Every parliamentary written question tabled by Shivani Raja this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 69 · Department of Health and Social Care
When the National Institute for Health and Care Research will report on its evaluation into the Sickle Cell Disorder Emergency Department Bypass Unit pilots.
The NHS England pilot (Oct 2023 - July 2025) is being independently evaluated by the Rapid Service Evaluation Team (REVAL), which is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and based at the University of Manchester. Preliminary findings are due in September 2025, with full results in December 2025.
Whether the Sickle Cell Disease Quality Improvement Programme will continue when the Department of Health and Social Care takes over the responsibilities of NHS England.
The Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Quality Improvement Programme remains committed to improving outcomes and quality of life for people living with sickle cell and thalassaemia. The programme is taking targeted action to align to the commitments within the 10-Year Health Plan to reduce health inequalities nationally, to ensure people in these communities can live longer, healthier lives, spending less time in poor health.The integration of NHS England into the Department is not due to happen in this financial year, and all programmes of work will be reviewed in alignment with budget setting in future years.
What steps he is taking to improve Care Quality Commission processing times for the registration of care providers in (a) England and (b) Leicester East constituency.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not record registration data in the format requested, for the timeliness of registration application processing by constituency.Dr Penny Dash published her report into the CQC in October 2024. The Government accepted her findings and has since been supporting the CQC to improve rapidly, as well as holding it to account for its performance.The Department meets regularly with the CQC to review performance. The volume of registration applications and reducing the backlog of registration applications over 10 weeks old is one of the four key priorities discussed at these meetings.The CQC has been making tangible progress. For all registration application received as care providers and registered managers in England, the percentage of applications older than 10 weeks has reduced significantly, from a peak of 61.1% in May 2024, to 32.9% in July 2025, a reduction of 28.2%.
What recent assessment he has made of the timeliness of Care Quality Commission processing of applications for registration as (a) care providers and (b) registered managers in (i) England and (ii) Leicester East constituency.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not record registration data in the format requested, for the timeliness of registration application processing by constituency.Dr Penny Dash published her report into the CQC in October 2024. The Government accepted her findings and has since been supporting the CQC to improve rapidly, as well as holding it to account for its performance.The Department meets regularly with the CQC to review performance. The volume of registration applications and reducing the backlog of registration applications over 10 weeks old is one of the four key priorities discussed at these meetings.The CQC has been making tangible progress. For all registration application received as care providers and registered managers in England, the percentage of applications older than 10 weeks has reduced significantly, from a peak of 61.1% in May 2024, to 32.9% in July 2025, a reduction of 28.2%.
What steps his Department is taking to help improve the Care Quality Commission’s registration process times; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those processing times on the (a) capacity and (b) continuity of care services.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not record registration data in the format requested, for the timeliness of registration application processing by constituency.Dr Penny Dash published her report into the CQC in October 2024. The Government accepted her findings and has since been supporting the CQC to improve rapidly, as well as holding it to account for its performance.The Department meets regularly with the CQC to review performance. The volume of registration applications and reducing the backlog of registration applications over 10 weeks old is one of the four key priorities discussed at these meetings.The CQC has been making tangible progress. For all registration application received as care providers and registered managers in England, the percentage of applications older than 10 weeks has reduced significantly, from a peak of 61.1% in May 2024, to 32.9% in July 2025, a reduction of 28.2%.
What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of instances of pre-term infants both (a) not receiving the maternal vaccination programme for respiratory syncytial virus and (b) not being eligible for palivizumab.
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme to protect newborn infants, via maternal vaccination, was introduced in England in September 2024, in line with independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The National Health Service has also offered high-risk eligible infants a monoclonal antibody called palivizumab over the RSV season since 2010, and continues to do so. Palivizumab is typically reserved for premature infants with specific major underlying medical conditions.The JCVI is aware that very premature babies are unlikely to benefit from maternal vaccination. In February 2023, the JCVI advised that existing infant risk groups eligible for RSV monoclonal antibody immunisation should preferentially be protected with nirsevimab over palivizumab. In October 2024, the committee supported work being taken forward for a monoclonal antibody programme to protect all very/extremely premature infants, ideally from 2025/26. We are exploring all options to ensure there is effective protection against severe RSV illness for all very premature infants.
