theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources his Department has provided to facilitate the participation by GP practices in the Advice and Guidance scheme in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency since 1 April 2025. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards (ICBs) were instructed to invite all general practices to participate in the enhanced service specification for General Practice Requests for Advice and Guidance (A&G) 2025/26, which sees practices entitled to claim a £20 fee per request for pre-referral advice and guidance, no later than 13 May 2025. The Government has made £80 million available to fund up to four million A&G requests so general practitioners (GPs) can access advice ahead of making a referral, recognising the importance of their role in ensuring patient care takes place in the most appropriate setting.

NHS England has developed supporting resources to aid continued use of A&G, including a toolkit with guidance for GPs as well as for commissioners and secondary care clinical teams, and an operational delivery framework which sets a roadmap for ICBs to expand and improve their use of A&G across seven themes and with a set of minimum standards for best practice.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-19)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 34 of his Department's policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, what the outcome will be if a patient and care team do not agree on the contents of a care plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: Our 10-Year Health Plan will ensure that people with complex needs are supported to be active participants in their own care. As part of this, 95% of people with complex needs or long-term conditions will have an agreed personalised care plan by 2027.   We recognise that care plans should be developed collaboratively between patients and care teams. Reaching agreement is essential, as a lack of consensus can lead to delays in care and reduced patient engagement.

Patients have the right to autonomy over decisions about their own care, and both clinical and personal aspects should be approached as shared decisions. Where disagreements arise, particularly those relating to funding, can be escalated to the integrated care board for resolution.

Work is currently underway to determine how care plans will be delivered, including escalation routes if agreement can’t be made.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-19)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the maximum distance a patient should be from a (a) neighbourhood health centre and (b) GP surgery is under the 10 Year Health Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: There is no centrally stipulated limit on the distance a patient should be from a general practice surgery or a neighbourhood health centre (NHC). Integrated care boards are required to commission services that meet the reasonable needs of the population they serve.

The Government has committed to deliver a NHC in every community across the country over the course of the 10-Year Health Plan. The Department is currently determining how best to trial NHCs, including identifying potential site locations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-19)

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Amanda Hack:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support the long-term (a) financial and (b) operational sustainability of community pharmacies. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.

There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. 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 medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-19)

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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure integrated care boards publish data on funding for children’s hospices. \p Stephen Kinnock: Palliative care services, including for children, are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

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 children’s hospices, also play in providing support to children who require palliative care and end of life care, 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 care and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area. It is for ICBs to determine whether they publish their funding data.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. The allocations for 2024/25 are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hospices-receive-multi-million-pound-boost-to-improve-facilities

The allocations for 2025/26 are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/75-million-boost-for-hospices-to-transform-end-of-life-care

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant.

In 2024/25 and 2025/26, this funding was administered via ICBs in line with NHS devolution.
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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what will be in the terms of the Carr Hill review. \p Stephen Kinnock: The review will consider how health needs are reflected in the distribution of funding through the GP contract, drawing on a range of evidence and advice from experts.

Arrangements for the Carr-Hill review are being finalised. Further details will be confirmed in due course.
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Kirsteen Sullivan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will consider relocating auxiliary workers to British (a) diplomatic and (b) military operations in Afghanistan for their safety. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Details of the UK Government's Afghanistan Resettlement Programme (ARP) can be found on the gov.uk website. The Ministry of Defence has overall responsibility for the ARP and the Afghan Resettlement and Assistance Policy (ARAP).  The Home Office is the lead for the Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the findings by the Human Rights Watch entitled Questions and Answers on Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon, published on 12 October 2023. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Since the start of the conflict, the UK has urged all parties to comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, including in relation to protection of civilians. We continue to engage the Government of Israel at the highest levels to urge it to do much more to protect Gaza's civilians and to ensure it fully complies with its obligations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-19)

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Chris Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to publicly support a global initiative to stop the trade of goods used for torture during the first committee stage of the UN General Assembly in 2025. \p Chris Elmore: The UK Government remains committed to preventing torture and tackling impunity for those who torture others. It is essential for safeguarding our security and integral to a fair legal system and the rule of law.

