Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jim Shannon this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 141–160 of 575 · Department of Health and Social Care
If he will take steps to ban the blanket use of body mass index thresholds as a means of determining eligibility for joint replacement surgery.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rushcliffe on 20 November 2025 to Question 89688.
What progress his Department has made on meeting the 18-week treatment targets set out in the Elective Reform Plan.
The Government is committed to returning, by March 2029, to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment (RTT). NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 set a target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period. To achieve this interim March 2026 target, we expect the size of the total waiting list to reduce. We have already made significant progress on this. As of October 2025, the waiting list had reduced by over 225,000 since the Government came into office, and performance against the RTT standard has improved by 2.9%, reaching 61.8%. This has been supported by the delivery of 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025 compared to the previous year, more than double the Government’s pledge of two million. This marks a vital First Step towards delivering the constitutional standard.
What steps he is taking to tackle (a) elective care and (b) joint replacement waiting times.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Rushcliffe on 19 November to Question 89685.
Whether he is taking steps to increase access to weight loss jabs for more long-term conditions.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 November 2025 to Question 89687.
When he plans to announce the next phase of modern service frameworks.
Early priorities for Modern Service Frameworks will include cardiovascular disease, sepsis, severe mental illness and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. As advised by the National Quality Board, the Government will consider other conditions for future phases of MSFs and has recently announced an MSF on palliative and end-of-life care.
How many people have been admitted into hospitals with Flu A in the last 14 days.
The information is not available in the format requested, as NHS England does not publish short-term counts of hospital admissions for Flu A specifically.The UK Health Security Agency does publish the national weekly hospital admission rate for influenza hospitalisations. In the week commencing 1 December 2025, the national weekly hospital admission rate for influenza hospitalisations was 10.05 per 100,000, an increase from 8.09 per 100,000 in the previous week. This information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-report-11-december-2025-week-50
If he will review the arrangements governing families of patients' access to stored brain tumour tissue after the patient has died.
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standardised consent process for National Health Service neurosurgical procedures involving tissue resection with specific consent for storage, disposal, and future use of the tissue removed, or extending the opt-in consent model used in fertility preservation services to the storage and future use of brain tissue and other tissue samples removed during neurosurgery.However, it is a general legal and ethical principle that valid consent must be obtained from an individual before starting a treatment or physical intervention, including neurosurgical procedures. The Department recognises the importance of ensuring patients, and their families after the patient has died, are fully informed about their rights, options, and choices regarding the storage and future use of their tissue samples and that their wishes are respected.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a standardised consent process for NHS neurosurgical procedures involving tissue resection with specific consent for storage, disposal and future use of tissue removed.
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standardised consent process for National Health Service neurosurgical procedures involving tissue resection with specific consent for storage, disposal, and future use of the tissue removed, or extending the opt-in consent model used in fertility preservation services to the storage and future use of brain tissue and other tissue samples removed during neurosurgery.However, it is a general legal and ethical principle that valid consent must be obtained from an individual before starting a treatment or physical intervention, including neurosurgical procedures. The Department recognises the importance of ensuring patients, and their families after the patient has died, are fully informed about their rights, options, and choices regarding the storage and future use of their tissue samples and that their wishes are respected.
Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the opt-in consent model used in fertility preservation services to the storage and future use of brain tissue and other tissue samples removed during neurosurgery.
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standardised consent process for National Health Service neurosurgical procedures involving tissue resection with specific consent for storage, disposal, and future use of the tissue removed, or extending the opt-in consent model used in fertility preservation services to the storage and future use of brain tissue and other tissue samples removed during neurosurgery.However, it is a general legal and ethical principle that valid consent must be obtained from an individual before starting a treatment or physical intervention, including neurosurgical procedures. The Department recognises the importance of ensuring patients, and their families after the patient has died, are fully informed about their rights, options, and choices regarding the storage and future use of their tissue samples and that their wishes are respected.
What information his Department holds on the number of people currently on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the United Kingdom. It also manages the NHS Organ Donor Register and national transplant waiting list.As of 17 December 2025, there were 7,119 patients registered as active on the kidney transplant list. Of the 7,119 registered patients, 6,734 were registered as requiring kidney only, as the other 385 patients were registered as requiring kidney and another organ.NHSBT publishes weekly updates on the transplant waiting list at the following link:https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/about-organ-donation/statistics-about-organ-donation/
How many under 30s have been prescribed medication for depression.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) does not collect data on the clinical indication of a prescription. Given this, it is not possible to deduce which prescriptions were prescribed for depression. Many drugs have multiple uses, for example, some drugs that are classified as antidepressants can be issued to treat migraine, chronic pain, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and a range of other conditions.The NHS BSA publishes statistics on mental health, which includes British National Formulary section 4.3 ‘Antidepressants drugs’, prescribed in England that are then dispensed in the community in England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.The following table shows the number of ‘unique patients’ in the latest quarterly statistics July-September 2025, aged 29 years old and under that were prescribed and dispensed antidepressants:Time periodTotal number of unique patientsJuly to September 2025768,961Source: Medicines Used in Mental Health – England, published by NHS England, available at the following link: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/medicines-used-mental-health-england
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the recent uptake of covid boosters.
