theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Aphra Brandreth:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help junior doctors find employment in the NHS after they have completed training. \p Karin Smyth: Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service employers. NHS trusts 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.

We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the NHS in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.

To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

The Government committed to recruiting over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to secure the future pipeline of GPs, with over 1,000 doctors otherwise likely to graduate into unemployment in 2024/25. Data on the number of recently qualified GPs for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the ARRS was published by NHS England on 7 April, and showed that since 1 October 2024, 1,503 GPs were recruited through the scheme.

Newly qualified GPs employed under the ARRS will continue to receive support under the scheme in the coming year as part of the 2025/26 contract. A number of changes have been confirmed to increase the flexibility of the ARRS. This includes GPs and practice nurses being included in the main ARRS funding pot, an uplift to the maximum reimbursable rate for GPs in the scheme, and no caps on the number of GPs that can be employed through the scheme.
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Tessa Munt:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether an application for authorisation of Sipavibart has been submitted to the the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. \p Karin Smyth: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is actively engaging with Astra Zeneca for any applications in flight. We recognise the importance of the rapid assessment of the medicines mentioned and we are ensuring the decisions made appropriately assess quality, safety, and efficacy.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new mental health staff have been recruited to the NHS since 1 July 2024. \p Karin Smyth: Mental Health workforce data is published quarterly by NHS England as part of their NHS Workforce statistics, and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics#past-publications
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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to Tofersen through the Early Access Programme for people with SOD1 motor neurone disease. \p Karin Smyth: Companies may put in place Early Access Programmes (EAPs) to allow for early access to new medicines that do not yet have a marketing authorisation. Participation in EAPs is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level, and under these programmes the cost of the drug is free, both to patients taking part in it and to the NHS, although NHS trusts must still cover administration costs and provide clinical resources to deliver the EAP.

NHS England does not undertake any initiatives to encourage participation in EAPs, which are the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies and subject to decision-making by individual NHS trusts.

There are no common clinical, data, or regulatory standards for company-sponsored EAPs, meaning each one demands a new protocol to be devised and delivered by each participating trust. Doing so can create significant pressures on clinical and financial resources. Companies providing a sponsored EAP also reserve the right to limit or to close the registration of new patients at any time, meaning that any financial and clinical investment made by trusts to establish an EAP is done at their own risk, in advance of decisions by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge (FoC) medicine schemes, including EAPs, providing advice on potential financial, resourcing, and clinical risks. ICSs should use the guidance to help determine whether to implement any FoC scheme, including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/free-of-charge-foc-medicines-schemes-national-policy-recommendations-for-local-systems/
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) integrated care boards and (b) NHS trusts have contacted his Department to discuss the potential cost of redundancies since 1 January 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Prime Minister has announced the integration of the Department and NHS England and the associated reduction in size, and NHS England has also set out separate ambitions of reducing integrated care board running costs as well as National Health Service trusts’ corporate costs. These reforms will deliver a more efficient, leaner centre, and will also free up capacity and help deliver significant savings of hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested into frontline services, to cut waiting times through the Government’s Plan for Change.

Clearly these reforms will have workforce implications, and we are working closely with NHS England and HM Treasury to deliver these, however we do not yet have a robust estimate of costs for 2025/26. Discussions have been with NHS England at a national level, and not with individual integrated care boards or trusts.
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Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 50 per cent cut to Integrated Care Boards on Solihull Hospital. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services, and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure to achieve a 50% cost reduction in their running cost allowance. NHS England provided additional guidance to ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and NHS foundation trusts on 1 April 2025, where ICBs were tasked with developing plans by the end of May setting out how they will manage their resources to deliver across their priorities.

NHS England will work closely with the ICBs to ensure these changes do not compromise the quality of care or the statutory responsibilities of the ICBs, and to protect frontline staff from cuts. NHS England will be working closely with the ICBs to support the development of these plans, ensuring that their implementation reduces duplication and supports patient care. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/working-together-in-2025-26-to-lay-the-foundations-for-reform/

In his letter to the ICBs, Sir Jim Mackay committed to greater transparency and to moving back to a fair shares allocation policy over time. Currently, the Birmingham and Solihull ICB is 3.4% off its fair shares allocation targets, which includes specialised commissioning.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with rosacea by age since 2016. \p Ashley Dalton: This information is not held in the format requested. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), published by NHS England, provide a count of Finished Admission Episodes with a primary and/or secondary diagnosis of 'Rosacea' by patient age group for each year from 2015/16 to 2024/25. The information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/hospital-episode-statistics
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Kirith Entwistle:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle health inequalities linked to the (a) diagnosis and (b) management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board. \p Ashley Dalton: Respiratory disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is a clinical priority and the National Health Service is investing in the provision of more and better rehabilitation services for respiratory patients. This has the objective of improving outcomes for people with COPD through early diagnosis and increased access to treatments.

The NHS RightCare COPD pathway has been rolled out nationally and defines the optimal service for people with COPD. Furthermore, the National Respiratory Audit Programme aims to improve quality of care, services, and clinical outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD, by collecting and providing data on a range of indicators and pulmonary rehabilitation activity

A national programme of work is underway to support systems with improving access to Pulmonary Rehabilitation for the eligible population; increase capacity of provision to reduce waiting lists; and improve the quality and consistency of rehabilitation programmes through accreditation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective for people with COPD, improving exercise capacity or increased quality of life in 90% patients who complete a programme.

The NHS England Core20PLUS5 approach strives to inform action that targets the most deprived 20% of the population and other inclusion health groups, with the aim of reducing health inequalities. The approach focuses on improving the 5 clinical areas at most need of accelerated improvement, namely cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory, maternity and mental health outcomes, in the poorest 20 percent of the population, along with other disadvantaged population groups identified at a local level.

Within NHS Greater Manchester, steps to address health inequalities linked to COPD include: improving equity of access to diagnostic spirometry and FeNO, particularly for disadvantaged population groups; increasing capacity and reducing waiting times for pulmonary rehabilitation services; increasing vaccination uptake and focusing on secondary prevention of pneumonia; running smoking cessation services; and introducing a respiratory standard to improve quality in general practice in managing COPD.

This standard utilises a tool to identify patients with COPD who are at the highest risk and asks practices to do an enhanced review and management of these patients to help manage their COPD better.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all relevant medical health professionals are aware of the different manifestations of Parkinson’s disease in (a) women and (b) men. \p Ashley Dalton: Guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on Parkinson’s disease in adults does not make any reference to differences in Parkinson’s symptoms between women and men.

We do know that the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease is higher in men than in women, as prevalence rates for men aged between 50 and 89 years old are more than 1.5 times higher than rates for women in the same age group. This equates to 22 in every 10,000 women and 32 in every 10,000 men diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

NHS England is updating the Neurosciences specialised neurology (adults) service specification, which includes Parkinson’s. The revised service specification also includes an annex which articulates minimum service requirements for both specialised and non-specialised neurology services, including movement disorder services. We are expecting the revised specification and standards to be published later in 2025.

NHS England will publish an Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment alongside the specification. This will summarise the different incidence and impacts of neurological disease on protected characteristic groups, drawing on published evidence as appropriate.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure the gonorrhoea vaccination programme reaches (a) young people aged 15-24 (b) women, (c) gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and (d) other communities most at risk. \p Ashley Dalton: In November 2023, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) issued advice on standing up a targeted, routine vaccination programme for protection against gonorrhoea.

Officials across the Department, the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England have been developing options based on the JCVI advice, assessing all the relevant factors to ensure that the United Kingdom’s high standards for world-leading vaccination programmes are maintained, and the best value for money for taxpayers is delivered. A decision on a vaccination programme for the prevention of gonorrhoea is expected shortly, following the outcome of this process.

NHS England will work with partners across national, regional, and local levels to ensure that plans for any new vaccination programme will meet local need, ensure equity of access and support a high level of uptake of the vaccination offer by those who are eligible.
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the integration of social care providers into the National Health Service. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to National Insurance announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 on the expansion of (a) GP practices and (b) other care provision. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise was implemented in April 2025.

General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of services within the National Health Service. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account of the cost of delivering services.

