Written questions by Foy.

What discussions his Department has had with the Secretary of State for Science and Technology on the potential impact of a respiratory modern service framework on the life sciences ecosystem.

The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy opportunities in respiratory health.

What his Department’s timeline is for deciding on the second wave of modern service frameworks; and whether respiratory conditions will be considered.

Modern service frameworks (MSFs) will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. The first wave was agreed as:Cardiovascular Disease;Sepsis; andSevere Mental Illness.The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of MSFs. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure NHS England meets its target of 80 per cent breast screening uptake across all regions and eligible groups.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data from NHS England for 2024/25 showing 70.6% of women attending their appointment. However, there is much more to do.NHS England recently published a review of national actions to improve uptake and next steps. This review details actions taken at a national level so far, such as working towards introducing digital options for sending out invitations and managing appointments, raising awareness of the importance of screening through the media, and facilitating learning and gathering evidence to inform programme policy, pathway changes, and guidance.The review supports breast screening service providers with national solutions, as well as setting out the focus to drive uptake even further. The programme of work will continue to evolve, reflecting and learning from ongoing improvements to the programme, including from data intelligence and digital innovation. The review is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-the-uptake-challenge-a-review-of-progress-and-next-steps/tackling-the-uptake-challenge-a-review-of-progress-and-next-steps#national-actions-to-improve-uptake-and-next-steps

What assessment his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in City of Durham constituency compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.

Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for City of Durham and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025)2025/26 (April 2025 to December 2025)City of Durham760735England612,855511,558Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England. Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s Fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for County Durham can be found at the following link:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/15/ati/502/are/E06000047/iid/90933/age/314/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1 The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of a respiratory modern Service Framework on winter pressures on the NHS.

Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and will then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.NHS England, working with the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and other partners, took action to reduce the impact of respiratory conditions on the National Health Service during the winter of 2025/26. Further details of the actions taken to reduce demand on acute services during winter is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce disparities in the early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Reducing disparities in the early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. Core20Plus25 targets the most deprived 20% of the population and other underserved groups, prioritising five clinical areas where faster improvement can most effectively reduce health inequalities. This is a key way that the National Health Service will work to end variation in early diagnosis of breast cancer and ensure that access to the best diagnosis is possible for everyone.We are determined to close inequalities in screening and early diagnosis for ethnic minority communities and underserved communities through our new Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund, which is part of £200 million for Cancer Alliances.The NHS in England collects and analyses data to identify disparities, including in the early diagnosis of breast cancer. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England is the cancer registry for England and collects data on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The data collected captures a patient’s complete journey from referral, diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, experience, and survival. NDRS’s strategic priorities focus on making data more timely and accessible, and better understanding health inequalities. To reduce unwarranted variation in outcomes for breast cancer patients, NHS England also funds National Clinical Audits, including for breast cancer. By analysing routine clinical data from NHS settings, these audits identify regional variations in care quality and establish best practices.

What progress his department has made on improving support for patients with bulimia.

We recognise the devastating impact an eating disorder such as bulimia can have on someone’s life, and the earlier treatment is provided, the greater the chance of recovery. NHS England continues to work with clinical experts, provider collaboratives, and patient groups to strengthen pathways for eating disorder care, including ensuring that specialised services remain accessible to those with the most severe presentations across the full spectrum of eating disorders.On 20 January 2026, NHS England published its refreshed Eating Disorder Services for Children and Young People national guidance for integrated care boards and providers, setting out how to design collaborative, integrated services that support all children, young people, and their families and carers. Whilst the guidance focuses on improving community pathways for children and young people, the national specialised adult service model continues to provide access to highly specialist inpatient treatment for adults with complex eating disorders, including bulimia, through the Specialised Adult Eating Disorder Units network. These units deliver multidisciplinary care that typically includes psychiatric assessment and treatment, psychological therapies, medical monitoring, dietetic support and structured rehabilitation, and can provide inpatient care for adults with severe and enduring eating disorders, including bulimia, where required.We have also commissioned an evaluation of the care pathway for children and young people with bulimia, binge eating disorder, and anorexia, in England, including a subsequent economic evaluation. The overall aim is to map out what eating disorder care pathways look like for children and young people and to develop an economic model of resource use, to quantify the relative value for money of each of the pathway elements.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of patient parking at hospitals across County Durham.

No assessment has been made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, of the adequacy of patient parking at hospitals across County Durham.National Health Service organisations decide locally on the amount of car parking they provide to patients, visitors, and staff, depending on the clinical services they provide and their local environment.

Whether he plans to treat developmental language disorders in line with autism by matching levels of freely available support, training and information for parents and carers.

Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities. NHS England is working with the Department for Education to identify and support children with speech, language, and communication needs by co-funding pathfinder sites to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child programme. The programme aims to identify and support children and young people in their early years and primary school settings with mild to moderate speech, language, and communication needs, reducing the rate of specialist referrals, and increasing workforce capacity through innovative workforce models.On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help integrated care boards (ICBs) and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and following a recent diagnosis of autism. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing published guidance.

Whether he has considered requesting the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to set national clinical guidelines for developmental language disorders.

