theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_731

James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available for dental practices to (a) relocate to and (b) open new practices in underserved areas. \p Stephen Kinnock: Dental practices are private businesses and therefore able to decide how they operate. It is their own responsibility to secure dental premises. The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Rushcliffe constituency, this is Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

Integrated Care Boards have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. As of 10 February 2025, in England, 35 dentists were recruited and in post, a further 33 dentists were recruited but yet to start in post, and a further 249 posts are currently advertised.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with the Integrated Care Board on the need for GP surgeries in Camelford and Bodmin. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards (ICB) are responsible for planning and commissioning healthcare services to meet the reasonable needs of the people for whom they are responsible, including primary medical services. ICBs are best placed to understand the needs of their local population and to make decisions on new general practice (GP) surgeries based on those needs. ICBs’ annual commissioning plans must consider requirements for new practices, including those driven by population growth, contract expiries, or unplanned closures. We expect ICBs to act if services are not meeting the reasonable needs of their patients.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future. That is why we have set out our commitment to fix the front door to the NHS, for example through the £102 million of capital funding announced at the Autumn Budget for upgrades to GP estates over the next financial year.

We know that some patients are struggling to see a GP and we are committed to improving GP provision across the country, including in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB area.

We recognise the pressure that housing developments can place upon local health infrastructure. At a national level, we continue to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to address this issue in national planning guidance and ensure all new and existing developments have an adequate level of healthcare infrastructure for the community.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the handling of complaints regarding private hospice care. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and, therefore, covers the palliative and end of life care sector, including independent hospices. The CQC registers health and adult care providers, monitors and inspects services to see whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led, and publishes their findings, including quality ratings.

The CQC can use its legal powers to take action where poor care is identified, and can publish regional and national reviews of the major quality issues in health and social care, including palliative and end of life care, encouraging improvement by highlighting good practice. A complaint regarding hospice care can also be made to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint

The majority of independent hospices receive some funding from their local integrated care board (ICB). If a hospice does receive funding via that route, a complaint can be raised with the local ICB via the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/about-nhs-services/contact-your-local-integrated-care-board-icb/
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Harpreet Uppal:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that decisions on the allocation of funding through the Children Hospices Grant are made by his Department. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices. It will once again be transacted by integrated care boards on behalf of NHS England. This is in line with National Health Service devolution and promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.

NHS England will set out the details of the 2025/26 funding allocation and dissemination to individual hospices shortly.

In February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care, including hospice, stakeholders to discuss the long-term sustainability of palliative and end of life care, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21470 on Hospices: Charitable Donations, if he will provide financial support to hospices to directly cover declining charitable incomes. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.

Charitable hospices, as autonomous organisations, provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.

In addition to the record hospice funding package I mentioned in my previous answer, 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 (2025-03-03)

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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on reducing the backlog of children and young people waiting for mental health services in Leicestershire. \p Stephen Kinnock: Child and adolescent mental health services work with young people and their families from across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. The service also links with other children’s services, such as early help, schools, and social care to provide a multi-agency approach.

Leicestershire Partnership Trust is taking the following steps to reduce the backlog of patients waiting for mental health services:

- timely discharge of children and young people who have completed a course of intervention to ensure flow through the service and reduced waits;

- ascertain if group work is an appropriate option to ensure early support, preventing further waits;

- clinical staff are asked to consider if they are able to work additional hours to increase capacity;

- a robust recruitment and retention plan to reduce vacancies, which will increase capacity to offer more sessions and/or interventions; and

- service wide capacity and demand work to ensure all available service capacity is used.

The following are some of the measures the Mental Health Support Teams in Schools service has in place to manage waits:

- weekly allocation meetings to prevent children and young people waiting beyond four weeks; and

- where there is a situation where a child or young person has been waiting for longer than four weeks, a referral would be allocated to a practitioner outside of the referral area to ensure the quickest access and to reduce waiting time, and a phone consultation would be offered to determine whether the child or young person can be signposted to another service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help delay the progression of glaucoma in people aged over 50. \p Stephen Kinnock: Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including all individuals aged 40 years old and over with a close family history of glaucoma, and all individuals aged 60 years old and over. Regular sight tests play an important role in the early detection of glaucoma, which is often symptomless in the early stages. Patients with suspected glaucoma will be referred for further investigation, treatment, and monitoring, which can delay its progression.

