Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Whether he plans to publish an impact assessment on proposals to restrict care worker visas.

The Government has published a technical annex alongside the Immigration White Paper, and it estimates an annual reduction of approximately 7,000 main applicants as a result of ending overseas recruitment for care workers and senior care workers. Further information about the technical annex and the Immigration White Paper is available, respectively, at the following two links:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821b49bdb6463b14cd8189c/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex.pdfhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821f334ced319d02c906103/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-web-optimised.pdfThis is based on internal management information for entry visas granted covering the period March 2024 to February 2025. This estimate reflects that there was a drop in visa grants of more than 90% compared with the 12 months ending in March 2024, when more than 83,000 entry visas were granted to care workers and senior care workers. The analysis in the technical annex will be refined and included within the relevant impact assessments accompanying the immigration rule changes, as appropriate.

Whether he plans to update the existing regulations on (a) composition, (b) marketing and (c) labelling of commercial infant and toddler foods.

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of well-being in later life.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 he plans to update the statutory guidance on the Autism Act.

The House of Lords has established an Autism Act 2009 Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the Autism Act, the autism strategy, and the autism statutory guidance, and which will make recommendations to the Government by 30 November 2025. This will inform the Government’s future approach.

Whether his Department plans to expand the statutory obligation for local authorities to include welfare advice.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England have a duty to establish and maintain information and advice services relating to care and support for all people in their area.Local authorities must ensure that information and advice services established cover more than just basic information about care and support; and that they cover a wide range of care and support related areas. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance states that local authorities must ensure that the subject matters covered by their information and advice available to people in their areas go much further than a narrow definition of care and support, including:availability of intermediate care entitlements such as aids and adaptations;eligibility and applying for disability benefits and other types of benefits;availability of employment support for disabled adults; andavailability of carers’ services and benefits.Therefore, there are currently no plans to review the Care Act 2014 or the supporting Care and Support Statutory Guidance.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report by Young Lives vs Cancer entitled Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund, published in February 2024.

The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce will explore a range of issues, including patient experience alongside clinical care, to identify improvements for children and young people with cancer and their families. Young Lives vs Cancer is a valued stakeholder with a unique perspective on the issue of travel support for children and young people with cancer. We will continue to engage with Young Lives vs Cancer, as well as other children and young people cancer charity stakeholders as we progress this important work.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of (a) unemployment and (b) underemployment among healthcare professionals.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. That said, the Government finds it unacceptable that trained professionals are struggling to find jobs when the health system has been overworked for years. Working with NHS England, we are committed to recruiting the staff we need to get patients seen on time.The NHS and universities can work to become anchor institutions across all our local areas, not just to drive employment opportunities through training for a career in the NHS and social care, but where we collectively work to drive growth in our economy.Data on the number of unemployed and underemployed healthcare professionals is not held centrally. The Government has committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs.We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract, in 2025/26 the ARRS will become more flexible, to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the utilisation of (a) unemployed and (b) underemployed healthcare professionals in the NHS.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. That said, the Government finds it unacceptable that trained professionals are struggling to find jobs when the health system has been overworked for years. Working with NHS England, we are committed to recruiting the staff we need to get patients seen on time.The NHS and universities can work to become anchor institutions across all our local areas, not just to drive employment opportunities through training for a career in the NHS and social care, but where we collectively work to drive growth in our economy.Data on the number of unemployed and underemployed healthcare professionals is not held centrally. The Government has committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs.We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract, in 2025/26 the ARRS will become more flexible, to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

If he will make an assessment of the potential causes of (a) unemployment and (b) underemployment among qualified healthcare professionals.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care. That said, the Government finds it unacceptable that trained professionals are struggling to find jobs when the health system has been overworked for years. Working with NHS England, we are committed to recruiting the staff we need to get patients seen on time.The NHS and universities can work to become anchor institutions across all our local areas, not just to drive employment opportunities through training for a career in the NHS and social care, but where we collectively work to drive growth in our economy.Data on the number of unemployed and underemployed healthcare professionals is not held centrally. The Government has committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs.We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract, in 2025/26 the ARRS will become more flexible, to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

What steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to assess (a) the social determinants of ill health and (b) the measures necessary to address any causes.

The Government’s Health Mission commits to building a National Health Service fit for the future, including through a shift from treatment to prevention. To support the mission, we are taking a range of action which will address the underlying causes of ill health. Relevant cross-Government activity includes work to develop a new fuel poverty strategy, beginning with a consultation which runs until 4 April, publication in December 2024 of a revised National Planning Policy Framework, giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate, the establishment of a cross-Government child poverty taskforce, and commitment we made in the English Devolution White Paper, published in December 2024, to introduce a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities. The Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care operate a Joint Work and Health Directorate, in recognition of the significant link between work and health, and to improve employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions.

What comparative assessment he has made of the processes in place for dentists from overseas who wish to set up in (a) private practice and (b) the NHS.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry, both within the National Health Service and privately, in the UK. Routes to registration as a dentist in the UK are set out in the GDC’s legislation, The Dentists Act 1984. In 2023, the Department introduced legislative changes to give the GDC greater flexibility to expand and improve its registration processes for overseas-qualified dentists.In 2024, the Department consulted on introducing legislation that would give the GDC powers to provisionally register overseas-qualified dentists. Individuals holding provisional registration would be able to work as a dentist under supervision whilst seeking to demonstrate the required knowledge and skill for full registration. Our position on this proposal will be set out in due course.To work under an NHS primary care dental services contract, a dentist must join the NHS Dental Performers List (DPL). All dentists wishing to join the DPL in England must show they have either completed UK Dental Foundation Training or demonstrate equivalence to foundation training via the competence assessment route. In 2023, the competence assessment route was streamlined, enabling individuals to practise NHS dentistry more quickly by providing for applicants’ specific clinical knowledge and skills to be assessed, and for more tailored support to be put in place. Dentists providing private treatment are not required to be on the DPL.The Government plans to expand access to NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and to recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, and increase access to NHS dental care, the Government plans to reform the dental contract with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for health professionals to spend at least three years in the NHS following training before they can practice privately.

