Written questions by Perkins.

What is the average waiting time for children to access an autism spectrum disorder assessment in each ICB area.

NHS England publishes quarterly Autism Waiting Time Statistics, which are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statisticsThese set out the waiting times for children to access an autism spectrum disorder assessment for each integrated care board (ICB) in England. These are statistics in development and do not yet represent a complete picture of waiting times for autism assessments in England. Work to determine which provider organisations should be submitting data for autistic people is ongoing.The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people of all ages are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities focus on improving early intervention and support.ICBs are responsible for planning and commissioning services to meet the needs of their local populations, including making decisions about how best to manage demand and capacity within available resources. The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, which can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/ This guidance intends to help the NHS improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for those referred to a service. In December 2025, we launched an independent review into the Prevalence and Support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. The review’s interim report, published at the end of March, sets out the evidence reviewed so far on prevalence, describes the impact of rising demand for diagnosis and support, identifies where the evidence is uncertain, and outlines the key questions for the next phase. It does not offer final conclusions or recommendations. The final report, due in the summer, will make recommendations on how the Government, the health system, and wider public services can respond to increasing demand for support more fairly and effectively so that people receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

What steps he is taking to reduce the waiting time for children to access an autism spectrum disorder assessment.

NHS England publishes quarterly Autism Waiting Time Statistics, which are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statisticsThese set out the waiting times for children to access an autism spectrum disorder assessment for each integrated care board (ICB) in England. These are statistics in development and do not yet represent a complete picture of waiting times for autism assessments in England. Work to determine which provider organisations should be submitting data for autistic people is ongoing.The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people of all ages are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities focus on improving early intervention and support.ICBs are responsible for planning and commissioning services to meet the needs of their local populations, including making decisions about how best to manage demand and capacity within available resources. The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, which can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/ This guidance intends to help the NHS improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for those referred to a service. In December 2025, we launched an independent review into the Prevalence and Support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. The review’s interim report, published at the end of March, sets out the evidence reviewed so far on prevalence, describes the impact of rising demand for diagnosis and support, identifies where the evidence is uncertain, and outlines the key questions for the next phase. It does not offer final conclusions or recommendations. The final report, due in the summer, will make recommendations on how the Government, the health system, and wider public services can respond to increasing demand for support more fairly and effectively so that people receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place.

How he plans to enforce new minimum NHS staff standards, and measure them at ward level.

The NHS Staff Standards will be mandatory. Trust performance against them will be measured via the NHS National Oversight Framework.

If the Government will introduce a statutory duty in England to calculate and take reasonable steps to maintain safe nurse staffing on adult acute wards, with ward-level public reporting and mandatory escalation when recognised staffing risk indicators are breached.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Whether he has made a comparative assessment of the adequacy of availability of fampridine (fampyra) for patients across the four nations of the UK.

Health is a devolved matter and decisions on the availability of medicines in the devolved administrations are a matter for their own governments.Ministers and Department officials have had no recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about access to fampridine. NICE’s updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults, published in June 2022, recommends that fampridine should not be offered to treat mobility issues in people with MS as it is not found to be a cost-effective treatment at the current list price. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE has indicated that it has no current plans to review its recommendations on fampridine.

What discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on access to fampridine for people with multiple sclerosis in England.

Health is a devolved matter and decisions on the availability of medicines in the devolved administrations are a matter for their own governments.Ministers and Department officials have had no recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about access to fampridine. NICE’s updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults, published in June 2022, recommends that fampridine should not be offered to treat mobility issues in people with MS as it is not found to be a cost-effective treatment at the current list price. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE has indicated that it has no current plans to review its recommendations on fampridine.

What assessment he has made of the specific challenges that face adults with learning difficulties in accessing health services; and what actions he is taking to ensure that they receive an acceptable level of service.

