theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the recent announcement on the level of employment at Hinchingbrooke Hospital on (a) clinical procedures (b) appointments and (c) work related to the New Hospitals Programme. \p Karin Smyth: It is the responsibility of local National Health Service trusts to determine the right level of staffing.

The Government is committed to cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care, including at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and across the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. We have already delivered on our pledge of two million extra elective appointments, and this is just a first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

Additionally, the New Hospital Programme is prioritising the rebuild of Hinchingbrooke Hospital alongside six other hospitals built primarily from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, to protect patient and staff safety. It is expected that it will enter construction between 2027 and 2028.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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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 tackle regional differences in (a) timely and (b) accurate diagnostic rates for dementia. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%, which in England, at the end of February 2025, was 65.4%. To support the implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data on the diagnostic pathway and enable targeted support where needed.

To reduce variation in diagnosis rates, OHID’s Dementia Intelligence Network has developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.

To aid dementia diagnosis and the provision of support in care homes, NHS England funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two Trusts in each region, which is 14 sites, to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate (DiADeM) protocol. Learning is currently being shared and promoted with regional and local partners following an impact assessment of the pilots. The Department delivers dementia research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds a range of research into dementia, for example investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia. The NIHR is also partnering with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Alzheimer’s Society to support a £5.5 million investment in four Dementia Network Plus research grants. One of the Networks, EQUADEM, seeks to address inequalities in dementia diagnosis and care.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve levels of (a) early and (b) accurate diagnosis for dementia; and if he will take steps to help increase the use of (i) blood tests and (ii) AI-driven assessments as diagnostic tools. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%, which in England, at the end of February 2025, was 65.4%. To support the implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data on the diagnostic pathway and enable targeted support where needed.

The Department delivers dementia research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds a range of research into dementia, for example investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.

To aid dementia diagnosis and provision of support in care homes, NHS England funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region (14 sites), to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate protocol. Learning is currently being shared and promoted with regional and local partners following an impact assessment of the pilots.

The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme has invested £13 million into three biomarker innovation competitions, which include an AI tool designed to improve the accuracy of blood tests for dementia. Alongside Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the People’s Postcode Lottery, the NIHR 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 National Health Service to support improved diagnosis of dementia in the future, if validated for clinical use.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) severance payments and (b) redundancy packages for NHS England staff following the abolition of NHS England. \p Karin Smyth: We recognise that there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department, but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Car-Hill formula for funding to GPs in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. \p Stephen Kinnock: There has been no assessment made of the adequacy of the Carr-Hill formula for funding to general practices (GPs) in Camborne, Redruth, and Hayle.

Plans to review this funding formula may be revisited in future. However, any changes would need careful planning to ensure they do not threaten stability or cause financial uncertainty for practices.

We are committed to ensuring that primary medical services receive appropriate support and resources. 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.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) adults and (b) children currently waiting for an diagnosis of autism. \p Stephen Kinnock: In England, in December 2024, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics show that there were a total of 212,964 patients with an open suspected autism referral. 129,179 of these patients were aged zero to 17 years old, and 83,837 of these patients were aged 18 years old and over. The median waiting time of all patients across England with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 427 days for zero to 17 year olds, and 266 days for over 18 year olds.

It should be noted that since each metric is rounded to the nearest five in the published data, the number of adults and children do not add up to the total number of patients. Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate and caution should be used when interpreting these statistics, since they are experimental rather than official statistics. The majority of children assessed for autism in the United Kingdom are seen in child development services, which are out of the scope of this dataset. This means the published figures will underestimate the volume of referrals or diagnoses, and the associated impact on health services. NHS England continues to conduct exploratory analysis into the Community Services Dataset, with a view to including autism waiting times data from that dataset.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients received urgent cancer treatment within 62 days of a GP referral in Dorset integrated care board since October 2023. \p Ashley Dalton: There were 642 diagnoses of cancer within Bournemouth West constituency between January 2024 and December 2024. Between October 2023 and December 2024, within the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), there have been 7,157 patients treated. Across this time, 69.2% of those treated were within the 62-day target. Performance as of December 2024 for Dorset ICB is 73.2% and exceeding the 70% recovery target.
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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of regional inequalities of access to mental health services. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Severe Mental Illness Profile, developed by the Department, aims to help develop an understanding of severe mental illness at a regional and local level. It provides a set of metrics that allow planners, providers, and stakeholders to profile their area and benchmark against similar populations. Further information is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/mental-health/profile/severe-mental-illness

The profile shows that new referrals to secondary mental health services increased from 5,960 per 100,000 population in 2017/18, to 6,897 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 15.7%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 5,618 per 100,000 in the South East, to 8,429 per 100,000 in the West Midlands. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was seen in the West Midlands, at 22.3%.

