The Department does not hold the specific information the Hon. Member has requested, but on the wider issue of diagnosis and treatment for these conditions, I refer him to the answer provided on 27 May in response to Question 2655.

The Department recognises the importance of consistent, high-quality care for people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the National Health Service in England operates within a locally commissioned system, the Government expects integrated care boards (ICBs) to take account of existing national guidance when planning and delivering services.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis and management of IBD, which provides a framework for high-quality care across the NHS and supports timely access to appropriate treatment and ongoing monitoring. Additionally, the IBD Standards, developed by IBD UK, are used across the NHS to guide service design, identify gaps, and drive improvement.

NHS England is also working to reduce unwarranted variation and improve outcomes through programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare. These initiatives support local systems to identify best practice, address unwarranted variation in pathways and outcomes, and strengthen access to specialist services where needed.

Alongside this, wider work across the NHS to improve earlier diagnosis, expand capacity, and deliver more joined-up care, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, will help ensure that people with IBD receive more timely, effective, and coordinated care.

NHS England and its partners use a range of data sources, including clinical audit data and programme work such as GIRFT to identify unwarranted variation in services and outcomes. These insights help ICBs to understand and address local disparities in care.

For people with IBD, virtual hospital models can improve services by enabling more timely monitoring and specialist input, reducing the need for hospital visits, and supporting proactive management of flares, which can help improve patient outcomes while easing pressure on acute services. ICBs are responsible for assessing local need and determining how best to deploy such tools, taking account of population health inequalities and access to services.

The Department recognises the importance of consistent, high-quality care for people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the National Health Service in England operates within a locally commissioned system, the Government expects integrated care boards (ICBs) to take account of existing national guidance when planning and delivering services.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis and management of IBD, which provides a framework for high-quality care across the NHS and supports timely access to appropriate treatment and ongoing monitoring. Additionally, the IBD Standards, developed by IBD UK, are used across the NHS to guide service design, identify gaps, and drive improvement.

NHS England is also working to reduce unwarranted variation and improve outcomes through programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare. These initiatives support local systems to identify best practice, address unwarranted variation in pathways and outcomes, and strengthen access to specialist services where needed.

Alongside this, wider work across the NHS to improve earlier diagnosis, expand capacity, and deliver more joined-up care, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, will help ensure that people with IBD receive more timely, effective, and coordinated care.

NHS England and its partners use a range of data sources, including clinical audit data and programme work such as GIRFT to identify unwarranted variation in services and outcomes. These insights help ICBs to understand and address local disparities in care.

For people with IBD, virtual hospital models can improve services by enabling more timely monitoring and specialist input, reducing the need for hospital visits, and supporting proactive management of flares, which can help improve patient outcomes while easing pressure on acute services. ICBs are responsible for assessing local need and determining how best to deploy such tools, taking account of population health inequalities and access to services.

The Department recognises the importance of consistent, high-quality care for people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the National Health Service in England operates within a locally commissioned system, the Government expects integrated care boards (ICBs) to take account of existing national guidance when planning and delivering services.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis and management of IBD, which provides a framework for high-quality care across the NHS and supports timely access to appropriate treatment and ongoing monitoring. Additionally, the IBD Standards, developed by IBD UK, are used across the NHS to guide service design, identify gaps, and drive improvement.

NHS England is also working to reduce unwarranted variation and improve outcomes through programmes such as Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS RightCare. These initiatives support local systems to identify best practice, address unwarranted variation in pathways and outcomes, and strengthen access to specialist services where needed.

Alongside this, wider work across the NHS to improve earlier diagnosis, expand capacity, and deliver more joined-up care, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, will help ensure that people with IBD receive more timely, effective, and coordinated care.

NHS England and its partners use a range of data sources, including clinical audit data and programme work such as GIRFT to identify unwarranted variation in services and outcomes. These insights help ICBs to understand and address local disparities in care.

For people with IBD, virtual hospital models can improve services by enabling more timely monitoring and specialist input, reducing the need for hospital visits, and supporting proactive management of flares, which can help improve patient outcomes while easing pressure on acute services. ICBs are responsible for assessing local need and determining how best to deploy such tools, taking account of population health inequalities and access to services.

I thank the hon. Member for sharing his personal experience and, notwithstanding that, congratulate him on his achievements at the London marathon. I agree with him that patients should receive high-quality, consistent care, wherever they live. Through national improvement programmes such as Getting It Right First Time, we are making sure that best practice is shared to drive up standards, and I am happy for Ministers to give him the details.

Q11

.

Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD):

Earlier this year, I found myself in hospital as a result of a flare-up from living with ulcerative colitis. I was bowled over by the support of local constituents and people who live with inflammatory bowel disease across the country when they got in touch. For people with IBD, however, care often falls far short of the mark. It can take ages to get a diagnosis—for me, it took the best part of a decade—and then when someone manages to get one, care can become a postcode lottery. Living with a fluctuating and non-visible condition is already hard enough before having to navigate those systems. IBD UK Alliance set out what good care looks like with the IBD standards. Will the Prime Minister meet me and clinicians to discuss IBD standards, and will he consider appointing a national clinical lead to drive improvement when it comes to IBD care?

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations on whether all new medicines and significant licence extensions for existing medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. In the last three years, NICE has recommended five new drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including upadacitinib, risankizumab, mirikizumab, etrasimod, and guselkumab. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

The Government currently has no plans to review or amend the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of prescription charges on people with inflammatory bowel disease.

There are currently no plans to add inflammatory bowel disease to the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate which exempts the holder from paying the National Health Service prescription charge.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with inflammatory bowel disease, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative treatments.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since April 2025, the NIHR has funded a total of 40 projects into Crohn's and Colitis research, with a combined total funding value of £17.6 million, and including studies aimed at reducing time to diagnosis, such as the Redesign a faster Pathway to Inflammatory bowel disease Diagnosis study, with further information available at the following link:

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR305671

The following table shows the annual number of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis recorded for inflammatory bowel disease in England, in each of the last five years:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

Data on the number of admissions for the Hazel Grove constituency is not available.

NHS England’s National Bladder and Bowel Health Project is delivering better care for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with a focus on developing best practice clinical pathways. NHS England commissions specialised colorectal services nationally to support equity of access to high-quality treatment for patients with IBD requiring complex surgery. This work is supported within NHS England by the clinical leadership of the Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme on gastroenterology aims to reduce variations in care, increase early diagnosis and proactive management of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and increase access to IBD specialist nurses.

We have also committed more broadly to ensuring patients get the care they need as quickly as possible. Funding announced in the Autumn Budget for elective care will also support the delivery of an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week, across all specialties, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. As part of this package, £1.5 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 will enable new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners to build capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures and over 1.25 million diagnostic tests, as they come online.

Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. These benefits are assessed on the basis of needs arising and not on the condition itself so are available to those with inflammatory bowel disease and other, hidden conditions.

The extra costs benefits are non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use their benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences. The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, help with travel costs to appointments or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefits have been consistently uprated in line with inflation since they were introduced and were, like other benefits, increased by 6.7% from 8 April 2024.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme on gastroenterology aims to reduce variations in care, increase early diagnosis and proactive management of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and increase access to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist nurses. The National institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also produced a range of guidance on IBD, Crohn’s disease, and colitis, to support early diagnosis and effective management of these conditions. It ensures that the care provided to people with IBD is based on the best available evidence. In the last two years, the NICE has recommended four new drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including Upadacitinib, Risankizumab, Mirikizumab, and Etrasimod.

NHS England’s National Bladder and Bowel Health Project is delivering better care for people with IBD, with a focus on developing clinical pathways. NHS England commissions specialised colorectal services nationally to support equity of access to high-quality treatment for patients with IBD requiring complex surgery. This work is supported within NHS England by the clinical leadership of the Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group, which is made up of experts in surgery, medicine, radiology, pathology, and nursing, alongside patient and public voice representatives.

To raise awareness of IBD among general practitioners and other primary care staff, the Royal College of General Practitioners has produced an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Toolkit. The toolkit outlines when to suspect IBD, the appropriate investigative tests and diagnostic tools for IBD, how to manage a flare-up of symptoms, and how to support patients with IBD.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme on gastroenterology aims to reduce variations in care, increase early diagnosis and proactive management of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and increase access to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist nurses. The National institute for Health and Care Excellence has also produced a range of guidance on IBD, and Crohn’s disease and colitis, to support early diagnosis and effective management of these conditions. It ensures that the care provided to people with IBD is based on the best available evidence. In the last two years, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended four new drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including Upadacitinib, Risankizumab, Mirikizumab, and Etrasimod.

NHS England’s National Bladder and Bowel Health Project is delivering better care for people with IBD, with a focus on developing clinical pathways. NHS England commissions specialised colorectal services nationally to support equity of access to high-quality treatment for patients with IBD requiring complex surgery. This work is supported within NHS England by the clinical leadership of the Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group, which is made up of experts in surgery, medicine, radiology, pathology, and nursing, alongside patient and public voice representatives.

To raise awareness of IBD among general practitioners and other primary care staff, the Royal College of General Practitioners has produced an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Toolkit. The toolkit outlines when to suspect IBD, the appropriate investigative tests and diagnostic tools for IBD, how to manage a flare-up of symptoms and how to support patients with IBD.

My Lords, many health authorities are sending out these tests to people. What percentage of these tests—“poo collections”, to use my noble friend’s words—are not being returned? It could be relatively high, particularly if we are not explaining the difference between the two types of illness.