theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve bereavement support for carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need. Bereavement support is commissioned locally, to meet the needs of the local population. NHS England has developed guidance for integrated care boards which requires commissioners to ensure there is sufficient access to bereavement support services.

Statutory guidance states commissioners should ensure there is sufficient access to bereavement services available for families and carers, including children and young people. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/palliative-and-end-of-life-care-statutory-guidance-for-integrated-care-boards-icbs/
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support GPs in Essex to invest in (a) clinical equipment, (b) staff training and (c) uniforms, in the context of rises in operating costs. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are investing an additional £889 million in the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing the 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 General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

The Department’s MedTech Strategy, published in February 2023, and the subsequent One Year On Report in April 2024, outline our priorities for improving the adoption and spread of safe, effective, and innovative medical technologies across the NHS.

General practices and primary care networks have access to a regional Primary Care Training Hub, which brings together education and training resources from NHS organisations, community providers, and local authorities. Training hubs are usually run by a clinical leader and a manager supported by a network of primary care staff, with education and training professionals based in the community. They work closely with primary care networks and integrated care systems to support workforce priorities and tackle health inequalities to help meet patient and population demand.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients. NHS England has set out expectations regarding dress code for health care providers. It is for individual practices to implement and ensure staff are dressed appropriately.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure early diagnosis of cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: Earlier diagnosis of cancer, at stages 1 or 2, is key to delivering improved cancer outcomes and boosting chances of survival. The earlier that cancer is diagnosed, the more options there are for effective treatment.

The Government is committed to improving rates of early diagnosis. We are increasing public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms through the NHS Help Us, Help You campaigns, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point. Additionally, we are streamlining referral routes by introducing the non-specific symptom pathway, for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type. We are also increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.

Furthermore, the latest rapid registration data shows our 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 58.7% as of July 2024; this is 2.7% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This means approximately 7,000 more people are being diagnosed at stage 1 and 2. The roll out of the lung screening programme has driven two thirds of this improvement and latest data shows early diagnosis for lung cancer is eight percentage points higher than pre-pandemic. We will build on recent successes, including further roll out of the lung screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates.

Additionally, the recently announced National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of placing a new statutory duty on local authorities to ensure all unpaid carers are able to take regular breaks. \p Stephen Kinnock: This Government is committed to ensuring families have the support they need. We want to ensure that people who care for family and friends are better able to look after their own health and wellbeing. Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers such as respite and breaks.

The Government recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system. That is why the Government is launching 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 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. Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service is clear that a fresh approach to supporting and involving unpaid carers is required to improve outcomes for carers, people needing care and the NHS.

We will carefully consider these findings as part of our 10-year plan for reforming and modernising the NHS and as we develop plans to reform adult social care, including through the National Care Service.

Further, I recently met with employers and the Department for Business and Trade to discuss how employers are driving best practice in supporting working carers. The Government is committed to reviewing the implementation of Carer’s Leave and examining the benefits of introducing paid Carer’s Leave.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration his Department has given to including a separate faster diagnosis target for children and young people with cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will respond to Question 32211 on NHS: Finance tabled by the hon. Member for North Shropshire on 21 February 2025. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure the interoperability of NHS IT systems and (b) reduce duplication across NHS IT systems. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of a ban on the (a) marketing and (b) advertising of (i) e-cigarette and vaping products, (ii) non-medically licensed nicotine products, and (iii) heated tobacco products on adult smokers switching from combustible cigarettes to alternatives. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government has published a thorough impact assessment of the measures included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, including the prohibition on the advertising of vaping products and nicotine products.