The Department consulted on a tie-in to National Health Service dentistry for graduate dentists in 2024. We are considering the responses and will set out our position in due course. No assessment has been made for other healthcare professionals.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring private health providers to pay a fee back to the NHS.

No assessment has been made of the merits of private health providers paying a fee back to the National Health Service.Independent healthcare providers do have a role to play to strengthen the overall health service in England. NHS England and the Independent Healthcare Provider Network recently agreed a new Partnership Agreement that supports the use of excess independent sector capacity to help meet the Government’s commitment to tackle elective waiting lists, and to provide the choice of being treated by independent providers, at no cost to patients. The agreement is also clear that independent sector providers will support broader work to grow the overall elective workforce, provide training opportunities, and continue to meet the same high standards expected of all providers.

Whether he has plans to introduce legislation on advertising restrictions for foods that are high in (a) fat, (b) sugar and (c) salt.

Implementing restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and drink products on television and online is a commitment for the Government. This includes a 9:00pm watershed on television and a 24-hour restriction on paid-for advertising of these products online.On 3 December 2024, we brought forward secondary legislation to confirm the products, businesses, and services in scope of the restrictions, and published guidance on the affected food and drink products. We are working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and regulators to support businesses as they prepare for the regulations to come into force United Kingdom-wide from 1 October 2025.

Whether his Department has plans to issue guidance to industry on steps to reduce (a) sugar and (b) salt in baby and toddler foods.

A 2019 evidence review showed that babies and young children are exceeding their energy intake requirement and are eating too much sugar and salt. Some commercial baby foods, particularly finger foods, had added sugar or salt, or contained ingredients that are high in sugar or salt.More recently, the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) highlighted in their report, Feeding Young Children aged one to five years, published in 2023, that free sugar intakes are above recommendations for children at all ages where recommendations have been set, and that commercial baby food and drinks contributed to approximately 20% of free sugar intake in children aged between 12 and 18 months old. The SACN also recommended that in diets of children aged between one and five years old, foods, including snacks that are high in salt, free sugars, saturated fat, or are energy dense, should be limited and that commercially manufactured foods and drinks marketed specifically for infants and young children are not needed to meet nutrition requirements.We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government is committed to raising the healthiest next generation. We will provide an update on publication of voluntary industry guidelines to limit the levels of salt and sugar in commercially available baby food and drink in due course.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of uto-enroling eligible families to the Healthy Start scheme.

The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children under four from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk and infant formula. Those on the scheme have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. All applicants to the Healthy Start scheme, where they meet the eligibility criteria, must accept the terms and conditions of the prepaid card at the point of application. As the prepaid card is a financial product and cannot be issued without the applicant accepting these terms, NHS BSA is not able to automatically provide eligible families with a prepaid card. However, the scheme is kept under review, and we remain open to all viable routes to improve uptake to ensure that as many eligible people as possible are accessing the scheme, to support their children with a healthy start in life.In January 2025, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 people.

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) conditions and (b) treatments for people with a chronic urinary tract infection.

NHS England published Excellence in Continence Care on 23 July 2018, bringing together evidence-based resources and research for guidance for commissioners, providers, and health and social care staff. This guidance covers both urinary and bowel, also known as faecal, incontinence. Further information on Excellence in Continence Care is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/excellence-in-continence-care/NHS England will consider the next steps for Excellence in Continence Care.

What steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of shingles.

To increase awareness of the shingles programme and of potential vaccination benefits amongst health professionals and the wider public, the UK Health Security Agency provides a comprehensive suite of public facing resources and assets, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, like easy read, British Sign Language, and braille, and also provides guidance for healthcare professionals. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/Home.htmlIn addition, further information on the shingles immunisation programme specifically is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shingles-vaccination-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals/shingles-immunisation-programme-information-for-healthcare-practitioners

What plans he has to reform the NHS pay structure.

In 2024, the Government accepted the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendations for the 2024/25 financial year in full. One of those recommendations was to deliver a funded mandate to deliver reforms to the Agenda for Change pay structure through the NHS Staff Council.The Government remains committed to delivering this mandate and has asked the NHS Pay Review Body to provide a view, as part of its 2025 to 2026 report, on the level of funding that should be provided.

Whether he plans to replace the NHS pay review body process with collective bargaining.

There are no plans to replace the National Health Service’s Pay Review Body process with direct negotiation. We published written evidence to the Pay Review Bodies as per the usual process on 10 December 2024, and oral evidence sessions are due to take place in January and February 2025.

If he will provide additional resources to healthcare trusts to enable them to bring outsourced services back in-house.

Responsibility for spending decisions rests with individual National Health Service trusts. As public bodies, NHS trusts should maintain the highest standards of rigour, value for money and propriety in the use of public funding. All spending must contribute to organisational objectives and support the delivery of high-quality patient care.Regardless of how staff are employed, the expectation from the Government is that their pay, terms and conditions remain attractive to support recruitment and retention.