Written questions by Cocking.

What date his Department expects to publish the interim statement on the Modern Service Framework for Palliative and End of Life Care.

We will publish an interim update on the Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care shortly. The final MSF will be published this autumn.The MSF will provide a clinically-led, evidence-based framework to support sustained improvement in patient and carer outcomes, including reducing both inequality and unwarranted variation. Areas of action will be identified for those commissioning and delivering services, with associated performance and outcome metrics to support system accountability. The MSF will seek to embed palliative care and end-of-life care within a strategic commissioning model that is centred on population need.We have been engaging with a range of stakeholders, from approximately 70 organisations, to inform the MSF’s development, including the Ambitions Partnership. We are also undertaking engagement with integrated care systems through National Health Service regional teams. We have also been working closely with teams leading on the other MSFs, to ensure that they align with each other.Following the publication of the interim update, Department and NHS England officials will continue to engage closely with stakeholders on the development of the final MSF.

What steps he is taking to support dental educational supervisors.

The Government recognises the important role dental educational supervisors play in supporting newly qualified dentists.Dental Foundation Training is supported through payments to eligible practices, including the trainers grant for educational supervision. The Department keeps these payments under review as part of the annual pay review process.

What recent discussions he conducted with dentists before introducing changes to the NHS dentistry contract.

In Summer 2025, the Department ran a full public consultation on our proposed reforms to the dental contract. The consultation ran for six weeks and received almost 2,300 responses, including from those working in the dental sector, from professional bodies and charities. The Government response to the consultation was published in December and provides a summary of the results of the consultation. The response is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms#introductionNHS England and the Office of the Chief Dental Officer have also engaged with the dental sector to support the implementation of these reforms, including through webinars, bulletins, and contract guidance. Clinical guidance will be published shortly.We have engaged with key stakeholders throughout the process of developing these reforms, including through regular meetings with the British Dental Association.The regulations introducing the first phase of these reforms came into force on 1 April, and the remainder of the reforms, including the introduction of complex care pathways, will be implemented from June 2026. These reforms will prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups.We remain committed to delivering further, fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. Discussions with key stakeholders have continued ahead of any further proposed amendments to the dental contract.

Whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum fundable limits for dental schools in England.

The Government will provide £11 million per annum at steady state, to increase the number of new dental school places by 50 each year. This is the first sustained expansion of domestic dental training places since 2007 and will take effect from the 2027/28 academic year.The Minister of State for Skills and I have written to the Chair of the Office for Students (OfS) to increase the maximum fundable limit for dental school places in England from 809 to 859 places. The OfS has statutory responsibility for allocating funding for dental school places. The Minister of State for Skills and I have asked that the OfS focuses the expansion on new dental schools approved by the General Dental Council, but which do not currently receive government funding for places.

What steps he is taking to increase the allocation of new dental school places.

The Government will provide £11 million per annum at steady state, to increase the number of new dental school places by 50 each year. This is the first sustained expansion of domestic dental training places since 2007 and will take effect from the 2027/28 academic year.The Minister of State for Skills and I have written to the Chair of the Office for Students (OfS) to increase the maximum fundable limit for dental school places in England from 809 to 859 places. The OfS has statutory responsibility for allocating funding for dental school places. The Minister of State for Skills and I have asked that the OfS focuses the expansion on new dental schools approved by the General Dental Council, but which do not currently receive government funding for places.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 69859 on AJM Healthcare: Wheelchairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Integrated Care Boards adequately deal with complaints made about commissioned providers.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local populations. There are a range of providers of National Health Service wheelchair services across England, and ICBs are responsible for monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers. Complaints management is included as part of overall assurance for ICBs. NHS England is aware there have been a number of separate complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare, which are being dealt with on an individual basis by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. NHS England are working through the appropriate regional teams to gain intelligence from ICBs on quality concerns and contracting arrangements to fully understand the issues being raised. In addition, the 10 Year Health Plan makes a commitment to reviewing the complaints regulations, and NHS England and the Department are developing plans to achieve this.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2026 to Question 111545 on AJM Healthcare, what discussions his Department has had with ICBs on complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local populations. There are a range of providers of National Health Service wheelchair services across England, and ICBs are responsible for monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers. Complaints management is included as part of overall assurance for ICBs. NHS England is aware there have been a number of separate complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare, which are being dealt with on an individual basis by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. NHS England are working through the appropriate regional teams to gain intelligence from ICBs on quality concerns and contracting arrangements to fully understand the issues being raised. In addition, the 10 Year Health Plan makes a commitment to reviewing the complaints regulations, and NHS England and the Department are developing plans to achieve this.

When he plans to answer Question 99357, tabled on 11 December 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 January 2026 to Question 99357.

