Written questions by McMahon.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the network of publicly available defibrillators; whether there are any blackspots; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that all areas have access to defibrillators.

The Department’s Community Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Fund delivered 3,080 new AEDs to local communities between September 2023 and February 2025. These AEDs were prioritised for areas of greatest need. This included remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.The Government’s position is that local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating, and maintaining AEDs. Over 110,000 defibrillators are registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the independent AED database. Over 30,000 of these have been added in the past two years, many as a result of local community led action.

What assessment he has made of MRI scanning waiting lists in (a) all Greater Manchester hospitals (b) Royal Oldham Hospital.

Data on diagnostic lists and waiting times is published at a National Health Service trust level and is available in the document attached. We do not hold data on waiting lists for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in the Royal Oldham Hospital.The following table shows the number of patients waiting for an MRI scan in all acute Greater Manchester NHS trusts, as well as the number and percentage waiting more than six weeks, with data being correct as of September 2025:Name of acute NHS trustTotal waiting list for MRI scans as of September 2025Number waiting more than six weeks for an MRI scan as of September 2025Percentage waiting more than six weeks for an MRI scan as of September 2025Bolton NHS Foundation Trust​63791.4%Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust​7,8071,51519.4%Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust, of which the Royal Oldham Hospital is a part6,1021802.9%Stockport NHS Foundation Trust​1,14580.7%Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust​91200%The Christie NHS Foundation Trust41281.9%Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust2,67535313.2%Total19,6902,07310.5% The national six week waiting times standard is that no more than one percent of patients waiting for an MRI scan should wait more than six weeks, or 42 days.

What assessment he has made of the take up of flu vaccinations so far this year.

For England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes provisional vaccine uptake data throughout the flu season. Weekly national level data for general practice (GP) patients is available from October to January, at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-seasonMonthly national and regional level data for GP patients, school-aged children, and frontline healthcare workers is available from October to January. The first monthly data for the 2025 to 2026 season includes all vaccinations given between 1 September to 31 October 2025, and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures Compared with the equivalent time period last season, from 2024 to 2025, influenza vaccine uptake is higher in two and three year olds, school-aged children, pregnant women, and frontline healthcare workers, and for those who are aged 65 years old and over and those in clinical at-risk groups, uptake is comparable, with a less than a 1% difference.Final end of season data is published in the annual reports in late spring, with data available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figuresAnnual reports contain final end of season data from multiple previous seasons.

What estimate he has made of the number of vulnerable users of telecare alarms who have (a) successfully transferred and (b) not yet transferred from analogue to digital systems.

There is limited data available on the number of telecare users in England and/or the United Kingdom. Our best available estimate comes from the TEC Services Association, who estimate that there are upwards of two million telecare users in the UK.To improve our evidence base, the Department has commissioned an independent technical advisor, FarrPoint, to carry out surveys of telecare services providers and call handling services. This research is currently live and aims to identify the number of analogue and digital telecare devices in use.The Department also works closely with the Telecare Action Board and Partners in Care and Health to monitor the progress of the digital phone switchover.

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of advocacy voice and weight given to representations made by family members of patients over 18 years old who are detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act.

While no such specific assessment has been made, we recognise the value of representations made by family members of adult patients who are detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act. That is why the Mental Health Bill, which is in its final stages, will give patients the right to appoint a nominated person to represent their interests and greater access to advocacy when they are detained.The reforms in the bill also recognise the critical role that families and carers can play in keeping patients safe, providing insight and knowledge of their loved one’s wishes and preferences and an understanding of what keeps them safe. The bill will strengthen the rights of families and carers through changes to the nominated person role, and will require clinicians to consult with others close to the patient as they make decisions around their care where appropriate or where the patient wishes.

What assessment has been made of the (a) adequacy of support services for families of patients detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, and (b) benefits of developing a single point of contact service to remove the occasions where multiple calls to numerous agencies are required to secure the required support.

While no specific assessment has been made of support services for families, we know that families play a vital role in supporting people with mental health needs through their treatment and recovery.The Mental Health Bill includes measures that aim to ensure that people who care for the patient’s welfare, such as family or carers, are consulted by clinicians and kept informed throughout the patient’s care, treatment, and discharge.Guidance on what information and support should be provided to families throughout the discharge process is set out in the Discharge from mental health inpatient settings statutory guidance and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice. Engagement with families, carers, and close friends should also be standard practice in community mental health services.Integrated care boards and local authorities are also expected to work in partnership to support carers, in line with statutory guidance and local priorities. Many areas also have dedicated carers' support organisations that help connect families with resources and advocacy services, and signposting at the point of discharge from inpatient care.

