Written questions by Fenton-Glynn.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support research and development projects using novel diagnostic technologies.

The Life Sciences Sector Plan commits to enabling world class research & development (R&D) within the UK, with specific actions to support Medtech and Biotech companies including those focused on diagnostics. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will deliver on this in parallel, accelerating the transition from ideation to commercialisation for novel diagnostic productions and providing wraparound support that will connect innovators to testbeds, regulators, and procurement processes. We will also further expand our significant investments in UK health data and genomics capabilities.

If he will make an estimate of the average time between the (a) onset of symptoms and (b) formal diagnosis for patients with (i) lung, (ii) pancreatic, (iii) liver, (iv) brain, (v) oesophageal and (vi) stomach cancer.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), for 75% of patients to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of being referred urgently by their general practitioner (GP) for suspected cancer. NHS England collects and publishes monthly FDS performance data nationally and for individual cancer groups. Data is not available from the time of the onset of symptoms, but from referral.To achieve the FDS, NHS England rolled out public awareness campaigns of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlined referral routes for different cancer types, and is increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.NHS England has also achieved full roll out of non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type.The NHS is also taking crucial steps to improve lung cancer outcomes for patients across England, including the roll out of the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, designed to identify cancer at an earlier stage, and which is aimed at high-risk individuals or people with a history of smoking between the ages of 55 and 74 years old.Additionally, we set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. We asked systems and providers to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the FDS, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer.As part of developing the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, the Department has been working with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.

What steps his Department is taking to expand defence procurement processes to enable greater participation by (a) advanced manufacturers in the Calder Valley valve industry and (b) other small and medium sized businesses.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold a crucial place in UK defence. They are the backbone of the UK economy and are vital to delivering the innovation, expertise and agility that we need now and in the future. This is recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy, as well as the Department’s Social Value policy. We work with our largest suppliers through a network of their SME Champions, trade associations and SME representatives to ensure that smaller companies have access to opportunities in our supply chain and that our prime contractors are adopting policies, such as fair payment practices, that support small businesses working in defence. We are also introducing a new SME Commercial Pathway as part of our broader acquisition transformation. Through this pathway, Defence will increase the number of opportunities for SMEs, and make our contracting processes simpler, less onerous and faster. This Government has already announced an ambitious but achievable target to spend £7.5 billion with SMEs by 2028 which will see direct spend increase by approximately £700 million during the next three years, and we will launch a new Office For Small Business Growth to provide SMEs with better access to the defence supply chain, ensuring that thousands of small businesses in the UK, including those in the Calder Valley, continue to lead the way in developing the world-beating technologies and services that we will need.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to diagnose (a) cancers that present with (i) vague and (ii) non-specific symptoms and (b) pancreatic cancer.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), for 75% of patients to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of being referred urgently by their general practitioner (GP) for suspected cancer. NHS England collects and publishes monthly FDS performance data nationally and for individual cancer groups. Data is not available from the time of the onset of symptoms, but from referral.To achieve the FDS, NHS England rolled out public awareness campaigns of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlined referral routes for different cancer types, and is increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.NHS England has also achieved full roll out of non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type.The NHS is also taking crucial steps to improve lung cancer outcomes for patients across England, including the roll out of the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, designed to identify cancer at an earlier stage, and which is aimed at high-risk individuals or people with a history of smoking between the ages of 55 and 74 years old.Additionally, we set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. We asked systems and providers to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the FDS, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer.As part of developing the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, the Department has been working with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the time taken to diagnose (a) lung, (b) pancreatic, (c) liver, (d) brain, (e) oesophageal and (f) stomach cancer.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), for 75% of patients to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of being referred urgently by their general practitioner (GP) for suspected cancer. NHS England collects and publishes monthly FDS performance data nationally and for individual cancer groups. Data is not available from the time of the onset of symptoms, but from referral.To achieve the FDS, NHS England rolled out public awareness campaigns of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlined referral routes for different cancer types, and is increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.NHS England has also achieved full roll out of non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type.The NHS is also taking crucial steps to improve lung cancer outcomes for patients across England, including the roll out of the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, designed to identify cancer at an earlier stage, and which is aimed at high-risk individuals or people with a history of smoking between the ages of 55 and 74 years old.Additionally, we set out expectations for renewed focus on cancer targets in the Elective Reform plan, published on 6 January 2025. We asked systems and providers to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the FDS, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer.As part of developing the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, the Department has been working with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, which includes lung, pancreatic, liver, brain, oesophageal, and stomach cancer.

What information her Department holds on the number of people who (a) have indefinite leave to remain status and (b) are employed in the (i) NHS and (ii) social care sector.

The information requested is not centrally held.The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics relating to decisions on applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain, and those made through the EU Settlement Scheme, in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication, both of which provide an overview of those persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK. However, we do not link indefinite leave to remain grants to current occupation.

How much NHS England spent on (a) communications and (b) public advertising relating to NHS (i) dentistry and (ii) oral health initiatives in each of the last five years.

