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 prioritising NHS jobs for British citizens who have gained medical qualifications (a) within the UK and (b) from institutions within other European countries.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.

We will publish a new 10 Year Workforce Plan later this year to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

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 palliative care in the context of assisted dying.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Irrespective of any legislation on assisted dying, we must continue to work towards creating a society where every person who needs it receives high-quality, compassionate palliative and end of life care. The Government will shift the focus of healthcare out of the hospital and into the community and we recognise that it is vital to include palliative care and end of life care in this shift.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England for 2024/25 and 2025/26 to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. Additionally, we are providing children and young people’s hospices with £26 million of revenue funding for 2025/26.

Earlier this year, I met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve employment opportunities for young people in rural areas.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Get Britain Working White Paper set out our cross-Government plan to get people into and progress at work. A key focus is on supporting young people into employment, education or training. This is why the Government is implementing a Youth Guarantee – ensuring all 18-21-year-olds have access to training, an apprenticeship or help to find work, to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age.

DWP already provides 16-24-year-olds with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by Work Coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

For example, we are running a pilot of hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programmes in partnership with UKHospitality, which is being rolled out to 26 new areas in need of jobs and opportunities, half of which are in rural and/ or coastal areas.

Following a successful trial in the north-east of England, we have issued guidance to Jobcentres on how best to support people to overcome transport barriers that hinder them from securing and remaining in work.

Youth Hubs and Jobcentres across the country are also promoting the Flexible Support Fund, which can cover transport costs for job interviews, training and Jobcentre visits.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what provisions his Department has put in place to monitor the quality-of-care patients receive in NHS-funded treatments at private hospitals.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Throughout its history, the National Health Service has always worked with non-NHS healthcare providers to deliver essential services to patients. The Independent Sector Partnership Agreement, signed in January 2025, extends how the NHS and independent sector can work together to deliver more non-urgent care, free at the point of use.

The safety of all NHS funded patients, whether they are treated in the NHS or in an independent sector provider (ISP), is a top priority for the Government. Private providers are commissioned and managed by integrated care boards under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract, which applies the same standards of oversight and regulation as are applied to NHS providers.

All providers of healthcare, including ISPs, are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality, below which care should never fall. Most independent sector care is rated as high quality by the Care Quality Commission, with 92% of providers rated as good or outstanding.

Independent provider licensing and oversight was established in 2014 under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to licence and regulate independent providers of NHS services. The oversight approach was originally focused on the financial oversight of independent providers but in 2023, in line with continuously improving the oversight of NHS-funded care at private providers, the Hard to Replace policy and the requirement to maintain standards of quality governance were introduced, giving NHS England powers to intervene with some providers where there was a risk to service continuity. Further details on these developments are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/licensing-and-oversight-of-independent-providers/

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 oversight of NHS-funded care at private providers.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Throughout its history, the National Health Service has always worked with non-NHS healthcare providers to deliver essential services to patients. The Independent Sector Partnership Agreement, signed in January 2025, extends how the NHS and independent sector can work together to deliver more non-urgent care, free at the point of use.

The safety of all NHS funded patients, whether they are treated in the NHS or in an independent sector provider (ISP), is a top priority for the Government. Private providers are commissioned and managed by integrated care boards under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract, which applies the same standards of oversight and regulation as are applied to NHS providers.

All providers of healthcare, including ISPs, are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality, below which care should never fall. Most independent sector care is rated as high quality by the Care Quality Commission, with 92% of providers rated as good or outstanding.

Independent provider licensing and oversight was established in 2014 under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to licence and regulate independent providers of NHS services. The oversight approach was originally focused on the financial oversight of independent providers but in 2023, in line with continuously improving the oversight of NHS-funded care at private providers, the Hard to Replace policy and the requirement to maintain standards of quality governance were introduced, giving NHS England powers to intervene with some providers where there was a risk to service continuity. Further details on these developments are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/licensing-and-oversight-of-independent-providers/

Fibrenest and Persimmon homes