We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to fix the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the England General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association is supportive of the contract changes.
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on social care providers who rely on charitable donations. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government has made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. Overall, core local government spending power in 2025/26 has increased by up to 6.8% in cash terms.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure patients can collect prescriptions in a timely manner (a) on bank holidays, (b) on weekends and (c) in general. \p Stephen Kinnock: Local authorities are required to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served by local pharmacies. Access to community pharmacies during weekdays, evenings, and the weekend is considered as part of these assessments. If a PNA identifies any gaps in the provision of essential services either within or outside normal working hours, or a need for improvement or better access, contractors can apply to meet this need.

Integrated care boards (ICBs), as the commissioners of primary care services, give regard to PNAs when commissioning and planning local service provision. ICBs have various tools at their disposal to ensure patients can access medicines through local pharmacies, including commissioning extended pharmacy opening hours and maintaining a rota, directing and funding local pharmacies to open during bank holidays.

Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients’ homes.
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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement 2025; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using this fund to improve palliative and end of life care services. \p Stephen Kinnock: We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

As part of the Spring Statement, the Government announced a £3.25 billion Transformation Fund to drive efficiencies across Government and save money later in the Parliament and set out how this would be allocated over the Spending Review process.
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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include measures on reforming funding allocations for (a) palliative and (b) other end of life care services in the Comprehensive Spending Review. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Spending Review is underway. We are, however, already supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of levels of access to medication by neurodivergent people who have been diagnosed (a) by the NHS and (b) privately. \p Stephen Kinnock: Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, related to how the brain develops, rather than an illness. Although some approaches are particularly helpful for autistic people, and medication may be prescribed for co-existing issues, autism is not treated directly, including through medication.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to medication services for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

It is for the responsible clinician to decide on the most appropriate treatment plan to manage ADHD in discussion with their patient. This decision is based on the clinician’s expertise regarding treatment options, evidence, risk and benefits and the patient’s personal circumstances as part of a shared decision-making process. The NICE guidelines on ADHD set out the considerations that healthcare professionals should account for when considering treatment options.

Shared care within the National Health Service refers to an arrangement whereby a specialist doctor formally transfers responsibility for all or some aspects of their patient’s care, such as prescription of medication, over to the patient’s general practitioner (GP). The General Medical Council (GMC) has issued guidance on prescribing and managing medicines, which helps GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities. The GMC has made it clear that GPs cannot be compelled to enter into a shared care agreement. GP practices may decline such requests on clinical or capacity grounds. If a shared care arrangement cannot be put in place after the treatment has been initiated, the responsibility for continued prescribing falls upon the specialist clinician; this applies to both NHS and private medical care.

We have taken swift action to improve the supply of ADHD medications and, as a result, many issues have been resolved. However, some issues remain, and we are working with the relevant manufacturers to help resolve them, as soon as possible.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17083 on Mental Health Services: Schools, whether planned aspects of provision of access to a specialist mental health professional in every school go beyond the plan to introduce Mental Health Support Teams. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government has committed to expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges to reach 100% coverage by 2029/30. As the programme matures, the Department of Health and Social Care will work with the Department for Education to consider if there are ways the MHST offer can be improved to better support children and young people.

We also continue to work with the Department for Education to deliver our commitment of providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England. We are also working across Government and with NHS England to set up a network of community Young Futures hubs.

We are currently developing the 10-Year Health Plan with the public, staff, and patients. We continue to listen to emerging insights on children and young people’s mental health and are taking participants' concerns seriously. The consultation process has provided invaluable feedback, and we are in the process of exploring how we best take this forward.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce waiting times for autism assessments. \p Stephen Kinnock: Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published in September 2024, highlighted the severe delays for accessing autism assessments and that demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, considering how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.

The House of Lords has established an Autism Act 2009 Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the Autism Act, the autism strategy, and the statutory guidance, and which will make recommendations to the Government by 30 November 2025. The Government will consider any relevant findings from the House of Lords’ autism inquiry.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that planned reforms to social care help tackle barriers for (a) deafblind people and (b) other disabled people with complex needs. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system, and that people are suffering without the care they need or fighting a complicated system just to receive poor quality care.

The independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, will work with people who draw on care and their families, as well as sector partners, to make clear recommendations for how to rebuild the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population, including for deafblind people and other disabled people with complex needs.

