Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 adequacy of access to defibrillators in (a) South East Cornwall constituency and (b) other (i) rural and (ii) coastal areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government committed to improving access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Fund.
Funding was allocated where there was the greatest need, for example, remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas. There are no plans to undertake further work on improving access or provide additional support for AEDs, in light of the rapid expansion of AEDs across the UK.
We recognise the important work the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has undertaken in identifying communities with limited access to a defibrillator. The BHF undertook this work as part of its 2025 community defibrillator fund programme. The BHF is urgently encouraging areas eligible to apply to its 2025 scheme to do so. Further information is available at the following link:
Across the South West, there are currently over 12,000 public access defibrillators registered on The Circuit, with most being privately owned. Approximately 1,000 of these defibrillators are owned and managed by the South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST).
SWAST is working to improve the availability, accessibility and emergency readiness of all public accessible defibrillators across the South West. SWAST is currently contacting guardians of defibrillators which have not had a status check registered on The Circuit for more than three months. This proportion has, as a result, reduced from one third of all defibrillators to 17% over the past year.
SWAST is also working with all schools across the South West to encourage them to register their defibrillator on The Circuit, with 90% of schools across the South West now having a defibrillator registered, the highest percentage in the country. SWAST is also promoting the labelling of public access defibrillators using stickers produced by The Circuit to reduce the time taken for a defibrillator to return to its cabinet after allocation, reducing the time that it is unavailable.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support communities with the (a) maintenance and (b) running costs of public defibrillators.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life-saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Fund.
Funding was allocated where there was the greatest need, for example: remote communities with extended ambulance response times; places with high footfall and high population densities; hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people; and deprived areas.
There are no plans to undertake further work on improving access or provide additional support for AEDs, in light of the rapid expansion of AEDs across the UK. According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF), there are now over 110,000 defibrillators in the United Kingdom registered on The Circuit, the independently operated national AED database.
We recognise the important work the BHF has undertaken in identifying communities with limited access to a defibrillator. The BHF undertook this work as part of their 2025 community defibrillator fund programme.
The BHF are urgently encouraging areas eligible to apply to their 2025 scheme to do so. Further information is available at the following link:
As well as the BHF, several other UK charities provide and support access to AEDs, and in some cases provide support for their maintenance and running costs. London Hearts, AED Donate, and Community Heartbeat Trust are prominent examples working to increase the availability of AEDs.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to allocate (a) new and (b) ring-fenced funding to support the implementation of the Final Delivery Plan for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, published in July 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the negative impact that myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has on patients and their loved ones, and also the cost to health and care services and the wider economy through, for example, loss of work and an increased benefits bill. We, therefore, recently published the ME/CFS final delivery plan, which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
There are currently no plans to allocate new or ring-fenced funding specifically to support the implementation of the ME/CFS final delivery plan. However, we continue to commission research on ME/CFS services across the United Kingdom, focussing on the most severely affected. The plan includes increased funding for research, awarded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, into how existing medicines can be used for post-viral conditions, including ME/CFS. Additionally, there are always opportunities for researchers to bid for and secure research funding for ME/CFS through our open research funding calls.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 (a) travel distances and (b) levels of public transport in (i) site planning and (ii) service design for neighbourhood health centres in rural areas; and what his timeline is for the rollout of those centres.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government aims to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community by 2035. Neighbourhood Health Centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities, to reflect local needs.
On 21 July 2025, I wrote to Members of Parliament highlighting that the Department and NHS England have written to integrated care boards and local authorities to invite applications to participate in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre delivery pipeline.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce a nationwide system to ensure that people experiencing mental health crises have access to support services when they need them; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the mental health support provision for patients in South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of ensuring that individuals experiencing mental health crisis can access timely, effective and appropriate support, including those in South East Cornwall. Substantial progress has been achieved in building more robust crisis care pathways across all ages and in all regions, towards ensuring that people in mental health crisis can receive the right care.
