Written questions by Opher.

If he will make it his policy to publish an implementation plan to ensure that each Integrated Care Board commissions a Fracture Liaison Service.

Fracture liaison services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out fracture liaison services across every part of the country by 2030.Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for the Op Courage service.

NHS England meets with the regional providers of Op COURAGE on a regular basis to review the individual services, to ensure that they are meeting the needs of veterans. They are undertaking a comprehensive review which includes the time that veterans wait for assessment and treatment. Any recommendations from the review will be implemented from April 2026.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for neurology health services.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having delivered 5.2 million more appointments across elective care services. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.Between August 2024 and 2025, we reduced the number of incomplete neurology pathways by almost 10,000, or 4.3%, from 236,621 to 226,432, and reduced the average waiting time for neurology services from 16.7 to 15.4 weeks. 56.1% of patients referred were seen within 18 weeks, up from 53.1% at the same point last year. This is still lower than the national average and we are continuing efforts to improve this, recognising this is a challenged specialty.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, commits to reform outpatient services, including by supporting general practitioners and hospital doctors to work better together to ensure referrals are used when a patient really needs hospital care, through increased uptake of Advice and Guidance. There are a number of initiatives at the national level supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including the UK-wide Neuro Forum, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time programme for neurology.

What steps he is taking to support trusts to reduce bed occupancy to below 80% ahead of winter 2025-26.

The National Health Service is already preparing for winter this year with the development and testing of winter plans. This includes the surge capacity and escalation plans in place across all NHS and urgent care services.The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26 focuses on improvements that will see the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care performance this winter, including working to reduce bed occupancy by avoiding unnecessary admissions and reducing delays to discharge. To help avoid unnecessary admissions, the NHS is expanding Same Day Emergency Care, virtual wards, and urgent community response services so patients can receive timely care closer to home. Where people are admitted to hospital, trusts are asked to reduce the average length of stay for patients requiring an overnight emergency admission by at least 0.4 days. This includes reducing discharge delays, working with local authorities and integrated care boards to progressively eliminate the longest and most unacceptable discharge delays, starting with the 0.7% of patients who wait more than 21 days beyond their discharge ready date, and eliminating any internal delays to discharge of more than 48 hours.

Whether he plans to expand the medical evacuation of Gazan children scheme.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Statement HCWS899 made to the House on 1 September 2025 by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

If he will make it his policy that prioritisation for (a) medical evacuation and (b) treatment of children from Gaza is based solely on (i) clinical urgency and (ii) medical need.

The Government is working urgently to get some of the critically ill and injured children medically evacuated from Gaza.I refer the hon. Member to Written Statement HCWS899 by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

What steps he is taking to improve the quality of information provided on (a) choice over pregnancy, (b) menopause care and (c) the availability of free contraceptive pills at pharmacies.

It is important that women are provided with accurate information that enables them to make informed choices about their care, including contraceptive choices and menopause.Pharmacies are well placed to advise patients on the options available to them when accessing oral contraception on the National Health Service. Contraceptive pills are available from pharmacies on prescription or when issued as part of the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service. The service launched in April 2023 and enables pharmacists to initiate and continue ongoing supplies of contraception initiated in general practice surgeries and sexual health services. Later in 2025, the service will expand to include emergency hormonal contraception (EHC), which means women will have access to the ‘morning-after pill’ free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS, thereby ending the current situation where free EHC is only available in some areas. NHS England has launched an online tool to help educate individuals wishing to access the service and to signpost where they can find a participating pharmacy.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published their updated menopause guideline in November 2024 and recommended more treatment choices for menopause symptoms. The updated guideline aims to support healthcare professionals by providing them with the information they need to support evidence-based decisions about treatment choices, as well as information and support about menopause. There are also a range of resources and support that pharmacies can signpost patients to, for example the NHS website and the NHS menopause factsheet, which was created to help women understand and manage symptoms and know how to seek help.

What steps his Department is taking to increase (a) referral to and (b) uptake of testing for chronic kidney disease among people diagnosed with hypertension through the NHS Health Check programme.

Individuals who have a high blood pressure reading during their NHS Health Check are referred to their general practice for further clinical investigation, and subsequent diagnosis of hypertension and management where appropriate.In 2024, NHS England incorporated a new indicator into the CVDPREVENT audit to monitor the measurement of kidney function, a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio test, in people with hypertension, as recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

How many midwives were working in the NHS in England at the most-recent point for which figures are available; how many of those qualified (a) in the UK and (b) outside of the UK, by country; and what estimate he has made of the number that will be working in the NHS in future years from each of these categories.

NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England. This covers staff working for hospital trusts and in integrated care in England. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. This data shows that as of April 2025, there are 24,959 full time equivalent midwives working in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. Further information is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsThe Department does not hold information on how many NHS midwifes qualified in the United Kingdom and outside of the UK, by country. However, NHS England publishes data on the nationality of its staff, which may be of interest as context. The latest information on the nationality of NHS staff by staff group is available at the following link, in tab 14 of the file named Preliminary – NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables, April 2025:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/march-2025The Department has made no specific estimate of the number of UK and non-UK qualified midwives who will be working in the NHS in future years. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled.

How many and what proportion of people diagnosed with hypertension through the NHS Health Check programme were subsequently tested for chronic kidney disease in each of the last five years.

Blood pressure is one of seven risk factors for cardiovascular disease assessed in the NHS Health Check, and it is also a risk factor for chronic kidney disease. Individuals who have a high blood pressure reading during their NHS Health Check are referred to their general practice for further clinical investigation, and subsequent diagnosis of hypertension and management where appropriate.Data is currently not collected on the number of individuals who, following their NHS Health Check, are diagnosed with hypertension and are subsequently tested for chronic kidney disease.We are considering how to improve data collection and monitoring of the NHS Health Check following the National Audit Office report.

Whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban advertising of unhealthy foods at sports events.

The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and raise the healthiest generation of children ever.We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on television and online, which evidence shows are the media that children engage with the most. The restrictions include a 9:00pm watershed on television and a 24-hour restriction on paid-for advertising online, and are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year.We have no current plans to ban the sponsorship of sports events by food brands associated with less healthy food or drink products or ban the advertising of less healthy food or drink products at sports events. We continue to review the evidence of the impacts on children of less healthy food or drink product advertising, and will consider where further action is needed.

Whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban sponsorship of sports events by unhealthy food brands.

The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and raise the healthiest generation of children ever.We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on television and online, which evidence shows are the media that children engage with the most. The restrictions include a 9:00pm watershed on television and a 24-hour restriction on paid-for advertising online, and are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year.We have no current plans to ban the sponsorship of sports events by food brands associated with less healthy food or drink products or ban the advertising of less healthy food or drink products at sports events. We continue to review the evidence of the impacts on children of less healthy food or drink product advertising, and will consider where further action is needed.

What steps he is taking to increase awareness of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with epilepsy, including the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme.One of the key focuses of the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit is reducing epilepsy-related deaths, including Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). The toolkit includes several recommendations regarding identifying those who are most at risk of an epilepsy-related death and preventing SUDEP.In addition, the Royal College of General Practitioners aims to raise awareness of SUDEP amongst general practitioners and other primary care professionals, through its e-learning modules on SUDEP and seizure safety, which were developed in collaboration with SUDEP Action and last updated in December 2024.Health Education England, now part of NHS England, has also developed an Epilepsy Programme in collaboration with SUDEP Action, which is designed to enable healthcare professionals, particularly those who are not specialists in epilepsy, to better understand SUDEP and how the risk of SUDEP can be reduced.National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on epilepsy recommends that clinicians should discuss the risk of SUDEP with patients newly diagnosed with epilepsy and ensure their understanding of the risk.

What steps he is taking to reduce the occurrences of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with epilepsy, including the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme.One of the key focuses of the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit is reducing epilepsy-related deaths, including Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). The toolkit includes several recommendations regarding identifying those who are most at risk of an epilepsy-related death and preventing SUDEP.In addition, the Royal College of General Practitioners aims to raise awareness of SUDEP amongst general practitioners and other primary care professionals, through its e-learning modules on SUDEP and seizure safety, which were developed in collaboration with SUDEP Action and last updated in December 2024.Health Education England, now part of NHS England, has also developed an Epilepsy Programme in collaboration with SUDEP Action, which is designed to enable healthcare professionals, particularly those who are not specialists in epilepsy, to better understand SUDEP and how the risk of SUDEP can be reduced.National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on epilepsy recommends that clinicians should discuss the risk of SUDEP with patients newly diagnosed with epilepsy and ensure their understanding of the risk.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of self-care on demand on NHS services; and whether this will be reflected in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Support for self-care is an essential service that all pharmacies must provide, and can include provision of advice, information, and where appropriate, the sale of over-the counter-medicines to patients, carers, and the general public, to support their self-care for minor ailments. This gives patients easy access to advice from highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals in the community and relieves pressure on other areas of the National Health Service.Under Pharmacy First, NHS 111, general practitioners, and accident and emergency departments can refer patients to see a pharmacist for advice on a minor illness, which may include the sale of over-the-counter medicines. They can also refer patients to one of the Pharmacy First seven clinical pathways, as part of which pharmacies can supply prescription-only medicines to patients. Patients can also walk into a pharmacy for treatment as part of the seven clinical pathways.The 10-Year Health Plan will describe a shared vision for the health and care system in 2035, drawing directly from the extensive engagement that has been undertaken with the public, patients, and staff. The plan will include how care models and pathways will need to change or evolve to better meet their needs, and the cultural and behavioural changes we want to see.