At the UN General Assembly, we will continue to work with allies to encourage all states to uphold their international human rights obligations. As a member of the Global Alliance on Torture Free Trade, the UK supports the initiative to stop the trade of goods used for capital punishment and torture. Goods are subject to export restrictions if they can be used for torture, capital punishment, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Export licence applications are considered against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The Government will not grant a licence for items where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.
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Natalie Fleet:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with the trustees of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme on the transfer of its investment reserve to members. \p Michael Shanks: The previous Minister of State for Industry met the BCSSS Trustees on 22 April, 11 June and 22 July and confirmed the Government’s commitment to considering their proposals regarding the reserve and the future of the scheme. DESNZ will now engage HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members.

The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits the installation of solar technology on home balconies. \p Michael Shanks: The UK has huge potential for solar power, and the Government is committed to working with industry to radically increase our existing solar capacity, through a variety of methods, to meet the targets set out in the Clean Power Action Plan. Plug-in solar provides an opportunity for households to adopt solar more cheaply. The recently published Solar Roadmap includes an action for the Government to conduct a safety study this year. This safety study is currently out to tender, and the results will determine how we can progress with this work, with the aim of unlocking opportunities for plug-in solar in the near future.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he has taken to ensure plans are in place to manage major power outages. \p Michael Shanks: Maintaining a secure electricity supply is a key priority for Government. DESNZ work closely with the energy industry to ensure robust response plans are in place to mitigate the impacts of energy disruption. These emergency procedures and protocols are set out in the National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity which is available on the GOV.UK website.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer of 10 September to Question 74317 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Social Media, how much his Department has spent on promotion through social media influencers since July 2024 by influencer. \p Michael Shanks: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has spent money on social media influencers since July 2024. The information requested by the Rt hon Member includes commercially sensitive information received from contracted agencies (3rd Party Marketing Agencies). As such, we are unable to provide a breakdown of spend by influencer.
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Josh Fenton-Glynn:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to (a) maximise the output of existing wind turbines and (b) avoid payments for curtailment of generation. \p Michael Shanks: The Reformed National Pricing package will ensure a more strategic approach to the energy system which improves operational efficiency, including how existing wind turbines are utilised. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system and managing curtailment payments. Curtailment payments are part of operating an efficient electricity system. Government is working to reduce these costs by accelerating build of electricity network infrastructure to increase system capacity. The Reformed National Pricing package will also address these costs through improved strategic planning and market reforms. An update on these reforms will be published later this year.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is considering to implement robust leak detection and repair requirements to reduce wasted gas and methane emissions coming from North Sea oil and gas operators. \p Michael Shanks: The UK environmental regulators have established a Methane Technical Working Group to share knowledge and identify best practices for leak detection and emissions monitoring across oil and gas regulators both onshore and offshore. My Department’s Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment & Decommissioning (OPRED) will continue to work with OEUK (the lead industry trade body) and regulatory partners such as the North Sea Transition Authority to share findings and recommendations with industry to inform improvements to emissions reduction initiatives including methane action plans.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to take steps to encourage methane gas electricity generators to capture landfill gas when the renewables obligation certificates scheme are phased out in 2027. \p Michael Shanks: The Government is aware that the operations of landfill gas generators may be affected by the phasing out of support under the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme.

Environmental permits mean that landfill operators will be required to manage methane emissions in any event. Whilst emissions from waste are a matter for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), officials from both DEFRA and DESNZ are assessing the impact that the end of RO accreditation will have on these generators to consider whether further action is required.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ending routine flaring and venting of methane by oil and gas operators. \p Michael Shanks: I refer the Honourable Member to the answers I gave on 22 July 2025 to Question 67438 and on 16 October 2024 to Question 7834.
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that integrated care boards (a) commission children’s palliative care and (b) fund children’s hospices in (i) an equitable and (ii) a sustainable way. \p Stephen Kinnock: Palliative care services, including children’s 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 a service specification for children and young people. 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 care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the important contribution that children and young people’s hospices make to care and support for babies, children, and young people with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, as well as to their families.

NHS England has provided £26 million in revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26, through what was, until recently, known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. This was an increase in funding from £25 million in 2024/25.