Following the recent National Living Wage increase announced in the Budget, what assumptions have been made on future wage differential compression for social care workers currently earning just above the current National Living Wage.

When assessing National Living Wage (NLW) increases, we assume that individuals earning at or near the NLW will receive a pay increase equivalent to the full NLW uplift, whilst pay growth for higher earning workers will increase in line with forecasts for average earnings. This assumption is based on robust external evidence on the impact of increases in the NLW on pay in the United Kingdom labour market. However, employers are ultimately responsible for the implementation of NLW increases and impacts may therefore vary locally.The Government is committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce. This represents the most significant investment in improving pay and conditions for adult social care staff to date.

What assessment his Department has made of current inpatient capacity and waiting times for secure mental health placements for individuals detained under the Mental Health Act in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester (c) Oldham.

Nationally, NHS England collates information from annual contracts to understand the commissioned and available capacity across all adult forensic services, including high, medium, and low secure. A change notification process is managed nationally to capture in-year changes to this capacity and to monitor provider-reported activity via the Mental Health Services Dataset. NHS England does not hold information about waiting times for all individuals detained under the Mental Health Act who require admission to an adult forensic service except where the individual is transferred from prison to hospital. NHS England and the Greater Manchester Adult Secure Provider Collaborative continue to work closely with National Health Service trusts and independent sector organisations to monitor capacity and demand for secure mental health beds for the population of Greater Manchester. Whilst work is in progress to achieve more timely transfers into secure mental health facilities for prisoners, and work with providers around reducing overall secure length of stay, based on current demand there are sufficient adult secure beds across Greater Manchester and the wider North West region, including Oldham, to meet demand against the national adult secure specification. Waiting list numbers are stable and consistent which indicates that commissioned provision is sufficient to meet need. As waiting lists are managed on a clinical priority basis and due to the low volumes of people requiring secure mental health services, it is difficult to provide a meaningful statistic about waiting times for admission.

What is the current working assumption for the Casey review into adult social care to start and conclude.

The Independent Commission into Adult Social Care (the Commission), chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, formally began in April 2025. The Commission is in two phases: phase one will report in 2026, focusing on medium-term improvements using existing resources; and phase two will conclude by 2028, when the Commission publishes their report setting out long-term recommendations for transforming the system.

What the change has been in NHS waiting lists in Oldham since July 2024.

We are clear that the extent of waits for treatment is unacceptable, and cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.Waiting list data is not available by town. At the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Oldham, the waiting list size has fallen by over 3,000 since the Government took office in July 2024. Patients here are also facing shorter waiting times, with 53.6% of waits within 18 weeks as of September 2025, compared to 52.7% in July 2024.We are committed to transforming elective services to ensure patients get timely access to the care they need. This includes investing £6 billion additional capital investment over five years for diagnostic, elective, urgent, and emergency capacity in the NHS.Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. This marks a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.We promised change, and we have made good progress. As of the end of September 2025, 61.8% of pathways on the waiting list are within 18 weeks, an improvement of 3.3% since September 2024, and the number of waits over 18 weeks has reduced by almost 320,000 over the same period.

Whether Oldham, Chadderton and Royton are being considered for additional funding for proposed new Neighbourhood Health Centres.

At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years and new-build sites opening in the medium term. The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030, delivered through public private partnerships and 50 refurbishments through public capital.Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. Both ICBs and local health systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for NHCs.We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns or deprived inner cities.

How many additional urgent dentist appointments will be provided in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) Oldham this year.

We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.Appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most. Data on delivery of urgent dental care, including additional delivery, will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of NHS dental care.

How many adults are assessed as having an unmet social care need in England.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs, as set out in the Care Act 2014. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how local authorities in England are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including how local authorities assess people’s needs. Formal assessments commenced in December 2023 and as of November 2025, the CQC has published over 80 local authority assessments. Reports are available on the CQC’s website at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reportsThe Government is supporting the sector to help people live independent and dignified lives. The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. We are also providing £172 million across this and the last financial year, for approximately 15,000 home adaptations, and are introducing new national standards and trusted guidance for care technologies.

How many patients does the government assess will be impacted by its decision to freeze prescription charges in England.

