Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 improve the (a) effectiveness and (b) timeliness of patient referrals between organisations in the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We’re improving referral processing by introducing a Single Point of Access model, which will provide consistent clinical triage and use digital solutions to streamline processes and reduce duplication. This will ensure patients are directed to the right care quickly.
To support general practitioners and avoid delays, we’re introducing national standards for response times and guidance to underpin clinical triage and advice quality. These will be monitored locally by integrated care boards and reviewed regularly.
The NHS App also already allows people to book and manage their secondary care referrals in 100% of acute trusts, with 89% allowing patients to manage follow up appointments too, with 100% expected in 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the General Medical Council (GMC) about whether doctors are included on GMC registers by gender or biological sex.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of all medical doctors, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, still legally known as anaesthesia associates and physician associates, practising in the United Kingdom. The GMC is independent of Government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties.
The GMC maintains the official register of registered medical practitioners. Under the Form and Content of the Register Regulations, the GMC records a doctor's gender rather than sex.
The Government has had some discussions with the GMC about this topic. In light of the Supreme Court ruling in the case of For Women Scotland v. The Scottish Ministers regarding the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010, the GMC is in the process of reviewing its policy position regarding the recording of a doctor’s gender or biological sex on its registers.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of senior managers at NHS England who have left since 1 March and received a payment in lieu of notice, and what is the total amount of these payments; and how many senior managers received a payment in lieu of annual leave, and what is the total amount of those payments.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Five executive senior managers at NHS England have left since 1 March 2025 and received a payment in lieu of notice. These payments total £553,252.15. 12 executive senior managers at NHS England have left since 1 March 2025 and received a payment in lieu of annual leave. These payments total £124,015.62.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that a third of UK citizens have used AI chatbots for emotional support or social interaction and the implications for safeguarding and mental health policy frameworks.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. We recognise that people are facing unacceptably long waiting times to access mental health support. This is why we are transforming the current mental health system so people can access the right support, at the right time, in the right place.
Building on the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework, published on 24 October 2025, sets targets for integrated care boards in 2026/27 to improve quality and access to mental health services. This includes expanding NHS Talking Therapies and expanding coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges.
This builds on the significant progress we’ve made since July 2024 to hire almost 7,000 extra mental health workers. And by spring next year, over 900,000 children and young people will have access to a Mental Health Support team in schools and colleagues.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the General Medical Council about whether patients who ask for a doctor of a preferred sex will be told the biological sex or declared gender of that medical professional.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of all medical doctors, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, still legally known as anaesthesia associates and physician associates, practising in the United Kingdom. The GMC is independent of Government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties.
The Government has had discussions with the GMC on this issue. The GMC’s Good Medical Practice states that professionals must act with honesty and integrity and ensure their conduct justifies patient’s trust in them and the public’s trust in the profession. They must also recognise a patient’s right to choose whether to accept their advice. It is up to individual healthcare providers, rather than the GMC, to consider patient requests for care based on sex.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding neighbourhood health centres through alternative, non-private finance means.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments, to expand and improve sites over the next three years, and new-build sites opening in the medium term.
The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030, delivered through public private partnerships (PPPs) and public capital. 50 NHCs will be completed through the repurposing of the existing estate with public sector funding, and 70 through new builds by 2030. 80% of the new builds will be PPPs, with a further 20% coming from public sector investment.
The Spending Review has seen the Government provide £426 million over four years through the Utilisation and Modernisation Fund, upgrading general practice estates and supporting delivery of 40 to 50 neighbourhood health centres this Parliament through the refurbishment of existing buildings.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department’s business case on new private finance in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to publish the Neighbourhood Health Centre (NHC) Public Private Partnership (PPP) Feasibility Programme Business Case. Publication is not standard practice for business cases outside of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio. This was a strategic outline business case, the purpose of which was to scope and identify the preferred way forward for a new potential PPP model in line with the HM Treasury five case model.
The Department and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will continue to work with the market to further develop the new PPP model for NHCs, with further engagement next year. The final design and development of this new PPP model for NHCs will be led by NISTA and will be co-designed by the Department.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish details of his Department new private finance model for building neighbourhood health centres and the business case completed for it.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will continue to work with the market to further develop the new Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) with further engagement next year. The final design and development of this new PPP model for NHCs will be led by NISTA and co-designed by the Department.
The Department has no plans to publish the NHC PPP Feasibility Programme Business Case. Publication is not standard practice for business cases outside of the Government Major Projects Portfolio.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 8 December (HL12316), in the most recent period for which figures are available, (1) what proportion of, and (2) how many, invoices for contracts carried out for the NHS in England are not paid and must subsequently be resubmitted.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally as NHS England do not collect supplier payment information on behalf of National Health Service trusts.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many invoices submitted to the NHS for services provided by Mildmay Hospital remain unpaid.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally as NHS England do not collect supplier payment information on behalf of National Health Service trusts.