Written questions by Barclay.

What estimate he has made of non-government spending by (a) individuals, (b) companies and (c) charities on preventative health services in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Non-Government spending on preventative health care is estimated in the UK Health Accounts published by the Office for National Statistics, on a United Kingdom basis. The following table shows the preventive healthcare spending by method of financing for the UK, for 2023, based on the current prices and not adjusted for inflation:Financing method2023Out-of-pocket spending£3,046,000,000Company spending£476,000,000Health insurance, individual and corporate, spending£352,000,000Charity spending£157,000,000Source: UK Health Accounts, Office for National StatisticsNotes:information relating to the breakdown of insurance claims and revenues for non-Government healthcare providers is typically less granular than Government spending. Preventive spending is reported where it is possible to distinguish services within available datasets, so could represent an underestimate;company financed healthcare mostly concerns occupational healthcare services;preventive spending financed through health insurance and out-of-pocket spending largely relates to preventive dental care, for instance dental check-ups;the estimates concern services that are provided by charities for free, or below market rates, to consumers. It does not include services that are sold by charities at market rates, nor those commissioned by and paid for by the Government; andcharity spending relates to a variety of services, the largest being education and health promotion programmes operated by charities.Estimates do not exactly match the three categories requested, as health insurance spending is from a mixture of individual and corporate policies.

What is being done to improve the regulatory approval process for personalised medicines to treat cancer.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has completed a public consultation on its draft guideline on individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies, a new type of personalised cancer treatment. These technologies use cutting-edge science such as artificial intelligence to design a medicine tailored to each patient’s unique tumour profile.We received positive responses from across the life sciences community, the National Health Service, patient groups, academics, and international regulators. Feedback recognised the United Kingdom’s leadership in this area, while calling for greater clarity in some aspects of the guideline.In response, we will refine the guideline to ensure regulatory expectations are clearly articulated, without hampering innovation. This will facilitate faster access to these promising new therapies, while upholding our standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The final version of the guideline will be published in the coming months, with future updates anticipated as the regulatory experience evolves in this rapidly developing field.

How many community diagnostic centres were open at the end of (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24, (c) 2024-25, and are expected to be at the end of (d) 2025-26.

The following table sets out the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) which had started delivering activity, namely having gone live, and which were fully operational, delivering all modalities proposed in their approved business cases, from permanent facilities, from 2022/23 to 2024/25:Financial year endNumber of CDCs delivering CDC activity.Fully operational (delivering all planned tests from permanent facilities and location)2022/23104102023/24163542024/251701012025/26 (including planned numbers)170128 (current number based on delivery reporting November 2025) 154 (expected year end point based on latest delivery plans)Source: NHS EnglandNotes:The table includes CDCs operating from temporary capacity while the permanent CDC build is completed.For 2025/26, the numbers include CDC sites which are anticipated to be fully operational by the end of March 2026 based on current delivery plans.The Elective Reform Plan sets out that the Government will deliver additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding several existing CDCs and building up to five new CDCs. The locations of both new and expanded CDC schemes will be confirmed in due course. This is funded as part of £600 million of capital investment for diagnostics in 2025/26, which my rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out in her June 2025 statement.The plan also commits to opening more CDCs 12 hours per day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. Upon entering office in July 2024, 63 CDCs were offering at least one diagnostic service out of hours, available to patients 12 hours a day, seven days a week.The latest position at the end of November 2025 is that 101 CDCs are offering at least one service to this standard, an increase of 38 from July 2024. By the end of March 2026, this number is currently planned to increase to 116.

How many patients have received checks under the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check and NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme per month in each of the last three years.

The National Health Service is currently rolling out the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme to people with a history of smoking. The following table shows the number of participants who attended an appointment through the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme each month, between April 2022 and September 2025: 2022202320242025JanuaryNA244313819049260FebruaryNA271933838143158MarchNA278623569041974April11565208393619538596May14773211634023142980June15630274694021447289July17391296464765848012August17499286904088442756September17921297384685551898October194772636747881Data not availableNovember222922548247888Data not availableDecember181932818740828Data not availableAnnual Total/Annual Total to Date154741317067500895405923Source: the NHS England Lung Cancer Screening Programme.

