Written questions by Foxcroft.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of drug and alcohol addiction treatment services in a) Lewisham North constituency, b) London and c) England.

The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need.Local authorities are responsible for commissioning alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. As a condition of the Public Health Grant, local authorities are responsible for improving the uptake of, and outcomes from, their drug and alcohol treatment services, based on an assessment of local need and a plan which has been developed with local health and criminal justice partners. Over the next three years, through the Public Health Grant, we are providing local authorities with £3.4 billion of ringfenced funding for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery.The Department delivers a robust monitoring and assurance programme, and quality improvement interventions, for local authorities commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services. The number of adults in treatment is now the highest since reporting began, with the latest annual statistics showing that between April 2024 and March 2025 there were 329,646 adults aged 18 years old and over in contact with community drug and alcohol treatment services. Of this total, in London there were 45,873 adults in treatment, 9% higher than the previous year, and in Lewisham there were 1,910, 28% higher than the previous year.

If his Department will conduct a longitudinal study of people treated with puberty blocking medication prior to its ban in 2024 to identify any issues before beginning another trial.

The Government is committed to supporting research that delivers a more robust, evidence-based understanding of gender incongruence support and treatment, especially for children and young people. The Cass Review received cross-party support and highlighted remaining significant gaps in clinical evidence. The PATHWAYS study positively responds to the Cass Review’s recommendation that a trial of puberty suppressing hormones should be taken forward urgently as part of a wider programme of research.We are supporting the National Health Service in delivering this programme of research, to ensure research is embedded at the heart of new children and young people’s gender services as they are shaped. One element of the programme of research is a data linkage study.The data linkage study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. This study requires no active patient participation and may provide useful insights on the experience and outcomes of former child gender service patients. It is important to highlight that as the study is not designed as a comparative clinical trial, it will not provide direct evidence on the cause or effect of any individual treatment approach, nor provide evidence relating to any treatment’s safety or efficacy. The data linkage study and the PATHWAYS clinical trial are separate, with different designs and purposes within a wider research programme.

What steps he is taking to ensure new Neighbourhood Health Services support people living with (a) arthritis and (b) other musculoskeletal conditions.

Improving health and work outcomes of people with arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions will help deliver the Government’s missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.The 10-Year Health plan sets out our vision for a neighbourhood health service. Neighbourhood teams will bring together professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care staff, pharmacists and health visitors, to provide comprehensive care that fits around people’s lives. Neighbourhood health approaches can help ensure that people with MSK conditions receive more personalised and coordinated support, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and enabling earlier, community-based interventions. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and involve NHS, local authority and voluntary sector services.People with MSK conditions will also soon be able to bypass their general practitioners (GPs) and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions including arthritis, backpain and joint pain, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up general practices.We have launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, which will support systems across the country by driving innovation and integration at a local level, to accelerate improvements in outcomes, satisfaction and experience for people by ensuring that care is more joined up, accessible and responsive to community needs.

What steps he is taking to ensure that patients with a high body mass index are able to access joint replacement surgery in line with NICE guidelines.

The Department has made no specific assessment of this criterion alone.As with all surgery, body mass index would be considered as part of a holistic, personalised, perioperative evaluation of the risks versus the clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, body mass index should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.For example, blanket body mass index thresholds for surgery should not be in place or used as a means of determining eligibility for surgery.As part of the NHS Elective Reform Plan there is a commitment to expand access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery.

How the upcoming NHS Workforce plan will ensure recruitment and retention of the rheumatology workforce.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. To support this, the Department and NHS England will be engaging with key stakeholders to ensure that the particular needs of different patient groups and relevant health professionals are reflected in this work.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of body mass index criteria as a means to accessing treatment such as joint replacement surgery.

The Department has made no specific assessment of this criterion alone.As with all surgery, body mass index would be considered as part of a holistic, personalised, perioperative evaluation of the risks versus the clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, body mass index should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.For example, blanket body mass index thresholds for surgery should not be in place or used as a means of determining eligibility for surgery.As part of the NHS Elective Reform Plan there is a commitment to expand access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery.

What steps his Department plans to take to include people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in the development of employment support programmes.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million of investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November and will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group, so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.Measures include support from work coaches and disability employment advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through employment advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, individual placement and support in primary care, and WorkWell.