ICBs will once again administer the funding to their respective children and young people’s hospices on behalf of NHS England. The majority of children and young people’s hospices should now have received their allocations, with the remaining few receiving theirs in the coming weeks.

In February 2025, I met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, including Together for Short Lives, in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS occupational therapists involved in Disabled Facilities Grants for (a) children and (b) other people. \p Stephen Kinnock: Occupational therapists play an important role in delivering the Disabled Facilities Grant at a local level by assessing older and disabled people’s needs, recommending home adaptations, and ensuring the suitability of proposed solutions.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include Allied Health Professionals such as occupational therapists.

The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to improve access to funding for people whose homes require adaptations for health reasons. \p Stephen Kinnock: In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government departments more widely on relevant issues.

We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Questions (a) 61929 tabled on 23 June, (b) 61928 tabled on 23 June and (c) 61005 tabled on 18 June 2025. \p Karin Smyth: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 1 July 2025 to Questions 61005 and 61928, and to the answer I gave on 7 July 2025 to Question 61929.
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Marie Goldman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework funding settlement for 2024-25 and 2025-26 on future levels of pharmacy closures. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework funding settlement for 2024/25 and 2025/26 provides the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service representing a 19.7% increase, with the total of £3.073 billion committed to community pharmacies.

The individual financial positions of pharmacy contractors are not visible to the Government. It is therefore not possible for the impact on pharmacy closures to be quantified. However, we expect that this significant increase in funding will support contractors and begin to stabilise a sector that has been neglected for too long. This settlement was agreed with Community Pharmacy England as the representatives for the community pharmacy sector.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making frontline health and social care workers eligible for the autumn 2025 covid-19 vaccination programme. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026

On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that for autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.

In line with JCVI’s advice, frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) and staff working in care homes for older adults will not be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination under the national programme for autumn 2025. This is following an extensive review by the JCVI of the scientific evidence surrounding the impact of vaccination on the transmission of the virus from HSCWs to patients, protection of HSCWs against symptoms of the disease, and staff sickness absences.

In the current era of high population immunity to COVID-19, additional COVID-19 doses provide very limited, if any, protection against infection and any subsequent onward transmission of infection. For HSCWs, this means that COVID-19 vaccination likely now has only a very limited impact on reducing staff sickness absence. Therefore, the focus of the programme is now on those at greatest risk of serious disease and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.

HSCWs who are otherwise eligible, for example because of their own health conditions, will continue to be offered the vaccine as part of the National Health Service programme.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Number 10 press release entitled UK to deliver on 5% NATO pledge as Government drives greater security for working people, published on 23 June 2025, if he will list his Department's (a) projects and (b) programmes by directorate that will contribute to the resilience and security element of national security spending for each year between 2025-26 and 2034-35 inclusive; and if he will list the amount of spending for each item (a) in real terms (b) as a proportion of concurrent forecast GDP. \p Ashley Dalton: We will set out detailed plans for meeting this new target at the appropriate time. The Government will continue to report to NATO on delivery against the headline investment pledge and the split, in line with NATO’s reporting schedule.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials in his Department are assigned to work on the social care review. \p Stephen Kinnock: There are 11 officials currently assigned by the Department to work on the independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey. This includes Baroness Casey’s independent secretariat team and a small departmental sponsorship function.
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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to provide multi-year funding for (a) children's and (b) adult hospices through the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how the Government will fix our broken National Health Service. Too many people towards the end of their lives are not receiving the support and care they deserve. We are determined to change that, by changing the way services operate, rather than by simply funding more of the same.

The plan draws directly from the extensive engagement we have undertaken with the public, patients, staff, and representatives from the palliative care and end-of-life care sector, including those working in the hospice sector. The 10-Year Health Plan reflects the Department’s Spending Review settlement.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS10-Year Health Plan whether discussions have been held with (a) higher socio-economic groups and (b) working people. \p Ashley Dalton: We launched the Change NHS website to ensure that as many people as possible could have their say. As part of this, we asked participants to provide demographic information to help us hear from a representative cross-section of the public across the engagement as a whole. In tandem, we launched two nationally representative surveys, mirroring the Change NHS website content, to enable us to sense check against the insights from online participants.

