Written questions by Dhesi.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of dementia research funding.

Government responsibility for delivering dementia 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.Government funders are investing in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis, and prevention, to treatment, care, and support, including for carers. Between the financial years 2019/20 and 2023/24, the Government spent £496.4 million on dementia research.Whilst no recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of dementia research funding, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer reviews 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 dementia to all NIHR 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.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the equality of access to fertility services for LGBTQ+ people.

In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines.

If he will make an estimate of the number of people living with dementia without a medical diagnosis in (a) the South East and (b) Slough.

No specific estimate has been made as the information is not held in the format requested. However, NHS England publishes monthly dementia diagnosis data in the primary care dementia data set official statistics. Data for March 2025 showed that the number of patients with a recorded diagnosis of dementia was 83,945 in the South East, and 610 in Slough. The number of people estimated with dementia ranges from 122,500 to 147,000 in the South East, and 900 to 1,200 in Slough.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to carers of dementia patients in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.

The Government is committed to ensuring that families of people with dementia have the support they need.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.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duties related to carers.The CQC has published their assessments of 17 councils in London and the South East. They will publish the assessment reports for Slough and other local authorities in the South East in due course.

What steps he is taking to help prevent violence and harassment towards NHS staff.

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. There is a zero-tolerance approach to any incidents of harassment or abuse against NHS staff.Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including security, training, and emotional support, for staff affected by violence. To support them, NHS England is working on initiatives to prevent and reduce violence and aggression from patients, their families, and the public.On 9 April 2025, the Government announced that the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal, have been accepted. These include the significant commitments of tackling violence and aggression against NHS staff, including improving data and the reporting of incidences, and ensuring strengthened risk assessments, training, and support for victims.

What steps he is taking to reduce health inequalities (a) in general and (b) for children.

The United Kingdom faces significant health inequalities, with healthy life expectancy varying widely across and between communities. Through our Health Mission, we are focused on addressing the wider determinants of health to improve healthy life expectancy for all and to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between different regions of England.Addressing healthcare inequalities is a fundamental part of the Health Mission and the workstreams of the 10-Year Health Plan. The 11 working groups have now concluded their development that will feed into the plan. These working groups included a dedicated workstream focused on how care should be designed and delivered to improve healthcare equity, however this was also fully considered by each workstream.Tackling health inequalities will also be central to the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and the ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. As a first step, in 2025/26, £126 million is being invested into Family Hubs and Start for Life services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.We are also developing an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy which will also help reduce health inequalities for children. The Department is working closely with the Child Poverty Ministerial Taskforce to reduce child poverty, tackle its root causes, and give every child the best start in life.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that NHS patients who are deaf are able to adequately communicate with NHS staff about their care.

It is for individual National Health Service organisations, including NHS trusts and integrated care boards, to comply with the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations have a legal duty to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are as accessible to disabled people, including deaf people, as they are for everybody else. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients.Health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated. Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, published September 2023, the flag went live in the National Care Record Service, and is being rolled out across England.Since 2016, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including deaf people. NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should not be a gap in provision for people using services.

What recent steps he has taken to make NHS services more accessible for deaf patients.

It is for individual National Health Service organisations, including NHS trusts and integrated care boards, to comply with the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations have a legal duty to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are as accessible to disabled people, including deaf people, as they are for everybody else. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients.Health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated. Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, published September 2023, the flag went live in the National Care Record Service, and is being rolled out across England.Since 2016, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including deaf people. NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should not be a gap in provision for people using services.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the post-diagnosis support available to people with dementia.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have recently published the Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool has now been launched, and is available at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-toolTo improve care for patients with dementia, we have refreshed the RightCare Dementia Scenario. The scenario works through the dementia well pathway journey from diagnosing well through to dying well, detailing optimal and sub optimal approaches, with associated costings for each. They have developed a dementia model pathway based on data for each component of the dementia well pathway, to provide a high-level view of what dementia care activity looks like for local areas and to aid targeted support where appropriate.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of prostate cancer screening for high risk groups.

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. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current PSA test lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.NHS England is taking steps to increase public understanding of prostate cancer and its risk factors. This includes working in partnership with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people in their communities with tailored messaging and support.

What recent steps he has taken to increase early stage detection rates for 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. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current PSA test lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.NHS England is taking steps to increase public understanding of prostate cancer and its risk factors. This includes working in partnership with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people in their communities with tailored messaging and support.