Attended contacts with community and outpatient mental health services increased from 26,899 per 100,000 in 2017/18, to 30,674 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase 14.1%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 24,950 per 100,000 in the South East, to 45,016 per 100,000 in the North East. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was again seen in the West Midlands, at 19.9%. The East Midlands region had the lowest increase, of 4.6%.

Inpatient stays in secondary mental health services increased from 239 per 100,000 in 2017/18, to 241 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 1.2%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 186 per 100,000 for the South West, to 276 per 100,000 in the London region. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was seen in the East Midlands, at 10.5%. The London region had a decrease of 3.5%. Data for the following years is expected to be published this year.
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Mr Connor Rand:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS GP surgeries have closed in each year since 2010; and how many new NHS GP surgeries have been built in each of those years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
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Emily Thornberry:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department plans to have with general practice nursing staff on the development of the general practice contract for 2026-27. \p Stephen Kinnock: As in previous years, the Department will engage with a range of stakeholders and will consult with the profession on the GP Contract for 2026/27. More details will be communicated in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to community pharmacies of the rise in (a) business rates and (b) the National Minimum Wage from 1 April 2025. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have taken the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The Department has considered the increases in the National Living Wage when consulting on the funding arrangements for community pharmacy. We have now agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion from April 2025. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of mental health services in Bournemouth West constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is the responsibility of the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board to make available adequate and appropriate provision to meet the mental health needs of the people in Bournemouth.

Nationally, we know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services across England are too long.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.

Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.

We have also committed £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on the busy mental health and accident and emergency services, and ensuring people have the support they need when they need it.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40751 on GP Practice Lists, how the standardised mortality ratio for people aged under 65 years old is calculated in each constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The standardised mortality ratio for those aged under 65 years old is calculated by multiplying the number of people in each age group under 65 years old, within an area, by the national average death rate for each age group.

This is calculated at a ward level, with no constituency-level data calculated or used.
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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help establish specialist care pathways for people with bipolar to (a) improve treatment and (b) reduce the levels of misdiagnosis \p Stephen Kinnock: We recognise that there can often be a long time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder because of under-reporting, the episodic nature of the condition, and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in individuals.

We are committed to increasing access to community mental health services for people with severe mental illness, including those with bipolar disorder. The community mental health framework, developed by NHS England, sets out the National Health Service’s vision for transforming community mental health services. This includes ensuring that services are needs led and that individuals do not require a specific diagnosis or care pathway to access care.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) the National Institute for Health Research have commissioned (i) research and (ii) evaluation on systemic racism in maternity services. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The NIHR Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 sets out how the NIHR will become a more inclusive funder of research and widen access to participation in clinical trials for under-represented groups such as pregnant women and ethnic minorities. In addition to these priorities, the NIHR will specifically consider intersectionality, recognising that multiple social identities overlap to exacerbate the experience of inequities.

The NIHR is actively supporting research to address disparities and improve equity in maternity services, including projects focussed on racism and its impact on maternal health. For example, the NIHR has supported research to understand how multiple inequalities, including racism, shape postnatal mental health among Black Caribbean and Black African women. The NIHR is also funding a study which is undertaking a wider exploration of the harms that health and social care services can cause the African-Caribbean communities in the United Kingdom. This study will explore how health researchers can work more positively with people of African-Caribbean heritage; to start having conversations about the harms that health and social care services can cause to these communities and determine how research and practice in this area can improve.

In addition, in March 2024, the NIHR launched a £50 million ‘Challenge’ funding call for research to tackle inequalities in maternity care bringing together experts across the country into a new consortium. The research carried out by the consortium will focus on inequalities before, during and after pregnancy and identify specific areas where measurable improvements can be made.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of maternal health, including research on systemic racism in maternity services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Christchurch of 25 March 2025, Official Report, column 773, whether he has received an update from the Dorset Integrated Care Board about the Burton Branch Surgery application. \p Stephen Kinnock: The NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB) has received applications to open a branch surgery in the Village of Burton, near Christchurch in Dorset. Applications are currently going through the ICB governance process, which is expected to conclude following the ICB Prevention, Equity and Outcomes Committee on 23 April.