Public health messaging and campaigns will continue to support the promotion of vapes as a quit aid for smokers, as outlined on the Better Health and National Health Service websites. Additionally, through our national Swap to Stop scheme, we’re helping adult smokers to quit by providing up to one million vapes to local authorities.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products, and that prohibition applies to tobacco products intended to be smoked, sniffed, sucked, or chewed. The Department’s view is that heated tobacco is captured by this definition.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS 111 service is accessible to elderly patients. \p Karin Smyth: NHS 111 is designed to be widely accessible and used by as many people as possible, including elderly patients. Patients can get help from NHS 111 by calling 111 for free from a landline or mobile phone, as well as in the NHS App and by using 111 online. More information about these is available at the following links:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/about-the-nhs-app/

https://111.nhs.uk/

Further information on alternative access to NHS 111 is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/urgent-emergency-care/nhs-111/accessing-nhs-111/

The NHS 111 online accessibility statement is available at the following link:

https://111.nhs.uk/Help/Accessibility
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the (a) potential implications for his policies of the proportion of individual funding request applications for chemosat treatment that are rejected and (b) adequacy of support provided to rare cancer patients. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2021, through its interventional procedures programme, that recommends that chemosaturation can be used for patients with secondary liver metastases resulting from a primary ocular melanoma, provided special arrangements are in place. NICE interventional procedures guidance considers the safety and efficacy of a treatment, but not whether it represents value for money and if it should be funded by the National Health Service. It is therefore for NHS England to decide if the treatment should be made routinely available based on the available evidence, and NHS England’s clinical commissioning policy states that it will not routinely commission chemosaturation for liver metastates from ocular melanomas, as there is insufficient evidence to support its use. Both NHS England’s policy and the NICE guidance will be reviewed if sufficient new evidence becomes available.

No assessment has been made of the adequacy of the support provided specifically to rare cancer patients. NHS England is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients are offered a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person, including those with rare cancers. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.

Health and wellbeing information and support is provided from diagnosis onwards and includes access to NHS Talking Therapy services for anxiety and depression. This is alongside wider work to improve psychosocial support for people affected by cancer, for instance through local partnerships with cancer support charities.

Additionally, the Innovative Device Access Pathway pilot, launched in February 2024, aims to streamline the introduction of innovative medical technologies to the market. The pilot provides intensive support and advice to selected target areas which are major causes of death and disease, and the pilot cohort included cancer treatments. The advice includes steps to overcome adoption barriers and facilitate patient access in the NHS. The learning from the pilot will be put to use.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with rarer cancers. We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and we will provide updates in due course.
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Chemosat is made available on the NHS following its recommendation by NICE in 2021. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2021, through its interventional procedures programme, that recommends that chemosaturation can be used for patients with secondary liver metastases resulting from a primary ocular melanoma. For these patients, this procedure should only be used with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent, an audit, or research.

NICE’s interventional procedures guidance considers the safety and efficacy of a treatment, but not whether it represents value for money and if it should be funded by the National Health Service. Only recommendations which come from NICE’s technology appraisal or highly specialised technology evaluation carry the mandatory requirement for NHS funding.

It is therefore for NHS England to decide if the treatment should be made routinely available based on the available evidence, and NHS England’s clinical commissioning policy states that it will not routinely commission chemosaturation for liver metastases from ocular melanomas as evidence has shown only some short term-tumour benefits to the treatment. Both NHS England’s policy and NICE’s guidance will be reviewed if sufficient new evidence becomes available.

Furthermore, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including through improved treatment options.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Care Quality Commission's ability to oversee safe care of patients in hospital premises. \p Ashley Dalton: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is not operationally fit for purpose and has been subject to a review from Penny Dash. It has itself commissioned reviews from Mike Richards and Vic Rayner to support recovery of the organisation. It is working at pace to improve its performance, and the Department is holding the CQC to account to ensure that it oversees safe care of patients, in all settings.

Ministers regularly meet with arms-length bodies, external stakeholders and key organisations to discuss a variety of issues, including but not limited to the quality of patient hospital care. There have also been discussions with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at official level on the trends in maternity and urgent and emergency care.

Patient safety is a top priority for the Government, and the CQC plays an important role in ensuring that providers meet the standards of care expected by patients, carers, families and loved ones.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Ian Lavery:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the statistics are for poverty related death per local area in each of the last five years. \p Ashley Dalton: There are no official published statistics on poverty-related deaths. Statistics on deaths from specific causes are based on the medical causes of death recorded on a death certificate, which are coded using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Although poverty is included within the ICD it is rarely coded as a cause of death.