At our public deliberative events, we used two channels to recruit the 755 participants to ensure the attendees were representative of the region the event was in. Firstly, two-thirds of the sample were recruited through Sortition, a method of selection designed to be representative of the population with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, location, disability, highest level of education attainment, and by index of multiple deprivation. Secondly, one third of the sample was recruited through specialist recruiters to boost audiences who are typically seldom heard in engagement. This included participants living in the 20% most deprived areas of England and those from ethnic minority backgrounds. We also held deliberative events with health and social care staff.
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Zöe Franklin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to begin consulting with adult social care providers on proposals for a Fair Pay Agreement. \p Stephen Kinnock: In England, we are committed to consulting on the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process, and we aim to begin a public consultation after the Employment Rights Bill receives Royal Assent later this year. We expect the consultation to run for 12 weeks, and we will work with partners to reach as much of the sector as possible.

We have already begun engaging with sector representatives in England through the Department’s Fair Pay Agreement Working Group and policy specific task and finish groups, which will help to inform policy options for a public consultation on the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding provided for social care in the Spending Review 2025, in the context of estimated demographic trends in the next three years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government assessed the impact of the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2025. This assessment took account of a range of factors, including demographic pressures, that could affect the delivery of social care services.

The Spending Review process allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support adult social care, and an increase to the National Health Service contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP funding relative to the proportion of NHS patient contact delivered in primary care. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Carr-Hill formula, which underpins capitation payments to general practices (GPs), is designed to ensure that resources are directed to practices based on an estimate of their patient workload and unavoidable practice costs.

It is a workload-based formula, introduced in 2004, that is designed to ensure that practices are reimbursed for their expected workload. Practices are paid more if their registered patients are expected to use services more based on past usage patterns of patients with similar characteristics. It takes into account factors, such as the sex and age of patients, morbidity and mortality, patient list turnover, and unavoidable costs based on geographical area.

We recognise the importance of ensuring that funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country, and will therefore review the Carr-Hill formula. Details of the review, including timeframes, will be confirmed in due course.

We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, 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 General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

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Michael Payne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether the 7.4 per cent global sum uplift for 2024-25 will sufficiently cover the accepted recommendation of a 6 per cent pay rise for GP partners and salaried staff. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government looks to the independent pay review bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff, including both contractor and salaried general practitioners (GPs). They consider a range of evidence from organisations including the Government, the NHS, and trade unions to reach their recommendations.

The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration recommended an uplift of 6% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay for 2024/25. This recommendation was accepted and a 6% uplift was applied to the pay element of the GP Contract.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_15

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department expects NHS England to publish updated guidance on children's and young people's eating disorders; and which third party bodies were consulted on updates to that guidance. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS England is in the process of refreshing its guidance on children and young people's eating disorders, which includes increasing the focus on early identification and intervention across the care pathway, including in settings such as schools and primary care. The guidance focuses on community provision of care, whilst ensuring swift access to specialist support as soon as an eating disorder is suspected. It is not yet known when the updated guidance will be published.

The updated guidance is being produced in partnership with a task and finish group comprising of internal and external clinical, academic, and policy stakeholders, including from royal colleges, regional and system children and young people and eating disorder leads and children, young people, and parents with lived experience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_16

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department’s expenditure with external suppliers of translation or interpretation services for the 2025 calendar year to date was £7,196, excluding British Sign Language expenditure. In addition, there was no expenditure for languages native to the United Kingdom. This was expenditure mainly for providing accessible, easy to understand versions of technical and legal documents for patients and the public, commissioned by different directorates within the Department.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_17

Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 2.4 of the Spending Review Departmental Efficiency Plans, published on 11 June 2025, what the sickness absence rate was for NHS entities included in the NHS Productivity Plan as a percentage in each of the last five financial years. \p Karin Smyth: Sickness absence rates are published monthly and are available on the NHS England Digital website, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-sickness-absence-rates

The NHS Productivity Plan referenced includes all National Health Service hospital and community health services (HCHS), which is the same remit as the published sickness absence rates.

