Written questions by Hunt.

What steps he is taking to ensure that women accessing care for (a) menopause and (b) menstrual disorders via the NHS online hospital can be referred efficiently to in-person specialist services when needed.

NHS Online will be a new, optional online service allowing patients to digitally connect with clinicians across England. When a patient is referred to NHS Online, should a consultation be required, they will see the next available specialist, who may be anywhere in the country. For patients who are diagnosed with menopause or menstrual disorders conditions, where the NHS Online clinician determines that in-person specialist services are the appropriate treatment, they will be transferred to appropriate local services, including in-person specialist care.Patients will always have the choice of face-to-face appointments, and those who need physical examinations or procedures will continue to receive them either at hospital or local hubs nearby. If a patient displays more complex symptoms after the original referral to NHS Online, then they can be referred back on to a more traditional pathway.

What estimate his Department has made of the workforce required to provide specialist women’s health services through the NHS online hospital.

Analysis shows that the anticipated workforce available to provide women’s health services through the NHS online hospital, provides enough capacity to meet the demand for the service in the first three years.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NHS online hospital on women’s health inequalities.

Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, adenomyosis, or pelvic infection, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.NHS Online will be unconstrained by geographical boundaries, able to better align clinical capacity with patient demand, and will help tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system by ending the postcode lottery of care and waiting times, including for women’s health issues. Once referred by their general practitioner, patients can be seen quickly by National Health Service specialists online. Remote consultations, follow-ups, and condition management can be delivered digitally. Streamlined pathways will shorten delays between referral and treatment and help patients start their care sooner.NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.NHS Online is undertaking a detailed equality health impact assessment to assess the impacts of the service, and is working with patients and carers to ensure that these are addressed. Patient choice remains central to care. NHS Online will enhance patient choice with in-person care always available for those who prefer and for those whose care needs require it.Before NHS Online goes live, the NHS will learn from existing research on patient experience of online care over the last five years and build it into the programme as it develops. The programme is being developed with a commitment to patient partnership in design and delivery. We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector, which represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/hwalliance/Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the NHS online hospital on levels of regional variation in gynaecology waiting times.

Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, adenomyosis, or pelvic infection, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.NHS Online will be unconstrained by geographical boundaries, able to better align clinical capacity with patient demand, and will help tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system by ending the postcode lottery of care and waiting times, including for women’s health issues. Once referred by their general practitioner, patients can be seen quickly by National Health Service specialists online. Remote consultations, follow-ups, and condition management can be delivered digitally. Streamlined pathways will shorten delays between referral and treatment and help patients start their care sooner.NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.NHS Online is undertaking a detailed equality health impact assessment to assess the impacts of the service, and is working with patients and carers to ensure that these are addressed. Patient choice remains central to care. NHS Online will enhance patient choice with in-person care always available for those who prefer and for those whose care needs require it.Before NHS Online goes live, the NHS will learn from existing research on patient experience of online care over the last five years and build it into the programme as it develops. The programme is being developed with a commitment to patient partnership in design and delivery. We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector, which represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/hwalliance/Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.The Department funds research and research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into cancers.NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest.The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across the country. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials, on for example pancreatic cancer, to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.

What steps he is taking to (a) prioritise research into pancreatic cancer and (b) encourage innovations in earlier diagnosis.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and in 2024/25, spent £141.6 million on cancer research, signalling its high priority. This includes studies that focus specifically on pancreatic cancer as well as studies that are relevant to or include pancreatic cancer. For example, between the 2020/21 to 2024/25 financial years, the NIHR committed £1.5 million to specific pancreatic cancer studies.One instance of this is ongoing research funded by the NIHR which aims into improve the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by utilising artificial intelligence as well as reducing instances of missed cancer.The NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, including facilities, services, and the research workforce, supported the delivery of 160 pancreatic cancer research studies and enabled over 8,200 people to participate in potentially life-changing research during this time period. This includes support for the PemOla trial, which is the first to explore using precision immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer.The Office for Life Sciences’ Cancer Healthcare Goals programme aims to maximise and direct global industrial investment for the development and acceleration of new cancer diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and devices in the United Kingdom through: providing research investments to support the development of innovations in the early stages of the development pathway and; supporting industry to accelerate cancer diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and devices in the latter stages of development into the National Health Service.The programme launched the £10.9 million NIHR i4i Cancer Healthcare Goals: Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation Call. This has funded six projects which are developing breakthrough technologies that can increase the proportion of cancers which are detected earlier in the disease course and/or target health inequalities in cancer diagnosis.This includes the miONCO-Dx multi-cancer early detection test, developed by XGenera, which can identify 12 of the most lethal and common cancers, including pancreatic cancer, at even the earliest stages from just 100 microlitres of blood. This technology is currently testing the diagnostic test accuracy on over 20,000 patient samples with promising early results.The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome high quality funding applications into pancreatic cancer.

When he plans to publish the report into the cost of clinical negligence being prepared by David Lock KC.

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office’s report.The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps in due course.

If she will support the proposal made by the Netherlands government to amend the shoulder height requirements in regulation R129 at the upcoming 77th meeting of the UN Working Party on Passive Safety in Geneva in December.

