Written questions by Charters.

What steps his Department is taking to address shortages of Co-careldopa medication.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of current regulatory arrangements for the training of healthcare support workers; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all staff receive the training, supervision and support they need to deliver safe, high‑quality care.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for children born with Congenital Anomalies and rare diseases; and what steps his Department is taking to improve support available to young people with those conditions when they are transitioning to adult care pathways.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for children with neurodegenerative brain conditions.

Awaiting answer.

Whether there are plans to review the NHS medical exemption criteria for prescription charges, and assess the merits of adding asthma to the medical exemption list.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to ensure that commissioning policies for bilateral cochlear implants for adults take account of individuals who experienced inadequate access to cochlear implantation during childhood.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to cochlear implant services across England.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of propranolol in pharmacies; and what steps he is taking to ensure supply.

The Department is aware of supply issues affecting propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram modified release (MR) capsules due to ongoing manufacturing issues which are expected to last until at least July 2026.The Department is working with all suppliers to help resolve the issues and improve supplies, including asking that they source stock from other markets. We have also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed imports of propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram MR capsules. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and to advise on available alternative preparations.The Department continues to work with the supply chain teams and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to mitigate the situation and ensure supplies are available for patients as soon as possible.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support available to low‑income families whose children require prolonged inpatient neonatal and paediatric care.

The Government is committed to tackling child poverty and to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty was published on 5 December 2025 and set out a goal to reduce and alleviate the impact of child poverty, with urgent action to improve the lives of children in deepest poverty.We recognise the significant financial and practical pressures faced by low-income families when a child with a long-term condition requires hospital care. To support eligible low-income families with the costs associated with repeated or prolonged hospital stays, the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme provides support with the cost of travelling to hospital appointments.In addition, many hospitals work with charitable partners, such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, to provide free or low-cost accommodation close to specialist children’s hospitals, helping parents stay near their child during treatment.

What steps his Department is taking to improve patient safety for people with learning disabilities.

The Government is committed to advancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture across the National Health Service. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will usher in a new era of transparency, a rigorous focus on high-quality care for all and a renewed emphasis on patient and staff voice. The Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF) is a patient safety approach within the NHS covering all patient groups, including people with a learning disability. It sets standards for how organisations should meaningfully and compassionately engage with those affected by safety events and guides organisations on responding effectively for learning and improvement. PSIRF emphasises the importance of considering inequalities when setting priorities and supports consideration of inequalities throughout the learning response process. Where a person has a learning disability, integrated care boards can also utilise the findings from a Learning from Lives and Deaths Review to understand how services can be improved across their local system to reduce health inequalities for people with a learning disability and autistic people in their area. Additionally, a range of wider action is being taken to improve patient safety for people with a learning disability and autistic people. This includes:The Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation programme has been co-produced with key stakeholders from across systems and aims to improve the quality of care in mental health impatient settings. We are also rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism across the health and adult social care workforce. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care.

What steps he is taking to improve patient safety for people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.

The Government is taking a range of actions to improve patient safety for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.We are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism across the health and adult social care workforce. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care.NHS England’s Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme works to tackle the root causes of unsafe and poor-quality inpatient care, supporting the cultural changes needed to create environments where people can flourish.The Mental Health Bill, which is currently in Parliament, will limit the scope to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals. and put existing NHS England policies on a statutory footing to improve community support. There is funding in integrated care board baselines during 2025/26 to improve community support provision and reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people, in line with the NHS Operational Planning Guidance.More widely, the Government is committed to advancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture across the National Health Service. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will usher in a new era of transparency, a rigorous focus on high-quality care for all and a renewed emphasis on patient and staff voice.

With reference to the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, what steps his Department is taking to support dispensing general practices.

We recognise that the services of dispensing practices play an important role in meeting the needs of rural communities, by ensuring patients receive their medicines promptly and conveniently.Every year, the Department and NHS England consult with the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding the services general practices will provide, and the funding they will receive in return for these services. This includes the services, and relevant remuneration, of dispensing practices.We have committed to substantive General Practice (GP) contract reform within this Parliament following acceptance of the 2025/26 contract by the England General Practitioners Committee of the BMA. As part of this, we expect to consider a breadth of topics, including dispensing practices.On 3 July 2025, we published the 10-Year Health Plan, which announced the plan to introduce two new contracts, for neighbourhood providers and multi-neighbourhood providers, which will encourage GPs to work over larger geographies. We will begin to make these new contracts available in 2026, and more details will be provided in due course.

With reference to p.15 of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, what his Department's timetable is for publishing further details on the national maternity and neonatal taskforce; and whether that taskforce will focus on multiple pregnancies.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will be chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and will take forward the recommendations from the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal care to develop a national plan to drive improvements.The taskforce will be made up of a breadth of independent clinical and international expertise, including those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health, as well as family and staff representatives, charities and campaigners.Once the independent investigation is underway, my Rt. Hon. Friend will work with families and external partners to set up the taskforce including its terms of reference and membership. These will be published in due course.

What progress the Patient Safety Commissioner has made on their work on Sodium Valproate and surgical mesh implants.

The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of improving product labelling on sugar content in food for children under the age of two.

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of well-being in later life. Data shows that babies and young children are eating too much sugar, and that some commercial baby foods, particularly finger foods, contain added sugar or high sugar ingredients. This does not align with the recommendations from the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the diets of children aged one to five years old.It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional and compositional standards for commercial baby food. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.

Whether his Department is aware of supply issues with Felodipine medication; and whether he has had discussions with with (a) suppliers and (b) pharmacists to minimise patient impact.

The Department is currently not aware of any supply issues affecting any strength of felodipine. While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle intermittent shortages of Efudix and (b) improve access to alternative medications to Efudix.

We are aware of the intermittent shortages of Fluorouracil (Efudix) 5% cream, which are expected to last until March 2025 and are due to the manufacturer having constrained capacity. The Department is working with the manufacturer of the impacted product to bring forward future supplies and increase quantities where possible. We have also worked with manufacturers of alternative products and specialist importers to meet the increased demand, and have supported bringing more stock into the United Kingdom. Working with National Health Service specialists we have provided management advice for this supply issue, advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients during this time.

What steps his Department is taking to support (a) improvements in stroke care services and (b) the introduction of mechanical thrombectomy services at York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust.

There is no current plan to introduce mechanical thrombectomy for the acute treatment of strokes at the York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust. Thrombectomy is a specialist treatment that is only offered in a few tertiary centres across the country. Patients attending the York and Scarborough Foundation Teaching NHS Trust requiring a mechanical thrombectomy will be referred to the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as the tertiary centre catering to the population who require this service.

What plans he has to commission services for adults with young onset dementia.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work within their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population under the Care Act 2014.NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia, and central to this is the provision of personalised care and support planning for post diagnostic support.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.

The Department has continued to work hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, atomoxetine oral solution, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.We are continuing to work to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term.In parallel, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinions for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.The Department is also continuing to engage with suppliers of Creon and other pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies (PERT) to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. The supplier of Creon expects to receive increased quantities for 2025. Suppliers of alternative PERT and specialist importers of unlicensed medicines continue to supply increased volumes to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice, including advice on preserving the available stock of alternative PERT for certain patient cohorts.