Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of Young Lives vs Cancer’s report entitled The cost of waiting, published in March 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of average time from diagnosis to first payment of disability benefits; what steps is she taking to reduce processing times for disability benefits' applications from young people with cancer; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the three month period from diagnosis before young people with cancer can apply for disability benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAc) under 16 and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for young people from age 16 are assessed based on the additional care/daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term disability or health condition, rather than a diagnosis of a condition or disability itself.
We are committed to ensuring children and young people can access financial support in a timely manner and have increased the number of staff to respond to the increase in claim volumes.
Individual needs and circumstances vary, so the 3-month qualifying period helps establish the resulting care/daily living and mobility needs are of a long-standing nature. It provides a division between short term disability and long-term disability. The qualifying period commences from the point that additional needs start, rather than when a condition is diagnosed. A diagnosis is not required before a young person or their carer can apply for benefit, therefore the department has no information on when a diagnosis is made.
Applications under the special rules for end of life, where life expectancy is 12 months or less, do not have to satisfy the three-month qualifying period. The claim is fast tracked, and the person is eligible for the higher-rate care/daily living component from the date of claim.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's report entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people under 25 years of age with cancer; and whether people under 25 years of age with cancer and currently in receipt in Personal Independence Payment will continue to be eligible under the proposed reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have committed to introduce a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Age will not be a factor in this.
We will always protect the most vulnerable. The PIP assessment considers the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. Therefore, the impact in each case will depend on an individual’s circumstances. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
There will be no change for a person claiming PIP under “Special Rules for End of Life” (SREL). They will not require a consultation and will automatically be awarded the enhanced rate of daily living as is the current process.
Most people receiving PIP now will still receive it after these reforms. In the Green Paper, we are consulting on how best to support those who do lose entitlement, including how to make sure health and care needs are met.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 (a) the distances travelled and (b) costs incurred by children and young people travelling to principle treatment centres in London; and what assessment he has made of the potential the merits of introducing a young cancer patient travel fund.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.
The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also several charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.
On 4 February 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in England.
The Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal assessment of costs incurred by children and young people travelling to Principal Treatment Centres in London, the trends in levels of travel costs and the impact of this on young cancer patients missing appointments and delaying treatment. Young Lives vs Cancer is a valued stakeholder with a unique perspective on the issue of travel support for children and young people with cancer. The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to engage with Young Lives vs Cancer, as well as other children and young people cancer charity stakeholders as we progress this important work.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Young Lives vs Cancer's report entitled A young cancer patient travel fund, published in February 2024, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) trends in levels of travel costs, (b) the adequacy of the amount of financial support for young cancer patients and their families and (b) the potential impact on (i) missing appointments and (ii) delaying treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.
The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also several charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.
On 4 February 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in England.
The Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal assessment of costs incurred by children and young people travelling to Principal Treatment Centres in London, the trends in levels of travel costs and the impact of this on young cancer patients missing appointments and delaying treatment. Young Lives vs Cancer is a valued stakeholder with a unique perspective on the issue of travel support for children and young people with cancer. The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to engage with Young Lives vs Cancer, as well as other children and young people cancer charity stakeholders as we progress this important work.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the crown court backlog.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government.
We have launched an independent review into the efficiency of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to deliver once-in-a-generation reform.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 tackle inequalities in (a) access to clinical trials and (b) specialist psychological support for young people with cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research and to ensuring that clinical trials are more accessible.
The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trial participation for young people with cancer.
The NIHR has made research inclusion a condition of its funding. Applicants to domestic research programmes are required to demonstrate how inclusion is being built into all stages of the research lifecycle, and are also required to provide details of how their research contributes towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities. Before the end of March 2026, this will also be required for global health research and infrastructure awards.
The Department is dedicated to ensuring that all children and young people with cancer have access to psychological support, to help them through their diagnosis and treatment.
NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from the treatment for childhood cancer. Further information on NHS England’s published service specifications is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/
Children and young people’s cancer care is managed by Principal Treatment Centres (PTCs) who ensure quality care. Each PTC has a multi-disciplinary team which meets at least weekly and includes a specific focus on the psychosocial needs of patients. The multi-disciplinary team ensures that each service user is assessed for psychological needs and can access any psychosocial support that is required.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 within current NHS workforce planning to improve uptake of digital consultations for Parkinson’s patients as a mechanism to reduce neurology waiting times and reduce the backlog in accessing a neurologist.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have delivered an additional two million appointments, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made of how workforce shortages are impacting the delivery of care, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease in England, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme.
We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention.
A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 (a) help tackle shortages across the Parkinson’s disease specialist workforce and (b) assess how current workforce shortages are impacting the delivery of multi-disciplinary care as outlined in NICE guidance; and what plans he has to increase the Parkinson’s disease specialists workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have delivered an additional two million appointments, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made of how workforce shortages are impacting the delivery of care, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease in England, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme.
We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention.
A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 reduce variations in access to treatments approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for advanced and complex Parkinson’s Disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have delivered an additional two million appointments in England, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.
We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients, including for those with Parkinson’s, across our communities.
There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP).
The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the NHS to deliver care more equitably across the country. The report highlighted differences in how services are delivered, and provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally. In addition, the NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, which includes providing care closer to home.
Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with Parkinson’s can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 neurology centres across England. Within these specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including Parkinson’s disease nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
In addition, in February 2024, a new treatment for advanced-stage Parkinson’s, foslevodopa–foscarbidopa, was rolled out in the NHS. It has been shown to improve motor function, with patients experiencing longer periods of time without dyskinesia.
The NHS in England is legally required to make funding available for treatments recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance. If there are any concerns with the availability of a NICE-recommended treatment in a particular area, they should be raised with the local ICB in the first instance.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that Parkinson’s Disease services across England are supported to provide the full range of NICE-approved treatment options to eligible patients in a timely manner.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have delivered an additional two million appointments in England, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.
We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients, including for those with Parkinson’s, across our communities.
There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP).
The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the NHS to deliver care more equitably across the country. The report highlighted differences in how services are delivered, and provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally. In addition, the NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, which includes providing care closer to home.
Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with Parkinson’s can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 neurology centres across England. Within these specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including Parkinson’s disease nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
In addition, in February 2024, a new treatment for advanced-stage Parkinson’s, foslevodopa–foscarbidopa, was rolled out in the NHS. It has been shown to improve motor function, with patients experiencing longer periods of time without dyskinesia.
The NHS in England is legally required to make funding available for treatments recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance. If there are any concerns with the availability of a NICE-recommended treatment in a particular area, they should be raised with the local ICB in the first instance.