What has his department identified as the drivers of the recent trend in specialised commissioning high cost devices as noted in the NHS England Financial performance update of 22 September 2025.

The most significant driver of the growth in the expenditure noted in the financial update is an increased volume in clinical activity and the use of implantable devices to treat patients. This has been driven by the overall growth in elective activity as part of the elective care recovery programme.

What the annual NHS total workforce growth (a) was annually from 2022/23 onwards and (b) is projected to be over the next three years.

NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff employed by hospital trusts and integrated care boards but excludes staff working for other providers such as in primary care or social care. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service, and is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics The most recent published workforce data can be found within the July 2025, which includes selected preliminary statistics for August 2025, section of the publication, within the file Preliminary - NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables, August 2025. Within this file, a time series of the total full time equivalent (FTE) and headcount staffing levels for NHS trusts and organisations across England can be found in worksheet 1.In the new year, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce plan, which will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

What estimate his Department has made of the costs of the Employment Rights Bill to the NHS.

No estimate of costs has been made of the Employment Rights Bill to the National Health Service. NHS terms and conditions of service currently provide employees with entitlements above the statutory minimum requirements, reflecting the sector’s commitment to supporting its workforce and maintaining high standards of employment practice.The changes to the Employment Rights Bill are designed to enhance protections for employees, proving greater job security and clarity around employment terms. The Government’s commitment to deliver reforms to improve working conditions and promote fair treatment in the workplace is set out by the Plan to Make Work Pay. Good, well paid work will mean a healthier and happier workforce which in turn eases pressure on the NHS..

What the projected slippage is against efficiency plans across integrated care systems in the current financial year.

For 2025/26, there is an efficiency and savings target of approximately £11,076 million across all integrated care systems. At month six, the projected delivery for the year remains all but on track against the total efficiency and savings target, with a forecasted shortfall of £5.7 million. The table below sets out the efficiencies and savings delivered by systems since 2022: 2022/232023/242024/25Efficiencies and savings delivered by systems (£bn)5.07.38.7

With reference to his NHS Pay Review Body remit letter: 2026 to 2027, what the expected annual financial impact is of changes to the implementation of the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme.

This specific assessment has not been made. No recent changes have been made to the Job Evaluation Scheme (JES) itself. Some job profiles have been updated to be assessed against locally.Following a national review by the Job Evaluation Group, the updated nursing and midwifery national profiles were republished by the NHS Staff Council on 3 June 2025. These changes did not change implementation of the JES or banding outcomes. During the evidence collection process for the nursing and midwifery national profile review, we were made aware that job documentation was often outdated, leading to concerns about pay banding outcomes through inconsistent local application of the JES.Any financial impact will largely depend on current local job evaluation practices and subsequent application of the revised profiles. The NHS England letter titled Agenda for Change non-pay deal recommendations – NHS job evaluation, dated 3 June 2025, was clear with employers that where there is out of date practice, they are accountable for correctly implementing the scheme and must ensure that all changes are implemented effectively within existing budget constraints.

What current unbudgeted pressures his Department is aware of within its spending plans.

The 2025 Spending Review was published on 11 June by HM Treasury and sets out departmental budgets for day‑to‑day spending until 2028/29, and until 2029/30 for capital investment. The 2025 Spending Review is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document The Department is now underway with a financial planning exercise to allocate budgets within those financial years. Spending plans will be set out in the Main Supply Estimates when published in due course by HM Treasury.

How many patients have been removed from the waiting lists for treatment for any other reason than the treatment had been completed, by month since July 2024.

The information requested is shown in the following table:Number of cases per month, from July 2024 to September 2025, where patients were removed from the Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting list for reasons other than treatment:YearMonthNumber of cases2024July667,8932024August599,1912024September652,9242024October716,5242024November667,6452024December574,4492025January688,3252025February637,3152025March666,9082025April627,6922025May635,7132025June683,8632025July704,6252025August593,4552025September693,033The information for the table above was extracted from the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS) on 18 November 2025.A breakdown of reasons for coming off the waiting list is not available in the aggregate monthly official statistics. However, the information is collected in the weekly management information from the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS). The WLMDS is subject to less validation than the monthly official statistics and totals do not match between the two sources.Reasons for patients being removed from the waiting list can include them starting a period of active monitoring, a clinical decision not to treat, a patient declining treatment or a patient dying before treatment starts.

