Written questions by Pitcher.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders and augmentation in people with restless legs syndrome and Parkinson’s disease

Awaiting answer.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential financial impact of dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders on those experiencing such disorders, including through (a) gambling-

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What information his Department holds on (a) the likelihood of patients who develop one dopamine agonist-associated impulse control disorder developing additional impulse control disorders and (b)

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What data the Department holds on the proportion of patients with restless legs syndrome alone, compared with patients with restless legs syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, auti

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What data the Department holds on the proportion of patients with restless legs syndrome treated with dopamine agonists who have co-existing neurodevelopmental or psychiatric diagnoses, including a

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What assessment the Department has made of risk factors for dopamine agonist-induced impulse control disorders, including age, renal impairment, duration of exposure, cumulative dose, polypharmacy,

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What data the Department holds on the average age at (a) initiation of dopamine agonist therapy, (b) first report or diagnosis of an impulse control disorder while taking a dopamine agonist and (c)

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What data the Department holds on (a) the average length of time patients remain on dopamine agonists or partial dopamine agonists for each licensed indication, (b) the proportion of patients who r

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What information national pharmacovigilance systems and clinical datasets provide on the range and relative frequency of withdrawal symptoms associated with dopamine agonist discontinuation, includ

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How many Yellow Card reports have (a) listed pramipexole, ropinirole, rotigotine and cabergoline as a suspected medicine and (b) included any reaction term relating to impulse control disorders, in

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What estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of patients who, having developed impulse control disorders while taking dopamine agonists and attempted withdrawal, subsequently

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What assessment his Department has made of the typical duration and severity of withdrawal symptoms associated with dopamine agonist dose reduction or discontinuation; and how those outcomes vary b

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What data his Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency holds on how many and what proportion of patients develop withdrawal symptoms, including dopamine agonist withdr

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Whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent of under-reporting of dopamine agonist-related impulse control disorders to the Yellow Card scheme; and what steps it is taking to improv

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What estimate his Department has made of the number of patients exposed to dopamine agonists for (a) Parkinson’s disease and (b) restless legs syndrome; and what comparison the Department has made

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients prescribed dopamine agonists are informed about the risk of impulse control disorders.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines and healthcare products meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness and are supported by detailed product information, via the P...

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with complex dementia needs, including those requiring one-to-one support, can access safe and suitable care placements following discharge

The Government recognises the challenges in securing suitable care placements for people with complex needs including dementia. National Health Service bodies and local authorities are expected to work together to plan discharge early and ensure that care...

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that integrated care boards are held accountable for commissioning services for those with very severe ME/CFS the absence of a national specialised service.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are expected to commission services for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) across all levels of severity, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS, in line with national standards, service specifications and clinical access policies set by NHS England. Prioritisation and funding remain at the discretion of ICBs.Officials have begun work to develop a template service specification for mild and moderate ME/CFS. This template will provide best practice examples to guide the commissioning of services for ME/CFS and will now include reference to severe ME/CFS as an interim support measure.To help support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, the Department has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme for healthcare professionals. All four sessions of the e‑learning programme are now available, with sessions one, two and three having universal access, while the fourth session, which focuses on the management of severe ME/CFS, is only available to healthcare professionals. The e-learning is available at the following link: https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288

What steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access England to (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) specialist rehabilitation services for patients with Functional Neurological Disorder.

The majority of services for people with neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorder (FND), are commissioned locally. Integrated care board (ICB) commissioners are best placed to configure services for their populations and are supported by clinical guidance.More widely, NHS England’s Neuroscience Transformation Programme is supporting ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, which includes providing care closer to home.NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and RightCare Toolkits, including the Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, the Headache and Migraine Toolkit, and the Epilepsy Toolkit, aim to improve care for patients with neurological conditions by reducing variation.On 15 October 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published new guidance, titled Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury. The guideline covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms resulting from acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve disorder, progressive neurological disease, or FND. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181

If he will take steps to extend eligibility for NHS lung screening programmes to include people with a history of occupational exposure to (a) asbestos, (b) coal dust and (c) other hazardous substances.

The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme is offered to people between the ages of 55 and 74 years old who are current smokers or have previously been smokers. This is in line with the recommendation made by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) in 2022.The UK NSC recognised that there are other causes of lung cancer such as air pollution and occupational exposure to inhaled carcinogens but as 72% of lung cancer is largely attributable to age and smoking status, the benefits of screening would have the most impact in this cohort of people.When appraising the viability of a targeted screening the UK NSC takes into consideration the feasibility of identifying the cohort of people eligible for targeted screening. This would be necessary if the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme were to be extended to these groups.The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), welcomes any new published peer reviewed evidence which suggests the case for a new or modified screening programme via its annual call, of which details are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal