Written questions by Goldman.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce disparities in maternal mortality rates between women from different ethnic backgrounds.

The Department recognises that there are stark inequalities for women and babies, and that they should receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location, or ethnicity. Stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates remain higher for mothers in more deprived areas.A number of interventions specifically aimed at addressing maternal and neonatal inequalities are underway. These include the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme, delivery of an inequalities dashboard, and projects on removing racial bias from clinical education and embedding genetic risk equity. Additionally, all local areas have published Equity and Equality action plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.We are putting in place immediate actions to improve safety across maternity and neonatal care, which includes the implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle. This bundle is a package of evidence-based interventions to support staff to reduce stillbirth, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and pre-term births. It includes guidance on managing multiple pregnancies to ensure optimal care for the woman and baby.NHS England is also introducing a Maternal Mortality Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services and address the leading causes of maternal mortality. Women from black and Asian backgrounds are more at risk of specific clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death. This bundle will target these conditions, and we expect a decline in deaths and harm.To further target disparities in maternal care, Baroness Amos is chairing the National Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. The investigation aims to identify the drivers and impact of inequalities faced by women, babies, and families from black and Asian backgrounds, those from deprived groups, and those from other marginalised groups when receiving maternity and neonatal care.The Government is also setting up a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to address inequalities in maternal and neonatal care and to promote health equity in the delivery of those services.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of socioeconomic inequality on (a) stillbirth and (b) neonatal mortality rates; and what cross-government action is being taken to address this.

The Department recognises that there are stark inequalities for women and babies, and that they should receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location, or ethnicity. Stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates remain higher for mothers in more deprived areas.A number of interventions specifically aimed at addressing maternal and neonatal inequalities are underway. These include the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme, delivery of an inequalities dashboard, and projects on removing racial bias from clinical education and embedding genetic risk equity. Additionally, all local areas have published Equity and Equality action plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.We are putting in place immediate actions to improve safety across maternity and neonatal care, which includes the implementation of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle. This bundle is a package of evidence-based interventions to support staff to reduce stillbirth, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and pre-term births. It includes guidance on managing multiple pregnancies to ensure optimal care for the woman and baby.NHS England is also introducing a Maternal Mortality Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services and address the leading causes of maternal mortality. Women from black and Asian backgrounds are more at risk of specific clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death. This bundle will target these conditions, and we expect a decline in deaths and harm.To further target disparities in maternal care, Baroness Amos is chairing the National Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. The investigation aims to identify the drivers and impact of inequalities faced by women, babies, and families from black and Asian backgrounds, those from deprived groups, and those from other marginalised groups when receiving maternity and neonatal care.The Government is also setting up a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to address inequalities in maternal and neonatal care and to promote health equity in the delivery of those services.

With reference to the removal of ring-fenced funding for maternity services at Integrated Care Board level, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that maternity safety improvements are maintained.

The Government has instructed the National Health Service to improve maternity services, as part of a drive to improve quality, as a priority in the Medium‑Term Planning Framework.While the ringfence has been removed, the same level of funding is being delivered to allow local healthcare system leaders more autonomy to meet the needs of their local population. This approach is consistent with our wider approach to give local healthcare leaders, who are best placed to decide how to serve their local community, more flexibility.Baroness Amos is leading a rapid, independent investigation in NHS Maternity and Neonatal services to help us understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care. The investigation will look into the maternity and neonatal system nationally, bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of recommendations. This will also include local investigations of maternity and neonatal services in selected trusts.On 9 December, Baroness Amos published reflections on what she has heard so far as part of the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, following engagement with women and families. Baroness Amos’ reflections and initial findings are available at the following link:https://www.matneoinv.org.uk/

When his Department plans to publish the review of adult gender services.

We know that adults questioning their gender face long waiting lists for a first appointment at National Health Service adult gender services.Dr David Levy’s Review of NHS Adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics will identify areas for improvement in relation to service quality, good practice that could be shared with other clinics, and any support that should be made available to services to assist improvement.NHS England aims to publish the Review of Adult Gender Services in due course.

Whether his Department collects data on (a) dental access and (b) treatment outcomes for people born with a cleft lip and/or palate.

Data is not held centrally on dental access and treatment outcomes for people born with a cleft. We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems, including patients with clefts.NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. A copy of the Cleft Lip and/or Palate Services including Non-Cleft Velopharyngeal Dysfunction (VPD) (All Ages) Service Specification is attached.

If he will take steps to ensure that dentists have adequate knowledge and training to treat people born with cleft (a) lips and (b) palates.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Yeovil on 20 November 2025 to Question 90537.

What steps he is taking to ensure that hospitals have sufficient capacity for patients.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning healthcare services, including hospitals, to meet the needs of their local populations. We are asking trusts to place a special focus on reducing bed occupancy ahead of Christmas, creating additional capacity and improving patient flow.The New Hospital Programme (NHP) will build “right-sized” hospitals, based on robust assumptions appropriate for local health needs that support the shift from hospital to community. The NHP has developed a National Health Service demand and capacity model which reflects changes in demographics, including predictions for population growth, which will underpin assumptions when right-sizing hospitals. The NHP Plan for Implementation, published on the GOV.UK website, sets out the delivery timeline for the schemes in the programme. Further information on the NHP Plan for Implementation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementation

What his Department’s timescale is for the publication of data on incidences of corridor care.

The Government is committed to tackling the corridor care in our National Health Service. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June, set out the steps we are taking to improve accident and emergency waiting times, including the commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care. NHS England has been working with trusts to put in place new reporting arrangements related to the use of corridor care, to drive improvement. The data quality is currently being reviewed, and the information will be published shortly.