NHS England has been testing how integrating primary and secondary eye care services, through IT connectivity and the development of a single point of access, could improve the referral, triage, and management of patients with eye care needs and reduce the time from diagnosis to treatment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he is providing to ICBs to ensure consistent interpretation of NHS continuing healthcare checklist guidance. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department published national guidance, the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, intended to ensure the consistent delivery of National Health Service continuing healthcare (CHC) by integrated care boards (ICBs). Further information on this guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-framework-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care

We have published additional guidance on the completion of the CHC checklist screening tool, called the NHS continuing healthcare checklist, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-continuing-healthcare-checklist

NHS England also has an assurance regime that promotes the standardisation and consistency of CHC assessments. NHS England CHC regional teams provide ICBs oversight and assurance to support robust, effective, and timely service delivery. ICBs should have processes in place to ensure checklists are completed by staff who are trained in checklist completion. An NHS England online learning resource to support all staff working in health and social care is in place. This includes an e-learning module on completing CHC checklists.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on patient confidentiality in relation to sharing information on (a) inquiry reports and (b) other relevant information on killings by mentally ill people with the (i) families of their victims and (ii) general public; and what his policy is on (A) publishing independent homicide reports and (B) intervening to consider publication in such cases, in the context of patient confidentiality. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is important that in such cases, National Health Service organisations are as transparent as possible within the bounds of the law, and that independent homicide reports are published and shared in line with legal guidance and with engagement from families. These decisions are for the organisations which commissioned the reports on a case-by-case basis.

In the case of the independent investigation into the care and treatment provided to Valdo Calocane, the NHS took the decision to publish the investigation’s report in full in line with the wishes of the families and given the level of detail already in the public domain.

The Department will work with NHS England and partners to set out next steps for how future independent mental health homicide reports should be published to ensure that NHS organisations act as transparently as possible, in line with their legal obligations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeline is for negotiations on reform of the NHS dental contract. \p Stephen Kinnock: To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

We continue to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Leeds North West constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Leeds North West constituency, this is NHS West Yorkshire ICB.

ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that potential reform of the national contract for dentists considers the views of dentists practicing in Greater Manchester. \p Stephen Kinnock: To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to meet with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients. We want to ensure that any reform takes into account the views of dentists across England, including in Greater Manchester.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide GPs with training to diagnose brain tumours. \p Stephen Kinnock: The standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice

The curriculum for general practitioner (GP) specialty training is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), and has to meet the standards set by the GMC and be formally approved by them. Whilst the curriculum may not necessarily highlight a specific condition, it instead emphasises the skills and approaches a GP must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients. This is assessed by the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners Examination.

The RCGP provides several resources on cancer prevention, diagnosis and care for GPs, relevant for the primary care setting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Julia Buckley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve waiting times for children’s mental health services. \p Stephen Kinnock: Too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to cut waiting times and ensure that people can access treatment and support earlier.

We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England and introduce open access Young Futures hubs in every community.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21470 on Hospices: Charitable Donations, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the potential impact of declining charitable income on hospice services; and if he will introduce targeted financial support for hospices. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.

Charitable hospices, as autonomous organisations, provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.

We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, as referenced in the answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21470, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April.

There are a number of hospices in South Devon, serving people in the Newton Abbot constituency and the surrounding area, which are recipients of the £100 million of capital funding. Their allocations from the first £25 million tranche of funding are as follows:

- £158,301 for Rowcroft, a Torbay and South Devon hospice;

- £180,911 for Hospiscare in Exeter;

- £16,934 for Sidmouth Hospice in Home; and

- £176,616 for St Luke's Hospice in Plymouth.

In addition to this record hospice funding package, 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 (2025-03-03)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to train carers in using musical techniques to support people living with dementia. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are committed to a professional, well supported social care workforce. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, providers must provide enough suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision, and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role.

The Department currently funds research on the use of musical techniques for people living with dementia via the National Institute for Health and Care Research. This includes a major study investigating how music therapy can reduce patient distress and physical assaults on National Health Service inpatient wards for people with dementia. The study is called MELODIC and will create a programme of music therapy which will be piloted in two NHS mental health wards at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
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Joy Morrissey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospices in England receive sustainable funding. \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 that patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.

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 recently released £25 million for 2024/25, and that Hospice UK will distribute the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April for 2025/26.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding in 2025/26 to support children and young people’s hospices. This is a continuation of the funding which, until recently, was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. It will be transacted once again by the integrated care boards on behalf of NHS England. This is in line with National Health Service devolution and promotes a more consistent national approach, and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.

I recently met with key palliative and end of life care, including hospice, stakeholders to discuss the long-term sustainability of palliative and end of life care within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies on supporting people with dementia in the 10-year health plan for the NHS. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have committed to develop a 10 Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with dementia, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.