Estimates of the number of deaths due to some factors that influence mortality but are not always stated as a cause of death, such as smoking, can be made. However, there is no agreed definition of a poverty-related death for use within Government, and no official statistics on potential numbers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the reasons for delays in emergency service response times in Boston and Skegness constituency; and what steps are being taken to improve response times. \p Karin Smyth: Ambulance services in Boston and Skegness are provided by the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, with responsibility for commissioning the services a matter for the local Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board. Any assessment of the specific local actions needed to improve response times should be undertaken and agreed locally by National Health Service organisations in the best interests of the local population and patients.

At a national level, the Government and NHS England are committed to improving ambulance response times. The NHS 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance sets national priorities, which include improving accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times compared to 2024/25.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce resource disparities among NHS Trusts for cancer (a) care and (b) treatment. \p Ashley Dalton: A £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available and accessible to patients. The National Health Service will also maximise the pace of the roll-out of the additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer.

The National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre is currently undertaking a range of audits which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary. This will enable the NHS to understand where to increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.

The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this.

The Department will also refresh the Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, so the NHS has the staff it needs to treat patients on time again.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Lincolnshire. \p Ashley Dalton: In a bid to improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government has committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED Fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.

As part of the application process, the Department has set out requirements to ensure that resources are allocated to where there is the greatest need, for instance in remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest, including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas. 21 AEDs have been distributed, through the AED Fund, to the Lincoln postcode area, from LN1 to LN13, which includes Alford, Lincoln, Woodhall Spa, Louth, Mablethorpe, and Horncastle.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to the public purse is for (a) clinical negligence and (b) other claims against the National Health Service in England paid out by NHS Resolution in each year since the 2019-20 financial year, broken down by speciality. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The attached document, provided by NHSR, shows the total payments for clinical negligence and non-clinical negligence claims, broken down by year and primary speciality, between the financial years 2019/20 and 2023/24. For this question they have used their Supplementary Annual Statistics (SAS) dataset to ensure the data represents the most up to date information. Therefore, the response will not align with their published Annual Reports and Accounts (ARA). The main difference is that the SAS dataset will take into account the ‘periodical payment order’, payments paid after the date of settlement, whilst the ARA will not.

Additional document (pdf, 110.9KB)
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available to help patients with metastatic ocular melanoma cope with the psychological impact of limited NHS treatment options. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Health Service is committed to ensuring that cancer patients have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support, as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. Personalised care ensures that each person’s care is planned holistically, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns. The NHS is supporting adults experiencing cancer with access to psychosocial support, which can include NHS Talking Therapy services, which provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression.

Improving outcomes for rarer cancers, including ocular melanoma, is an area of focus for the National Cancer Plan for England, which will seek to improve both the physical and mental health aspects of cancer care. The plan’s overarching goal will be to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.

To understand how we can do more to achieve our ambitions for cancer in England, on 4 February 2025 we launched a Call for Evidence for the National Cancer Plan, in which the views of people across the country will inform our plan to improve cancer care, including for rarer cancers. Those who wish to share their views can do so on the new online platform, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/shaping-the-national-cancer-plan

The Department is committed to working closely with the devolved administrations on health matters to share best practice and deliver better outcomes for patients across the United Kingdom. The devolved administrations’ Phase 1 Spending Review settlements for 2025/26 are the largest, in real terms, of any settlements since devolution. The allocation of these settlements is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to ensure patients can (a) get better access to and (b) find out about (i) research and (ii) clinical trials for rare cancers. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to maximising our potential to lead the world in clinical trials and ensuring that clinical trials are more accessible.

The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical research on rare cancers. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. These investments are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes, including for rare cancers.

The NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which promotes participation in health and social care research, including research into rare cancers, by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will appoint a named lead in the Department with a responsibility to support research and innovation for rare cancers. \p Ashley Dalton: There are no plans to appoint a named lead within the Department for this purpose as the Department supports research and innovation for rare cancers, and other conditions, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department spends £1.6 billion each year on research through the NIHR, with cancer as one of the largest areas of investment, at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

The development and delivery of research for rare cancers is supported and enabled nationwide through the NIHR’s infrastructure, including the NIHR Research Delivery Network, the NIHR Clinical Research Facilities, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, the NIHR HealthTech Research Centres, the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, and the newly designated NIHR Commercial Research Delivery Centres. These all support the delivery of clinical research through facilities, staff resource, collaborations, and funding.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the information on the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claim process, published by the NHS Business Services Authority, if he will publish the past tribunal decisions and case law used to assess applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. \p Ashley Dalton: Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) appeals are heard by the First-tier Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. The tribunal does not publish these decisions as they are non-binding and contain personal information.

