Written questions by Dhesi.

What steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the harms of (a) drug and (b) alcohol misuse.

Drug-related deaths are tragically at record highs, especially in deprived areas. We are committed to tackling this problem through working across health, policing, and wider public services. For example, we recently took legislative action to expand access to naloxone, meaning more services and professionals are able to supply this life-saving opioid overdose antidote medication.In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.Alcohol-specific deaths are also at the highest rates on record, having increased dramatically during the pandemic. Through our mission-driven Government, we will prioritise actions targeted at reversing this trend. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths. In light of the recent data, this plan will be reviewed to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. In addition, earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-drug-and-alcohol-deaths-partnership-review-processThrough our Health Mission, the Government has committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to understand how best to reduce alcohol-related harms. The OHID, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which are expected to be published in the coming months. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision, resulting in better outcomes.Education on drug use is an essential part of harm reduction and prevention and is a statutory component of relationship, sex, and health education in England. Lesson plans and other resources to support teachers are being updated, and there will be increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol and drugs, and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year. The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing information and increasing awareness for young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/

What recent steps he has taken to ensure the availability of rehabilitation treatment for people with (a) drug and (b) alcohol dependencies in (i) Slough constituency and (ii) Berkshire.

Drug and alcohol treatment is funded through the Public Health Grant. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly. The Department will write directly to each local authority to set out indicative allocations for 2025/26, which will be subject to departmental and HM Treasury approvals, so final allocations could vary. We understand the importance of funding certainty for informing local system’s operational decision making and future planning, and we are engaging with commissioners and providers on this.My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also made it clear that the Government will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in the first half of 2025. In future, we anticipate that Spending Reviews will be set every two years to cover a three-year period, including a one-year overlap with the previous Spending Review, helping build in greater certainty and stability over public finances.The Department is focused on supporting local areas to deliver high quality drug and alcohol treatment services, including in the Slough constituency and Berkshire. This includes additional investment in 2024/25 in the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems of £950,455 in Slough, and £1,860,131 in the wider Berkshire area, through a range of specific grants. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has also produced a Commissioning Quality Standard which provides guidance in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, and a range of wider guidance and data that will support the delivery of high-quality treatment and recovery services. Further information on the Commissioning Quality Standard is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services

What steps this Department is taking to reduce (a) drug- and (b) alcohol-related deaths.

Drug-related deaths are tragically at record highs, especially in deprived areas. We are committed to tackling this problem through working across health, policing, and wider public services. For example, we recently took legislative action to expand access to naloxone, meaning more services and professionals are able to supply this life-saving opioid overdose antidote medication.In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.Alcohol-specific deaths are also at the highest rates on record, having increased dramatically during the pandemic. Through our mission-driven Government, we will prioritise actions targeted at reversing this trend. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths. In light of the recent data, this plan will be reviewed to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. In addition, earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-drug-and-alcohol-deaths-partnership-review-processThrough our Health Mission, the Government has committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to understand how best to reduce alcohol-related harms. The OHID, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which are expected to be published in the coming months. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision, resulting in better outcomes.Education on drug use is an essential part of harm reduction and prevention and is a statutory component of relationship, sex, and health education in England. Lesson plans and other resources to support teachers are being updated, and there will be increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol and drugs, and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year. The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing information and increasing awareness for young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/

What steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) consistency of care and (b) availability of medication for people with an ADHD diagnosis who move to a different NHS Trust from the one in which they received their diagnosis.

Prescribers should follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management, when prescribing medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These guidelines are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87Additional information on shared care can be found in the General Medical Council (GMC) best practice guidance, which is available at the following link:https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-practice-in-prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices/shared-careThe Department has also been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve the supply issues with some ADHD medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved, and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues, where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We expect supply to improve in the United Kingdom throughout December 2024 and January 2025. However, we anticipate supply to be limited for some strengths, and we continue to work with all suppliers to ensure the remaining issues are resolved as soon as possible.To minimise the impact of the shortages on patients, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the NHS, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative ADHD medicines. To support ADHD patients throughout the NHS, we would expect all ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinions for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. The SPS website also offers additional guidance from NHS England specialists to help systems and healthcare professionals manage ADHD supply disruptions.To improve supply chain resiliency, we are also working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK supplier base.