The following table shows the average annual sickness absence rates across all HCHS in England for the last five financial years for which full-year data is available:

Financial year

Annual sickness absence rate from April to March

2023/24

4.9%

2022/23

2021/22

5.4%

2020/21

4.7%

2019/20

4.5%

There are some indications that sickness absence across the economy remained high throughout 2023/24 and 2024/25, though data for individual sectors of the economy is limited. Sickness absence in the NHS, however, is lower at present compared to the heights of 2022/23.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_18

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025 on the provision of NHS services in (a) England and (b) Fylde. \p Karin Smyth: The Supreme Court’s ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers case has provided much needed confidence and clarity to service providers. We expect all public service bodies to act on the clarity that the ruling provides

We are considering the impact of the ruling. While the implementation of the ruling may generate operational challenges or have financial implications, it is not beyond the ability of the National Health Service to find a path that resolves these issues in a way that ensures the safety and dignity of all patients. We will support the NHS in England in doing so.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_19

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of births in NHS hospitals to mothers not born in the UK in 2023, broken down by the (a) region of the hospital and (b) mother's country of birth. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not hold data on the number of births in National Health Service hospitals to mothers not born in the United Kingdom.

However, the Office for National Statistics publishes statistics on live births in England and Wales in 2023 by parent’s country of birth and area of usual residence. These statistics include live births to the 2.2% of women who did not give birth in an NHS hospital and instead gave birth at home, in a non-NHS establishment, or elsewhere, and are available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/parentscountryofbirthenglandandwales/2023
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_20

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to bring retired NHS staff back into service. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England operates Return to Practice for Nurses, Midwives and Health and Care Professions Council professionals, which is for those wanting to return after their professional registration has lapsed. This includes retired National Health Service staff going back into service.

NHS Pension Scheme rules have been changed over recent years to make returning to service and contributing extra hours more attractive.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_21

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many endometriosis specialist practitioners there are in the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not hold information on the number of endometriosis specialists working in the National Health Service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_22

Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to adopt the provisions set out in Annex XVI of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on products without an intended medical purpose. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is working to deliver a future regulatory framework for medical devices that prioritises patient and public safety, gives patients access to the medical devices they need, and ensures the United Kingdom remains an attractive market for innovators.

In 2021, the Government consulted on the future regulation of medical devices, including on proposals to bring certain products without an intended medical purpose but with similar risk profiles to medical devices into the scope of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002. We intend to conduct further consultation and engagement with trusted stakeholders on certain aspects of our proposed policy approach to the future enhancement of our regulations, including on our approach to products without an intended medical purpose.

Moreover, the Government is committed to taking action to address longstanding concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is also exploring options for further regulation of cosmetic procedures, including the practitioners who perform them. We will set out the details of our approach in our response to the consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which we will publish as soon as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_23

Sir Mark Hendrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 60420 on Health Services: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of cancelled appointments (a) at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and (b) in England; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of missed appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in the last three years. \p Karin Smyth: As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that to help achieve this target we must reduce the cancellation of procedures wherever possible.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, states that systems and providers will be expected to consistently focus on the smaller aspects of service delivery that can make a big difference in reducing cancellations, including embedding theatre scheduling for elective surgery, and reviewing list allocation for past and upcoming theatre lists.

At the Lancashire Teaching Hospital, a number of initiatives are in place to reduce the number of cancelled appointments, including theatre efficiency and utilisation programmes, focused on the reduction of late starts, improved turnaround times, and reduced overruns. The opening of the new elective admissions unit, the Lancashire Elective Surgery Unit, at the Royal Preston Hospital supports improved admission processes and theatre efficiency. Investment in the Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit workforce and tracking systems within theatres helps reduce the number of cancellations due to equipment issues. This is in addition to improved administrative processes to ensure care is delivered in the most productive way.

No specific assessment has been made of the cost of cancelled appointments at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-07 conversation_24

Jodie Gosling:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of additional physiotherapists required to support people (a) with long-term health conditions and (b) who are disabled get back to work. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has made no specific assessment of the additional need for physiotherapists and rehabilitation support workers in the National Health Service and independent sectors.

The Department will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people are in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.