A learning difficulty is a reduced ability for a specific form of learning and includes conditions such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. These are life-long conditions.Under the Equality Act 2010, public sector organisations are required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people as well as to everybody else.Reasonable adjustments can make a real difference to people’s care and are based on physical or mental impairment, not on diagnosis. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag is being rolled out across health and care services to ensure that disabled people’s reasonable adjustments are recorded and shared, enabling support to be tailored appropriately. This is supported by e-learning for all health and social care staff. All organisations that provide National Health Service care or adult social care must also follow the Accessible Information Standard.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population. Further information on specific learning difficulties can be found on the NHS website.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of wheelchair provision services in Derbyshire.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, and NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services.Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required.NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025 which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/Local authorities in England have a statutory duty under various legislations, including the Care Act 2014, and the Children and Families Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment, including wheelchair provision, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Some local authorities deliver this themselves, but a significant number have external contracts for an integrated community equipment service.On 1 April 2025, the NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB appointed Blatchford Ltd to run wheelchair services.The NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB provided additional funding to address the most clinically urgent, long-standing patients that are waiting for a wheelchair and is monitoring with Blatchford on a weekly basis. There are, however, still 1,000 long-standing patients currently waiting for a wheelchair. The NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB has put in place a clinical priority plan developed jointly between the NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB and Blatchford Ltd to address long-standing patients. As of Mid-November 2025, with regard to long-standing patients waiting for a wheelchair, there has been a 56% deduction in adults and a 54% reduction in children and young people. The ICB continues to work through the remaining patients.

What steps he is taking through the Modern Service Framework for cardiovascular health to reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular disease.

The cardiovascular disease modern service framework will help accelerate progress towards the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade.The Government is prioritising ambitious, evidence-led, and clinically informed approaches to prevention, treatment, and care. At the heart of this is engagement with people and communities, so that the modern service framework is shaped by and meets their needs. We will say more on these plans in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of including targets to reduce the diagnosis time for myeloma in the National Cancer Plan for England.

Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

What steps he is taking to ensure that weight loss drugs are available on the NHS for (a) women with (i) polycystic ovary syndrome and (ii) other fertility issues and (b) everyone.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended a number of weight-loss medicines for use on the National Health Service, which the NHS is now required to fund for eligible patients in line with NICE’s recommendations, including for women with polycystic ovary syndrome and fertility problems.The product information for weight loss medicines state that all individuals of child-bearing potential, who are able to become pregnant, using GLP-1 medications should take steps to ensure they do not become pregnant. GLP-1 medicines should not be taken during pregnancy or just before trying to get pregnant.The NHS is currently rolling out tirzepatide for obesity in primary care, using a phased approach based on clinical need to manage NHS resources. Around 220,000 individuals are expected to be eligible over the next three years. NHS England worked with clinical experts, integrated care boards, patient and public representatives, healthcare professionals, charities and royal colleges on its prioritisation approach, which it set out in its interim commissioning guidance, available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/interim-commissioning-guidance-implementation-of-the-nice-technology-appraisal-ta1026-and-the-nice-funding-variation-for-tirzepatide-mounjaro-for-the-management-of-obesity/At the current time, patients will be eligible for treatment in primary care if they have a body mass index of at least forty, and four or more out of five ‘qualifying' conditions. The qualifying conditions are cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

What information his Department holds on the (a) number of students who graduated in nursing and (b) number and proportion of those graduates who were employed within six months in the last four years, broken down by higher education institution.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes information on the number of United Kingdom trained nurses joining their register for the first time, who are resident in England. The following table shows the number of UK trained nurses joining the NMC register in England for the first time by financial year:Financial yearNumber of UK qualified registered nurses joining the NMC register for the first time2021/2215,1322022/2316,4202023/2418,4782024/2519,670Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council, March 2025 Annual Data Report.The Department does not hold information on the number of graduates who are employed within six months.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of hospital Safer Staffing requirements on the newly qualified nurses’ ability to become employed in the NHS.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of hospital Safer Staffing requirements on newly qualified nurses’ ability to become employed in the National Health Service.