What steps he is taking to reduce the neurodiverse assessment waiting list.

Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published September 2024, highlighted the severe delays in accessing autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, and that demand for assessments for ADHD and autism has grown significantly in recent years.It is the responsibility of integrated care board (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism and ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.NHS England is also working with research organisations to explore evidence-based models that support improved outcomes for those people waiting for an autism assessment.NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer.   In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop an ADHD data improvement plan to inform future service planning.

What steps he is taking to support people with lung conditions.

In collaboration with a number of partners, the National Health Service has developed a package for local systems containing the information and support required to help increase the number of people receiving an early and accurate diagnosis for respiratory disease.Following a significant drop in the volume of respiratory specific diagnostic tests, such as spirometry, during the pandemic, NHS England has managed to bring these numbers to above pre-pandemic levels.The Government is committed to a preventative approach to the public’s health and is determined to improve air quality for everyone and address inequalities by working across Government to tackle these issues, including by supporting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to deliver their comprehensive and ambitious Clean Air Strategy, which will include a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.In alignment with the Neighbourhood Health Service model, NHS England is leading on the development of an approach for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management, to support proactive identification and management of rising risk patients in winter, thereby reducing demand on primary and secondary care by identifying at risk patients, optimizing care, and strengthened support. Core20PLUS5 identifies COPD as one of the five clinical areas of focus requiring accelerated improvement to help tackle healthcare inequalities, and plans to improve this area by increasing vaccination uptake, namely for COVID-19, flu, and pneumovax, in people with COPD, and by avoiding exacerbations that could lead to emergency treatment in hospital and inpatient care.

How many families are receiving Healthy Start in Stroud.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link: https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start, but it does hold data on the number of people receiving health start. The number of people on the scheme receiving Healthy Start in February 2025 for Stroud is 356.The NHSBSA does not currently hold data on the number of people who are eligible for the scheme. An issue was identified with the Healthy Start source data that is used to calculate the uptake of the NHS Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA removed data for the number of people eligible for the scheme and the uptake percentage from January 2023 onwards.The issue has only affected the data on the number of people eligible for the scheme. It has not prevented anyone from joining the scheme or continuing to access the scheme, if they are eligible.The following table shows the number of people on the scheme for all three wards in Liverpool West, as of February 2025:WardNumber of people on the digital schemeWest Derby Deysbrook36West Derby Leyfield16West Derby Muirhead20

What steps he is taking to stop the overprescription of antidepressants.

Antidepressants can be an effective treatment option for depression when prescribed safely and in alignment with patient preferences. They are also used in anxiety and chronic pain.It is for the responsible clinician to work with their patient to decide on the best course of treatment, with the provision of the most clinically appropriate care for the patient always being the primary consideration. It is important for patients to be able to make informed choices about whether to take antidepressants, and NHS England has recently published a Patient Decision Aid on this topic, produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).It is also important for clinicians to recognise that, while antidepressants may be helpful for some patients, non-drug options are likely to be a better option for most people who present with less severe mental health conditions. These include NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, and social prescribing.To ensure antidepressant drugs are made available to patients only where the benefits outweigh the potential harms, NHS England is encouraging the integrated care boards to address inappropriate antidepressant prescribing and to consider commissioning services for patients wishing to reduce or stop using antidepressants.

What steps he is taking to support social prescribing.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, the Government has underlined its commitment to taking a preventive approach to addressing health inequalities.We are determined to improve people’s physical and mental health, to support them to live longer and healthier lives, and we recognise the role that social prescribing can play in this.The Department funds the workforce through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which includes social prescribing link workers in primary care.In March 2025, the Department agreed a further year of grant funding for the National Academy for Social Prescribing, securing £1.5 million to advance and expand social prescribing.The Department has commissioned national research into different workstreams for social prescribing. This includes an evaluation of the model of delivery of the workforce through primary care and the impact of activities such as nature-based interventions for people with mental ill-health.