Written questions by Dhesi.

What recent steps his Department has taken to improve (a) maternity and (b) perinatal outcomes.

NHS England’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services is making good progress in rolling out new services to improve maternity and perinatal outcomes. All local areas have published Equity and Equality action plans setting out local action to tackle ethnic inequalities in maternal and neonatal outcomes; all 150 maternity and neonatal units in England are currently part of the Perinatal Culture and Leadership programme; there are important improvements to safety through version three of Saving Babies Live Care Bundle; and families are being engaged more through additional funding for Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnerships. NHS England is also rolling out perinatal pelvic health services and maternal mental health services to reduce rates of perineal tears, provide additional mental health support and improve outcomes for women.

What recent steps his Department has taken to reduce gynaecology waiting lists.

At the end of December 2024, the referral to treatment (RTT) gynaecology waiting list stood at 586,013 across England, with 55.4% of patient pathways waiting within 18 weeks.As set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for gynaecological care, wait no longer than 18 weeks from RTT by March 2029.  We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget that has enabled us to deliver an additional two million appointments as a First Step to achieving this, seven months ahead of schedule.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the reform we will undertake to return to the 18-week standard, and ensure patients have the best possible experience while they wait. This includes commitments to offer patients care closer to home, in the community, including piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with unscheduled bleeding on hormone replacement therapy. We have also committed to increasing the relative funding available to support gynaecology procedures with the largest waiting lists and reviewing support options from the independent sector.

What recent steps his Department has taken to improve cardiovascular disease outcomes.

The Government is committed to tackling the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the Health Mission sets an ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. The Department held a symposium on heart disease and stroke on 13 March 2025 where charities, patient advocacy groups, clinicians, think-tanks and other experts discussed how to deliver on the ambition.We are tackling the root cause of preventable heart disease and stroke by introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, implementing the advertising regulations for less healthy food and drink on television and online, and empowering councils to block the development of new fast-food shops outside schools.To improve access to the NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, we are developing a new NHS Heath Check Online tool so that people can have a check at a time and place convenient to them to understand and act on their CVD risk.Furthermore, we are trialling a new workplace CVD check which will deliver more than 130,000 lifesaving heart health checks in the workplace.

What steps he is taking to reduce treatment times for musculoskeletal conditions in Slough.

Over 17 million people in England live with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition.The Government is delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First Time MSK Community Delivery Programme, which will work directly with integrated care boards in England to further reduce MSK community waiting times, improve data, and enable referral pathways to wider support services. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, setting out funding to boost bone density scanning (DEXA) capacity, to support improvements in early diagnosis and bone health. This is expected to provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year once all are fully operational. DEXA scans are a vital component for the early diagnosis of osteoporosis. The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (ICS), along with the Frimley ICS, which together cover the Berkshire area, is also working with all providers of MSK management to reduce waiting times and improve positive outcomes and experiences for patients requiring MSK care.

What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of untreated musculoskeletal conditions on levels of lost workdays.

Over 17 million people in England live with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition, which are a leading cause of ill-health related economic inactivity, with 23.4 million working days lost across the United Kingdom in 2022 due to this. Improving health and work outcomes will help deliver the Government's missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth. The Get Britain Working white paper sets out the Government’s plans to reform employment, health, and skills support, to tackle rising economic inactivity levels. The white paper announced the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First Time MSK Community Delivery Programme, which has been working directly with integrated care boards in England to reduce MSK community waiting times and enable referral pathways to wider support services. As part of the mission led Government, regular cross Government collaboration takes place at both a ministerial and official level.

What recent steps he has taken to reduce waiting times for treatment for musculoskeletal conditions in (a) Slough, (b) Berkshire and (c) England.

Over 17 million people in England live with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition.The Government is delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First Time MSK Community Delivery Programme, which will work directly with integrated care boards in England to further reduce MSK community waiting times, improve data, and enable referral pathways to wider support services. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, setting out funding to boost bone density scanning (DEXA) capacity, to support improvements in early diagnosis and bone health. This is expected to provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year once all are fully operational. DEXA scans are a vital component for the early diagnosis of osteoporosis. The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (ICS), along with the Frimley ICS, which together cover the Berkshire area, is also working with all providers of MSK management to reduce waiting times and improve positive outcomes and experiences for patients requiring MSK care.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the care available to young people diagnosed with cancer in Slough.

The Department recognises that cancer in children and young people is different to cancer in adults, and should be treated as such, particularly in regard to treatment, diagnosis, and wider support.The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive, including children, teenagers, and young adults (CTYA).NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of CTYA cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/The Department has also relaunched the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce. Dame Caroline Dinenage and Professor Darren Hargrave have been appointed as its co-chairs, alongside Dr Sharna Shanmugavadivel as vice-chair. The taskforce will examine clinical and non-clinical ways to improve outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. This will feed into the Department’s wider work on the national cancer plan in England.

