Written questions by Hayes.

What recent assessment has he made of the adequacy of NHS support for people with liver disease in Lincolnshire.

The commissioning of services for liver disease is the responsibility of integrated care systems. Integrated care systems are responsible for decisions on commissioning health services and reviewing those services to ensure they best meet the needs of their local population.NHS England has a Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Clinical Reference Group which provides clinical advice to NHS England in support of the commissioning of specialised services. By working in partnership with key stakeholders, the Clinical Reference Group helps drive improvements in the quality, equity, experience, efficiency, and outcomes of specialised services. The Clinical Reference Group is currently reviewing its service specification in relation to liver and pancreatic care, which is scheduled for completion before the end of the current financial year.In Lincolnshire, the United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has a gastroenterology department that manages support and services for people with chronic liver disease, with tertiary care services for Nottingham, for non-transplant services, and Cambridge, for liver transplantation. The United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been part of the Nottingham Operational Delivery Network since 2015 and provides a team of specialist nurses and treatment co-ordinators to work in partnership with community agencies, with the object of eradicating hepatitis C. Hepatology services at the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust are based at Peterborough City Hospital and receive patients from Lincolnshire areas, with referrals aligned with the tertiary referral centre.The North-West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust is seeing an increased demand for services for liver disease. The hepatology service has recently appointed two additional consultant hepatologists to improve patient experience and support, as well as the timeliness of outpatient appointments.Liver disease is a broad term for several conditions affecting the liver and pancreas, but the most prevalent cause of liver-related ill health and death is alcohol-related liver disease. In 2024/25 the Department invested an additional £3,620,918 in alcohol and drug treatment and recovery systems in Lincolnshire.

For what purposes the Health Research Authority has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.In line with the Government's commitment to modernising AI usage across public services, the Health Research Authority (HRA) is carefully considering how to integrate AI safely and securely within its organisation.AI deployment at the HRA remains in its early stages. Currently, AI is not permitted for writing official communications, minute-taking, or analysing personal data. However, to support responsible AI adoption, the HRA is exploring a trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot to help staff make better use of AI while maintaining rigorous ethical and regulatory standards.The HRA can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage, for example the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard. The HRA also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.

For what purposes the Human Tissue Authority has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) has used AI in the form of Microsoft Co-pilot and the Government Communication Service Assist tool. These tools are used to assist the authority to be more responsive and targeted in their regulatory activity, by highlighting opportunities of efficiency and lever changes in performance and practice. This includes the Government Communication Service Assist tool supporting communications professionals in HTA in a number of areas including: the production of first draft communications products; stakeholder management; research; and media handling.The HTA can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage. The HTA also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.

For what purposes NHS Property Services has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.NHS Property Services (NHSPS) is at an early stage of trialling AI technology to enhance its service offer for customers and to support its staff. This includes integrating AI into its cyber security, piloting its use as an assistant for customer support advisers, using it for data analysis on its staff survey results and employee development offer, and trialling Microsoft 365 Copilot. An AI ethics framework has been established across NHSPS to ensure appropriate controls and governance regarding AI usage.NHSPS can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage more people to become blood donors in Lincolnshire.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England.Throughout the year, NHSBT runs campaigns to attract new donors, such as the ‘gift of blood’ campaign in the run up to Christmas. This involved paid media activity across several platforms including, social media, radio and TV. NHSBT also worked with the BBC’s Casualty to support development of its Christmas special focussing on the need for blood. To reach new audiences and find new ways to inspire donors to donate, NHSBT partners with organisations such as Disney, the Civil Service, NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards.This activity takes place across England, including in the county of Lincolnshire.

What steps he is taking to help armed forces veterans access mental health support in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Across England, NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service for veterans. The Op COURAGE Midlands service, run by the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, covers the South Holland area.In the South Holland and The Deepings constituency and in Lincolnshire, veterans can self-refer to Op COURAGE, or a referral can be made on their behalf by a clinician or a family member. The service has been designed to support veterans from all areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices, Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate.Whilst Op COURAGE provides a bespoke model of care for veterans, we recognise that there are some veterans who prefer to access mainstream NHS services such as Talking Therapies.

