Written questions by Maguire.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure residents living (a) with and (b) beyond cancer receive (i) timely and (ii) personalised support following a cancer diagnosis in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

It is a priority for the Government and the National Health Service to improve support for people who are living with cancer, and for those people who have been through cancer treatment, in England, including in the Epsom and Ewell constituency.NHS England has committed to ensuring that every person diagnosed with cancer has access to personalised care. This includes needs assessments, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. Through the provision of information, personalised care empowers people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer. This approach ensures that each person’s care is planned holistically, covering mental and physical health, as well as any practical or financial concerns.The National Cancer Plan, which is planned for publication in the new year, will seek to improve the experience and outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer. The plan will look at how the National Health Service can improve personalised support, so that people living with cancer feel informed and in control of their care.

What support his Department is providing to Epsom Hospital to (a) recruit and (b) retain specialist (i) cancer nurses and (ii) other cancer workforce.

The Government and NHS England are taking action ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it including at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.In 2024/25, an estimated 8,000 people received training to either enter the cancer and diagnostics workforce or develop in their roles. As part of this, over 1,600 people were on apprenticeship courses, with over 270 additional medical specialty training places funded. Over 1,000 Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) grants were made available to new and aspiring CNSs.NHS England works with regions and other local delivery partners to support education and training across the cancer workforce. This includes a providing an allocation funding based on a fair geographical split to regional workforce leads for the provision of grants for clinical nurse specialist training. NHS England has also been expanding specialty training places in key professions, including histopathology, clinical radiology, and gastroenterology. Targeted national campaigns and outreach activities, for example in clinical oncology, also promote cancer career pathways, with a focus on increasing applications.To improve retention, NHS England is investing in structured career development and education support. The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme provides a nationally agreed framework for capability, career development, and education for nurses, allied health professionals, and the support workforce working in cancer care.

If he will take steps to include policies on neighbourhood cancer care within the national cancer plan that help to reduce health inequalities.

Bringing cancer care into the Neighbourhood Health Service is an important part of our forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, enabling cancer patients to be treated and cared for closer to home.The National Cancer Plan will seek to make cancer care easier, more local, and more responsive. Rather than requiring endless trips to hospitals, cancer care will happen as locally as it can. This means digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and in a hospital if necessary. As a larger proportion of England’s population survives cancer, this new model offers the potential for a higher quality of life, so that people in England to live longer, better lives after cancer diagnosis.We know that currently cancer patients in England face a range of inequalities in access to cancer care. The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will work with organisations representing communities that experience health inequalities, to ensure that cancer care in neighbourhoods and other settings meets the needs of all cancer patients across England.

If he will take steps to include policies on improving long-term quality of life for people who (a) have and (b) have had cancer within the national cancer plan.

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, as well as prevention and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. The National Cancer Plan will build on the three shifts set out by the 10-Year Health Plan. These shifts will enable rapid progress on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, as well as supporting those living with cancer to better manage their condition and improve their quality of life.The National Cancer Plan will aim to improve how the physical and psychosocial needs of people with cancer can be met, with a focus on personalised care to improve quality of life. It will address how the experience of care can be improved for those diagnosed, treated, and living with and beyond cancer.

Whether he plans to include a framework for neighbourhood cancer care within the national cancer plan.

Bringing cancer care into the Neighbourhood Health Service is an important part of our forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, enabling cancer patients to be treated and cared for closer to home.The National Cancer Plan will seek to make cancer care easier, more local, and more responsive. Rather than requiring endless trips to hospitals, cancer care will happen as locally as it can. This means digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and in a hospital if necessary. As a larger proportion of England’s population survives cancer, this new model offers the potential for a higher quality of life, so that people in England to live longer, better lives after cancer diagnosis.We know that currently cancer patients in England face a range of inequalities in access to cancer care. The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will work with organisations representing communities that experience health inequalities, to ensure that cancer care in neighbourhoods and other settings meets the needs of all cancer patients across England.

What information his Department holds on the expected timeline for the TRANSFORM trial to produce actionable evidence to inform UK National Screening Committee policy on prostate cancer screening.

The Government and Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) have announced the £42 million TRANSFORM screening trial to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer to find it before it becomes advanced and harder to treat. PCUK is managing the award on behalf of the funders, with the Government contributing £16 million through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).The UK National Screening Committee is working closely with the TRANSFORM trial team and will assess new evidence as it becomes available. This will ensure that prostate cancer policy is kept at the forefront of the Government’s cancer agenda. Although the TRANSFORM trial will run for over a decade, PCUK anticipate initial findings within the next three years.The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including prostate cancer.

Whether his Department is taking steps to provide hospices with funding to raise staff pay in line with nationally agreed NHS pay rises.

