NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England and is delivering a range of initiatives to increase blood donation in African or Caribbean heritage communities. These include:

• the opening of a donation centre in Brixton in January 2025, aiming to encourage individuals of African or Caribbean heritage to donate, as part of NHSBT’s ongoing effort to diversify the communities where it locates donor centres and mobile collections;
• the NHSBT Community Grants Programme, which funds community and faith organisations to raise awareness, improve understanding, and encourage blood donation among minority ethnic communities; and
• measures to help more people donate successfully, including a pilot translation service to reduce language-related barriers, training to help staff recognise vein characteristics across different skin tones, and improved pre-donation haemoglobin testing.

The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare was established to bring together independent expertise and evidence to inform the Government’s development of a 'future ready’ regulatory framework for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.

Through its work, The National Commission has recommended that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) move to a more proportionate, lifecycle-based approach to regulation of AI products. This includes ensuring regulatory decisions are based on the risks and benefits of the specific device and introducing more ongoing, responsive post-market surveillance expectations and approaches, which will enable regulators to better detect and understand changes in safety and performance across the product lifecycle. The Commission also made a series of recommendations to further support clinical safety and governance, including requiring manufacturers to define the operational conditions needed for safe deployment of AI technologies, supporting providers to demonstrate the ‘AI readiness’ needed for safe deployment, and coordinated training of professionals to enable safe use. More information can be found in The National Commission’s recommendations report, a copy of which is attached. The Government will formally respond to those recommendations in the normal way in due course.

If an AI system providing real-time guidance during surgery meets the definition of a medical device, then the device would be required to comply with existing medical device regulations, including for safety and performance.

The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare was established to bring together independent expertise and evidence to inform the Government’s development of a 'future ready’ regulatory framework for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.

Through its work, The National Commission has recommended that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) move to a more proportionate, lifecycle-based approach to regulation of AI products. This includes ensuring regulatory decisions are based on the risks and benefits of the specific device and introducing more ongoing, responsive post-market surveillance expectations and approaches, which will enable regulators to better detect and understand changes in safety and performance across the product lifecycle. The Commission also made a series of recommendations to further support clinical safety and governance, including requiring manufacturers to define the operational conditions needed for safe deployment of AI technologies, supporting providers to demonstrate the ‘AI readiness’ needed for safe deployment, and coordinated training of professionals to enable safe use. More information can be found in The National Commission’s recommendations report, a copy of which is attached. The Government will formally respond to those recommendations in the normal way in due course.

If an AI system providing real-time guidance during surgery meets the definition of a medical device, then the device would be required to comply with existing medical device regulations, including for safety and performance.

The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare was established to bring together independent expertise and evidence to inform the Government’s development of a 'future ready’ regulatory framework for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.

Through its work, The National Commission has recommended that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) move to a more proportionate, lifecycle-based approach to regulation of AI products. This includes ensuring regulatory decisions are based on the risks and benefits of the specific device and introducing more ongoing, responsive post-market surveillance expectations and approaches, which will enable regulators to better detect and understand changes in safety and performance across the product lifecycle. The Commission also made a series of recommendations to further support clinical safety and governance, including requiring manufacturers to define the operational conditions needed for safe deployment of AI technologies, supporting providers to demonstrate the ‘AI readiness’ needed for safe deployment, and coordinated training of professionals to enable safe use. More information can be found in The National Commission’s recommendations report, a copy of which is attached. The Government will formally respond to those recommendations in the normal way in due course.

If an AI system providing real-time guidance during surgery meets the definition of a medical device, then the device would be required to comply with existing medical device regulations, including for safety and performance.

The terms of reference for the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care will be published shortly to reflect the earlier timetable for Baroness Casey's final report, but there has been no change to the overall objectives of the Commission, or the independent basis on which it is being conducted.

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The FLS database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by FLSs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The data is based on an annual data collection from all FLSs that have registered and participated in the audit in a given year. The following table shows the latest estimates of the number of FLSs in England for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Complete data for 2026 is not yet available, and data for 2025 is still being updated:

Source: the FLS Database, accessed on 20 August 2026.

The FLS Database does not provide specific dates for when each service became operational, nor does it provide estimates of how many patients have been identified by FLSs on a monthly basis.

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The FLS database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by FLSs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The data is based on an annual data collection from all FLSs that have registered and participated in the audit in a given year. The following table shows the latest estimates of the number of FLSs in England for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Complete data for 2026 is not yet available, and data for 2025 is still being updated:

Source: the FLS Database, accessed on 20 August 2026.

The FLS Database does not provide specific dates for when each service became operational, nor does it provide estimates of how many patients have been identified by FLSs on a monthly basis.

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The FLS database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by FLSs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The data is based on an annual data collection from all FLSs that have registered and participated in the audit in a given year. The following table shows the latest estimates of the number of FLSs in England for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Complete data for 2026 is not yet available, and data for 2025 is still being updated:

Source: the FLS Database, accessed on 20 August 2026.

The FLS Database does not provide specific dates for when each service became operational, nor does it provide estimates of how many patients have been identified by FLSs on a monthly basis.