For what purposes the Food Standards Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is using AI, both traditional and generative, for a range of purposes. Using traditional AI, we have focused on pattern detection for food risk identification using, and developing, approaches to extract and structure information contained in documents, from shipping manifests to webpages. We aim to see food safety and authenticity risks before the food lands on the United Kingdom’s shores.For generative AI, we are piloting its use in our front-line services in the field by using mobile based AI applications. The goal of this is to streamline our inspection of meat businesses by having AI help collate notes during the inspection process, which will allow uniformity in reporting and improve data quality. We aim for this to improve the existing method, which involves inspectors carrying large amounts of equipment while taking written, paper-based, observations.We have also deployed generative AI tools to improve data quality. As most data from national and international food alert systems is unstructured text, considerable human effort has been required to extract the relevant information and then categorise it to a standardised format. The aim is to reduce the manual work required in improving data quality, which will allow colleagues to spend more time deriving insights from data rather than cleaning data, while also improving the speediness of the response.The FSA can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.The FSA also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of fertility testing in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

No assessment has been made of the availability of fertility testing in the South Holland and Deepings constituency or Lincolnshire. Data is not collected centrally.

For what purposes the Care Quality Commission has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has used AI to support how they fulfil their role as the independent regulator of health and social care, focussing on supporting their operational colleagues with identifying risk in health and care services, making operational efficiency improvements, and making better use of unstructured data.Over the last 12 months, the CQC’s AI usage has been in an initialisation phase. They have been developing governance approaches, AI platforms and tooling, and making sure their staff have the right skills to use AI platforms, tools, and processes.Their current priority AI projects include developing an adult social care risk model, which takes multiple complex data sources and gives a predictive score of risk, as well as the key drivers of that risk for a given provider. They have also explored how generative AI capabilities can support the CQC’s work, both in the form of bespoke chatbot solutions to increase operational efficiencies, and in a small-scale Microsoft 365 Copilot trial.The CQC has not yet submitted any Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard records. They are however, in the process of adopting that standard and are trialling it with their risk model for residential adult social care services.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support for out of hours doctors services in Lincolnshire.

No such assessment has been made by the Department. The commissioning of out of hours services, and the extent to which those services are supported, is the responsibility of local commissioners in partnership with their providers, to serve the best interests of their populations.

For what purposes the UK Health Security Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has focused artificial intelligence (AI) on both internal operational improvements and on external interventions, to enhance the United Kingdom’s health security.UKHSA toxicologists have installed and are testing a cutting-edge commercial system integrating advanced data analytics with AI to detect airborne pollen in real-time. Further information is available at the following link:https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/09/11/how-cutting-edge-ai-technology-could-hold-the-key-to-forecasting-the-pollen-count/The UKHSA has also successfully deployed one of its AI projects to the Tuberculosis (TB) Unit. This system enhances the manual review of country-of-origin documentation to identify those born in high-risk countries who are eligible for TB screening in the UK. The system is being trialled alongside standard practice to test performance and quantify the benefits that it brings.The UKHSA has implemented governance structures to ensure the use of AI aligns to cross-Government guidance and the agency’s mission. In May 2024, details of a UKHSA Advisory Board paper on AI was shared on GOV.UK website, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-advisory-board-agenda/ukhsa-advisory-board-artificial-intelligence

For what purposes the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a statement of intent for artificial intelligence (AI). It outlines the NICE’s approach to using AI to streamline its processes and increase efficiency and effectiveness. The NICE currently uses a natural language processing solution to facilitate the searching of its recommendations, and machine learning based text classifiers within its evidence management software. To assist with daily tasks, NICE staff have access to Microsoft’s Copilot, and the NICE communications team is trialling the Government Communications Service’s Assist tool. Further information on the NICE’s statement of intent for AI is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/corporate/ecd12/chapter/purpose-of-this-document

For what purposes the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

During 2024, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) identified 20 artificial intelligence (AI) use-cases for prototyping with different technologies with different AI paradigms.The use-cases range from productivity through to decision making, across all areas of the business, including communications, customer services, and helpdesks, as well as across the regulatory activities for the whole product lifecycle, including post-market surveillance. MHRA technical specialists have collaborated closely with science, health, and regulation subject matter experts to produce the first batch of AI prototypes.As a result of the successful outcomes in the prototyping phases, the team is now considering next steps in productionising the prototypes, whilst maintaining safety and efficacy. The work takes a risk-proportionate approach, tailored to each use-case, rather than a one size fits all risk-averse blanket approach to all scenarios.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the length of waiting lists for a lifesaving organ in Lincolnshire.