How many (a) headcount and (b) FTE staff were employed by NHS England on (a) 4 July 2024 and (b) 14 October 2025.

As of June 2024, the headcount for NHS England was 15,803, and the full-time equivalent staff employed was 14,327.6. These figures are published and available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information.We are still finalising figures for October, and this will be published in due course.

Whether he has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of increasing the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cost-effectiveness threshold by 25%.

The pharmaceutical sector and the innovative medicines it produces are critical to our national interest, helping people access life changing treatments, reducing pressure on the health service over the longer-term, and ensuring we have a National Health Service that is fit for the future.That is why through our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we have committed to working with industry to accelerate growth in spending on innovative medicines, compared to the previous decade. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will reform the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

How many patients have waited longer than 24 hours for treatment in A&E in the last 12 months.

NHS England publishes monthly data on accident and emergency (A&E) performance. This includes information on those A&E attendances that are 12 hours or longer for type 1 and 2 A&E providers. The data is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 16483 on Department of Health and Social Care: Staff, what the (a) headcount and (b) FTE number of officials working in his Department was in each month since October 2024.

This data is published monthly at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information#2025

On what annual percentage increases in healthcare demand is the 10 Year Heath Plan based.

The 10-Year Health Plan is not based on a specific percentage growth rate in demand for health care. Instead, backed by an additional £29 billion, the plan sets out how the health system will seize the opportunities provided by new technology, medicines, and innovation to deliver better care for all patients, no matter where they live or how much they earn, as well as better value for taxpayers.

What the expected in-year cost of redundancy payments in (a) DHSC and (b) NHS England is in (i) 2025-26, (ii) 2026-27 and (iii) 2027-28.

Detailed plans are being formulated by a joint Department and NHS England programme team. The remit of work includes formulation of the relevant costs. Further detail on the costs and funding mechanisms will be provided as this work develops.

Whether he plans to issue further guidance to the NHS organisations on ending the recruitment of dedicated equality, diversity and inclusion staff.

National Health Service organisations should be working to address inequalities, in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for all patients, as well as tackling the abuse and discrimination that some NHS staff face in the workplace. Local NHS leaders are best placed to take an evidence-based approach to how they approach this challenge and resource this work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2025 to Question 48901 on Motor Neurone Disease: Research, by what date he expects the total allocated to motor neurone disease research since the start of 2022-23 to exceed £50 million.

Government responsibility for delivering motor neurone disease research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and in particular the Medical Research Council.The commitment to allocate £50 million to motor neurone disease research was introduced by the previous administration. Since the last parliamentary question on the commitment on 14 May, an additional contract is now public information, which confirms that a total of £50.2 million has been committed to motor neurone disease research since the start of the 2022/23 financial year. We will continue to invest in motor neurone disease research via open competition, with no maximum funding limit.The NIHR and UKRI will continue to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including motor neurone disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on motor neurone disease to all NIHR and UKRI programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

How many (a) filled and (b) unfilled full-time equivalent roles there were in each of the NHS regional teams in (i) 2023-24, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) 2025-26.

The following table sets out the full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in NHS England’s regional teams as of 30 March 2025:Directorates / RegionsBudgeted FTEStaff List FTEVacant FTEVacancy RateRegion - East of England804.1650.2153.919.10%Region - London1,032.50916.7115.811.20%Region - Midlands1,085.70929.7156.114.40%Region - North East & Yorkshire844.7759.385.410.10%Region - North West756.6684.771.99.50%Region - South East949.2783.6165.517.40%Region - South West710.3621.588.812.50%Total6,183.005,345.70837.313.50%Source: NHS EnglandNotes:Workforce data is collected at a single point as a ‘snapshot’, so we are unable to provide it for a whole financial year.We are unable to provide data at the equivalent time point within 2023/24 as data has not been validated, and the equivalent time point within 2025/26 has not happened yet.