Approximately 40% of people who receive prescriptions are not entitled to exemption from National Health Service prescription charges and will therefore benefit from the decision to freeze charges for the second successive year, keeping the cost of a prescription below £10 and the cost of a prepayment certificate at just over £2 a week.The remaining approximately 60% of patients receiving prescriptions are entitled to exemption from charges. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

What estimate has been made of the number of recorded incidents of (a) verbal abuse (b) physical assault (c) sexual assault and (d) harassment against staff in (i) GP practices (ii) pharmacies (iii) dentists in England.

The Department does not hold data on the number of recorded incidents in these settings, which are each independent contractors to the National Health Service.We know how challenging disgraceful incidences of abuse and violence can be for staff. The Government is clear that there is never a justification for this unacceptable behaviour towards healthcare staff, who have the right to work free from fear of abuse or assault.There is a range of NHS commissioned services available to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff across settings.Incidents of criminal behaviour should be reported to the police. In May 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service updated guidance to prosecutors which will bring swifter justice against those that assault our frontline workers.

What assessment has been made of the financial viability of community pharmacies in England.

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. This work was published on the Frontier Economics website on 28 March 2025.The findings of this analysis were considered as part of the consultation with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) on the changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2025/26. Following this most recent consultation, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion for 2025/26. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.As is custom and practice, the Department will consult CPE on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in due course. Indicators of financial viability are regularly reviewed by the Department ahead of any such consultation, in addition to the representations of CPE.

What assessment has been made of the number of reported patient safety incidents as a result of prescription medicines being lost in delivery in each of the last five years.

Patient safety data is routinely collected by NHS England, including a breakdown of the proportion of incidents linked to community pharmacy. However, the Department does not hold data on the number of reported patient safety incidents that are a result of prescription medicines being lost in delivery.Community pharmacies, including online pharmacies, are required to dispense all prescriptions with reasonable promptness as part of their National Health Service terms of service, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine. This requirement includes prescription medicines that are delivered to patients’ homes. They are also required to report any patient safety incidents to NHS England.

How much her Department spent with private sector providers of (a) diagnostic and imaging services (b) elective surgery (c) mental health services (d) community and primary care services for each year from 2015 to date.

The information is not held in the format requested, breaking down private sector spend by these exact categories. However, the annual reports and accounts for the Department provide figures for total National Health Service spending with non-NHS, including private, voluntary, local authority, and other, providers. The following table shows the total spend with non-NHS providers and the spend on private providers within that figure, for each year from 2015/16 to 2023/34:YearTotal spend with non-NHS providers (£bn)Of which, spend with private providers (£bn)2015/1612.28.72016/1712.792017/181392018/1913.79.22019/2014.49.72020/2118.412.12021/221710.92022/2316.6112023/2418.112.4Source: the Department of Health and Social Care annual reports and accounts of activity and services for 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19 to 2023/24, with further information available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-annual-reports-and-accounts

What the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline numbers provided by his Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date.

The information requested is not held in the format requested. The NHS England 111 calls offered and abandoned are all published. The NHS 111 Minimum Data Set was the official source of Integrated Urgent Care data from 2011 until the end of March 2021, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/iucadc-new-from-april-2021/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/The annual national data is provided for each financial year. The Integrated Urgent Care Aggregate Data Collection was published as experimental statistics from June 2019, using April 2019 data, until May 2021, using March 2021 data. This data collection is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/iucadc-new-from-april-2021/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/

What estimate has been made of the average number of lost work days for (a) public sector employees (b) private sector employees (c) self employed patients waiting for pre-booked NHS operations and procedures.

No recent estimate has been made on the average number of lost work days for public sector employees, private sector employees, or self-employed patients waiting for pre-booked National Health Service operations and procedures. We recognise the importance of supporting patients to return to work where they can. That is why the Further Faster 20 (FF20) initiative was announced in September 2024, to deploy expert advice to NHS trusts in areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity to get patients treated faster. This programme is part of the plans to reduce the number of people that are unable to work due to long-term sickness, which is at its highest level since the 1990s. FF20 co-exists alongside other interventions, including reducing demand, which are positively impacting the waiting list, and it is challenging to disentangle the impact of one from the other. The Government is committed to addressing health-related economic inactivity, which is crucial for enhancing public health, strengthening communities, and boosting the economy. By reducing economic inactivity, we can also alleviate demand on the NHS, thereby improving its performance. Analysis conducted by NHS England and the Office of National Statistics demonstrates there could be multi-billion-pound benefits in achieving the Government’s Plan for Change’s ambition to meet the referral-to-treatment standard for elective procedures.