Written questions by Hall.

Whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the final statutory guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022 provides clear expectations on Down syndrome-specific training for professionals working with people with Down syndrome.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to publish the final statutory guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022.

Awaiting answer.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of support available to people with brain tumours through health and social care services.

The Department recognises the significant impact that rare cancers, such as brain tumours, can have on people. The Department is committed to improving people’s experience with brain tumours across the system, from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. NHS England aims to empower individuals with choice and control over their health and care through personalised care, focusing on promoting independence, good health, and well-being. Where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. This includes provision of information, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer. Personalised care ensures that each person’s care is planned holistically, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns, with support increasingly delivered through neighbourhood services and accessible digitally through the NHS App. In addition, the recently published National Cancer Plan aims to redesign cancer services around people’s lives, not just around hospitals, recognising that more people are living for longer with and beyond cancer and need ongoing, coordinated support. The Department will ensure patients have a named neighbourhood lead to help coordinate their care locally, working alongside hospital specialists to provide continuity, reduce fragmentation, and make it easier for people to navigate services. The plan also recognises that living well with cancer goes beyond healthcare alone. The Department will work with employers, charities, community services, and other partners to help people stay in work, maintain independence, and access trusted advice and support from the point of diagnosis.

How many children from Gaza have been admitted to NHS hospitals under the UK medical evacuation scheme since its launch.

The Prime Minister announced at the end of July 2025 that the United Kingdom will medically evacuate Gazan children for treatment in the UK. The UK has successfully evacuated 50 child patients who are being treated in National Health Service hospitals as part of the Gaza medevac process.

Whether his Department will commission the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders.

There are no current plans to commission the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders.Topics for new or updated guidance are considered through the NICE prioritisation process, and under this 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 in line with its published prioritisation framework. Anyone is able to suggest a topic through the NICE website, at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/forms/topic-suggestionNICE guidelines do not cover all conditions, and clinicians are expected to follow relevant professional guidance and the evidence available to them when making their decisions.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve access to specialist stroke rehabilitation and community-based support services for stroke survivors in England.

As set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, we are committed to improving services for patients locally by increasing the provision of services outside of a hospital setting that are delivered closer to home in the community.The National Stroke Service Model provides best practice for stroke care, including post-discharge, which should include comprehensive rehabilitation and personalised care and support.The National Stroke Quality Improvement in Rehabilitation programme is helping to transform community-based care by increasing access to specialist stroke rehabilitation at home.

What recent assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence and (b) potential impact of the use of hospital corridors and other non-designated spaces for patient care in NHS hospitals.

We recognise the challenges facing the health service and are serious about tackling them. The Government is committed to restoring urgent and emergency care waiting times to the standards set out in the National Health Service constitution by the end of this Parliament.Corridor care refers to care delivered in non-designated clinical areas and is not an acceptable standard of care. We are committed to eliminating this practice in the National Health Service and ensure all patients receive high quality safe care, and we are taking serious, sustained action to achieve this. It is one of the most visible and distressing symptoms of a broken NHS, fixing it will require fixing several of the systems and processes that sit across the whole of the pathway, all of which we are working on.NHS England has been working with trusts since 2024 to monitor corridor care, implementing new reporting arrangements and providing targeted support to the most challenged hospitals. In March, we published a clear definition of corridor care. As committed to in the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, we will publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time. This new definition will enable us to start publishing clear validated data on its prevalence to drive improvement and transparency.Where corridor care cannot be avoided, we have published updated guidance to support trusts to deliver it safely, ensuring dignity and privacy is maintained to reduce impacts on patients and staff. This means that corridor care areas must uphold the same high standards of care for patients as those in planned clinical settings. Patients are seen based on how urgent their needs are, not where they are. All patients being considered for corridor care should be appropriately risk assessed by senior clinical teams during triage with their condition monitored by named nurses.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled people receive essential medical and mobility equipment, such as wheelchairs and hoists, in a timely manner.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, and responsibility for providing equipment and wheelchairs to disabled people typically falls to local authorities and the National Health Service.Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to make arrangements for the provision of community equipment for disabled people in their area. Responsibility for managing the market for these services, including commissioning and oversight of delivery, rests with local authorities. The NHS is responsible for providing wheelchairs for people with longer-term, complex needs.The Medium Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, requires that from 2026/27 all ICBs and community health services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits. These targets will guide systems to reduce longest waits.NHS England is supporting ICBs to reduce delays and regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that infant feeding advice provided in healthcare settings is independent of commercial influence.

Infant feeding is critical to a baby’s healthy growth and development. The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life and that includes helping families to access support to feed their baby.The Department has policy responsibility for infant formula regulations in England.  Legislation covers the composition, labelling, and standards, including marketing, to ensure infant formulas provide all the nutrients a healthy baby needs for development and growth and to ensure consumers are informed correctly about their contents so that families receive clear, accurate, and non-misleading information about their use. The legislation makes clear that any infant formula used in health care settings must be provided without any form of commercial promotion. Labels or information supplied to healthcare professionals must be strictly factual and scientific, with no marketing claims.The majority of maternity services are either accredited under or are working towards the quality standards of UNICEF-UK’s Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI). The BFI sets out quality standards for complying with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. This includes requiring maternity services to avoid commercial influence and prohibit promotion of substitutes to families. The Department is also taking action to ensure parents and carers receive proactive information on the nutritional sufficiency of infant formula, regardless of its price. In response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations on the infant and follow-on formula market, the four governments of the United Kingdom will work with the National Health Service in England, Scotland, and Wales, the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland, and other relevant bodies to develop and test clear, impartial messaging on the nutritional sufficiency of infant formula. This will include reviewing existing channels used in healthcare settings, such as online content and supporting materials provided to parents, to ensure messaging is delivered effectively and consistently.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to specialist care and support for people living with motor neurone disease.