At the same time, we are committed to making immediate improvements. We will give disabled people more independence in their own homes through continued investment in the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which funds practical changes that suit individual people’s needs. We have provided an uplift of £172 million across this and the last financial year, bringing the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The Government understands the vital importance of coproduction, working directly with people who draw on care and support, including deafblind people and others with complex needs, to design policies that work for them to make their lives better.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Baroness Casey has begun the independent commission into adult social care. \p Stephen Kinnock: The independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock DBE CB, formally launched on 29 April 2025 with a meeting with people who draw on social care. On 2 May 2025, the Government published the terms of reference, outlining the scope of the commission’s work, which are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-commission-into-adult-social-care-terms-of-reference/independent-commission-into-adult-social-care-terms-of-reference
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Luke Myer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish Health and Prosperity Improvement Zones with targeted interventions in communities with the lowest healthy life expectancy. \p Ashley Dalton: Tackling the gap in healthy life expectancy is at the heart of our Health Mission, which is mobilising action across all parts of the Government to address the root causes of ill health and inequality, delivering targeted interventions at every stage of life to build a healthier society. We are considering a range of options to deliver this, including proposals for targeted interventions such as Health and Prosperity Improvement Zones.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to prevent cold-related deaths in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Adverse Weather and Health Plan (AWHP) aims to protect everyone from the health effects of adverse weather, and to build community resilience. The plan informs local preparedness activities, including in the Borough of Romford, and is exercised regularly. The 2025 to 2026 AWHP is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67fe2667694d57c6b1cf8d3c/AWHP_2025_to_2026.pdf

The plan is supported by a series of guidance materials to support stakeholders to prepare for and respond to significant adverse weather events. The cold health alerts provide sector specific suggested actions according to the alert level. People can sign up to access the Weather Health Alerts email service at the following link:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=mRRO7jVKLkutR188-d6GZn06Ss-xPLpCuYeyOZ-eFiFUMEVIMDRTOE5FVzFFM0NXNjFMWUlWMkJVMCQlQCN0PWcu
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason cross-party talks on social care have not yet taken place. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are committed to building a national, cross-party consensus to create a fair and affordable adult social care system for all. This is why we have asked Baroness Casey of Blackstock to lead an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards building a National Care Service.

As the commission is independent, Baroness Casey and her team are taking forward the arrangement of discussions with political parties.
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Steve Race:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP surgeries have signposted patients to the Pharmacy First scheme. \p Stephen Kinnock: Every month approximately 75% of general practices refer at least one patient to a pharmacy under Pharmacy First.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the Care Quality Commission’s Community mental health survey 2024, published on 3 April 2025. \p Stephen Kinnock: We welcome the Care Quality Commission’s survey. The evidence from this survey will feed into our plans to improve community mental health services through the 10 year plan. Too many people with mental health issues are not getting the care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.
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Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of integrating health services with social welfare advice. \p Stephen Kinnock: We recognise the importance of integrated health and care services, including social welfare advice. We are committed to moving to a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will reinforce integrated working between the National Health Service, social care, local government, other statutory services, the voluntary sector, and communities themselves, as the norm, not the exception.

A Neighbourhood Health Service will mean more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and support people to stay healthy and maintain their independence for longer.

The full vision for the health system will be set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provide guidance on the handover of patient care between GPs and (a) dentists and (b) eye clinics. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department supports effective patient care handovers between general practitioners (GPs), dentists, and eye clinics through existing frameworks. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) 2018 guideline Emergency and acute medical care in over 16s: service delivery and organisation, code NG94, recommends structured handovers using tools like SBAR, or Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, for clear communication during care transitions that are applicable to these settings. The NICE’s 2015 guideline Medicines optimisation: the safe and effective use of medicines to enable the best possible outcomes, code NG5, advises sharing accurate medicine information when patients move between different providers.

For dentists, the NICE’s 2015 guideline Suspected cancer: recognition and referral, code NG12, supports GP referrals for suspected oral cancer requiring clear communication. NHS England’s dental policies promote collaboration between GPs and dentists that are reinforced by the General Dental Council’s standards on documentation.

For eye clinics, NHS England’s Eye Care Digital Playbook encourages secure communication for handovers between GPs, optometrists, and eye services. Referral guidance ensures GPs provide comprehensive patient details.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_86

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for family carers in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support they need. Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires them to provide a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.

On the 7 of April 2025, the Government increased the Carer’s Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage. This represents the largest increase in the earnings limit since the Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976.

Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service highlighted the need for a fresh approach to supporting and involving unpaid carers, to improve outcomes across the board, for carers, for those they care for, and the NHS itself.

These findings will be carefully considered as part of our 10-year plan to reform and modernise the NHS, and as we continue to shape our plans to reform adult social care, including through the National Care Service.

We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.

The commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_87

Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the diversity of GPs; and how those steps align with the NHS Long Term Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to fostering a diverse workforce. It is vital that the National Health Service’s workforce represents the patients it serves, which is why we are actively encouraging better flexible working such as job-sharing and part-time hours.

To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of Government’s five long-term missions. We are listening to and co-designing the plan with the public and health and care staff. We want patients and staff to feel the difference in their daily lives. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_88

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve access to care need s assessments for (a) deaf and (b) blind people in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that deaf and blind people can access needs assessments. Under the Equality Act (2010), local authorities must also make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duty to undertake needs assessments. Needs assessments for deaf and blind people will form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report on how local authorities work with deaf and blind people when there is something important to highlight, such as something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement. The CQC is assessing all 153 local authorities in England. So far, the CQC has published over twenty assessments, including an assessment for Surrey County Council, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/surrey-1124

By identifying local authorities’ strengths and areas for improvement, CQC assessments facilitate the sharing of good practice and help us to target support where it is most needed. These steps will help to improve access to needs assessments for everyone who needs it, including deaf and blind people.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_89

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the rate of discharge from hospitals into social care in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) England. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is a priority for the Government to support hospital discharge and ensure that people receive the care that they need.

On 30 January 2025, the Government published the policy framework for the Better Care Fund (BCF) in 2025/26, which took effect on 1 April 2025. The new BCF Policy Framework supports local areas to use pooled funding in a way that reduces delayed discharges and delivers greater impact for those receiving integrated care.

£9 billion of funding is available through the BCF for 2025/26, including £149 million provided to Hertfordshire. This consists of £110 million to the Hertfordshire and West Essex and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Boards, and £39 million to Hertfordshire County Council.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_90

Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of prescription medication that is wasted. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS England has made data, tools, and resources available to integrated care boards (ICBs), primary care networks, and general practices following the 2021 overprescribing review. These include a National Medicines Optimisation Opportunity dashboard for ICBs, a Polypharmacy Comparators dashboard, an Oversupply Dashboard for general practice and primary care networks, and an Opioid Prescribing Comparators dashboard.

The overprescribing review set out a series of practical and cultural changes to ensure patients are receiving the most appropriate treatment for their needs, while ensuring clinicians’ time is well spent and taxpayer money is spent wisely. The recommendations aim to support National Health Service systems to highlight variation, identify opportunities for medicines optimisation improvement, and support ongoing monitoring.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_91

Sadik Al-Hassan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of regulation of access to controlled drugs in care homes in North Somerset. \p Stephen Kinnock: Under the Enhanced health in care homes framework, every care home must be aligned to a primary care network (PCN) and must have established protocols between the PCN, the care home, and system partners, such as local general practices and pharmacies, for information sharing, shared care planning, use of shared care records, and clear clinical governance.

Pharmacies are expected to maintain a reasonable stock holding to meet their legal obligations to dispense all prescriptions, including to patients in care homes, with reasonable promptness, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine. The Pharmacy Quality Scheme rewards community pharmacy contractors that deliver quality criteria, one of which is the Palliative and End of Life Care scheme. Participating pharmacy contractors must declare if they intend to routinely stock 16 critical end of life medicines, including controlled drugs such as morphine and midazolam and/or parenteral haloperidol, and must have an action plan in place to support local access. This enables palliative medicines to be quickly sourced when prescribed.

Most care homes with nursing can hold stocks of controlled drugs and will not require a licence to access medicines containing controlled drugs for patients who need them. This is because care homes run by public authorities or charities are exempt from the need for a Home Office controlled drug licence. Care homes without nursing cannot store controlled drugs unless they are prescribed for individual residents.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-08 conversation_92

Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help retain existing GPs in the workforce. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are starting to see consistent growth in the general practice (GP) workforce. As of March 2025, there were 938 more full time equivalent doctors working in GPs compared to March 2024.

Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. This is why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.