Following a local practice closure in August 2024, the ICB is assessing capacity in the area, which remains good. Access to general practice (GP) services for local residents remains very good, with a choice of five practices in the Christchurch area that are all accepting new patients and growing their lists. The NHS Dorset ICB is engaging with local partners, other GP practices, and the Wessex Local Medical Committees to ensure views are collated while going through our governance processes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Emily Thornberry:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of female staff working in general practice not receiving the 2024 pay increase in full. \p Stephen Kinnock: For 2024/25, we accepted the recommendations of the Doctors' and Dentists' Pay Review Body in full, and the pay element of the GP Contract was uplifted by 6% on a consolidated basis, through an increase of 4% on top of the 2% interim uplift in April, to provide practices with the funding to uplift general practice (GP) partner, salaried GP, and other salaried staff pay by 6%. The uplift is backdated to April 2024, and it was our expectation that this funding should be passed on to all salaried GP staff.

As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is for practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees within the agreed GP Contract funding envelope. The Department does not centrally hold information on pay for salaried staff in GPs, nor could we provide a breakdown by gender. The data in the annual GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates is based on partner, contractor, and GP tax returns. Further information on the GP Earnings and Expenses Estimates is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/gp-earnings-and-expenses-estimates/2020-21?key=I2IiJBo2P3DKdCqny5NcDpglRExoUa4d6Q6VkCGWQzX7ewE8OL3O1ZiI3lQBMduR

For 2025/26, we are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the biggest increase in over a decade. The 7.2% cash growth, estimated to be 4.8% of real growth on overall 2024/25 contract costs, on the contract funding envelope includes funding for an assumed increase in salaries of 2.8% in 2025/26. Once the Department has received the recommendations for GPs for 2025/26 from the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration, it will be considered in the usual way.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Chris Coghlan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of independent pharmacy closures on (a) local GP capacity, (b) hospital capacity, (c) the healthcare needs of the local community and (d) local pharmacists in need of employment. \p Stephen Kinnock: The impact of any specific pharmacy closure will differ depending on the remaining access to health services in the area. We monitor access carefully and in general, access to pharmacies in England continues to be good, with 80% of people able to reach a pharmacy within a 20 minute-walk and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. We continue to support those in areas where there are fewer pharmacies through the Pharmacy Access Scheme. Additionally, in rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the nearly 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients and deliver other services remotely.

Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served, and must keep these assessments under review in the interim. Integrated care boards must give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications to open new pharmacies in their areas.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 42329 on General Practitioners: Finance, if he will list the (a) job roles and (b) areas of specialism used to compile salary data; and what those salaries were in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2024-25. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Market Forces Factor used in the Carr-Hill formula was estimated from a statistical model using all employees, anonymised, in the New Earnings Survey. The New Earnings Survey is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics, and is based on a 1% sample of employees in employment, information on whose earnings and hours is obtained in confidence from employers. It does not cover the self-employed.

The model included factors such as industry, occupation, and the age of each employee, to remove the modelled impact of these on earnings and thereby identify differences in earnings due to geographical location alone. The geographical earnings differentials form the Market Forces Factor in the Carr-Hill formula. There are no modelled earnings by geographical location for 2024/25.
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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending Early Intervention in Psychosis services to include people with bipolar who do not experience psychosis. \p Stephen Kinnock: Early Intervention in Psychosis services provide evidence-based, specialist interventions, and treatment for individuals presenting with psychosis. These services recognise that bipolar disorder diagnoses can be uncertain and are therefore available to individuals irrespective of their diagnosis, including individuals experiencing bipolar 1 and bipolar 2.

The aim is for individuals who experience psychosis as part of a manic episode to be seen by an early intervention in psychosis service within two weeks of referral. If an individual experiences mood disturbance over time, bipolar disorder may be identified and treated.

Early Intervention in Psychosis services are not affective disorder services. It would therefore not be appropriate to extend services to individuals who are not experiencing psychosis. Individuals with bipolar 2 who do not experience mania or psychosis will receive support and treatment from primary care and community mental health teams as appropriate.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on (a) (i) autism and (ii) ADHD assessments and (b) other functions of the Patient Choice department. \p Stephen Kinnock: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for all patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Emily Thornberry:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of funding for the 2025-26 general practice contract in England will be allocated to the general practice nursing workforce. \p Stephen Kinnock: We hugely value the critical role that general practice (GP) nurses play and are determined to address the issues they face by shifting the focus of the National Health Service beyond hospitals and into the community.