What discussions he has had with the MHRA on the potential impact of regulatory reform on the time taken to develop glioblastoma treatments.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.The impact of the new regulatory reform on the development of glioblastoma is that the new regulations will introduce notifiable trials, including initial and modification trials, which will be approved within 21 days without further assessment if they meet the inclusion criteria. Therefore, these submissions will be approved with a short turnaround time. This approach will free up assessors’ time to provide more support for trials that require closer scrutiny. The trials in glioblastoma are part of the oncology area, which represents almost 30% of all submissions received by the MHRA.

What recent discussions he has had with industry on the expansion of manufacturing sites for glioblastoma treatment development.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 22 December 2025 by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, to Question 99356.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of palliative care services in Broxbourne constituency.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England, due to be published in Spring 2026. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. St Clare Hospice, which cares for patients from the Broxbourne constituency, is receiving £579,780 from this funding.We are also providing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over the next three financial years, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients. Haven House Children’s Hospice and Noah’s Ark Children's Hospice near Broxbourne will both benefit from this funding.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of providing healthcare to (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees in the last financial year.

The Department and NHS England do not hold the information requested.

If he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on the Neurology Transformation Programme.

NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme will be concluding at the end of this financial year. By this time, we will have delivered all of the products, tools, and best practice guidance to support integrated care boards and local pathfinders to transform neurology services at a local level. Expert clinical advice and support will continue to be available during 2026/27 to support local transformation.As we bring together the Department and NHS England to form a new joint centre, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, including for people with neurological conditions, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.We continue to take forward the Government’s ambitious reform agenda as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, which will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving neurological care for people in all parts of the country. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including neurological conditions, closer to home.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77757 on Multiple Myeloma: Diagnosis, when the NHS will fully implement non-specific symptom pathways for the purpose of earlier diagnosis of blood cancers.

We recognise that there is more to be done to ensure that every patient receives fast and early diagnosis, including patients with harder to stage cancers, such as myeloma.The National Health Service has fully implemented 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.Diagnosing cancer earlier is a key focus of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan, which will build on the shifts in care set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to diagnose cancers earlier.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 59605 on Neurological Diseases: Primary Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that GP practices do not replace traditional methods of access with online triage services.

General practices are independent business that hold contracts with the National Health Service to perform essential services to the public. The GP contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person. Practice receptions should be open so that patients have a choice in access and so that patients who struggle to access telephone or online services are in no way disadvantaged.As a part of this contract, we also require general practices to provide an online consultation tool as an option for patients to contact their general practice throughout core hours. We are clear that all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practitioner.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that patients are aware that they will continue to have the option to arrange GP appointments by (a) telephone and (b) visiting a practice in-person.

General practices are independent business that hold contracts with the National Health Service to perform essential services to the public. The GP contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person. Practice receptions should be open so that patients have a choice in access and so that patients who struggle to access telephone or online services are in no way disadvantaged.As a part of this contract, we also require general practices to provide an online consultation tool as an option for patients to contact their general practice throughout core hours. We are clear that all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practitioner.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of centrally coordinating stoma services.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally responsible for commissioning the majority of health services, including stoma services, in accordance with their populations’ health needs. There are currently no plans for centrally coordinating stoma services and we expect ICBs to continue commissioning stoma services for their local populations.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on older people’s ability to access NHS services.

People unable to access the NHS App or online services, or visit their general practice (GP) in person, can ask for a feature called proxy access available through the NHS App. This function allows a trusted relative or carer to act on the patient’s behalf and can be set up through the patient’s GP surgery, so that they can help them manage their health and care. This is done through a proxy, or linked, account. Depending on the access that the GP surgery has enabled, proxy users may be able to act for the person they support, by ordering repeat prescriptions, booking appointments, viewing test results or vaccinations, and accessing all or part of the GP health record, to help with health-related tasks and managing health issues.While digital health tools like the NHS App offer convenience, they should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.NHS England has published a framework for National Health Service action on digital inclusion and is developing further resources to support practical actions. All programmes are actively considering how they can contribute to improvements in healthcare inequalities and digital inclusion. Digital health tools are part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support and telephone services, with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.NHS England has successfully run a number of programmes to support patients, carers, and health service staff with their digital skills. These include: - the NHS App ‘Spoken Word’ Pilot project, designed to test the efficacy of promoting NHS digital health products and services in languages other than English;- the Digital Health Champions programme, a proof of concept to support citizens who have no or low digital skills with understanding how to access health services online; and- the Widening Digital Participation programme, aimed to ensure more people have the digital skills, motivation, and means to access health information and services online. GP surgeries also offer patients non-digital methods to manage their primary and secondary healthcare, and these methods usually consist of telephonic communication and letters. Patients can request a non-digital route by registering their preference with their GP surgery.

How much has been spent on providing dental care for asylum seekers in hotels in the last year.

The overall management of asylum seekers is a matter for the Home Office.The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold data on the expenditure on dental care provided to asylum seekers in hotels in the last year.

When he plans to answer Question 59411, tabled on 12 June 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 July 2025 to Question 59411.