First-tier tribunal decisions do not set a precedent for other cases. All claims to the VDPS are assessed on a case-by-case basis, using the latest available medical evidence. Medical assessors will consider: the claim form; medical records from the vaccinated person’s healthcare providers; clinical research; epidemiological evidence; and the current consensus of expert medical opinion.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled 10-year study to shed light on youth vaping, published on 19 February 2025, what steps he plans to take to ensure all data reviewed is from the use of vapes compliant with UK regulations. \p Ashley Dalton: Due to the nicotine content and unknown long-term harms, vapes and nicotine products carry risks of harm and addiction, and this is particularly acute for adolescents whose brains are still developing.

The 10-year Adolescent Health Study (AHS) will follow a cohort of 100,000 eight to 18 year olds from across the United Kingdom and will provide further insights about the health consequences of vaping for young people. This will provide healthcare professionals and policymakers with the robust evidence they need to shape future policy. We will continue to engage with the AHS team during the study’s development.

Alongside this, we will continue to clamp down on illicit vapes and those which are not compliant with UK regulations. We have also committed to invest £10 million of new funding in 2025/26, to support Trading Standards to tackle underage and illicit tobacco and vape sales.

Through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we are also introducing powers to introduce a retail licensing scheme and create a more robust product registration scheme. A new registration scheme, along with stricter rules on testing and product requirements, will support a safe and legal market for tobacco and vape products, and will allow us to quickly identify illicit products which should not be on shelves.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to support ongoing research into Alzeimher's. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government’s responsibility for delivering research into Alzheimer’s disease is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The NIHR is delivering a wide range of research initiatives into Alzheimer’s disease. For example, the NIHR is investing nearly £50 million over five years into the Dementia Trials Network, which seeks to significantly expand the United Kingdom’s early phase clinical trial capabilities for dementia.

The NIHR also invests significantly in building the next generation of dementia researchers, which includes partnering with Alzheimer’s Society to fund and support a cohort of post-doctoral health and care researchers.

UKRI funds research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, across a broad portfolio of investments, including research projects, fellowships, and programmes of work within our institutes. Key recent investments in neurodegeneration research include the Dementia Research Institute, use of the Science Technology and Facilities Council’s facilities in Alzheimer’s research, an Innovate UK contribution to the Longitude Prize on Dementia, and £10 million of funding through the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund for a Neurological and Psychiatric Imaging Research and Therapeutics Hub at Kings College London.
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Mr Calvin Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of prostate cancer cases that had presented with stage 4 metastatic disease at first diagnosis in Leyton and Wanstead constituency in the most recent year that data are available. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department does not have specific data for Leyton and Wanstead. However, we can provide diagnosis data at an integrated care board (ICB) level. Specifically, we can offer information on diagnoses at stages 3 and 4 for the North-East London ICB. In 2022, 400 men were diagnosed with stage 3 or stage 4 conditions within the NHS North East London ICB.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve HIV testing across the UK. \p Ashley Dalton: Health is a devolved matter, and it is the responsibility of the individual administrations to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need. All four nations, however, are committed to reducing HIV transmissions.

The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030. The Department, the UK Health and Security Agency, NHS England, and partners are developing the new HIV Action Plan for England, which we aim to publish this year. Scaling up and increasing the availability of testing is a key objective of the new plan.

HIV testing is funded by local authorities through the ringfenced Public Health Grant (PHG). In 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the PHG to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.

The Department is investing over £5.5 million from 2021 to 2026 to deliver the HIV Prevention Programme (HPE). The HPE aims to increase the awareness and acceptability of HIV testing and reduce barriers to access through the delivery of public campaigns such as National HIV Testing Week, during which we dispatch over 20,000 HIV testing kits in England.