NHS England has spent no money on communications or advertising relating to National Health Service dentistry or oral health initiatives in the last five years.Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment. They are also responsible for deciding how best to communicate about their services for patients.

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) (i) communications and (ii) public advertising on NHS dentistry and (b) oral health initiatives to improve patient access to NHS dental services.

There are currently no national communication campaigns on National Health Service dentistry and oral health initiatives to improve patient access and therefore no assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the communications and public advertising on NHS dentistry and oral health initiatives aimed at improving patient access to NHS dental services.Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment. They are also responsible for deciding how best to communicate about their services for patients.NHS England is responsible for maintaining and updating the NHS.uk website for England, which provides information and services to help patients manage their health including on dentistry.

What steps he is taking to improve retention rates for doctors.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan later in 2025 setting out how we will ensure staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles and hope for the future, so they can achieve more. We will 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. We have made significant progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes agreeing an improved exception reporting system which will ensure doctors are compensated fairly for the additional work that they do and reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training.NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts.

What discussions he has had with his international counterparts to improve patient safety for UK residents undergoing cosmetic surgery abroad.

The Department maintains a dialogue with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office colleagues in countries of interest to improve patient safety for United Kingdom residents undergoing cosmetic surgery abroad, as well as strengthening our bilateral engagement through discussions with health official counterparts in destination countries to improve patient pathways.

What plans he has to measure the cost to the public purse of NHS expenditure on treating complications arising from cosmetic procedures undertaken abroad.

The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.

What estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the NHS treating complications arising from cosmetic surgery undertaken by British nationals abroad in the last three years.

The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.

What estimate his Department has made of the average cost per patient to the NHS for treating complications from cosmetic surgery undertaken abroad.

The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) maximise the output of existing wind turbines and (b) avoid payments for curtailment of generation.

The Reformed National Pricing package will ensure a more strategic approach to the energy system which improves operational efficiency, including how existing wind turbines are utilised. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system and managing curtailment payments. Curtailment payments are part of operating an efficient electricity system. Government is working to reduce these costs by accelerating build of electricity network infrastructure to increase system capacity. The Reformed National Pricing package will also address these costs through improved strategic planning and market reforms. An update on these reforms will be published later this year.

Whether he plans to publish guidance for (a) local authorities and (b) health services on working together to deliver local neighbourhood hubs.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.That is why over the course of our 10 Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health.Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most. More details will be confirmed in due course.

Whether his Department plans to publish formal terms of reference for the review of the Carr-Hill formula.

The review of the Carr-Hill formula will consider how health needs are reflected in the distribution of funding through the GP contract, drawing on a range of evidence and advice from experts.Arrangements for the Carr-Hill review are being finalised. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Whether he plans to publish a strategy for delivering the 250-300 neighbourhood hubs by 2035.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.That is why over the course of our 10 Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health.Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most. More details will be confirmed in due course.

When he plans to publish the final report of the review into the Carr-Hill formula.

Arrangements for the Carr-Hill review are being finalised. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department’s policies of the level of harvest yields in 2025.

Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy. We continue to engage and work closely with industry and to monitor domestic food production, including harvest. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), which was established under the Devolution Framework, brings Defra and Devolved Governments together to monitor the UK market across all key agricultural commodities.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing funding for (a) vaccines and (b) the wider medtech sector in the context of the US Government’s decision on mRNA vaccine research.

Vaccines are an important tool for preventing and lessening the impacts of disease. The Department invests in vaccine research through several routes, targeting interventions in areas essential for health resilience, such as mRNA vaccine technology. For instance, the Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which includes the UK Vaccine Innovation Pathway to support the rapid set up and delivery of clinical trials in the United Kingdom, including the UK’s first norovirus mRNA vaccine trial. The Department also established the Official Development Assistance-funded UK Vaccine Network Project in 2015 and has funded the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations since 2018.More widely, the Government is partnering with industry to drive forward mRNA vaccine research and development. Through its ten-year strategic partnership with the Government, signed in 2022, Moderna will invest over £1 billion in mRNA research and development in the UK, strengthening the UK's vaccine manufacturing capacity through construction of the Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre. Additionally, the Government's strategic partnership with BioNTech will see 10,000 National Health Service patients provided with personalised cancer immunotherapies, including mRNA cancer vaccines, by 2030, ensuring that UK patients have early access to these innovative new treatments.Supporting research into vaccines is critical to improving pandemic preparedness and delivering the global 100 Days Mission, which the UK has supported since its establishment. The mission aims to have safe and effective diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines available and equitably accessible in the first 100 days of a pandemic threat being identified. The £520 million Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund backs UK manufacturing and will bring globally mobile manufacturing investments, including vaccines and medical technology (MedTech), to the UK, strengthening the UK’s economy and generating high-skill, high-wage jobs.The Government is also committed to supporting the MedTech industry, which is a central pillar in the UK’s life sciences sector and will help build an NHS that is fit for the future. The Government has recently set out its plans for life sciences in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, which includes enhancing support for MedTech small and medium-sized enterprises through UK Research and Innovation and NIHR.