What his planned timeline is for the publication of an assessment of the (a) efficacy and (b) impact of the maternal vaccination programme for respiratory syncytial virus.
The UK Health Security Agency undertakes monitoring and evaluation of immunisation programmes, including the effectiveness of vaccines. Monitoring and evaluation work has begun for the new respiratory syncytial virus programmes which launched in September 2024 to protect infants through maternal vaccination and for direct protection of older adults. Findings will be published in due course.
What steps his Department is taking to improve data transparency for vaccination uptake figures for the maternal respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme by reducing the four-month lag in reporting.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal vaccine uptake methodology is published on the GOV.UK website, and includes an explanation of the data sources and their reporting lags, in the monthly RSV maternal vaccination coverage reports, which are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rsv-immunisation-for-older-adults-and-pregnant-women-vaccine-coverage-in-englandThe data collection methodology chosen ensures that robust and precise coverage estimates are calculated for the maternal programme.
Whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that family carers are meaningfully involved in the (a) planning and (b) decision-making processes of local integrated care systems.
Under the National Health Service Act 2006, integrated care boards (ICBs) must make arrangements to ensure patients, and their carers and representatives are involved in the planning and commissioning of health and care, whether through consultation or the provision of information. While developing the Joint Forward Plans, ICBs and partner trusts must consult with individuals, patients, carers, and communities in the planning process to ensure the plan reflects the needs and preferences of the local population. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced provisions for ICBs to promote the involvement of patients, and their carers and representatives, if any, in decisions relating to the care and treatment of the person they care for.
How much (a) NHS England and (b) NHS Trusts spent on postage in the 2024–25 financial year; and what steps he is taking to help reduce these costs.
Data on National Health Service total spend on postage for the 2024/25 financial year in England is not held centrally, and will be held locally by individual trusts.
What steps his Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) support (i) hidden and (ii) unpaid family carers who (A) are and (B) are not engaged with formal care systems.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. Local authorities are required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.The Department works with the sector and partners to deliver an annual programme of universal and targeted support to local authorities and their partners. This includes the Partners in Care and Health (PCH) contract.PCH’s work to support sector partners includes a workstream dedicated to supporting local authorities’ work with unpaid carers. This workstream includes work to identify and support unpaid carers, with a particular focus on identifying those from ethnic minority communities and those who are least likely to self-identify as a carer.
What steps his Department is taking to support (a) hidden and (b) unpaid carers from ethnic minority communities; and whether he has made an assessment of support needs in Leicester East constituency.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. Local authorities are required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.The Department works with the sector and partners to deliver an annual programme of universal and targeted support to local authorities and their partners. This includes the Partners in Care and Health (PCH) contract.PCH’s work to support sector partners includes a workstream dedicated to supporting local authorities’ work with unpaid carers. This workstream includes work to identify and support unpaid carers, with a particular focus on identifying those from ethnic minority communities and those who are least likely to self-identify as a carer.
What steps his Department is taking to improve NHS (a) engagement with and (b) leadership responsiveness to small community-led carer networks.
We recognise the importance of listening to and partnering with people who use the National Health Service, their unpaid carers and the organisations and networks that represent them. The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced new duties for NHS England and integrated care boards to involve carers in public engagement.I chair a regular cross-government meeting made up of ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business and Trade, and Department for Education, as well as senior officials from NHS England, to consider how we can provide unpaid carers with the recognition and support they deserve.NHS England and the Department also regularly engages with both national charities, local carer organisations and unpaid carers directly.
Whether his Department plans to reverse the decision to raise the minimum age for eligibility for a COVID-19 booster as part of the spring vaccination programme.
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Leicester.On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026On 12 December 2024, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in spring 2025 to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over. The Government’s response can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advice-accepted-on-spring-2025-covid-19-vaccination-programmeEligibility for the spring 2025 campaign, including minimum age requirements, is the same as in previous spring campaigns, such as the 2024 campaign. The Government has no plans to change eligibility for spring 2025, and has accepted the JCVI’s advice for this campaign in full. The spring 2025 campaign began in England on 1 April, and will conclude on 17 June.The JCVI also advised on eligibility for the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 programmes. The Government is considering this advice carefully and will respond in due course.
Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of raising the minimum age for eligibility for the COVID-19 booster during the spring vaccination programme on healthcare services in (a) Leicester and (b) England.