The terms of reference for the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care will be updated shortly to reflect the earlier timetable for Baroness Casey's final report, but there has been no change to the overall objectives of the Commission, or the independent basis on which it is being conducted.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 1 September in response to Question HL2030, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

Our 10-Year Health Plan is clear that the future National Health Service must be more preventative, more integrated, and deliver more care closer to home, including for people with osteoporosis.

The Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030, and we are clear that everyone at risk of fragility fractures should be able to benefit from high-quality, timely care that supports prevention, early intervention, and effective management. We are pursuing those goals across the whole pathway of fracture prevention, including improving access to diagnosis, supporting the adoption of effective treatments, and encouraging local systems to develop services that identify people at the highest risk of future fractures and intervene early.

Earlier this year, the Government announced £2.6 million of funding for 20 new DEXA bone density scanners across England. Tens of thousands of patients will benefit from faster access to bone scans as a result, helping to ensure that people with bone conditions, such as osteoporosis, get diagnosed earlier. This builds on the first wave of 13 DEXA scanners announced last year. In 2025, over 21,000 extra DEXA scans were delivered in England compared with 2024.

We continue to work closely with NHS England to improve access to fracture prevention services and to explore the best ways of supporting local systems to deliver high-quality care which meets the needs of their populations. The Government has been clear that integrated care boards are best placed to shape services for their localities and we have set expectations, through the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, that they should prioritise community-based models when commissioning new services.

Progress in this area can be monitored through activity and outcomes reported through the Fracture Liaison Service Database.

The number of civil servants working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has varied over time. As of 11 September 2026, there were seven full-time equivalent (FTE) officials working on the bill in the Department of Health and Social Care, 1.3 FTE officials from the Ministry of Justice, and two FTE officials from the Government Legal Department. The bill team has subsequently been disbanded.

The final wording of the Explanatory Notes was a matter entirely for the bill sponsor, but as part of the Government’s duty to the statute book, civil servants did suggest minor factual amendments for the sponsor to consider.

The number of civil servants working on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has varied over time. As of 11 September 2026, there were seven full-time equivalent (FTE) officials working on the bill in the Department of Health and Social Care, 1.3 FTE officials from the Ministry of Justice, and two FTE officials from the Government Legal Department. The bill team has subsequently been disbanded.

The final wording of the Explanatory Notes was a matter entirely for the bill sponsor, but as part of the Government’s duty to the statute book, civil servants did suggest minor factual amendments for the sponsor to consider.

In August 2025, the Government launched a call for evidence on private, non-National Health Service prescribing, which included an invitation for views on online prescribing, hormone prescribing, and prescribing by practitioners based in the European Economic Area. We are considering the evidence and next steps.

Since 1 January 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received three reports of suspected breaches of the Order cited by the Noble Baroness. All three reports were investigated, but no offences were identified and no criminal enforcement action was taken. In one case, the agency referred safeguarding concerns to the relevant local multi-agency safeguarding team, notified the relevant European regulatory authority about the prescribing doctor’s activities, and passed information about a possible breach by a registered pharmacy to the General Pharmaceutical Council.

In August 2025, the Government launched a call for evidence on private, non-National Health Service prescribing, which included an invitation for views on online prescribing, hormone prescribing, and prescribing by practitioners based in the European Economic Area. We are considering the evidence and next steps.

Since 1 January 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received three reports of suspected breaches of the Order cited by the Noble Baroness. All three reports were investigated, but no offences were identified and no criminal enforcement action was taken. In one case, the agency referred safeguarding concerns to the relevant local multi-agency safeguarding team, notified the relevant European regulatory authority about the prescribing doctor’s activities, and passed information about a possible breach by a registered pharmacy to the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Aquablation is one of a number of treatments available for 'bladder outlet obstruction', and it is for the medical professional in each case to decide whether that is an appropriate option to offer. There is no national work that mandates aquablation or assesses current levels of provision.

Aquablation is one of a number of treatments available for 'bladder outlet obstruction', and it is for the medical professional in each case to decide whether that is an appropriate option to offer. There is no national work that mandates aquablation or assesses current levels of provision.

Aquablation is one of a number of treatments available for 'bladder outlet obstruction', and it is for the medical professional in each case to decide whether that is an appropriate option to offer. There is no national work that mandates aquablation or assesses current levels of provision.

NHS England published a clinical commissioning policy in July 2026 recommending prolonged-release fampridine as a routine commissioning treatment option for adults in England with multiple sclerosis (MS) and associated walking impairment who meet the defined eligibility criteria: those who score 4 to 7 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale.

Funding for prolonged-release fampridine is now available in England. NHS England began routinely commissioning the treatment from 16 July 2026 for eligible adults with multiple sclerosis and associated walking impairment who meet the policy criteria.

NHS England published a clinical commissioning policy in July 2026 recommending prolonged-release fampridine as a routine commissioning treatment option for adults in England with multiple sclerosis (MS) and associated walking impairment who meet the defined eligibility criteria: those who score 4 to 7 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale.

Funding for prolonged-release fampridine is now available in England. NHS England began routinely commissioning the treatment from 16 July 2026 for eligible adults with multiple sclerosis and associated walking impairment who meet the policy criteria.

Negative daily change figures are visible on the National Data Opt-Out dashboard. Between 1 October 2023 and 14 July 2026, the latest dashboard update, there have been 278 days with a negative daily change in the count of people with a National Data Opt-Out according to the dashboard.