How many and what proportion of GP surgeries are rated as (a) outstanding and (b) good by the Care Quality Commission in Slough constituency.

As of 5 December 2024, there are 14 general practice surgeries in the Slough constituency. Of these, zero, or 0%, are rated Outstanding; 12, or 85%, are rated Good; and two, or 14%, have yet to be rated.

Whether he plans to introduce routine antenatal screening for Group B streptococcus.

Screening for group B streptococcus (GBS) is not routinely offered to all pregnant women. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the evidence to screen for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017, and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms. This is because the test currently available cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk, and those who are not. This means that many women would unnecessarily be offered antibiotics during labour. A risk-based approach is taken, whereby those women identified as being at increased risk of having a baby affected by GBS are managed according to agreed clinical guidelines on the prevention of early on-set neonatal GBS infection. The National Institute for Health Research funded a large-scale clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against the usual risk factor-based strategy. The UK NSC will review its recommendation, considering the evidence from the trial, once the report is available.

What steps he is taking to ensure (a) early and (b) consistent diagnosis of Group B streptococcus.

Screening for group B streptococcus (GBS) is not routinely offered to all pregnant women. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the evidence to screen for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy in 2017, and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits of screening would outweigh the harms. This is because the test currently available cannot accurately distinguish between those mothers whose babies are at risk, and those who are not. This means that many women would unnecessarily be offered antibiotics during labour. A risk-based approach is taken, whereby those women identified as being at increased risk of having a baby affected by GBS are managed according to agreed clinical guidelines on the prevention of early on-set neonatal GBS infection. The National Institute for Health Research funded a large-scale clinical trial to compare universal screening for GBS against the usual risk factor-based strategy. The UK NSC will review its recommendation, considering the evidence from the trial, once the report is available.

How their Department defines strategy.

The definition is detailed in the Functional Standards Common Glossary, which is published on the GOV.UK website.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dentists.

Dental Statistics - England 2023-24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What steps he is taking to improve (a) diagnosis times and (b) treatment of invasive lobular breast cancer.

We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets so no patient waits longer than they should.Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the Government. There are multiple NHS initiatives and funding streams across the NHS in England that support the early detection of breast cancer, and many organisations across the health service are involved.The Department spends £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer the largest area of spend at more than £121.8 million in 2022/23. NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group, reflecting its high priority. Our investments in cancer, including lobular breast cancer, are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes.We are proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. This is complemented by wider investments into breast cancer research including, for example, a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, again including lobular breast cancer.The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lobular breast cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

What proportion of patients at (a) Upton Hospital and (b) Wexham Park Hospital have been discharged into social care in each of the last 12 months.

The Department does not hold information on the proportion of patients that have been discharged into social care in individual hospitals in each of the last 12 months. NHS England publishes data detailing how many patients are discharged through each discharge pathway, broken down by trust. This includes data on discharge pathway 3, which involves discharge to a care home placement. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/discharge-delays-acute-data/

What recent steps he has taken to increase uptake of cervical screenings.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 October 2024 to Question 8464.

What proportion of patients referred to mental health services were seen within the target waiting time in Slough constituency in the last 12 months.

The following table shows the latest available performance data on waiting times against the existing mental health waiting time standards for NHS Frimley, which covers the Slough constituency, for the latest available 12-month reporting period, from October 2023 to September 2024: ServiceWaiting time standardTargetPerformance against waiting time standardEarly Intervention in Psychosis (EIP)Proportion of referrals on the EIP pathway entering treatment within two weeks60%77%Children and Young People's Eating DisordersProportion of urgent referrals entering treatment within one week of referral95%81%Children and Young People's Eating DisordersProportion of routine referrals entering treatment within four weeks of referral95%81%NHS Talking TherapiesProportion of referrals where the course of treatment finished and the person waited six weeks or less for first treatment contact75%94%NHS Talking TherapiesProportion of referrals where the course of treatment finished and the person waited 18 weeks or less for first treatment contact95%100%Source: Mental Health Services and NHS Talking Therapies datasets.

What steps he is taking to help to reduce the average diagnosis time for endometriosis.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are urgently looking into waiting times for gynaecological issues, including for endometriosis.Funding has been confirmed to support the delivery of our commitment to an extra 40,000 National Health Service operations, scans, and appointments per week, a first step to delivering on the 18-week standard.The Department is working with NHS England to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system. This is a key step to reducing endometriosis diagnosis times, as they will include care for menstrual problems, including endometriosis.The recently updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline on the diagnosis of endometriosis will also help women to receive a diagnosis more quickly.

