Written questions by Davies.

When he plans to respond to The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.

What progress his Department has made on increasing the recruitment and training of midwives since July 2024.

NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. This covers staff working for hospital trusts and integrated care in England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. These show that as of 30 June 2025, there are currently 24,888 full time equivalent midwives working in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is an increase of 1,326 or 5.6%, compared to 30 June 2024. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics3,270 students have accepted places to undergraduate midwifery degrees at English providers so far in 2025. This is a 3% increase compared to the same point in 2024. This is also the first year-on-year increase in the number of acceptances since 2021, when acceptances across healthcare courses peaked, driven by interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/statistical-releases-daily-clearing-analysis-2025These are not final numbers, and the Department will continue to monitor numbers of acceptances through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services’ clearing cycle which ends in October.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the recruitment and training of midwives.

To break down financial barriers to training, eligible midwifery students receive a non-repayable grant of £5,000 per year via the NHS Learning Support Fund. Further financial support is available for childcare, dual accommodation costs and travel. Apprenticeship routes are also available to those for whom a full-time university route is not practical or preferred.On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and further ease the recruitment strain.Later this year, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. 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.

When he expects the rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to make its initial set of recommendations.

In June 2025, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services, which will be chaired by Baroness Amos.The investigation will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. These recommendations will take previous recommendations into consideration and will therefore take primacy over previous recommendations.

When he expects the rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to complete.

In June 2025, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services, which will be chaired by Baroness Amos.The investigation will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. These recommendations will take previous recommendations into consideration and will therefore take primacy over previous recommendations.

On what date his Department will publish the terms of reference for the national maternity review.

The Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation’s Terms of Reference were published on 15 September 2025 and are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-maternity-and-neonatal-investigation-terms-of-referenceThe Chair of the Investigation, Baroness Amos, engaged with families on their development.

What steps his Department is taking to consult (a) the Maternity Safety Alliance and (b) other bereaved families’ groups as part of the national maternity review.

On 23 June 2025, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent 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.He has held a series of meetings with harmed and bereaved families from across the country, and has committed to ensuring the voices of women and families are at the heart of improving standards.On 14 August 2025, he announced the appointment of Baroness Amos as Chair of the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. Baroness Amos was selected after feedback from bereaved families who expressed a preference for someone with distance from the NHS.Baroness Amos’ investigation will put families at the heart of the work and affected families were asked to provide input to the draft terms of reference of the investigation. These have been developed to focus on understanding the experiences of affected women and families, identifying lessons learned and driving the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England.The Government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to be made up of a panel of experts and family, charity and staff representatives.The taskforce will use the recommendations from the independent investigation to develop a national plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care, and will work closely with families in developing the action plan, ensuring their voices are central to this work.

When he last met with the Patient Safety Commissioner.

There has been no formal meeting between my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Patient Safety Commissioner. However, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Baroness Merron), in her previous role as the minister with responsibility for patient safety and patient voice, met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in January 2025.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Food Standards Agency (a) inspection charges and (b) regulations on small abattoirs.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducts and charges for official controls, namely inspections, which help ensure that food hygiene and animal welfare standards are met in accordance with a legal framework, which has been in place for many years. The controls are an intrinsic component in our food system which provides reassurance for the wider food industry and consumers as well as trading partners to facilitate meat exports.Information on the 2025/26 charge rates for official controls conducted in meat premises is available on the FSA’s website at the following link:https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/charges-for-controls-in-meat-premises As in previous years, the impact of charges is offset by a taxpayer-funded discount which provides the greatest proportional support to smaller businesses. The impact of the support on different sized food businesses in England and Wales for 2025/26 is set out in the Cost Data Slides the FSA has published. The FSA is currently conducting an evaluation of the support provided via the discount and will assess the impact of any changes it might propose in the light of this evaluation.The FSA recognises the regulatory and administrative challenges smaller abattoir operations face. We proactively identify and engage with local issues working closely with industry stakeholders and participating in national forums such as the Partnership Working Group led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Through these collaborations, we explore opportunities to ease burdens on small-scale operators, such as reducing daily administration by introducing a daily diary to replace numerous operational checks, while maintaining high standards of public and animal health.

What steps his Department is taking to conduct regular financial audits of GP practices that are part of national chains on an (a) national and (b) local individual surgery basis.

It is not the responsibility of the Department or NHS England to undertake financial audits of general practices (GPs). GPs are private businesses that are commissioned by integrated care boards to provide general medical services via a National Health Service contract. Practices have a range of auditing requirements, including disclosure of earnings, and maintaining an audit and system management function on their computer system, allowing NHS England to carry out audit functions relating to the maintenance of patient records.

What steps his Department is taking to help prevent fraud by nationwide GP chains.

The Government takes fraud against the National Health Service extremely seriously and we will use every available tool to bring fraudsters to account. A comprehensive three-year Counter Fraud Strategy is in place and a Fraud Risk Assessment has been undertaken for contracted services within general practice, to identify fraud risks so that preventative action can be taken. The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is also in place as a dedicated special health authority tasked with leading the fight against fraud, bribery, and corruption in the NHS in England. Where allegations of fraud are received, they will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on the maximum distance that a patient should travel to see their registered GP.

As part of the arrangements for the provision of primary medical services, general practices (GPs) are required to agree an area within which they will accept patients onto their list. This ensures there is a sufficient distribution of GPs for all patients in England and provides for an area in which practices feel they are able to provide home visits, should they be needed. Changes to the GP Contract arrangements in 2014/15 brought in a measure allowing GPs to register patients from outside their catchment areas without a duty to provide home visits for such patients.If the practice feels it is not clinically appropriate or practical for the patient to be registered so far away from home, it can still refuse registration, but should explain the reason for doing so.

Whether (a) his Department and (b) ICBs have issued guidance to larger GP practices with multiple sites across several ICB areas.

Integrated care boards (ICBs), as commissioners of primary medical services, are responsible for the quality, safety, and performance of services delivered by providers within their areas. Large general practitioner (GP) practices spanning multiple commissioner areas will ordinarily hold individual contracts within each commissioning area they operate in and will therefore be held to account for the quality, safety, and performance of services by the responsible commissioner in each area.The Department does not collect information on all guidance that is issued by ICBs.

If he will make it his policy to appoint a men's health champion.

On 28 November 2024, my Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced plans for England’s first Men’s Health Strategy at the Men’s Health Summit, held in partnership with Movember and hosted by Arsenal and the Premier League.We will shortly be launching a call for evidence to seek views on what is currently working and what more needs to be done to support the health of all men. Through the strategy, we will explore all avenues to improve men’s health, including on leadership.