How many newly qualified nurses have been recruited to each NHS Trust in the last four years; and how many have been recruited from overseas.

The Department does not hold information on the number of newly qualified nurses recruited by each National Health Service trust, and where they were trained.The table attached shows the number of joiners to the nursing and health visitors staff group at a band five level, by NHS trust, for each of the past four financial years. It is not possible to accurately identify a member of staff who is newly qualified, but in the attached table we have given the number of staff joining the NHS in band five roles, which is the pay grade at which nurses begin their employment, although this will include some nurses who have left NHS employment for a period of time and returned into band five roles, including those returning from unpaid career breaks. The Electronic Staff Record System, the Human Resources system for the NHS from which this information is drawn, also includes the self-declared nationality of staff, and whilst this may not equate to where they were trained, it allows new joiners to be split by United Kingdom and non-UK nationalities.

What assessment has been made of the potential impact of the reduction in the number of nursing lecturer positions in higher education institutions on the Government's ability to fulfil the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

No assessment has been made. Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from the Government, and are responsible for their own staffing and recruitment decisions.We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time and will continue to work closely with partners in the higher education sector to do so. Later this year, we will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

What the annual cost is for using Hospedia for patients in each NHS trust in England; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national policy on the use of television in hospital.

No data is collected centrally on the annual cost for using Hospedia or the provision of bedside television and similar services by the National Health Service.NHS providers are locally responsible for the provision of bedside television and similar services, including the charges for them. If patients do not wish to, or are unable to afford the cost of the bedside television, they should still be able to watch the free to view television via their own devices and local hospital Wi-Fi, or in the hospital day rooms or communal areas.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the closure of hyperbaric chambers on regional health inequalities.

We are committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for any patient who requires hyperbaric oxygen therapy. NHS England set out their assessment of service requirements in their commissioning intentions during the public consultation which took place in September 2024. Further information on the public consultation is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/reviewing-hyperbaric-oxygen-services-consultation-guide/#:~:text=Background-,Background,Manual%20of%20Prescribed%20Specialised%20ServicesThe reconfiguration of services ensures service provision which meets optimal time to treatment guidelines, in which providers must be located no more than four hours, based on 200 miles radial distance, from the coast and four hours from the next nearest commissioned provider.We actively encourage individuals and organisations to register as stakeholders to ensure a full range of views are included in any service developments. Stakeholders can register their interest in services commissioned by NHS England on their website, at the following link:https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/application/crg-stakeholder-reg-april-2019/The published Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment sets out an evaluation, including access to services, and where appropriate action was taken to ensure fair access to any patient who requires this service. Further information on the Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2.1-Hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-equality-and-health-inequalities-impact-assessment.pdf

If he will take steps to implement a heart disease action plan.

We are committed to ensuring that fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, such as heart disease, which includes cardiovascular disease (CVD), and stroke. That is why in our Health Mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we have committed to reducing deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter within ten years.We are taking steps to reduce heart disease. The NHS Long Term Plan set an aim to prevent up to 150,000 heart attacks, strokes, and dementia cases by 2029, and activity is underway. The NHS Health Check programme, England’s CVD prevention programme, engages over 1.3 million people a year and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks or strokes each year. To improve access and engagement with the NHS Health Check, we are developing a new digital service which people can use at home to understand and act on their CVD risk, providing people with a more flexible, accessible, and convenient service. We are also piloting a new programme to deliver more than 130,000 lifesaving heart health checks in the workplace. These checks can be completed quickly and easily by people at work across 48 local authorities until 31 March 2025.

What steps he is taking to reduce ambulance waiting times.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.As a first step, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities

Whether any of the increased funding for the NHS, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, is ring-fenced for ambulance services.

The National Health Service’s funding increases have not been ring-fenced in that way. Ring-fencing funding restricts the freedom of integrated care boards to take decisions based on the specific circumstances of their local populations.