In February, I hosted a roundtable discussion where partners considered how dementia, ageing well, and digital inclusion could be reflected in the 10 Year Plan. I would also encourage people to take part in our public engagement exercise, which is helping us to fully understand what in the NHS is not working as well as it should, and what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/
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Jade Botterill:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of dentists are taking on new NHS patients in (a) Ossett and Denby Dale constituency and (b) West Yorkshire. \p Stephen Kinnock: As of 4 February 2025, there were 13 National Health Service dental practices in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency, with three, or 23%, showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’ and two, or 15%, showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’. In West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, there were 269 NHS dental practices, with 86, or 32%, showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’ and 48, or 18%, showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’.

This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist
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Margaret Mullane:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) increase scanner availability for dementia diagnosis, (b) reduce diagnosis times and (c) improve patient outcomes. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, builds on the investments already made with an ambitious vision for the future of diagnostic testing. This will include more straight-to-test pathways, increasing and expanding community diagnostic centres (CDCs), and better use of technology. With 170 CDCs due to be up and running by the end of March 2025, CDCs can take on more of the growing diagnostic demand within elective care. We will also deliver additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones.

Alongside Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Gates Ventures, and the People’s Postcode Lottery, the National Institute for Health and Care Research is funding the Blood Biomarker Challenge which seeks to produce the clinical and economic data that could make the case for the use of a blood test in the NHS to support the diagnosis of dementia.

The Dementia Care Pathway: Full Implementation Guidance, commissioned by NHS England, outlines the dementia care pathway and associated benchmarks to support improvements in the delivery and quality of care and support, for people living with dementia and their families and carers. The guide showcases good-practice examples of services that have successfully reduced their waiting times. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/improving-care/nccmh/dementia/nccmh-dementia-care-pathway-full-implementation-guidance.pdf
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of children attending NHS dental services in West Dorset constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. The most common reason children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital is for tooth decay. We will work with local authorities and the NHS to introduce supervised tooth brushing for children aged between three and five years old in the most deprived communities. These programmes are proven to reduce tooth decay and to boost good practices at home.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For West Dorset constituency, this is Dorset ICB.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on how much local authorities have spent on unpaid carers in each of the last five years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department holds data on the number of unpaid carers over the age of 18 receiving direct support from local authorities (LAs) in England, and the cost of this support. Data is collected from LAs in the Short and Long Term data return and the Adult Social Care Finance Return, and published in the Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-social-care-activity-and-finance-report
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the proportion of carers who are provided practical support after they have undertaken a carer’s assessment. \p Stephen Kinnock: Local authorities have a responsibility to support those caring for family and friends.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality care services, including support for carers. They are required to conduct Carer’s Assessments for individuals who may need support and to meet their eligible needs upon request.

We have already taken some steps to support carers. From April 2025, the Government will raise the Carer's Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 a week, the largest increase since the allowance was introduced in 1976.

Additionally, the Accelerating Reform Fund has allocated £42.6 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support innovation and improve services for unpaid carers. Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service calls for a fresh approach to supporting unpaid carers, to improve outcomes for carers, those receiving care, and the NHS. We will consider these findings in our 10-Year Health Plan and in shaping future adult social care reforms.

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.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) GP referral for assessment, (b) assessment and (c) treatment for patients with eating disorders. \p Stephen Kinnock: General practice (GP) is the front door to the National Health Service, and we know that patients are struggling to see a GP. We are committed to fixing this and delivering the care that patients deserve. That is why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will increase the number of GP appointments delivered, which will benefit thousands of patients seeking access to GP care. We will also bring back the family doctor by incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key to managing and supporting patients with conditions, including eating disorders.

The Department continues to work closely with NHS England to ensure that people with an eating disorder get the care and treatment they need. NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder services’ capacity. This includes crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood. Also, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of speech and language therapy services in rural areas. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including speech and language therapy services in rural areas.
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of eye problems as part of its 10-Year Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in eye care services to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. More information is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

Alongside the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has been testing how integrating primary and secondary eye care services, through IT connectivity and the development of a single point of access, could improve the referral, triage and management of patients with eye care needs and reduce the time from diagnosis to treatment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_757

Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the recently published policy framework for the Better Care Fund will support unpaid carers; and whether the Better Care Fund includes any ringfenced funding for supporting unpaid carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Better Care Fund (BCF) includes funding that can be used for unpaid carer support, including short breaks and respite services for carers. As set out in the BCF policy framework published on 30 January 2025, to meet the objectives of the BCF, local areas should provide support for unpaid carers.

Funding for supporting unpaid carers is not ringfenced within the BCF. Local authorities and integrated care boards agree the amount of BCF funding in their locality that will be committed to support carers, in the context of other sources of funding and with reference to their statutory duties to support unpaid carers. As a result, actual spend by local authorities on services to support carers may differ.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_758
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_758

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the processes in place for dentists from overseas who wish to set up in (a) private practice and (b) the NHS. \p Stephen Kinnock: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry, both within the National Health Service and privately, in the UK. Routes to registration as a dentist in the UK are set out in the GDC’s legislation, The Dentists Act 1984. In 2023, the Department introduced legislative changes to give the GDC greater flexibility to expand and improve its registration processes for overseas-qualified dentists.