On 28 November, the Prime Minister announced £27 million of additional funding to expand the highly successful National Health Service emergency department opt-out testing programme for 2025/26. This is particularly important in population groups less likely to access HIV testing via traditional sexual health services, such as people of black African and black Caribbean heritage.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support unpaid carers in rural areas. \p Stephen Kinnock: Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.

The Government is committed to giving families the support that they need. I recently met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets in the Department for Business and Trade, and the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability in the Department for Work and Pensions to look at how we can work together more closely to support unpaid carers.

The Government has already taken steps to support unpaid carers. From April 2025 we are increasing the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196. This means carers can earn up to £10,000 a year whilst still retaining Carer's Allowance; this is approximately an additional £2,000 a year.

The Accelerating Reform Fund’s (ARF) second tranche of funding worth £22.6 million for 2024/25 has also been released. More than half of the ARF projects, and at least one in each integrated care system area are focussed on identifying, recognising and supporting unpaid carers.

The Government recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system. That is why we are launching 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 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 (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-11 conversation_62

Dave Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of standardising the process by which ICBs commission palliative care, in the context of administrative pressures on hospices. \p Stephen Kinnock: Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

Due to the way the hospice movement organically grew, hospice locations were largely not planned with a view to providing even access across the country or to prioritise areas of greatest need based on demographics.

We are 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.

We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, with Hospice UK allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-11 conversation_63

Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent trends in the level of funding for elective services on ADHD right to choose assessments. \p Stephen Kinnock: Elective funding covers a range of planned health services, including elective ordinary and day cases, outpatient appointments, and diagnostics tests, although this does not include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services. ADHD patients continue to benefit from the right to choose their provider at the point of referral.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessments for ADHD, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

NHS England has established a taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience, and experts from the National Health Service, 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, and is expecting to report in the summer of 2025.

In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop an ADHD data improvement plan to inform future service planning. NHS England has also conducted detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, capturing examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services. NHS England is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-11 conversation_64

Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to National Insurance employer contributions on hospices in North East Hampshire constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, enabling the Spending Review settlement of £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The employer National Insurance contribution rise will be implemented in April 2025, and planning guidance published on 30 January 2025 sets out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding providers in the next financial year. It considers a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on the providers of secondary healthcare, including charitable hospices.  Further information on the planning guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2025-26-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance/

We are 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.

We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April 2025.

In addition, I recently met the major palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-11 conversation_65

Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS hospital staff receive adequate (a) training and (b) support to manage dementia patients in general hospital wards. \p Stephen Kinnock: Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver the appropriate treatment for patients. Individual trusts are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to carry out their role, and for investing in the future of their staff through providing continuing professional development funding.

The required training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework, commissioned and funded by the Department and developed in collaboration with the sector, which is available at the following link:

https://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/info-hub/dementia-2015-updated-2018/

The framework sets out the essential knowledge, skills, and expected learning outcomes applicable across the health and care spectrum. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also issued guidance on Assessment, Management and Support for People Living With Dementia, which covers staff training and education, and which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97/chapter/Recommendations#staff-training-and-education
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-11 conversation_66

Jonathan Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of communication systems between GP surgeries and pharmacies. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises the importance of effective communication between general practice (GP) surgeries and pharmacies, to ensure safe and coordinated patient care. Over recent years, several digital initiatives have been introduced to reduce the reliance on fax and paper, and to enhance this communication, including NHSmail, the Electronic Prescription Service, and the Summary Care Record. These systems allow pharmacists to access patient information and support prescription processing.

GP Connect is a national service introduced in 2018, and further strengthened in the 2025/26 GP Contract, that allows authorised health and social care workers in a variety of care settings to access their patients' GP records. The aim of GP Connect is to support better, more joined-up clinical care by opening up information and data held within GP IT systems, so that registered community pharmacists can view and update records. This initiative supports the Pharmacy First service, which empowers pharmacists to offer a full consultation and provide treatment for seven common health conditions.

The Community Pharmacy Information Standard informed the plan to recover access to primary care published in May 2023. This set out a range of actions to improve communication between GP surgeries and community pharmacies, harnessing digital technology to streamline referrals, increase access to clinical information to support patient care and update the patient record in an efficient and timely way. The Government remains committed to strengthening primary care integration and to fixing the front door of the National Health Service.