The Department for Transport noted the informal document presented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the 77th meeting of the UNECE Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP) in May 2025 to amend Regulation 129 on Child Restraint Systems. An associated working document was published on 23 September for the 78th meeting of GRSP in December. The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Where there is clear evidence of a substantial safety issue related to the design of vehicle accessories, the Department will consider positively the evolution of international regulations and will assess this proposal carefully in advance of the next meeting of GRSP.

When he plans to announce the funding support for children’s hospices for 2026-27 onwards.

Children and young people’s hospices do incredible work to support seriously ill children and their families and loved ones when they need it most, and we recognise the incredibly tough pressures they are facing.We are providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which, until recently, was known as the Children’s Hospice Grant.I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next spending review period, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children’s and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.This revenue funding is intended to be spent by hospices to provide high-quality care and support for the children and the families they care for, either in the hospice or in the community, including in children's homes. They can, for example, use this funding for providing respite care for children who have high health needs, by providing physiotherapy or occupational therapy, or by providing 24/7 nursing support for a child at the end of their life.We are also 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.

Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of removing the customs duty on mastectomy bras.

The UK’s tariff schedule, known as the UK Global Tariff (UKGT), adheres to global classification standards. Those classify mastectomy bras under a commodity code that covers a range of other textiles.We continue to monitor the UKGT to ensure our Most Favoured Nation tariff schedule functions as effectively as possible, supports domestic priorities, and provides a stable operating environment for businesses.Businesses are able to request the partial or full liberalisation of the import duty applied to the products under this commodity code, including mastectomy bras, either through the online feedback form or the next business suspensions window.

Innovation and Technology, what progress he has made on AI collaboration with Anthropic since 14 February 2025.

The Department has continued to deepen its collaboration with Anthropic as part of its broader strategy to strengthen the UK’s sovereign AI capabilities. This partnership forms part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring the UK is an AI maker, not just a taker. Through the Sovereign AI Unit, DSIT is working with Anthropic and other frontier AI companies to shape the development of strategically important capabilities, leveraging the UK’s strengths in talent, data and investment to secure economic and technological advantage.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the Rt hon. Member for Godalming and Ash of 3 April 2025 requesting a meeting with the Minister for Housing and Planning to discuss the Community Infrastructure Levy.

As set out in previous replies to the Rt Hon Member on this subject, my Department is continuing to review the issues highlighted in the correspondence shared as part of the government’s commitment to strength the existing system of developer contributions. I would be more than happy to meet with the Rt Hon Member and my office has contacted his with a view to finding a mutually convenient date and time.

What steps he is taking to increase support for Ukraine.

This year the UK will give more military support to Ukraine than ever before, with a £4.5 billion boost. At the 27th Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, we announced a rapid surge in support, valued at around £450 million. This follows the £2.26 billion loan agreement with Ukraine earmarked for military spending. We are absolutely committed to securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

When he will implement the recommended compensation schemes for victims of (a) pelvic mesh implants, (b) sodium valproate, and (c) Primodos made by the Hughes report.

The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.The Patient Safety Commissioner was not asked to look at redress for hormone pregnancy tests as part of her recent report. The causal link between the use of hormone pregnancy tests during pregnancy and adverse outcomes in pregnancy has not been demonstrated. However, we are committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence that comes to light.We remain hugely sympathetic to the families who believe that they or their children have suffered following the use of hormone pregnancy tests.

What recent progress she has made on completing feasibility studies to provide step-free access to Ash Vale Station.

The feasibility work for Ash Vale station is underway and we expect all 50 of the feasibility studies announced last year to be complete in the spring. We expect to be able to confirm which stations will move forward over the summer. The Access for All programme continues to be heavily oversubscribed.We remain committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the valuable social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas.

Through the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver 4G connectivity where there is limited or no coverage.Beyond this, our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030.We are working with Ofcom and the industry to ensure we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition in the market, including more accurate coverage reporting.

When his Department plans to publish its final response to its Duty of candour review.

The Government is supportive of the review it inherited into the effectiveness and implementation of the statutory duty of candour for health and social care providers.We are clear that the duty needs to act as a catalyst for providers to improve openness and commit to a learning culture. The aim of the review is to examine how all providers and their leaders can act upon that duty consistently and effectively.We are using the findings of our consultation on manager regulation, which closed on 18 February 2025, to help inform the final response to the review on the statutory duty of candour. The Government is preparing its consultation response, and we intend to publish the final duty of candour review report once the consultation response has been published.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the timely publication of the 2023-24 report by NHS England on learning from lives and deaths: people with a learning disability and autistic people.

NHS England commissions Kings College London and its partners to analyse data from the publication, Learning from Lives and Deaths: People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People. The annual report is published by Kings College London, which is currently working on the next annual report and NHS England advises it will publish this shortly. The last report was published in November 2023 and is available at the following link:https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/assets/fans-dept/leder-2022-v2.0.pdf

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving Ukrainians with temporary residence the option to apply for visas longer than 18 months.

We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine to assist in the rebuilding of that country. It is important our approach respects these wishes.This is why the temporary Ukraine Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK.We will, of course, continue to keep the Ukraine schemes under review in line with developments in Ukraine.There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements.

What proportion of NHS Secondary Care Trusts are reporting all of the legally required elements of the Learning from Deaths national guidance.

This information is not collected centrally. All National Health Service trusts, apart from NHS ambulance trusts, are required to meet the reporting requirements in The National Health Service (Quality Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 relating to na...