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Leicester.On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026On 12 December 2024, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in spring 2025 to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over. The Government’s response can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advice-accepted-on-spring-2025-covid-19-vaccination-programmeEligibility for the spring 2025 campaign, including minimum age requirements, is the same as in previous spring campaigns, such as the 2024 campaign. The Government has no plans to change eligibility for spring 2025, and has accepted the JCVI’s advice for this campaign in full. The spring 2025 campaign began in England on 1 April, and will conclude on 17 June.The JCVI also advised on eligibility for the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 programmes. The Government is considering this advice carefully and will respond in due course.
If his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of placing phlebotomists in band two of the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, in the context of their clinical responsibilities; and whether he plans to review the criteria used to determine their pay banding.
Phlebotomists are paid under the Agenda for Change pay scale, which is underpinned by the Job Evaluation Scheme (JES). The JES is a structured method of comparing job demands as set out in the job documentation, for example the job description, to determine the appropriate Agenda for Change pay band for any given role.The model of weighting and scoring job documentation via the JES has been legally tested and proven to be robust, therefore we have no current plans to review the system.Employers are responsible for correctly and consistently implementing the JES locally, to ensure staff are paid correctly for the work they are asked to deliver.
What recent assessment his Department has make of the adequacy of the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme (a) matrices and (b) formulae used to determine Agenda for Change pay bandings; and whether he has plans to update the assessment framework.
The Job Evaluation Scheme (JES) underpins pay for National Health Service staff under the Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions. The JES model of weighting and scoring job documentation has been legally tested and proven to be robust, therefore we have no plans to review the system at this time.The NHS Staff Council’s Job Evaluation Group periodically reviews and updates the national role profiles that are used to support job evaluation practice to ensure their accuracy.
What steps his Department is taking to improve support for people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) secondary progressive multiple sclerosis; and whether he plans to consult (a) the MS Society and (b) people with those conditions on future policy decisions.
Initiatives to support better care for patients with neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, include the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP). NHS England’s NTP is a multi-year programme to develop a new model of integrated care for neurology services.NHS England is also updating its specialised neurology service specification, which includes multiple sclerosis. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.Involving relevant patient advocacy organisations, including people with lived experience, like the Multiple Sclerosis Society, is central to developing our policies for the National Health Service.The consultation for our 10-Year Health Plan received over 190,000 responses, including responses from staff and patients. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. We also plan to publish our refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver a transformed health service over the next decade and treat patients, including those with multiple sclerosis, on time again The Department has convened a new United Kingdom-wide neuro forum, which brings together the devolved administrations, health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The forum will share learning across the UK, and will discuss important neurology service transformation and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions.
What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) access to prostate cancer screening and (b) waiting times for prostate cancer treatment.
The Government understands that more needs to be done to improve outcomes for all patients with prostate cancer. Currently, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) does not recommend a national prostate cancer screening programme due to the limitations of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen test, which may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of cancers that would not have caused harm during a man’s lifetime. However, the UK NSC is undertaking a comprehensive evidence review to assess six potential approaches to targeted screening for those at higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Recommendations will be published upon the conclusion of this review.In addition, the Government has invested £16 million in the £42 million United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, led by Prostate Cancer UK, which aims to identify new ways of detecting prostate cancer at an earlier stage, including in men without symptoms.Improving access to timely treatment and care remains a key priority for all cancer types, including prostate cancer. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further measures to improve cancer outcomes, including efforts to reduce waiting times and improve cancer treatment for all patients, including for prostate cancer.
Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing expanded perinatal mental health services for parents.
Support is already available for parents, including those of twins and multiples, who experience mental health difficulties during the perinatal period. Perinatal mental health services are available in all 42 integrated care system areas of England, and offer specialist psychiatric and psychological assessments and care for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health problems during the perinatal period. These services have also expanded to provide care to women up to two years after birth, improve access to evidence-based psychological therapies, and provide a mental health assessment and signposting support for partners as needed.In January 2025, the Department announced £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes in 2025/26 in 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support.In addition, NHS Talking Therapies services are also available for parents who need support with any mental health problems during the perinatal period. Anyone can refer themselves online via the National Health Service website or by contacting their general practitioner.