provision and supervised consumption of opioid substitution treatment medicines, like methadone. Pharmacies also provide free healthcare advice, public health interventions, and signposting to relevant organisations and services. Data is not held centrally on how many community pharmacies provide needle exchange programmes and other substance misuse services.Local substance misuse services and community pharmacies should work together to help provide an effective service to people who use drugs and alcohol. This includes encouraging person-centred and trauma-informed treatment with shared decision-making.The Department is aware of the challenges in the ability of some community pharmacies to provide substance misuse services and has been supporting drug and alcohol treatment services to identify local solutions, including increased payment and some alternative models of provision of these services.

Whether he plans for the National Cancer Plan for England to include targets to improve the early diagnosis of blood cancers.

Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

What steps he is taking to support research into earlier detection methods for (a) myeloma and (b) other blood cancers.

The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.In the period 2020/21 to 2024/25, NIHR Programmes and Academy invested approximately £1.9 million on an early detection myeloma research project, and £2.8 million across four early detection projects for other blood cancer research projects.These investments are pivotal towards efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment and outcomes. Examples of investments into myeloma and other blood cancer research include ‘Real-world testing of software for measuring bone disease on whole-body MRI in patients with and myeloma’, which looks to identify the extent of myeloma, and ‘Real-world testing of software for measuring bone disease on whole-body MRI’, which aims to establish clinical and cost-effectiveness of biomarker-driven care in patients with myeloma.The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including myeloma and other blood cancers, and remain committed to the role of research to improve outcomes for patients. The NIHR continue to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health and care.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that cancer patients have access to treatments comparable to those available abroad in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Cancer patients, including those in South Basildon and East Thurrock, are waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. We are determined to change that.We set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform Plan. Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months and across the National Health Service, and we have already hit our target of delivering 4.5 million extra operations, scans, and appointments. This is more than double our commitment to deliver an extra two million appointments in England in our first year. The Government has invested £70 million of central funding to replace radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it. The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the local provider for cancer services in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, has been awarded funding for a replacement machine.Furthermore, the National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years. To do this, we will deliver targeted improvements and interventions, drive research and innovation, focus on prevention, and ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that cancer patients receive treatment within national target timescales in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Cancer patients, including those in South Basildon and East Thurrock, are waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. We are determined to change that.We set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform Plan. Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months and across the National Health Service, and we have already hit our target of delivering 4.5 million extra operations, scans, and appointments. This is more than double our commitment to deliver an extra two million appointments in England in our first year. The Government has invested £70 million of central funding to replace radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it. The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the local provider for cancer services in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, has been awarded funding for a replacement machine.Furthermore, the National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years. To do this, we will deliver targeted improvements and interventions, drive research and innovation, focus on prevention, and ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of delays in cancer treatment on patients in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Cancer patients, including those in South Basildon and East Thurrock, are waiting too long for a diagnosis and treatment. We are determined to change that.We set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform Plan. Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months and across the National Health Service, and we have already hit our target of delivering 4.5 million extra operations, scans, and appointments. This is more than double our commitment to deliver an extra two million appointments in England in our first year. The Government has invested £70 million of central funding to replace radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it. The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the local provider for cancer services in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, has been awarded funding for a replacement machine.Furthermore, the National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years. To do this, we will deliver targeted improvements and interventions, drive research and innovation, focus on prevention, and ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.