NHS England commissions the specialised elements of motor neurone disease (MND) care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. Within these specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals and specialised treatment and support, according to their needs. At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with MND, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit. In August 2025, NHS England updated its service specification for specialised adult neurology services. It outlines a number of minimum service requirements for key specialties, including neuromuscular disorders like MND.Baroness Casey has set out that the Government must take immediate action on motor neurone disease. Where someone has a severe, reasonably predictable, and life-limiting condition, it is essential that we provide rapid access to the support they need, and we will take forward immediate work to develop a fast-track process, or “passport”, that speeds up assessments and access to care for people diagnosed with MND. We will consider how best to safely implement a process that expedites assessments and gets people with MND the care and support they need more quickly.

What assessment his Department has made of the level of staff required to provide specialist women’s health services through the NHS online hospital.

Analysis shows that, in the first three years, the anticipated workforce available is sufficient to meet the demand for the National Health Service online hospital, including for women’s health services. Across all specialities, only a small percentage, approximately 4%, of consultants will need to contribute fewer than six hours per week to meet the 8.5 million forecasted appointments and assessments in the first three years.

What steps his department is taking to reduce waiting times for gynaecology services.

Women’s health is a priority for the Government, including tackling gynaecology waiting lists. We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care by March 2029.Our Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, sets out a number of ways which we will improve gynaecology waiting times. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures. These reforms will mean shorter waits and more convenient gynaecological care for patients.We are also introducing an “online hospital” through NHS Online. This will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times. Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will be among the conditions available for online referrals from 2027.

What steps his department is taking to reduce the diagnosis waiting time for Endometriosis.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, including endometriosis care. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, has commissioned studies focused on endometriosis diagnosis, treatment, and patient experience.Diagnosis may involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound, but laparoscopy remains the definitive diagnostic and treatment method. We are taking action to transform diagnostic services and increase capacity, including MRI and ultrasound. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and building up to five new ones in 2025/26. Our Elective Reform Plan also committed to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations.Surgical hubs are helping endometriosis patients get quicker treatment. National Health Service surgical hubs deliver high-volume, low-complexity elective surgeries, including gynaecological procedures. Currently, over half of the 123 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services, and laparoscopies are a key part of this offering. The Elective Reform Plan commits to expand the number of hubs over the next three years to increase surgical capacity and reduce waiting times.From 2027, a new “online hospital” will also offer patients the choice to access specialist care, including for menstrual problems potentially indicating endometriosis or fibroids from home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.

If he will meet with the hon. Member for Warrington South, colleagues and representatives of Royal College of Pathologists about the recruitment of Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology consultants in the South West and the Midlands.

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver effective care.The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills when needed.We are engaging with partners throughout this process. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients, and organisations, including royal colleges across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.

What plans he has to fill vacant consultant posts in Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology working in the South West and the Midlands.

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver effective care.The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills when needed.

If he will consider an expansion of Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology training posts up to 37 (31.1 WTE) by 2030 to help fill consultant vacancies and help ensure succession planning.

In the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, we set out that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.

What the timetable is for implementing the National Screening Committee’s In-Service Evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy; what the duration of the evaluation will be; and when the NSC expects to reach a recommendation on whether SMA should be added to the newborn blood spot screening programme.

On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).The UK NSC recommended an in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn blood spot screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in National Health Services in 2023. Since then, the SMA Newborn Screening ISE Partnership Board was set up to plan and develop work to shape the ISE, and progress is being made. This includes planning the duration of the ISE and planning for newborn laboratories to screen blood spot samples for SMA. The laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE are under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England. The researchers and the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) will be responsible for determining the number of babies and services that will be required to answer the research questions.Earlier in the year, the NIHR published their Health Technology Assessment research brief to appoint researchers for this work. Applications closed at the end of September 2025, and final funding decisions are expected in spring 2026. A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.A recommendation by the UK NSC on newborn screening for SMA is expected following the conclusion of an ISE, which is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a screening programme for SMA.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of allowing men who require Hormone Replacement Therapy in the form of testosterone to be added to the HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

The hormone replacement therapy prescription prepayment certificate (HRT PPC) was introduced to support women in accessing hormone replacement therapy medicines on the National Health Service as part of their care during menopause. The equalities impact assessment is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hormone-replacement-therapy-prescription-prepayment-certificate-equality-impact-assessment/introducing-the-hrt-ppc-equality-impact-assessment#:~:text=The%20policy%20intention%20is%20that,benefit%20from%20the%20HRT%20PPC%20Testosterone products are not in scope for the HRT PPC because, even though they can be used "off-label" to treat menopause symptoms, they are not licensed for this purpose. No United Kingdom licensed testosterone products for the treatment of menopause symptoms have been launched in the UK.Anyone can purchase the HRT PPC if they feel that it is the most appropriate product for them. The three-month or 12-month PPC, which cover all medicines prescribed on the NHS, may be more appropriate for patients who are prescribed medicines not covered by the HRT PPC.

With reference to the NHS 10 year plan commitment to carry out DNA mapping on all new born babies, what steps he is taking to protect personal health data.

The 10-Year Health Plan set out an ambition to “implement universal genomic testing” within the next decade. Delivering against this ambition will be subject to evidence gathered through the Generation Study, delivered by Genomics England and the National Health Service. This research programme is evaluating the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to test 100,000 newborns for genetic mutations associated with more than 200 rare genetic conditions. The study is asking parents for consent to securely store their baby’s genomic and health data, with strict safeguards to protect identities. With consent, data is stored securely in the National Genomic Research Library, run by Genomics England, to support research on the causes of genetic conditions. Access is tightly controlled, overseen by an independent committee, and only permitted within a secure environment.