Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the effectiveness of the assessment process for NHS Continuing Healthcare in ensuring that decisions are based on sufficient clinical evidence; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that assessments are carried out and validated by a minimum of two independent medical practitioners.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs), with oversight from NHS England. NHS England’s assurance regime promotes accurate assessment, equal access, and consistency within CHC delivery.
Eligibility for CHC is determined through a two-stage assessment process. The second stage is carried out by a multidisciplinary team. The legislation for CHC sets out that the multidisciplinary team must include a minimum of two health professionals or one health and one social care professional. The multidisciplinary team should also ideally include someone with specialist knowledge about the individual’s health and social care needs.
As part of the assessment, the multidisciplinary team review evidence such as the individual’s medical records, examinations, and assessments using a standardised decision support tool to help inform the eligibility decision.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which organisations will replace Healthwatch Dudley; and how health and social care will be monitored in Dudley borough.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape report published in July 2025, and in the 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, the statutory functions of local Healthwatch bodies will be transferred to integrated care boards (ICBs) for health, and to local authorities (LAs) for social care.
Both ICBs and LAs will be required to demonstrate how they have gathered patient and user feedback, including and how this has fed into their strategic planning.
To further ensure that the patient voice is at the heart of planning considerations, as part of their regulatory role, the Care Quality Commission will assess whether every commissioner and provider is listening to the views of local people.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent consideration he has made of the potential merits of a national workforce strategy for community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
To support community pharmacy employers in developing their staff and deliver quality NHS services, NHS England provides a number of funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is planning to take to inform each children's hospice of its share of NHS funding; and what his planned timetable is for this.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children and young people’s hospices and integrated care boards will be informed of their children and young people’s hospice grant allocations for 2026/27 imminently. Communication regarding future allocations, for 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 February 2026 on Clinical trials, whether (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials had discussions with MHRA on the Pathways clinical trial prior to February 2026.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the availability of NHS provision on the number of patients with Cranio-Cervical Instability who are seeking (a) diagnosis and (b) surgical treatment overseas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) minimise disruption caused by delays to the supply of bone cement and (b) ensure the availability of adequate supplies of bone cement in the future.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme will be continuing beyond March 2026.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what dedicated funding he is providing to (a) primary care networks and (b) integrated care boards for the development of integrated neighbourhood teams.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any children were recruited for any arm of the Pathways clinical trials prior to it being paused.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.