The Government recognises how worrying heart health can be for the families of young people. The National Health Service already offers cardiac tests for young people who present with symptoms that could indicate a cardiac issue.

In considering whether any screening programme should be introduced, the Government is guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. Where the committee is confident that offering screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.

In 2019, the UK NSC reviewed screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old. The conclusion of that review was that population screening should not be offered, as research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use on young people with no symptoms.

Last month the UK NSC opened a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death. The consultation is open till 31 August, and we encourage those with an interest to contribute, at the following link:

https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/

We are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment across all specialties, including cardiology. As a first step towards achieving this, we delivered on our interim target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026.

Since coming into office, the Government has improved cardiology waiting times nationally, with a waiting list reduction of almost 31,000 and an 8.1% improvement in the proportion of waits below 18 weeks. The Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board has 70.5% of its cardiology waiting list below 18 weeks, over 2% better than the national average.

As set out in the Elective Reform Plan we are investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care. These actions will improve waiting times for all patients, and specifically cardiology as a priority speciality.

The UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators (UKCRD KPI) report monitors the United Kingdom’s delivery of globally competitive clinical research. The table attached provides the requested figures for phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3 interventional clinical trials, by disease type.

They are an unpublished subset of statistics under indicator six of the UKCRD KPI report, which measures the number of participants recruited to clinical studies. The information is taken from studies recorded on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network’s (RDN) Central Portfolio Management System.

The data was processed and assured by the NIHR RDN’s data, analytics, and specialty teams using the same established checks applied to data provided to the Department for publication in the UKCRD KPI report.

We are determined to reduce waiting times across the country. Where there are cases of individual hospitals or trusts like the case my hon. Friend mentioned, we will send in teams from the national health service to help improve the service provided in local areas. It is also important that where trusts or hospitals have done well and have solved problems, their expertise goes to help other trusts and hospitals who need their support, because we want to ensure that the improvement in the NHS happens right across the country.

The waiting time to see a cardiologist in the Manchester University NHS foundation trust is an unacceptable 66 weeks. What will the ministerial team do to reduce that waiting time?

We are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment across all specialties, including cardiology. As a first step towards achieving this, we delivered on our interim target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026.

Since coming into office, the Government has improved cardiology waiting times nationally, with a waiting list reduction of nearly 40,000 and an 8.2% improvement in the proportion of waits below 18 weeks. The South Yorkshire Integrated Care Bord (ICB) has particularly strong waiting time performance for cardiology, with 84.7% of the service’s waiting list below 18 weeks, the second strongest performing ICB nationally.

As set out in the Elective Reform Plan we are investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care. These actions will improve waiting times for all patients, and specifically cardiology as a priority speciality.

Decisions on recruitment and employment are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

The new resident doctors’ deal will see significant expansion of training places by up to 4,500 over the next three years, including 1,000 next year, 250 of which will be starting in February. This expansion combined with the impact of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act is expected to bring competition ratios down and tackle specialty bottlenecks almost immediately.

The forthcoming 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. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.

No assessment has been made. We are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment across all specialties, including cardiology. As a first step, we delivered on our interim target that 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks by March 2026.

The Government has improved cardiology waiting times nationally, with a waiting list reduction of nearly 40,000 and an 8.2% improvement in the proportion of waits below 18 weeks. The South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has particularly strong waiting time performance for cardiology, with 84.7% of the service’s waiting list below 18 weeks, the second strongest performing ICB nationally.

As set out in the Elective Reform Plan we are investing in modernisation, reforming, and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care. These actions will improve waiting times for all patients, and specifically cardiology as a priority speciality.

The UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators (UKCRD KPI) report monitors the United Kingdom’s delivery of globally competitive clinical research.

The following table shows the number of participants recruited for phase 3 trials for dementia, cancer, stroke, and coronary heart disease:

This data is an unpublished subset of statistics published under indicator 6 of the UKCRD KPI report, which measures the number of participants recruited to clinical studies. The information is taken from studies recorded on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network’s (RDN) Central Portfolio Management System.

Studies are included where they recruited during the period between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The data was processed and assured by the NIHR RDN data and analytics and specialty teams using the same established checks applied to the data provided to the Department for publication in the UKCRD KPI report.

The UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators report brings together data to monitor the delivery of globally competitive clinical research across the United Kingdom.

The report includes several indicators relating to study set-up. Indicator 1 measures the time it takes for commercial interventional clinical trials to recruit their first participant from the date initial clinical trial authorisation is submitted.

The information requested is shown in the following tables, as an unpublished subset of the statistics that were published on 15 April 2026 as part of the UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators report, a copy of which is attached. The information is taken from studies held on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network’s Central Portfolio Management System.

The following table shows the average number of days taken for commercial interventional clinical trials to recruit their first participant from the date initial clinical trial authorisation is submitted, for each of the disease types:

Studies are included where the application was submitted between 1 April 2025 and 30 September 2025. These data were processed and assured by the NIHR in the same way as those provided to the Department for publication in April 2026 of 150-day set-up performance, using established data checking processes within the NIHR's Research Delivery Network data and analytics and specialty teams. The same reporting period was used to support the 15 April 2026 press release Government drives forward its 150-day clinical trial target, a copy of which is attached.

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the UK a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including for dementia, cancer, stroke and coronary heart disease.

Evidence suggests that, in the short and medium term, vaping is less harmful than smoking and can be an effective quit aid for adult smokers. However, vaping is not risk-free and the long-term health effects are still emerging. Children and adult non-smokers should therefore never vape.

While vaping may result in short term physiological changes, such as increases in heart rate and blood pressure, the current evidence base does not identify a causal link between vaping and cardiac arrest.

The Government will continue to monitor emerging evidence closely, including through the landmark 10-year Adolescent Health Study, which will assess the long-term impact of vaping on young people’s health and wellbeing, alongside wider influences on adolescent health.