COVID-19 vaccination uptake figures are published regularly during the spring and winter campaigns, as part of the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season
How many people in the UK have been diagnosed with bladder cancer.
The Department does not hold data on cancer incidence for the United Kingdom. The latest data on bladder cancer incidence available, in England, can be found at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2023
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to PET-CT procurement in England on diagnostic access for patients from Northern Ireland who rely on specialist capacity elsewhere in the UK.
NHS England is in the process of reprocuring some positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) services to replace current contracts that are due to expire at the end of March 2027. The geographies covered by the existing contracts will continue to be covered under the new arrangements, so no impact on diagnostic access is expected for patients from Northern Ireland who rely on specialist capacity elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The current arrangements for patients travelling to England for PET-CT and other treatments remains unchanged.
Whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) trends in the level of variation in access to NICE-recommended biologic medicines for severe asthma.
No assessment has been made. NHS England is working with the health innovation networks and has formed the Respiratory Transformation Partnership. Focusing on improving the outcomes of people living with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this programme seeks to find scalable ways to decrease premature mortality and bed occupancy from respiratory diseases. Initiatives will seek to improve disease recognition, optimise delivery of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved approaches at neighbourhood level, and uptake of existing and emerging biologic therapies.The current NHS England severe asthma service specification is being revised by the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group. The current service specification is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/specialised-respiratory-services-adult-severe-asthma.pdfThe revised specification will support the management of patients who require further investigation and treatments including biological medicines. The specification will also be updated to reference the most recent clinical guidelines such as the British Thoracic Society, NICE, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network asthma guideline covering diagnosing, monitoring, and managing asthma in adults, young people, and children, and which is expected to improve outcomes for people with asthma and identify early those who require further investigation and treatments including biologic medicines. This guideline is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245
What steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving annual reviews.
Annual reviews, including reviews of medication, play a key role in the ongoing management of people with respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, as part of its guidance for the diagnosis and management of asthma and COPD The majority of patients with COPD and asthma are managed by general practitioners and members of the primary care team. The provision of annual reviews is incentivised in primary care through the Quality and Outcomes Framework. There are indicators for annual reviews for both COPD, namely COPD010,and asthma, namely AST007, within this framework.Further details on these indicators are available in the QOF guidance at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/quality-outcomes-framework-guidance-for-2025-26.pdf
Whether his Department has reviewed the rate of uptake of biologic medicines for severe asthma relative to the eligible population.
The Department has not conducted any such review, but this information is available via the NHS England Innovation Scorecard, which is published bi-annually.Across all disease areas, though the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, the Government has commitment to reducing friction in the system to optimise access and uptake of new medicines so the most clinically and cost-effective can reach patients faster. These actions will speed up market access for new medicines and reduce local unwarranted variation in medicine use.
What assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of health inequalities associated with a) asthma and b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is aware of the disproportionate impact that asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) have on deprived communities. The Government is acting on smoking, air pollution, and poor housing that will particularly benefit such communities.Smoking is the number one preventable cause of COPD. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be the biggest public health intervention since the 2007 indoor smoking ban and will help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom.Poor air quality can exacerbate COPD and asthma. To address this, DHSC is working across Government with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to tackle air pollution, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to fix housing and reduce damp and mould. Infections can also exacerbate COPD and asthma, so the National Health Service is running winter vaccine campaigns against respiratory infections including COVID-19, flu, and pneumococcal disease.To enable faster diagnosis of asthma and COPD and earlier access to treatment, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online. The first five months of 2025/26 saw an increase in CDC spirometry testing of approximately 2000 tests per month more than in the previous year.
What assessment he has been made of the adequacy of national production capacity for PSMA radiotracers in the context of projected clinical demand for prostate cancer diagnosis.
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiotracers are commissioned for use as part of PET-CT prostate cancer imaging, as set out in the published clinical commissioning policy. Access to PET-CT, as with any healthcare service, is closely monitored.
Whether his Department plans to support the adoption of the a) Asthma Control Test and b) COPD Assessment Test as part of annual reviews for respiratory patients in primary care.
The Asthma Control Test and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test are accessible online for patients to use and the results can be taken to a general practice to help inform an annual assessment or other general practice appointment associated with these conditions.