What recent discussions he has had with NHS trusts on the rollout of (a) HIV and (b) hepatitis opt-out testing in A&E departments in (i) Slough constituency and (ii) Berkshire .

Two hospitals within Berkshire, namely the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, and the Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, are involved in the second wave of the highly successful National Health Service emergency department blood borne viruses opt-out testing programme, and are planning to go live on 12 March 2025. Both will be testing for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.We have extended the HIV opt-out testing scheme to approximately 90 hospitals based in extremely high and high prevalence areas to March 2026, with an additional £27 million investment. Decisions for offering opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments are based on HIV prevalence levels in local areas, in accordance with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s recommendations on HIV testing.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of endometriosis services in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. At the end of December 2024, the Referral to Treatment (RTT) gynaecology waiting list, which includes those waiting for endometriosis treatment, stood at 586,013 across England, with 55.4% of patient pathways waiting within 18 weeks.As set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for endometriosis treatment, wait no longer than 18 weeks from RTT by March 2029. We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget that has enabled us to deliver an additional two million appointments as a First Step to achieving this, seven months ahead of schedule.There are a range of efforts underway, nationally and in Slough and Berkshire, to reduce the time patients spend waiting for gynaecological care, as set out in the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025.For diagnostics, this includes innovative models that offer care closer to home and in the community, and piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres (CDC) for patients with post-menopausal bleeding. In Berkshire there are four CDCs delivering activity. We have committed to build up to five additional CDCs by March 2026.We have also committed to increasing the relative funding available to support the gynaecology procedures with the largest waiting lists, including for certain endometriosis pathways, and reviewing support options from the independent sector.NHS England is also improving pathways by rolling out a series of educational webinars for primary care staff, delivered jointly by the women’s health clinical lead and specialist consultants, to embed improved management. This will support better management in primary care and appropriate referrals to specialist consultants.

What recent steps he has taken to reduce endometriosis diagnosis times in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. At the end of December 2024, the Referral to Treatment (RTT) gynaecology waiting list, which includes those waiting for endometriosis treatment, stood at 586,013 across England, with 55.4% of patient pathways waiting within 18 weeks.As set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for endometriosis treatment, wait no longer than 18 weeks from RTT by March 2029. We provided additional investment in the Autumn Budget that has enabled us to deliver an additional two million appointments as a First Step to achieving this, seven months ahead of schedule.There are a range of efforts underway, nationally and in Slough and Berkshire, to reduce the time patients spend waiting for gynaecological care, as set out in the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025.For diagnostics, this includes innovative models that offer care closer to home and in the community, and piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres (CDC) for patients with post-menopausal bleeding. In Berkshire there are four CDCs delivering activity. We have committed to build up to five additional CDCs by March 2026.We have also committed to increasing the relative funding available to support the gynaecology procedures with the largest waiting lists, including for certain endometriosis pathways, and reviewing support options from the independent sector.NHS England is also improving pathways by rolling out a series of educational webinars for primary care staff, delivered jointly by the women’s health clinical lead and specialist consultants, to embed improved management. This will support better management in primary care and appropriate referrals to specialist consultants.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for patients to receive mental health treatment in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

We recognise that people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, including in Slough and Berkshire, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health. This includes recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers, introducing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, and modernising the Mental Health Act.

If he will make an assessment of the availability of visual rehabilitation services in Slough constituency.

Ministers and officials in the Department of Health and Social Care meet regularly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to discuss a range of issues.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes supporting people with sight loss to develop practical skills and strategies to maintain independence.Regarding an assessment of the adequacy and availability of vision rehabilitation services, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is now assessing how local authorities are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. These assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, facilitating the sharing of good practice, and helping us to target support where it is most needed. This means that sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement.

What recent discussions he has had with the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the provision of vision rehabilitation specialists.

Ministers and officials in the Department of Health and Social Care meet regularly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to discuss a range of issues.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes supporting people with sight loss to develop practical skills and strategies to maintain independence.Regarding an assessment of the adequacy and availability of vision rehabilitation services, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is now assessing how local authorities are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. These assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, facilitating the sharing of good practice, and helping us to target support where it is most needed. This means that sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of mental health workers in England.

The National Health Service workforce has been overworked for years, leading to staff becoming burnt out and demoralised and, while there has been growth in the mental health workforce over recent years, more is needed. That is why, as part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce waiting times and provide faster treatment. We recognise that bringing in the staff needed will take time. We are working with NHS England on options to deliver this commitment.More broadly, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. This plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from the hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. A central part of this will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.This summer we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need, when they need it.

If he will take steps to increase the number of vision rehabilitation specialists in (a) Slough constituency and (b) Berkshire.