GPs are independent businesses, providing GP services to their local populations under an NHS contract. Practices have autonomy in deciding how to provide services, including their workforce mix, in order to deliver their contracts.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

The investment includes funding for an assumed increase in GP staff salaries of 2.8% in 2025/26. Once the Department has received the recommendations for GPs for 2025/26 from the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Renumeration, it will be considered in the usual way.

As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees within the agreed GP Contract funding envelope.

The contract changes for 2025/26 also include increased flexibilities for the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, to allow primary care networks to better respond to local workforce needs. Practice nurses have also been added to the scheme, with no restrictions on the numbers or type of staff able to be funded through the scheme.
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Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services in Maidenhead. \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 from April 2025 and recruit new dentists to the 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 the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Maidenhead constituency, this is the NHS Frimley ICB.
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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service services for special educational needs and disabilities children in Bournemouth. \p Stephen Kinnock: We know that too many children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including in Bournemouth. We are determined to change that.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and recruit 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.
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Bobby Dean:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting lists for mental health treatment. \p Stephen Kinnock: We know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services across England are too long.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.

Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues, and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.

We have also committed £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on busy emergency mental health and accident and emergency services, and ensuring that people have the support they need when they need it.

People of all ages in England who are experiencing a mental health crisis can now speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Trained NHS staff assess patients over the phone and guide them through next steps, such organising face-to-face community support, or facilitating access to alternative services, such as crisis cafés or safe havens.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that there are adequate numbers of specialty training places for junior doctors who have completed foundation years one and two; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the number of specialty medical training places available is adequate to provide for future increases in numbers of university medical school places. \p Karin Smyth: We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.

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

To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of prescribing medical cannabis to treat Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend the use of any cannabis-based medicines to manage chronic or neuropathic pain in adults and that cannabidiol (CBD) only be offered as part of a clinical trial.

NICE recognises the lack of evidence to support the use of these medicines and recommends that further research is carried out on the clinical and cost effectiveness of CBD as an add-on treatment for adults with fibromyalgia or for persistent treatment resistant neuropathic pain.

The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. As for all other medicines, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to generate the evidence required for assessment by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NICE.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people who suffer with chronic urinary tract infections in Mid Bedfordshire constituency. \p Karin Smyth: There are nine pharmacists in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency area, and all offer the Pharmacy First service. This service builds on the NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service which has run since October 2019. The consultation service enables patients to be referred into community pharmacy for a minor illness or an urgent repeat medicine supply.

The Pharmacy First service, launched 31 January 2024, adds to the existing consultation service and enables community pharmacies to complete episodes of care for seven common conditions following defined clinical pathways, including urinary tract infections.

It is common for recurrent urinary tract infections to be treated with a longer-term course of antibiotics, following antimicrobial guidelines for primary care. Should symptoms continue then a referral may be made to a specialist urologist.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was not included in the Great British Energy Solar project. \p Karin Smyth: NHS England received an extremely positive response to this scheme, with over 300 bids (covering 140 trusts) that could potentially have been taken forward.

The Department worked closely with NHS England and our partners at Great British Energy to apply a rigorous evaluation process to this longlist. This included a thorough deliverability screening, value for money assessment, and final assurance process to ensure that all projects were focused on core estate (to ensure the expected lifetime of the building matched or exceeded that of the new assets), alongside careful verification of the funding, value for money, and delivery data provided by trusts.

Regrettably, this meant that many projects missed out despite offering significant value.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on reaching net zero for emissions controlled by the NHS by 2040. \p Karin Smyth: The Government continues to support the National Health Service to drive down its direct carbon emissions while increasing its energy efficiency and resilience.

Since 2019, the NHS has seen £1.2 billion in decarbonisation grant funding successfully delivered under the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero), replacing fossil fuel systems with non-carbon alternatives.

The Department for Health and Social Care has also invested £95 million for energy efficiency and resilience measures across the NHS estate through the National Energy Efficiency Fund in current financial year 2025/26, driving down trust energy bills while delivering carbon savings.

In addition, all NHS trusts and integrated care boards have now introduced Green Plans setting out the key actions they will take to decarbonise, and the first ever NHS Net Zero Travel and Transport Strategy was published in 2023.