Topics for new or updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance are considered through an established prioritisation process. Decisions as to whether NICE will create new, or update existing, guidance are overseen by a prioritisation board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer.The NICE Prioritisation Board considered developmental language disorder: diagnosis and management as a topic for guidance development at its meeting on 20 November 2025. They recognised that developmental language disorder is a significant condition that affects a large population. However, they agreed that there is unlikely to be sufficient evidence available at this time to be able to develop a useful and usable guideline. Therefore, the topic was not selected for guidance development at this time.

What assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on adapting their support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist. In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools. At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes. We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

What steps he is taking to ensure equitable provision of palliative care in England.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is investing £3 million in a new Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit launched in January 2024 and is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.On ICB accountability, NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that charitable hospices play as well, which is why 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.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospices receive the required funding to increase staffing wages in line with nationally agreed NHS pay rises.

We are immensely grateful for the critical role healthcare workers, including hospice staff, play in our health service and the high quality, compassionate care they deliver.The impact that National Health Service pay uplifts will have on the hospice sector will depend on the structure of the charity, which includes the number of employees and the salary levels. Independent organisations, such as charities and social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales.It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face if they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract.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.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local integrated care boards and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

What steps he is taking to ensure that hospice contracts reflect the (a) cost of the services they provide and (b) needs of their local populations.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations. The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. Additionally, 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.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

What steps he is taking to fund the specialist palliative care provided by hospices.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life, as well as their loved ones. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative care, including specialist palliative care, and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area. It is important to note that hospices, like the NHS, provide both specialist and generalist palliative care and end of life care. Not all patients will require specialist palliative care. 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.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

Whether he had discussions with transgender individuals on the Sullivan Review.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not met with transgender individuals to discuss the Sullivan Review. We have acted on the findings of Professor Sullivan’s report by suspending applications for National Health Service number changes for children under the age of 18 years old, to safeguard them. Taking such action does not prevent the NHS from recording, recognising, and respecting trans people’s gender identity.The Government is steadfast in its dedication to listening to LGBT+ people. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has hosted constructive, open, and honest roundtable discussions with the LGBT+ community and has set out his intention to maintain an open dialogue and to continue to listen to all views.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure NHS trusts consistently meet the 62 day target for starting cancer treatment.

As set out in the new plan for reforming elective care, the Government is committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times. The National Health Service’s annual operational planning guidance set out a national commitment to improve waiting times, including improving performance against the 62-day cancer standard to 75% by March 2026.The Department is committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment; we have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over three million more appointments. £70 million will also be spent on replacing out-of-date radiotherapy equipment so that cancer patients benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment using the most up-to-date technology. Replacing these older machines will save as many as 13,000 appointments from being lost to equipment breakdown.Additionally, providers have also been asked to identify local opportunities in both community diagnostic centres and hospital based diagnostic services to improve performance against the faster diagnosis standard, to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for a confirmed diagnosis of cancer and start treatment.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment.

When the Care Quality Commission plans to inspect medical care services at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

It is not usual practice for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to announce when inspections will take place.Unannounced inspections of healthcare services allow the CQC to obtain a realistic view of how the service is operating. It also allows the CQC to observe normal practice and assess more accurately the quality of care being provided. While most inspections are unannounced, some services may receive notice to minimize disruption to care.The CQC can also inspect at any time in response to risk.

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) continuity of care in cancer treatment pathways, (b) assigning named points of contact and (c) back-up contacts for all patients.

The Government and NHS England are committed to improving continuity of care and provision of support contacts for cancer patients. All patients, including those with secondary cancers, should have access to the right expertise and support, including a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other support worker to aid their navigation through the cancer pathway. Accessing this support is in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care.In the most recent National Cancer Patient Experience Survey, 91.2% of respondents said they had a main contact person within the team looking after them who would support them through treatment. After cancer treatment, the National Health Service provides end of treatment summaries for patients, to support people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer. End of treatment summaries provide people with a route back into the system if they notice any worrying changes or need to seek help.The Government’s National Cancer Plan, due to be published later in 2025, will aim to improve the efficiency of patient pathways as an essential part of improving cancer outcomes and experiences.

What assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of (a) harassment and (b) abuse of NHS staff.

There is no national mechanism at present to capture and report incidents of harassment and abuse. Data is held at a local level. The NHS Staff Survey captures data on self-reported incidents. Results from the 2024 NHS Staff Survey showed that 25.08% of staff have experienced at least one incident of harassment, bullying, or abuse from patients or service users in the last 12 months. This shows a slight improvement in trends of the level of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse since 2020, as it is at its lowest reported levels in the past five years.However, everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. There is a zero-tolerance approach to any incidents of harassment or abuse against NHS staff, and the Government is taking further action to tackle it. On 9 April 2025, the Government announced that 36 out of 37 of the non-pay recommendations from the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal have been accepted. These include significant commitments to tackling violence and aggression against NHS staff. The recommendations include improving the data and reporting of incidents and ensuring Violence Prevention and Reduction standards are upheld and form part of Care Quality Commission’s assessments.