18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedPursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65983 on NHS: Databases, what restrictions apply to external suppliers’ personnel accessing identifiable NHS patient data; and whether those restrictions have changed under the Federated Data Platform.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedPursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 60619 on NHS: Databases, how many external contractors have been granted elevated access permissions within the Federated Data Platform, broken down by organisation.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWith reference to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88027 on NHS: Databases, what logging systems are used to record and review access to identifiable patient data within the National Data Integration Tenant.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWith reference to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 60619 on NHS: Databases, if he will implement an independent audit arrangement to monitor access to identifiable patient data by external contractors working on the Federated Data Platform.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedPursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 60619, what assessment his Department has made of the necessity of granting elevated “admin-level” access to identifiable patient data to external contractors within the National Data Integration Tenant of the Federated Data Platform.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWith reference to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 60619, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of expanding high-level access permissions on the NHS principle of data minimisation.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedPursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88027, to introduce safeguards to govern access to identifiable patient data by non-NHS personnel within the Federated Data Platform.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWith reference to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88027, whether the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Federated Data Platform has been updated to reflect broader access roles for non-NHS users.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedPursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 60619, from what date external contractors have been granted elevated or admin-level access to identifiable patient data within the Federated Data Platform, and for how long such permissions have been in operation prior to their public reporting.
18 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWith reference to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88027 on NHS: Databases, how compliance with access controls for external contractors to NHS patient data is enforced and verified.
14 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWhat steps she is taking to improve diagnosis rates for infants and new-borns of type 1 diabetes.
13 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWhat steps she is taking to support residents who are suffering from alcoholic addiction in Newton Abbot.
13 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedIf he will bring forward legislative proposals to end the requirement for three miscarriages before pregnant women and people are offered support following a miscarriage.
13 May 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Pending
AskedWhat assessment he has made of the impact of the current NHS policy of only providing specialist support after three miscarriages on pregnant women and people's mental health and wellbeing.
21 Apr 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat plans he has for the NHS Federated Data Platform after 15 February 2027.
ReplyThe Medium-Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29 sets out the expectation that all providers and integrated care boards onboard to the NHS Federated Data Platform and start making use of core products, data capabilities, and population health management tools by 2028/29. The framework available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/The supplier contract will be reviewed this year in line with standard contract management processes, and a decision will be made on its extension.
13 Apr 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat the evidential basis is that shifting care into community settings will reduce waiting times and improve patient outcomes.
ReplyShifting care into community settings is at the heart of the Government’s efforts to modernise and improve productivity in the National Health Service. Our vision is for a new model of planned care that is local where possible. This shift will provide rapid access to patient-centred services.The Elective Reform Plan sets out our plan to deliver care in the right place, so patients are able to access the right care more quickly. This includes, for example, expanding the use of Advice and Guidance (A&G), which helps general practitioners and hospital specialists to work together to make the best treatment plans for patients, and decide whether a hospital referral is truly needed.Where the outcome of A&G is for care management in the community, we expect patients to be seen more quickly, closer to home, benefiting from earlier specialist input. Ensuring patients receive the right care the first time can reduce the waiting list, so that people who need hospital care can receive it in a timely manner.The plan is working. The waiting list has decreased to 7.22 million in February 2026, a drop of over 405,000 since July 2024. 18-week performance has improved by over 3% from the start of July 2024. The number of waits over 18 weeks has decreased to 2.7 million in February 2026, the lowest it’s been since July 2022.
13 Apr 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedHow NHS organisations will remain financially sustainable where activity is shifted out of acute settings.
ReplyLord Darzi’s independent investigation into the National Health Service in England identified that the NHS’s current financial trajectory is not sustainable, and that spending has risen sharply and productivity has fallen. We are clear that without reform, rising demand, an ageing population, and inefficiencies will cause the NHS to crowd out other public services, undermining long‑term sustainability of the NHS.The reforms we have set out in the 10-Year Health Plan will ensure that the NHS has long-term sustainability, by shifting from hospital to community care to deliver care that is cheaper and more effective, by shifting from analogue to digital to raise productivity and reduce unit costs, and by shifting from sickness to prevention. Our plan is to bend the cost curve in acute services, so that costs grow more slowly via a combination of shift activity to community settings and increasing productivity. As per existing funding arrangements, acute providers will be fully funded for all activity they undertake.To ensure that NHS organisations remain financially sustainable during these reforms, we have published the Medium-Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29, published in October 2025, which required integrated care boards and NHS providers to complete an integrated planning process with their three‑year numerical plans and five‑year narratives for the commissioning and delivery of NHS services, including the shift from hospital to community over this three year period. These plans will ensure that reform is delivered in a managed way that protects the financial sustainability of NHS organisations.
13 Apr 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat support is provided to recruit and retain staff in coastal and rural health economies such as Torbay and South Devon.
ReplyDecisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
13 Apr 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhether interim capital support will be provided for the estate at Torbay Hospital ahead of full redevelopment.
ReplyWe are supporting the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to ensure Torbay Hospital remains safe, comfortable, and capable of delivering high quality National Health Service care ahead of the delivery of a replacement hospital. As a first step towards this, Torbay Hospital received over £9.7 million from the Estates Safety Fund in 2025/26 for vital works.The Estates Safety Fund will continue over the next nine years with a total of £6.75 billion of investment to continue addressing poor quality estate. The NHS South West Region, responsible for Torbay Hospital, has been allocated £271.2 million from the Estates Safety Fund for the 2026/27 to 2029/30 period, alongside a further £339.0 million in planning assumption to 2034/35.The regional teams are currently prioritising the funding between hospital sites across the South West, including allocations for this financial year, and will be considering the needs of Torbay Hospital as part of this process.In addition to national capital, the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has been allocated £82.4 million in operational capital across 2026/27 to 2029/30, which can be allocated to local priorities, including estates works.
13 Apr 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhether the scope of the Torbay Hospital rebuild has been revised in the context of the 10-year health plan.
ReplyThe scope of individual New Hospital Programme (NHP) schemes, including Torbay Hospital, are only confirmed and agreed through the approval of a Full Business Case. The NHP will build “right-sized” hospitals, based on consistent and robust assumptions appropriate for local health needs that supports the shift from hospital to community care. To support this, the programme has developed a National Health Service demand and capacity model reflecting demographic change, including population growth, which will inform future business case development.