The active transplant waiting list in the United Kingdom is above pre-pandemic levels, with people waiting longer for a transplant than they have previously. As of 31 December 2024, there were 6,858 people on the transplant waiting list in England, and 113 people in Lincolnshire, excluding temporarily suspended patients.NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) manage transplant services across the UK. They are working to reduce the number of patients on the waiting list by revising the National Organ Retrieval Service to improve its efficiency, supporting clinical teams to increase the use of extended criteria donors, implementing new technology to improve non-use rates, and encouraging people to register to donate through high profile year-round campaigns including Organ Donation Week, World Sight Day, and World Kidney Day, in partnership with a wide range of charities and community groups.The Department, NHSBT, and NHS England are working together to improve utilisation of all solid organs following recommendations from the Organ Utilisation Group 2023 report. Once fully implemented, the aim is to utilise more donor organs for transplant to save and improve the lives of those on the waiting list.

For what purposes the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it has not used artificial intelligence over the last 12 months.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of lack of access to NHS dental services on health outcomes in Lincolnshire.

The dental statistics publication Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available from the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324The data for the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board shows that 37% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 24 months up to June 2024, compared to 40% in England, and 51% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months up to June 2024, compared to 56% in England.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

For what purposes NHS England has used AI in the last 12 months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) presents significant opportunities within NHS England to improve delivery of care and outcomes for patients by increasing the speed and accuracy of diagnosis, alongside improving staff productivity, by freeing up staff time from some routine and administrative work.Many of these AI technologies are being tested and evaluated in NHS England to aid clinical decision-making, healthcare diagnostics, and imaging. For example, AI has been used to analyse and interpret acute stroke brain scans to support doctors in making treatment decisions in 100% of stroke units in England. In addition, many new technologies have been deployed in over half of acute trusts in England in high-demand areas, such as chest x-rays and chest computed tomography scans, to enable faster diagnosis of diseases like cancer.AI can support clinicians and National Health Service managers in running clinical operations through note taking during mental health consultations, appointment scheduling, and bed management. For example, automated voice to text tools, which use AI to listen to and transcribe patient notes, could help ease the administrative burden faced by staff and make systems more efficient. Several trusts in NHS England are currently running trials, including a multi-site assessment of the impact of using automated transcription software.The deployment of AI in the NHS is still at a relatively early stage, with many AI tools being used in a research capacity. To address this, the Department is carrying out work, with NHS England, to assess the barriers of safe, ethical, and effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed and used in NHS England.

What estimate he had made of the number of additional urgent dental appointments there will be in Lincolnshire in each of the next four years.

The Government is committed to tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care. We are working to ensure that patients can start to access the 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments as soon as possible, targeting the areas that need them most, including Lincolnshire.We will set out further information on this commitment, including how this will be measured, in due course.

Whether he plans to take steps to allow up-to-date medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff in Lincolnshire.

At a national level, in partnership with NHS England, the Department is building the foundations for improved information sharing between care and health staff. Digital social care records, that contain a person’s care information, are now in use by more than 72% of Care Quality Commission-registered care providers, from a starting point of 41% in December 2021. In the recent announcement on short term reforms in adult social care, we set our ambition that all care providers will be fully digitised by the end of this Parliament.Within the coming months, all assured digital social care records will also enable medical information to be shared with social care providers through GP Connect, which provides a restricted view of a person’s general practice (GP) record to social care staff for direct care purposes, where there is consent for the data to be shared. Currently about 2,000 care providers use GP Connect to access medical information through digital social care records and next year we will be supporting wider adoption of this functionality. Access to this information improves the quality and safety of care and saves time, currently spent on the phone waiting to speak to GP surgeries.In Lincolnshire, the Lincolnshire Care Record enables medical information sharing for direct care purposes across health and social care. This initiative has been live for several years. There is not currently a consistent way for information held by social care providers to be shared, and from April 2025, we will begin work to establish a national shared platform that enables this essential information sharing and ensures health and care staff can access real-time social care, GP, and hospital data, providing access to essential medical information in a timely way. This could include when someone last took their medication, or whether there’s been a change to their care regimen. By linking up systems, National Health Service and care staff will have access to the latest information, speeding up and improving care both in health and in care settings.

What steps his Department is taking to improve provision of post-natal mental health care in Lincolnshire.

Significant progress across England has been made in recent years to ensure that women experiencing moderate to severe perinatal mental health problems can access specialist perinatal mental health services for up to two years after giving birth. This includes Mother and Baby Units, such as the one in Lincolnshire, maternal mental health services, and specialist perinatal mental health community teams.Lincolnshire is one of 75 local authorities that is receiving funding to provide bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.However, more is needed. Access to these services varies across the country and too many people with mental health issues, including mothers in the 24 months postpartum, are not getting the support or care they need. NHS England is working to ensure that services are accessible to all women who need them.