The impact that National Health Service pay uplifts will have on the hospice sector will depend on the structure of the charity, including the number of employees and salary levels.Independent organisations, such as charities and social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face if they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract.NHS England has issued guidance on the implementation of the 2024/25 pay awards. Providers of NHS-commissioned services should direct questions to their commissioners, their local integrated care board or NHS England regional team, on the application to their specific contract arrangements.

When he plans to respond to the consultation entitled Proposal for a tie-in to NHS dentistry for graduate dentists, published on 23 May 2024.

As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the National Health Service for a minimum period, which we intend to be at least three years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments, and better oral health.We will be working closely with the sector on the detail of the scheme, and will consult on the detail of the model in due course. This will include publication of the Government’s response to the 2024 consultation.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospice contracts reflect the (a) cost of the services they provide and (b) needs of their local populations.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.  NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.The Department and NHS England are currently working at pace to develop plans on how best to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10- Year Health Plan.Additionally, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also committing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over the next three financial years, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients.

What progress his Department has made on reducing the rate of (a) stillbirths and (b) (i) neonatal and (ii) maternal deaths in England by 50% by 2030.

The national maternity safety ambition is to reduce the rates of stillbirth, neonatal and maternal mortality, and infant brain injury to half of the 2010 rates by 2025, and to reduce the rate of preterm birth to 6% by 2025. These aims are unlikely to be met, and while considerable progress has been made overall in reducing the stillbirth rate and neonatal mortality rate since 2010, both rates increased in 2021, and progress has since stalled. There has also been an increase in maternal mortality.The national maternity safety ambition for stillbirths is to halve the 2010 rate by 2025, down to 2.5 stillbirths per 1,000 births. The most recent figure is 3.8 stillbirths per 1,000 births in 2024. In addition, the safety ambition for neonatal death is to halve the 2010 rate by 2025, down to one neonatal death per 1,000 live births. The most recent figure is 1.4 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. Finally, the safety ambition for maternal mortality is to halve the 2010 rate by 2025, down to 5.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 maternities. The most recent figure is 12.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 maternities in 2021 to 2023.On 23 June 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent, national investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care.We are also taking action now, including: a new Maternity Outcome Signalling System that will flag unusually high rates of term stillbirth, neonatal death, and brain injury to prompt rapid review of any safety concerns; developing a Maternal Care Bundle to tackle the main causes of maternal death and harm; and piloting Martha’s Rule in maternity and neonatal units in 14 trusts in six regions.

What steps he is taking to increase NHS England's baseline number of speciality training places in (a) clinical radiology and (b) clinical oncology.

The 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July, set out that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.

How many cancer patients are waiting for radiotherapy treatment in (a) England and (b) Surrey for which the latest data is available.

The information is not available in the format requested. Information on the 31-day cancer treatment waiting time standard, including the number of patients who received radiotherapy and whether their treatment was within the 31-days, is available for England and the Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board (ICB). The following table shows the number of people receiving radiotherapy for cancer, as of August 2025, for England and the Surrey Heartlands ICB:AreaTotalWithin 31 daysPercentage treated within 31 daysEngland10,7989,62989.2%Surrey Heartlands ICB22321395.5%Source: NHS England’s Cancer Waiting Times statistics: Commissioner Based, August 2025, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/AUGUST-2025-CWT-CRS-COMMISSIONER-WORKBOOK-PROVISIONAL.xlsx

What steps his Department is taking to support the wellbeing of staff working in A&E.

The health and wellbeing of National Health Service staff, including those working in accident and emergency departments is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will roll out staff treatment hubs to ensure all staff have access to high quality occupational health support, including for mental health. To further support this ambition, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

How many eligible women have not had a breast cancer screening in (a) England and (b) Surrey for which the latest data is available.

The latest available screening data, for 2023/24, shows that in England, 6.69 million women were eligible for breast screening. Over 70%, or 4.6 million, of these eligible women had a breast screening result recorded within that last three-year period. Approximately 30%, or 1.97 million, of these eligible women did not have a breast screening test result recorded in that last three-year period.In the 2023/24 screening year in Surrey, 141,778 women were eligible for breast screening and 71.3%, or 101,088, had a breast screening result recorded within that last three-year period. This is higher than the national coverage of 70%. Approximately 28.7%, or 40,690, of these eligible women did not have a breast screening result recorded within that last three-year period in Surrey.

What information his Department holds on the number of women who suffered baby loss between 2020 and 2025.

