Written questions by Anderson.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67468 on Diseases: Undocumented Migrants, what the cost to the public purse was for initial health assessments for irregular migrants in each of the last five years.

The Department and NHS England do not hold the information requested.The Department, NHS England and UK Health Security Agency officials are supporting the Home Office and regional and local health partners to support delivery of reforms to the asylum system, including to accommodation for asylum seekers. The Department’s role focuses on addressing the health needs of asylum seekers, protecting local services, and addressing the transmission risks for infectious diseases.

What recent steps he has taken to improve access to new treatments for patients with secondary breast cancer.

The Department is committed to ensuring that the National Health Service diagnoses cancer earlier and treats it faster so that more patients, including those with breast cancer, survive.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the NHS on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on their costs and benefits. Cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of a positive NICE recommendation. Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed, including treatments for secondary breast cancer such as Truqap and Korserdu, which are now available to eligible NHS patients.The National Cancer Plan for England will be published later this year and will set out further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those with secondary breast cancer. The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare.

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) education about and (b) awareness of endometriosis.

The Government recognises the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.On 15 July, the Department for Education published the revised Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance, which stipulates that secondary school RSHE lessons should cover menstrual and gynaecological health, covering aspects such as what is an average period, conditions including endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, and when to seek help from healthcare professionals. This revised guidance emphasises the importance of ensuring that pupils have a comprehensive understanding of women’s health topics.The General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom. The content map for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health, including menstrual problems, endometriosis, menopause, and urinary incontinence. This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK.Endometriosis is also included in the core curriculum for trainee general practitioners, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists. In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated their guideline on endometriosis which makes firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with a suspected diagnosis, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG73)www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG73

What steps he is taking to help reduce the number of blood cancer patients diagnosed through A&E.

The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer as early and fast as possible. There have been improvements in the prognosis of blood cancer patients, with patients now living twice as long. However, we recognise that because of the damaged NHS this Government inherited, patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.There are no current plans to introduce a specific proxy staging measure or a corresponding national target to support the earlier diagnosis of blood cancers. However, the Department will continue to engage with blood cancer charities and key stakeholders to determine how to support the best outcomes for blood cancer patients.At this time no current assessment has been made on the potential merits of a proxy measure for early diagnosis in unstageable blood cancers. However, we remain committed to making improvements across different cancer types and reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The NHS currently track early diagnosis in stageable blood cancers by combining the percentage of diagnoses within stage 1 or 2, as it would for any other stageable cancer.Furthermore, to tackle late, emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services, collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The NDRS website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hubThe National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure patients, including those with blood cancer, have timely access to the latest treatments and technology.

If he will undertake a review of the adequacy of targets based on the staging of solid tumours for the early diagnosis of blood cancers in patients.

The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer as early and fast as possible. There have been improvements in the prognosis of blood cancer patients, with patients now living twice as long. However, we recognise that because of the damaged NHS this Government inherited, patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.There are no current plans to introduce a specific proxy staging measure or a corresponding national target to support the earlier diagnosis of blood cancers. However, the Department will continue to engage with blood cancer charities and key stakeholders to determine how to support the best outcomes for blood cancer patients.At this time no current assessment has been made on the potential merits of a proxy measure for early diagnosis in unstageable blood cancers. However, we remain committed to making improvements across different cancer types and reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The NHS currently track early diagnosis in stageable blood cancers by combining the percentage of diagnoses within stage 1 or 2, as it would for any other stageable cancer.Furthermore, to tackle late, emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services, collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The NDRS website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hubThe National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure patients, including those with blood cancer, have timely access to the latest treatments and technology.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67468 on Diseases: Undocumented Migrants, what information her Department holds on the number of irregular migrants who were found to have an infectious disease upon arrival in each of the last three years.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) does not routinely collect or hold data on communicable disease by visa status for new arrivals to the United Kingdom. However, if an outbreak occurs, data associated with outbreak cases may be collected.There was an outbreak of diphtheria among this group in 2022 and 2023. Monthly data on these cases is published by UKHSA and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diphtheria-cases-among-asylum-seekers-in-england-2022/diphtheria-cases-among-asylum-seekers-in-england-weekly-data-tablesNo cases were reported in 2024, and two cases have been confirmed so far in 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the early (a) detection and (b) diagnosis of blood cancer.

The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer as early and fast as possible. There have been improvements in the prognosis of blood cancer patients, with patients now living twice as long. However, we recognise that because of the damaged NHS this Government inherited, patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.There are no current plans to introduce a specific proxy staging measure or a corresponding national target to support the earlier diagnosis of blood cancers. However, the Department will continue to engage with blood cancer charities and key stakeholders to determine how to support the best outcomes for blood cancer patients.At this time no current assessment has been made on the potential merits of a proxy measure for early diagnosis in unstageable blood cancers. However, we remain committed to making improvements across different cancer types and reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The NHS currently track early diagnosis in stageable blood cancers by combining the percentage of diagnoses within stage 1 or 2, as it would for any other stageable cancer.Furthermore, to tackle late, emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services, collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The NDRS website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hubThe National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients in England, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure patients, including those with blood cancer, have timely access to the latest treatments and technology.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

The Department does not record remote workdays. Data on office attendance is published on the Civil Service HQ occupancy data - GOV.UK page.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential risk of infectious diseases from immigrants who arrive illegally on boats.