In 2024, the Department consulted on introducing legislation that would give the GDC powers to provisionally register overseas-qualified dentists. Individuals holding provisional registration would be able to work as a dentist under supervision whilst seeking to demonstrate the required knowledge and skill for full registration. Our position on this proposal will be set out in due course.

To work under an NHS primary care dental services contract, a dentist must join the NHS Dental Performers List (DPL). All dentists wishing to join the DPL in England must show they have either completed UK Dental Foundation Training or demonstrate equivalence to foundation training via the competence assessment route. In 2023, the competence assessment route was streamlined, enabling individuals to practise NHS dentistry more quickly by providing for applicants’ specific clinical knowledge and skills to be assessed, and for more tailored support to be put in place. Dentists providing private treatment are not required to be on the DPL.

The Government plans to expand access to NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and to recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, and increase access to NHS dental care, the Government plans to reform the dental contract with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_759
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_759

Tony Vaughan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reform the NHS Dental Contract. \p Stephen Kinnock: To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists.

There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_760
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_760

Tony Vaughan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the emergency dental appointments to be purchased by Kent & Medway ICB will be provided to dental clinics in Folkestone and Hythe constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: Data is not held on what proportion of the emergency dental appointments will be provided at constituency level. Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board, which includes Folkestone and Hythe constituency, is expected to deliver 20,319 additional urgent dental appointments.

The urgent appointments will be available to National Health Service patients experiencing painful oral health issues, such as infections, abscesses, or cracked or broken teeth. Patients can contact their usual dental practice or call NHS 111 if they don’t have a regular dentist or need help out-of-hours.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_761
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_761

Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will issue guidance to (a) GP practices and (b) Integrated Care Boards on shared care agreements for ADHD patients diagnosed privately in line with NICE guidelines. \p Stephen Kinnock: General practitioners (GPs) are independent contractors that provide services within the National Health Service. The General Medical Council (GMC) has published the guidance, Good practice in proposing, prescribing, providing and managing medicines and devices content. This includes guidance on shared care arrangements between a specialist service and the patient’s GP to help GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities for any condition. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-practice-in-prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices/shared-care

NHS clinicians need to be content that any prescriptions, or referrals for treatment, are clinically appropriate. The British Medical Association has issued guidance, underpinned by the GMC guidance, which outlines that shared care with private providers is not recommended due to the general NHS constitution principle of keeping as clear a separation as possible between private and NHS care. Shared care may be appropriate where private providers are providing commissioned NHS services and where appropriate shared care arrangements are in place. All shared care arrangements are voluntary, so even where agreements are in place, practices can decline shared care requests on clinical and capacity grounds.

If a shared care arrangement cannot be put in place after the treatment has been initiated, the responsibility for continued prescribing falls upon the specialist clinician; this applies to both NHS and private medical care.

We are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has established to look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD including timely access to services and support.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_762
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_762

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to reduce waiting times for ADHD assessments in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: 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 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with the relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The Department is supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.

In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop a data improvement plan, understand the provider and commissioning landscapes, and capture examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_763
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_763

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve discharge rates from mental health hospitals. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Discharge from Mental Health Inpatient Settings statutory guidance, published in January 2024, provides clarity in relation to how health and care systems can work together to support safe and timely discharge from all mental health inpatient settings and ensure the right support in the community. It includes best practice on how patients and their carers should be involved in discharge planning. The Discharge from Mental Health Inpatient Settings statutory guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings

Under the 2025/26 Planning Guidance, there has been a refocusing of mental health priorities into key areas, which includes improved patient flow through mental health crisis and acute pathways, thereby reducing the average length of stay in adult acute mental health beds. Systems have been asked to prioritise work on the 10 High Impact Actions to improve discharge. This includes a follow up to be carried out with the person by the Community Mental Health Team or Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team at the earliest opportunity and within a maximum of 72 hours of discharge, to ensure the right discharge support is in place.
wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_764
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-03 conversation_764

Michael Wheeler:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many speech and language therapists have worked for the NHS in (a) Salford, (b) Wigan and (c) the North West in each of the last five years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent speech and language therapists working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the NHS England North West region in each of the last five years:

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

North West Region

October 2019

110

35

1,035

October 2020

136

34

1,066

October 2021

169

39

1,102

October 2022

182

34

1,175

October 2023

199

36

1,261

October 2024

215

37

1,339

Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics

Note: These staff will provide services in a range of settings including in education. However, therapists will also be directly employed by other providers, including schools, independent provision and third sector/ charitable organisations for which data is not held centrally.