Baby loss can include miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, and neonatal death. Official statistics published by the Office for National Statistics on stillbirths and neonatal deaths are available at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/childhoodinfantandperinatalmortalityinenglandandwales/2023 NHS England does not hold comprehensive data on miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies as it is not consistently or officially counted in the same way as live births, stillbirths, or neonatal deaths. The Maternity Services Data Set records information from the point of a person booking an appointment for maternity care and therefore does not include losses prior to contact with National Health Service maternity services, nor is the data of sufficient quality and completeness to produce any counts data. Information on miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies resulting in a hospital stay is published in the Hospital Episodes Statistics, although not all such pregnancies will involve an NHS hospital stay and therefore will not be included, with further information available in Table 1i, named Miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies which resulted in an NHS hospital stay, in the document attached. The most recent available data shows that there were 31,046 finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of miscarriage in 2020/21, 33,352 in 2021/22, 33,126 in 2022/23, and 35,876 in 2023/24. In addition, there were 10,368 finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in 2020/21, 11,088 in 2021/22, 10,999 in 2022/23, and 12,122 in 2023/24.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making the National Bereavement Care Pathway training mandatory for all healthcare professionals that come into contact with families experiencing (a) pregnancy loss and (b) the death of a baby.

All trusts in England are signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, with the aim to ensure that all bereaved parents are offered equal, high quality, individualised, safe, and sensitive care.Training is the responsibility of individual trusts, overseen by their integrated care boards, so NHS England does not mandate its adoption.There is ongoing work between NHS England and Sands, the national charity for baby loss awareness who support families with baby loss, to explore the next steps for the pathway, and we will update in due course.Many trusts have specialist bereavement midwives, who are trained to care for and support parents and families who have suffered from the loss of their baby. Bereavement midwives are responsible for offering immediate and long-term emotional support, information, and practical guidance, at a time of great difficulty and sadness.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that cancer patients have effective radiotherapy treatment.

Radiotherapy is vital in cancer care, and it remains a key priority for the Government to provide the highest quality of treatment available. This is why the Government has invested £70 million of central funding on 28 new LINAC radiotherapy machines across the country to replace older, less efficient radiotherapy machines.

If he will review the inclusion of hormone replacement therapy within the prescription charge exemption list.

While there are no plans to review the inclusion of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) within the prescription charge exemption list, the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate is available for patients who are prescribed HRT on the National Health Service. The price of the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) is the equivalent of two single prescription charges, currently £19.80, and covers all qualifying prescribed HRT medicines for the 12-month period of its validity, representing significant saving for patients compared to the single prescription charge. In financial year 2024/25, approximately 13.3 million HRT items were dispensed without charge, either because they were covered by the HRT PPC or the patient held an exemption from prescription charges.There are over 70 HRT products, and the majority are in good supply. We are aware of shortages affecting Estradot (estradiol) patches. We are engaging with the supplier to expedite deliveries. We have issued guidance to healthcare professionals and Serious Shortage Protocols to enable community pharmacists to supply specified alternative estradiol patches.We will also be asking local authorities to include menopause in the NHS Health Check from 2026. This will support eligible women from across England to access high quality information on the menopause, including advice on managing symptoms and where to seek support.Further data on HRT prescriptions is available via the NHS Business Services Authority at the following link:https://nhsbsa-opendata.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/hrt/hrt_June_2025_v001.html

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) affordability of hormone replacement therapy; and what steps he is taking to reduce regional disparities in access to menopause-related healthcare.

While there are no plans to review the inclusion of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) within the prescription charge exemption list, the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate is available for patients who are prescribed HRT on the National Health Service. The price of the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) is the equivalent of two single prescription charges, currently £19.80, and covers all qualifying prescribed HRT medicines for the 12-month period of its validity, representing significant saving for patients compared to the single prescription charge. In financial year 2024/25, approximately 13.3 million HRT items were dispensed without charge, either because they were covered by the HRT PPC or the patient held an exemption from prescription charges.There are over 70 HRT products, and the majority are in good supply. We are aware of shortages affecting Estradot (estradiol) patches. We are engaging with the supplier to expedite deliveries. We have issued guidance to healthcare professionals and Serious Shortage Protocols to enable community pharmacists to supply specified alternative estradiol patches.We will also be asking local authorities to include menopause in the NHS Health Check from 2026. This will support eligible women from across England to access high quality information on the menopause, including advice on managing symptoms and where to seek support.Further data on HRT prescriptions is available via the NHS Business Services Authority at the following link:https://nhsbsa-opendata.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/hrt/hrt_June_2025_v001.html

What steps his Department is taking to (a) increase capacity and (b) reduce inequalities in accessing respiratory diagnoses.

The Government is committed to increasing the capacity of respiratory services and is improving access to these services through new community diagnostic centres (CDCs).All standard and large CDCs are required to offer diagnostic respiratory tests such as spirometry and full lung function tests as part of their core testing offer.The 2025/26 capital guidance confirmed that £1.65 billion of capital funding is being allocated to support National Health Service performance across secondary and emergency care across 2025/26 more broadly. This includes funding to enable the completion of 2024/25 CDC schemes, as well as to expand existing and build new CDCs.