What recent steps he has taken to reduce the waiting time for ADHD assessments.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

What the average waiting time is for an ADHD Assessment in (a) Slough constituency and (b) the South East.

The data requested is not held centrally; it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) service provision and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems, which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the level of funding available for research into (a) Alzheimer's disease and (b) other forms of dementia.

The Department funds research into dementia via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR continues to invest in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis and prevention to treatment, care and support, including for carers.The NIHR has established several investments to boost progress and funding in dementia such as the £49.9 million Dementia Trials Network, which will deliver a coordinated network of early phase dementia trial sites. The NIHR is also funding two Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Units worth £3 million per unit to further boost evidence for policymaking. As well as this, the NIHR continues to fund the successful £13.5 million Three Schools Dementia Programme which links public health, primary care and social care via our NIHR research schools, namely Schools for Social Care, Public Health and Primary Care Research. The NIHR has also awarded almost £11 million of funding to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

What steps they are taking to use (a) artificial intelligence and (b) data to help increase their Department's productivity.

The Department is committed to improving its productivity, including through artificial intelligence (AI), and effective use of data. To make AI and data work, the Department has focused on establishing the enablers for adopting AI responsibly, ethically, and at low cost, to ensure a high return on investment via productivity gains while also maintaining or improving process outcomes. Specifically, implementing governance and delivery structures that pool internal experts from across the Department and bring the consideration of ethics, information governance, cyber security, data science, analysis, and technology in line with guidance offered by the Central Digital and Data Office.The Department has developed proof-of-concept projects to test these structures, including a Parliamentary Intelligence tool that saves 40 hours per week of staff time and improves the quality of insights, and a partially automated approach to consultation analysis that reduces the cost and time to analyse large consultations, while respecting The Gunning Principles.The Department draws on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI and data usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Data Maturity Assessment, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard. The Department of Health and Social Care also has access to the Central Digital and Data Office, based in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.Underpinning the Department’s approach to AI is shaping a data driven culture in the Department to support and enhance data science and data analysis capabilities, providing high quality data and data products in a secure, safe, legal, and ethical way. The Department has a large and mature analytical function who put data and insights at the heart of decision making and policy development. For example, the Data Hub that collates nearly 500 metrics in 27 dashboards across 13 topic areas, providing data and insights on-demand to inform decisions. The Department does not currently have any plans to implement automated decision-making systems, and people remain in full control of decision making, with AI augmenting their work.The Department will continue to regularly review usage of AI and data to maximise productivity benefits for staff and the public.

What steps his Department is taking to improve maternity services in (a) Slough constituency and (b) Berkshire.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to deliver the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services across England, to make care safer, personalised, and more equitable for women and babies. Improvement in the Slough and East Berkshire maternity services includes aligning with the three-year delivery plan, and involves:the recruitment of more midwives to significantly reduce vacancies and to have minimal shortages by 2025;increased access to services through a new maternity hub in Crowthorne;listening to women's voices through the maternity and neonatal voices partnership, with additional funding for targeted engagement with parents with a baby admitted to a neonatal unit;implementing an updated Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which is a package of interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal deaths, and preterm birth; andpiloting a perinatal pelvic health service that provides women with information about pelvic health risks, signs of pelvic floor dysfunction, and prevention strategies.The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has focused on addressing inequalities by improving access to perinatal mental health services, interpreter availability, and antenatal and preconception information, with an increase in folic acid uptake in Slough.

If he will take steps to increase public awareness of pancreatic cancer symptoms.

NHS England is already taking steps to deliver a range of interventions to improve awareness of pancreatic cancer symptoms. NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, including symptoms of pancreatic cancer, as well as encouraging body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an early point.NHS England is also working with Pancreatic Cancer UK to develop a public-facing Family History Checker, which enables people, and their families, affected by pancreatic cancer to self-assess if they have inherited risk. People identified of being at risk are referred directly to the European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatic Diseases research trail, which aims to understand inherited conditions of the pancreas. Referrals to the trail can be made by any healthcare professional across all health sectors, or by individuals via self-referral.NHS England and other National Health Service organisations, nationally and locally, also publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. This information can be found on the NHS website.