For example, the Government has committed £26 million in capital investment to support people in mental health crisis, including opening new mental health crisis centres across England, which aim to provide accessible and responsive care for individuals in mental health crisis. In addition, we are piloting several neighbourhood mental health centres which provide support to individuals in crisis without needing to book an appointment; these operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
People of all ages in England experiencing a mental health crisis can speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day via the NHS 111 service. This service gives people the chance to be listened to by a trained member of staff who can help direct them to the right place.
We will fulfil the Government’s commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff by the end of the Parliament.
NHS commissioners in England are responsible for ensuring that mental health services are safe, effective, sustainable and meet the needs of the population.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to involve (a) patients, (b) families and (c) communities in changes to the mental health referral system in (i) England and (ii) South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any changes to mental health referral systems should be developed with the input of patients, families, and communities, to ensure services meet their needs.
At local level, we would expect National Health Service trusts, including those in the South East Cornwall constituency, to take the same approach in actively engaging with service users and local communities when making changes to local referral pathways.
We are also taking steps in legislation to improve how people subject to the Mental Health Act and their families or people close to them are involved in decisions about their care. The Mental Health Bill includes a new clinical checklist that requires clinicians to take certain steps when deciding a patient’s care and treatment, where they are detained under the Mental Health Act. This enables clinicians to support the patient to take part in decision making about their care, to consider their wishes and feelings, including those in an Advance Choice Document, to consult with those close to them, and to avoid making unjustified assumptions about the patient. This ensures care and treatment decisions are more patient centric.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to harmonise referral (a) rules and (b) procedures for mental health crisis support across regional NHS trusts; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of differences between those rules and procedures on the time taken for people living in South East Cornwall constituency to access mental health support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of ensuring equitable access to mental health crisis support across all regions, including in South East Cornwall. Substantial progress has been achieved in building more robust crisis care pathways across all ages and in all regions, towards ensuring that people in mental health crisis have access to timely and appropriate support.
For example, the Government has committed £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres across England, which aim to provide accessible and responsive care for individuals in mental health crisis. In addition, we are piloting several neighbourhood mental health centres which provide support to individuals in crisis without needing to book an appointment. These centres operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
People of all ages in England experiencing a mental health crisis can speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day via the NHS 111 service. This service gives people the chance to be listened to by a trained member of staff who can help direct them to the right place.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to defibrillators in rural communities; and whether he has considered providing additional support for the (a) installation and (b) maintenance of publicly accessible defibrillators in these areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To improve patients' survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the Government committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.
Applications to the fund were allocated where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.
There are no plans to undertake further work on improving access or providing additional support for AEDs, in light of the rapid expansion of AEDs across the United Kingdom.
There are now over 100,000 defibrillators in the UK registered on The Circuit, which represents an increase of 30,000 since September 2023. 58.6% of the over 100,000 defibrillators are accessible on a 24/7 basis.
The Circuit is operated independently by the British Heart Foundation, in partnership with the Resuscitation Council UK, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, and the National Health Service.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of welfare reforms on (a) unpaid carers and (b) their access to (i) respite and (ii) support services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting unpaid carers, who provide invaluable support to elderly or disabled people.
In the recent Pathways to Work Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, we announced a broad package of reforms to the health and disability benefit and support system, including changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). For those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including for linked entitlements such as Carer’s Allowance, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.
The Government will consider the impacts on benefits for unpaid carers as part of its wider consideration of responses to the consultation as it develops its detailed proposals for change. Through the Green Paper we are consulting on the support needed for those who may lose any entitlements as a result of receiving PIP daily living and what this support could look like. The Department for Work and Pensions will also work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and others on how the health and eligible care needs of those who would lose entitlement to PIP could be met outside the benefits system.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services.
The Better Care Fund includes funding that can be used for unpaid carer support, including short breaks and respite services for carers.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help people in South East Cornwall constituency to access healthcare services in Devon using the Tamar Crossings.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government acknowledges that the Tamar Crossings are an important local issue. We are determined to work with the National Health Service to ensure that everyone can access a general practice and other healthcare services, and we will move towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities.