Written questions by Anderson.

What steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis for prostate cancer.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance wait times in (a) Ashfield and (b) Nottinghamshire.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to support research into prostate cancer.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to increase capacity in A&E departments.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of paramedics.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in cancer treatment for patients in Ashfield.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce ambulance wait times and (b) increase availability of ambulances.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to ensure people in Ashfield constituency can access (a) treatment and (b) therapy for arthritis in a timely manner.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the level of support offered to people living with arthritis in Ashfield constituency.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to improve diagnosis times for arthritis in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) nationwide.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to increase bowel cancer screening for young adults.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his department is taking to improve the (a) early detection and (b) timely treatment of bowel cancer in young adults.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps his department is taking to increase funding into dementia research.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps his department is taking to improve the (a) prevention (b) timely diagnosis and (c) treatment of dementia.

Awaiting answer.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the bowel screening age to 25.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to increase domestic production of quetiapine.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his department is taking to reduce waiting times in urology departments in (a) Nottinghamshire, (b) the East Midlands and (c) nationwide.

Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to putting patients first, ensuring that they are seen on time and that they have the best possible experience of care.We set a national ambition that by March 2026, 65% of patients would wait no longer than 18 weeks. Thanks to our record investment, modernisation, and the remarkable efforts of National Health Service staff across the country, we have met this ambition, meaning patients are getting treated faster, getting back to work, and no longer waiting in pain or uncertainty.For urology services in England, the urology waiting list in England has fallen by almost 37,000 since the Government entered office, to 377,265 in March 2026. Over this same period, performance against the 18-week standard has improved by 9.3%, from 57% to 66.3%.Urology services across the East Midlands have also seen improvements in performance. All three integrated care boards (ICBs) in the East Midlands were performing better than the Midlands average, at 65.1%, against the 18-week standard as of the end of March 2026. The following table shows 18 week performance across the East Midland ICBs in June 2024 and March 2026:ICBJune 2024March 2026Derby and Derbyshire ICB60.2%68.9%Lincolnshire ICB52.3%67.4%Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB58.9%66.1%Source: Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times Data 2025-26, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/ Note: the above table excludes missing estimates for non-reporting trusts.The NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB, the NHS Lincolnshire ICB, and the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB have implemented a comprehensive programme of actions to reduce urology waiting times, including increased surgical and outpatient capacity, expanded diagnostic provision, pathway redesign, workforce growth, and strengthened cross system coordination. These measures are already improving patient flow and are expected to continue reducing waiting lists and waiting times over the coming months.

What steps he is taking to ensure people whose homes have inadequate access space can access emergency ambulance services to their property.

Ambulance crews work within the national clinical scope of practice and operational guidance, supported by locally risk‑assessed procedures. This enables them to attend patients safely in a wide range of environments, including homes and locations that may be difficult to access. This includes the use of appropriate equipment, alternative access arrangements, and, where necessary, coordination with other emergency services.This is set out in the NHS England Ambulance Service Specification, which defines the requirements for safe, effective, and responsive ambulance services across England. Detailed operating procedures for managing specific access constraints are implemented locally by ambulance trusts in line with the national service specification, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/ambulance-emergency-and-urgent-care-service-specification/

What steps he is taking to reduce assessment times for autism diagnoses.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system focus on improving early intervention and support.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to appropriate mental health support and services, as well as access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.Through the Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, which can be found at the following link:www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidanceThis guidance intends to help the NHS improve autism assessment services and the experience for those referred to a service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism, based on the available evidence.Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.In December, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, launched an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism. This review will inform a new approach to mental health that reduces waiting times, improves the quality of care, and promotes prevention and early intervention.The review’s interim report, published at the end of March, sets out the evidence reviewed so far on prevalence, describes the impact of rising demand for diagnosis and support, identifies where the evidence is uncertain, and outlines the key questions for the next phase. The final report, due in the summer, will make recommendations on how the Government, the health system, and wider public services can respond to increasing demand for support more fairly and effectively so that people receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

What steps his department is taking to raise awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer.

The Government is determined to cut waiting times and improve outcomes for all cancers, including bowel cancer. The National Cancer Plan was published on 4 February 2026, which will ensure that three in every four people diagnosed with cancer are either cancer‑free or living well five years after diagnosis.Early diagnosis is a key priority and the plan commits to develop and deliver more proactive approaches to identifying people at risk of cancer through symptomatic case finding, additional support for general practitioners (GPs), and genomic testing. The Department will continue to support the Gateway C digital training platform, and a new generation of digital support tools will help to flag concerning symptoms or test results to GPs for all cancers. As part of this, NHS England will pilot an incentive which encourages the use of electronic safety netting to increase the number of people who complete checks for bowel cancer.Further actions to improve early diagnosis of bowel cancer includes rolling out increased faecal immunochemical test sensitivity aimed at catching more cancers earlier. The programme, with lowered threshold and combined with increased uptake, will deliver 17,000 earlier diagnoses by 2035.The NHS Bowel Cancer screening Programme already offers people aged 50 to 74 years old screening every two years. The programme is undergoing several updates to its standards aimed at improving coverage, accessibility, and early detection. This includes updated performance thresholds, and improved accessibility of bowel cancer screening kits.The NHS Cancer Programme commissioned the Royal College of Surgeons to deliver new cancer clinical audits, which included an audit for bowel cancer, with the aim to strengthen cancer services by looking at all treatments and patient outcomes across England and Wales and reduce inequalities across the country.Finally, on raising awareness, NHS England also runs national campaigns, most recently in early 2025, to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms, address barriers to acting on them, and to encourage people to see their GP as soon as possible if they notice a change in their health. The campaigns cover bowel cancer and have focused on increasing awareness of a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging general body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point.