It is the responsibility of local authorities and the integrated care boards to commission therapy-led rehabilitation, reablement, and recovery services, including vision rehabilitation specialists, based on their assessment of local capacity and demand.The Government understands the importance of having effective rehabilitation services available for people who need them, to assist in recovery and to return to their day-to-day activities. Intermediate care and reablement support services, including vision rehabilitation, can play a key role in providing alternatives to hospital admission, and improve patient outcomes by providing appropriate rehabilitation and reablement options following a hospital discharge.

What steps he is taking to increase access to sexual health services in Slough constituency.

Local authorities in England, including Slough Borough Council, are funded through a ring-fenced public health grant (PHG) to commission comprehensive, open access sexual health services. Therefore, it is the responsibility of local authorities to decide on spending priorities based on the blend of service access that best suits the needs of their population.For 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the PHG to £3.858 billion. This is a cash increase of £198 million compared to 2024/25, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and 3.0% real terms increase. This represents a significant turning point for local health services, marking the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending between 2016 and 2024.

What estimate his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for talking therapies in (a) Slough, (b) Berkshire and (c) England.

The latest NHS Talking Therapies data for England show that as of December 2024, 91.2% of people completing treatment waited less than six weeks for their first appointment, against a target of 75%. Additionally, 98.4% of people completing treatment waited less than 18 weeks, against a target of 95%.Waiting times data for NHS Talking Therapies are not held at constituency or county level but are available at integrated care board (ICB) level through the NHS Mental Health Dashboard, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-mental-health-dashboard/Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise the funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement & Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.

What estimate he has made of the number of people who have been hospitalised as a result of weight loss drugs in each of the last five years.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions.Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. Our role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use, including GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs). We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.  When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk. New medicines, such as GLP-1 RAs, are more intensively monitored to ensure that any new safety issues are identified promptly.It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have been. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental.On the basis of the current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications. The decision to start, continue, or stop treatments should be made jointly by patients and their doctor, based on full consideration of the benefits and risks. We strongly encourage patients and healthcare professionals to continue reporting suspected side effects to GLP-1 RAs through our Yellow Card scheme.From the point of licensing up to and including 31 January 2025, the MHRA has received 573 Yellow Card reports for GLP-1 RAs indicated for weight management, where the patient was reported to have been hospitalised.As the use of the GLP-1 RAs increases, so have the number of Yellow Card reports associated with these medicines. Yellow Card reporting rates can be influenced by many factors, including the seriousness of the adverse drug reactions, their ease of recognition, and the extent of the use of a particular product. Reporting can also be stimulated by publicity and awareness of a product.The majority of Yellow Card reports for these medicines concern gastrointestinal effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, which are listed as recognised side effects within the product information for these products. These side effects were observed in the clinical trials for these products, with most events being mild to moderate in severity and of short duration. However, they can sometimes lead to more serious complications such as severe dehydration, resulting in hospitalisation.Saxenda (liraglutide) and Wegovy (semaglutide) are both approved for weight management in adults with obesity, or for those who are overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity, as well as in adolescents with obesity. Wegovy (semaglutide) is additionally indicated to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular problems in adults. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is indicated for both type 2 diabetes and weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity. Ozempic (semaglutide) has been authorised for the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. Ozempic is not authorised for weight loss but is sometimes used off-label for that purpose.

If he will make an estimate of the number of deaths caused by weight-loss drugs in each of the last five years.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate to inform regulatory decisions.Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. Our role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use, including GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs). We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.  When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk. New medicines, such as GLP-1 RAs, are more intensively monitored to ensure that any new safety issues are identified promptly.It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental.Based on the current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications. The decision to start, continue or stop treatments should be made jointly by patients and their doctor, based on full consideration of the benefits and risks. We strongly encourage patients and healthcare professionals to continue reporting suspected side effects to GLP-1 RAs through our Yellow Card scheme.The following table shows the number of Yellow Card reports received for each GLP1 RA with a fatal outcome up to and including 31 January 2025, along with the number of these which were reported with an indication relating to weight management:GLP1 RANumber of reports with a fatal outcome (of which include an indication relating to weight management)Semaglutide29 (4)Liraglutide35 (8)Tirzepatide18 (10)Source: MHRA databaseAs the use of the GLP-1 RAs increases, so have the number of Yellow Card reports associated with these medicines. Yellow Card reporting rates can be influenced by many factors including the seriousness of the adverse drug reactions, their ease of recognition and the extent of use of a particular product. Reporting can also be stimulated by publicity and awareness about a product.

Whether steps his Department has taken to reduce waiting times for palliative radiotherapy treatment.

We know that patients are waiting too long for cancer treatment, and we will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time or earlier, treating it faster, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. We will also be spending £70 million on new radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to patients who need it.