Written questions by Wood.

What estimate he has made of the amount the NHS spends on drugs imported from the US.

The Department has made no estimate of the amount the National Health Service spends on drugs imported from the United States. Published information from the Office for National Statistics on imports into the United Kingdom from the United States for all pharmaceutical products, including human blood, bandages, and wadding type goods, is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/articles/uktradewiththeunitedstates2023/2023#:~:text=There%20were%20%C2%A37.8%20billion,chemicals%20from%20the%20United%20States The data included does not disaggregate NHS and non-NHS spending.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 32585 on NHS: Training, what assessment he has made of the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of NHS spending on unconscious basis training.

There has not been a specific assessment made of spend on unconscious bias training in the National Health Service. As explained in the answer to Question 32585, there is no national NHS-wide policy on unconscious bias training in the NHS. Individual NHS organisations have responsibility for training their own staff, and provide relevant training where appropriate.Taxpayers rightly expect value for money from the funding that is spent in the NHS. The NHS and the Department’s arms-length bodies are continually expected to review their expenditure, with a view to finding efficiency savings and ensuring value for money for the public purse.

What estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of abolishing NHS England for (a) Civil Service Compensation Scheme payments and (b) other redundancy costs.

We recognise that there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department, but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. 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.As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

Whether the abolition of NHS England will require (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) no legislation.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.Primary legislation will be required, and we intend to bring this forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Whether there is a should cost model prepared on abolishing NHS England.

We recognise that there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department, but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. 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.As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

What preparations his Department is making for currently unknown pathogens that could emerge in future.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has a comprehensive epidemic intelligence system to detect, assess, and communicate infectious health threats to the United Kingdom. Horizon scanning and intelligence gathering functions are designed to identify and monitor outbreaks, even when the cause is unknown, such as in the World Health Organization’s hypothetical "Disease X" scenario. Robust risk assessment processes are also in place to implement effective mitigation strategies, ensuring the protection of public health.For diseases of pandemic potential, the UKHSA’s Centre for Pandemic Preparedness (CPP) works to identify gaps in preparedness and opportunities to enhance readiness. The CPP also serves as the UK secretariat for the 100 Days Mission, a global initiative which aims to ensure that safe and effective diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines can be equitably deployed within the first 100 days of a pandemic.Further information on the Government’s ambition to protect the UK and ensure it is resilient to a spectrum of biological threats is set out in the Biological Security Strategy, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-biological-security-strategy

With reference to page 28 of the policy paper entitled Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, whether his Department plans to measure the success of the neighbourhood health service model by (a) patient satisfaction, (b) health outcomes and (c) service delivery times.

We are committed to moving towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier, supporting people to stay healthier and maintain their independence for longer.We recognise the need for robust evaluation and are developing plans to do so, including the appropriate measures of success. This will be aligned with the monitoring and evaluation activities of the 10-Year Health Plan.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, how he plans to measure the impact of digital transformation in the NHS; and what performance targets he has set for patient access to single health records.

Digital transformation offers substantial opportunities for the National Health Service to improve care outcomes and to lower cost, while improving the experience of patients. The impact of digital tools and programmes are measured individually, and organisations are required to identify, manage, actively track and report impacts, outcomes and benefits against agreed plans. The Government has announced its intention to develop a Single Patient Record, and specific investment decisions and targets will be subject to the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan, Spending Review Phase 2, and further detailed work. The Government has continued to take action in the short term on joining up patient records, including investing £19.5 million in Shared Care Records.

With reference to page 28 of the policy paper entitled Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, what key performance indicators he plans to use to track the implementation of the 10 year health plan; and if he will publish definitions of success for each indicator.

The 10-Year Health Plan is being developed in line with best practice for policy making set out in the HM Treasury Green Book. This includes consideration of monitoring and evaluation before, during and after implementation.Identifying appropriate performance indicators will be done in conjunction with developing the detail of the plan. Further detail will be set out at an appropriate time, including any plans to publish specific success metrics and their definitions.