What recent steps he has taken to increase awareness of the risk factors associated 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. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current PSA test lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.NHS England is taking steps to increase public understanding of prostate cancer and its risk factors. This includes working in partnership with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people in their communities with tailored messaging and support.

Whether he plans to take steps to increase awareness of the availability of a PSA blood test.

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. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current PSA test lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.NHS England is taking steps to increase public understanding of prostate cancer and its risk factors. This includes working in partnership with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people in their communities with tailored messaging and support.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory (a) Accessible Information Standard and (b) deaf awareness training for NHS staff.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver safe and effective treatment for patients, and to deploy them in the best way to ensure the delivery of health services to their populations.Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision.A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should not be a gap in provision for people using services. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication, and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of the disabled people using these services.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS compliance with the Accessible Information Standard.

Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.The AIS conformance criteria, published in 2016, set out how NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers should comply with the AIS, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/equality-frameworks-and-information-standards/accessibleinfo/resources/assess-conformance/The responsibility for monitoring compliance with the AIS sits with the commissioner of the service.

Whether he has had recent discussions with cancer charities on taking steps to improve the transportation of stem cells.

There have been no recent discussions with cancer charities that suggest the need to improve the transportation of donor stem cells in the United Kingdom or internationally. The UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry has robust contingency measures in place to address travel disruptions and costs incurred by voluntary and contracted couriers who transport donor stem cells to patient transplant centres.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on taking steps to improve the transportation of donor stem cells.

No such discussions have taken place. The UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry has robust contingency measures in place to address travel disruptions and costs incurred by voluntary and contracted couriers who transport donor stem cells to patient transplant centres.

What recent steps he has taken to eradicate modern slavery from the NHS.

As part of the recommendations from the review into the risk of modern slavery in National Health Service supply chains from December 2023, it was recommended that regulations be laid with a view to eradicating modern slavery, supporting the amendment of Section 12zc in the NHS Act 2006. Further information on the review into the risk of modern slavery in NHS supply chains is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-risk-of-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking-in-the-nhs-supply-chainThe Department and NHS England have collaboratively developed detailed guidance to support the embedding of the regulations and policies throughout procurement exercises. This ensures alignment to procurements conducted under all legal regimes, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. A public consultation for the content and approach of those regulations was launched in Autumn 2024. A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) was laid in both Houses of Parliament on 21 November 2024 to launch the consultation, which is available at the following link: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-11-21/hcws245. As stated in the WMS, the draft regulations and guidance were published alongside the consultation. The consultation closed in February 2025 and the Department will publish a consultation report shortly on the GOV.UK website. The Department intends to lay the regulations in due course, following the publication of the report. The published guidance refers to a risk assessment tool that NHS England has developed based on the six characteristics to help assess modern slavery risks, as set out in the Public Procurement Policy Note on identifying and managing modern slavery risks. These are: industry type; nature of the workforce; supplier location; context in which the supplier operates; commodity type; and business/supply chain model. Further information on the published guidance and the Public Procurement Policy Note on identifying and managing modern slavery risks is available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-proposed-regulations-and-guidancehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-009-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains

Whether he is taking steps to increase the uptake of bowel screenings.

Coverage of bowel cancer screening has been increasing in recent years, with a marked increase from 2019 of 11.3 percentage points since the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) test was rolled out as the primary test in the screening programme with coverage amongst people aged between 60 and 74 years old currently standing at 71.8%.The bowel cancer screening standards have recently been reviewed, with changes taking effect from 1 April 2025. This will update the achievable and acceptable thresholds for both uptake and coverage. The new coverage thresholds for people aged between 60 and 74 years old will be acceptable level of more than or equal to 62.0%, and achievable level of more than or equal to 76.0%.To further increase coverage, NHS England: is delivering new approaches to communicating with people about screening through the NHS App; is supporting frontline screening staff and enabling the delivery of new technology, including artificial intelligence; is improving the way eligible people are identified and invited for screening through the transformation of screening programme digital services; is incorporating the reasonable adjustment flag into screening to ensure people get information in the way they want; has recently updated the bowel cancer screening leaflets to improve accessibility; and has made the bowel cancer screening FIT kit more accessible for people who are blind or partially sighted.

What recent steps he has taken to increase awareness of bowel cancer symptoms in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.

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 run across England and is accessible publicly, including for those living in Slough and the South East. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging ‘body awareness’ to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of bowel cancer. It is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations to consider whether they wish to run additional campaigns tailored to the needs of their local population and aligned to their service provisions.NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, also publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including bowel cancer. This information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer/symptoms/The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care. The government’s goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, including bowel cancer.