What steps he is taking to ensure that people born with cleft (a) lips and (b) palates have access to appropriate dental care.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Eastleigh on 21 November 2025 to Question 89684.

Whether his Department will take steps to help ensure that health (a) boards and (b) trusts (i) collect and (ii) publish data on the provision of respiratory diagnostics.

Activity and waiting times for the main respiratory tests, for instance spirometry and lung function tests, are not included in the National Diagnostic Activity and Waiting Times Collection.However, NHS England undertakes a number of internal assurance data collection exercises on activity and waiting times. The National Diagnostic Programme undertakes an annual snap-shot data collection on respiratory diagnostics to understand the levels of activity and waiting times for a range of respiratory tests within trusts across England.NHS England’s Respiratory Programme, in collaboration with national stakeholders, has also developed a standardised spirometry data capture template. This tool is designed to support integrated care boards in consistently recording and reporting spirometry activity, enabling improved oversight, service planning, and equitable access to respiratory diagnostics.There are no current plans to publish these collections.

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

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.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle staff shortages in cancer care.

We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this. We will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer.NHS England is currently improving the recruitment of radiographers and radiologists to improve earlier diagnosis and treatment of cancer, through a range of different initiatives. This includes increasing priority medical specialities, including clinical oncologists. We are also supporting employers to train new radiographers through the apprenticeship pathway. Furthermore, we will ensure that imaging training academies can increase training capacity in addition to reforming training to support rapid development for both radiologists and radiographers.

What steps he is taking to ensure the NHS is sufficiently staffed over summer holiday periods.

Individual NHS Trusts and other providers are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient staff to provide safe care.Trusts already have a duty to regularly review the number of staff and range of skills needed to safely meet the needs of people using their services.

If he will implement localised reporting of CAMHS (a) funding and (b) performance.

Every local integrated care board (ICB) has a legal duty to produce an annual report on how it has discharged its functions in the previous financial year. This provides the opportunity for ICBs to demonstrate the full breadth of their work with people and communities and involves people and communities in decision-making, and includes working with children and young people.

When his Department plans to publish (a) the full impact assessment and (b) equality impact assessment of the changes to the length of time between cervical cancer screenings.

Both the impact assessment and the equality impact assessment on the changes to the frequency of cervical screening have been published and are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-risk-stratification-impact-assessments

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of provisions for involuntary mental health interventions for children and young adults.

Our aim is to ensure that children and young people are only detained under the Mental Health Act for involuntary mental health interventions when it is absolutely necessary. The Mental Health Bill, currently being considered by the House of Commons, will strengthen the rights of children and young people detained under the act so they are involved in decisions about their care and so they can challenge these decisions. This includes statutory care and treatment plans, the right to choose a ‘Nominated Person’ to look after their interests, and expanded access to independent mental health advocates. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we are focussing treatment away from hospital and inpatient care and improving community and crisis services, so that fewer children and young people need to be detained in hospital. We will also take action to ensure that young people in mental health inpatient settings are supported through a safe and effective transition to adult mental health services, to ensure they are treated with more dignity, given a greater say in their care, and that their health, education, and social needs are appropriately met.

What steps he is taking to reduce therapy waiting times for young people with mental health challenges.

The Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more early interventions, and getting waiting lists down so children can have the best possible start in life. We are delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 staff across children and adult mental health services by the end of the Parliament, with 6,700 of these extra workers having been recruited since July 2024.We also want to intervene much earlier to support better outcomes for children and young people. That is why the 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by expanding mental health support teams in schools to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30, and by embedding mental health support in the new Young Futures hubs, to ensure there is no 'wrong front door' for people seeking help.Additionally, we are continuing to provide top-up funding of £7 million to 24 existing early support hubs to expand their services and to take part in an ongoing evaluation of these services in 2025/26. This funding will enable the supported hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported.

If he will take legislative steps to ensure vapes have a minimum number of refill options to be defined as reusable.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs introduced a ban on single use vapes on 1 June, which ensures that all products must be designed and intended to be reused. To be refillable, a product should have a replaceable pod or a tank that a user can add liquid to.To compliment this and tackle youth vaping, the Department for Health and Social Care is also taking powers through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to enable regulation of many features of the design of a vape. This may include regulations on the size of a tank or refill container, the amount of liquid that can be included, as well as powers to standardise the size and shape of vapes, and to further restrict liquid availability.The Government will consider this issue further as part of its secondary legislation programme following Royal Assent of the bill.

What plans his Department has for supporting community pharmacy, in the context of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. The Government is clear that it wants to make full use of the skill sets of both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help patients, which is why the Government has laid legislation that enables all pharmacies to use hub and spoke dispensing and will shortly lay legislation to enable the better use of people with mixed skills. This builds on the legislation to allow pharmacies to dispense in original packs and for pharmacy technicians to supply medicines. All of these measures support pharmacists to provide more care in the communities they serve and supports the Government’s ambition to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting close to home. We have also improved and continue to work on the digital transfer of information between settings, allowing pharmacies to have access to patient records and to record the outcomes of the care they provide, supporting another of our ambitions to move from analogue to digital. The 10 year plan will build on these foundations and set out how we will build a health service fit for the future.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework funding settlement for 2024-25 and 2025-26 on future levels of pharmacy closures.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework funding settlement for 2024/25 and 2025/26 provides the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service representing a 19.7% increase, with the total of £3.073 billion committed to community pharmacies.The individual financial positions of pharmacy contractors are not visible to the Government. It is therefore not possible for the impact on pharmacy closures to be quantified. However, we expect that this significant increase in funding will support contractors and begin to stabilise a sector that has been neglected for too long. This settlement was agreed with Community Pharmacy England as the representatives for the community pharmacy sector.