The Department will continue to work across Government to pursue our shared environmental aims, and we recently confirmed a new £100 million partnership with Great British Energy to increase solar generation across the NHS from 2025/26.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department’s plans are for the Greener NHS Programme. \p Karin Smyth: The Government remains committed to supporting National Health Service bodies to meet their obligations regarding the environment, and we continue to work to ensure that the NHS fulfils its significant potential to contribute to our clean power mission and Net Zero legal commitments.

NHS trusts have made significant progress on environmental goals in recent years, including securing £1.2 billion in funding though the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme since 2019. In addition, every trust and integrated care board now has a clear “Green Plan” in place, setting out the key actions that will deliver emissions reductions and support resilience to climate impacts.

The Department will continue to work with partners across the NHS and Government to deliver on these aims. For instance, we have recently completed a £95 million investment through the National Energy Efficiency Fund to drive down trust energy bills and emissions. Looking forward, together with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, we recently announced a £100 million partnership with Great British Energy that will increase NHS solar generation by 300%.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support women diagnosed with endometriosis in (a) Liverpool and (b) England. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis.

Women in Liverpool experiencing symptoms of endometriosis should see their general practitioner (GP) for an initial consultation. GPs across Liverpool can refer women to the endometriosis pathway. Liverpool women’s health hubs also provide care for menstrual problems such as heavy bleeding, which can be a symptom of endometriosis.

NHS Liverpool is also contributing to the North East and West of England endometriosis transformation programme. This programme is addressing long waits for patients with severe endometriosis and improving patient pathways, from presentation in general practice through to management in secondary care.

In England, we have taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. For gynaecology, the Plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home, and piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres. Women’s health hubs also have a key role in shifting care out of hospitals and reducing gynaecology waiting lists.

Clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat conditions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published an update to the guideline on endometriosis diagnosis and management in November 2024. This makes firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected endometriosis, which will help women receive a diagnosis and treatment more quickly. The guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS prescription penalty charges were overturned in each of the last five years; how many appeals were rejected; and how many successful appeals were categorised as you think you have an exceptional reason not to pay, and can show that you did not act wrongfully or with any lack of care. \p Karin Smyth: The following table shows the number of penalty charges overturned in the last five years, from 2019/20 to 2024/25:

Financial year

Exemption confirmed and penalty charge cancelled

2019/20

361,970

2021/22

4,069

2022/23

150,351

2023/24

92,549

2024/25

68,128

Notes:

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) does not categorise or collect data on unsuccessful appeals, or the reason given when a patient has attempted to challenge a penalty charge. Therefore, the NHSBSA does not hold data on how many appeals were rejected, or how many successful appeals were categorised as ‘you think you have an exceptional reason not to pay, and can show that you did not act wrongfully or with any lack of care’.
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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS Trusts implement interventions set out in (a) the guidance entitled Saving Babies’ Lives Version Two: A care bundle for reducing perinatal mortality, published on 15 March 2019, and (b) other best practice guidance on preterm birth care. \p Karin Smyth: All trusts are now implementing Version 3 of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which was published in May 2023, and provides maternity units with detailed guidance to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal deaths, and preterm births.

The National Health Service has taken action to reduce variation in maternal and neonatal care through the Maternity Incentive Scheme, and through implementation of the latest version of the bundle, which is one of the safety actions that trusts must comply with. As of April 2024, during the fifth year of the scheme, 104 out of 120, or 87% of, providers were considered to be on track to fully implement Version 3 of the bundle.  We are delivering other key initiatives to reduce preterm birth, such as:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of waiting times for NHS Pension Scheme queries. \p Karin Smyth: NHS Pension Scheme queries can be raised with the NHS Pension Scheme administrator, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), and in the case of general practitioners (GPs), with Primary Care Support England (PCSE), who record GPs’ pensionable service and collect pension contributions.

The NHSBSA reported that in March 2025, for general queries, the average speed for a call to be answered was 173 seconds, and the average response time for emails was 0.6 days. Further information about processing times for payments, estimates, transfers, and general queries received in writing is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/current-processing-times-nhs-pensions

The pension queries received by PCSE are often complex and could involve records of GP service over multiple years, and can require working with the GP and other parties to resolve. PCSE’s services are contracted to Capita Business Services Ltd under a contract held by NHS England. NHS England has governance in place to oversee the performance of that contract, which includes monitoring the handling of queries and complaints. There are governance arrangements in place involving NHS England, PCSE, and NHS Pensions, to oversee the end-to-end service and identify areas for further improvement.