The UK Health Security Agency routinely monitors infectious disease risk across England and manages any public health action required following notification of infectious diseases.The Migrant Health Guide recommends that all new arrivals to the United Kingdom, including people seeking asylum, should have access to an initial health assessment, which includes infectious disease screening and routine vaccine catch-up. The guide is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migrant-health-guide

What data his department holds on how much health tourism has cost the NHS in each of the last 5 years.

The Department does not currently hold data on the overall cost to the National Health Service of treating complications arising from procedures carried out overseas. However, we are actively exploring ways to better understand the scale and impact of these costs on NHS services.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

There has been no expenditure by the Department on translating documents into any languages other than English and other languages native to the United Kingdom since 2023.

What steps he is taking to offer more medical specialty training posts.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. The plan also set out that we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.We have made progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes: agreeing to an improved exception reporting system which should ensure doctors are working a safe number of hours and are compensated fairly for additional work; reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training; and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.We will publish a new 10 Year Workforce Plan later this year to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

What steps he is taking to ensure UK medical graduates stay in the NHS after completing (a) degrees and (b) foundation training.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. The plan also set out that we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.We have made progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes: agreeing to an improved exception reporting system which should ensure doctors are working a safe number of hours and are compensated fairly for additional work; reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training; and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.We will publish a new 10 Year Workforce Plan later this year to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

If he will take steps to ensure UK graduates are prioritised in applications for specialty medical training spaces.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. The plan also set out that we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.We have made progress over the past year to improve the working lives of resident doctors. This includes: agreeing to an improved exception reporting system which should ensure doctors are working a safe number of hours and are compensated fairly for additional work; reviewing how resident doctors rotate through their training; and reforming and rationalising statutory and mandatory training to reduce unnecessary burden and repetition.We will publish a new 10 Year Workforce Plan later this year to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

What steps he is taking to reduce the regional differences in IVF provision.

Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service-funded treatment are still appropriate.In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.

What steps he is taking to (a) improve public awareness and (b) provide educational campaigns on the HPV vaccine.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works in partnership with NHS England and the Department to promote human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination as part of a national programme to prevent cervical cancers caused by HPV.UKHSA uses data and surveillance to create public and stakeholder communications that raise public awareness of HPV and the importance of the vaccine. UKHSA publishes and provides a range of supporting materials to health professionals on both the 12- and 13-year-old HPV offer, and the vaccine programme for those at higher risk.On 19 June 2025, NHS England launched the cervical cancer elimination campaign and toolkit for stakeholders, to increase awareness of the elimination target by 2040, educate the public about HPV, and build confidence in the HPV vaccine and cervical screening.

Whether he plans to launch targeted outreach programmes in areas with low cervical screening rates.

NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, which took place from 16 to 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and which aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening.In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/From early 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer human papillomavirus self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months, or more following routine invitation.Barriers to vaccination and screening services for underserved communities and people who experience health inequalities must continue to be addressed. This will include identifying groups using national and local level data who may be at higher risk of developing cervical cancer, to inform national initiatives, such as tailored screening invitations, and support local service planning.

What steps he is taking to (a) improve public awareness and (b) provide educational campaigns on cervical screening.

NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, which took place from 16 to 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and which aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening.In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/From early 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer human papillomavirus self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months, or more following routine invitation.Barriers to vaccination and screening services for underserved communities and people who experience health inequalities must continue to be addressed. This will include identifying groups using national and local level data who may be at higher risk of developing cervical cancer, to inform national initiatives, such as tailored screening invitations, and support local service planning.

Whether he plans to launch targeted outreach programmes in areas with low HPV vaccination rates.

NHS England works with the UK Health Security Agency and local health partners and communities to understand the needs of their populations and tailor immunisation programmes to meet the needs of under-vaccinated communities.Boys and girls in cohorts eligible for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination through the adolescent programme remain eligible until their 25th birthday. Many young people who missed out on their vaccinations have already been caught up, but work is ongoing to ensure that all those who are eligible are vaccinated, and School-Aged Immunisation Service providers are continuing to focus on HPV programme recovery post-pandemic.In March 2025, NHS England published the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, which outlines how the National Health Service will improve uptake and coverage across HPV vaccination and cervical screening. The plan sets how NHS England will improve HPV vaccination rates through increasing access, raising awareness, reducing inequalities, improving digital capabilities, and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/The 10-Year Health Plan for England, published 3 July 2025, has committed to increasing the uptake of HPV vaccinations among young people, including those who have left school, to support our aim to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.NHS England, in conjunction with regional colleagues, has also produced a HPV vaccination improvement and uptake plan for internal operational NHS use, as part of their commitment to improving vaccine coverage.For Cervical Screening Awareness week, which takes place between 19 and 24 June 2025, NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit. The campaign includes digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public about HPV, and build confidence in the HPV vaccine and cervical screening.

What was the vaccine coverage rate of the HPV vaccine in Ashfield Constituency in the most recent period for which data is available.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage is presented for England at national, National Health Service commissioning region, and local authority levels. Data is not gathered at constituency level.Vaccine coverage data for the routine school-aged HPV immunisation programme in England, including for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#hpv-vaccine-uptake