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, what estimate he has made of average cost per activity under the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders service, in the context of value-for-money references during the Urgent Question on the NHS Volunteer and Care service on 19 May 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme was first established as part of the COVID-19 response and then adapted to respond to other organisational pressures. However, a model that worked well in a national crisis is no longer the most cost-effective way of facilitating the important contribution of our much-valued volunteers, and NHS England has recently taken the decision to close the programme.
The following table shows the cost to the public purse of the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme, for 2023/24 and 2024/25:
Financial year | Total |
2023/24 | £6,360,598 |
2024/25 | £4,330,652 |
Note: NHS England is awaiting final invoices for 2024/25 so this figure may change, although the total cost for 2024/25 is expected to be no more than £4,330,652, excluding VAT.
The monthly and quarterly breakdown of costs varies based on invoicing schedules rather than by use of the programme, and therefore only annual figures have been provided. The average cost per task for 2024/25 was £40.74, based on the estimated programme cost of £4,330,652 in 2024/25 and delivery of 106,297 completed tasks, as per figures provided by the Royal Voluntary Service.
Providing a volunteer-based programme will always incur costs as there is a need to provide a supportive infrastructure including recruitment and management of volunteers, appropriate safeguarding support, the digital infrastructure and overall management of the scheme, as well as practical support for volunteers such as payment of expenses. However, the current cost per task is not considered value for money.
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, what the cost to the public purse was of the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders service in each (a) month, (b) quarter and (c) year since January 2023.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme was first established as part of the COVID-19 response and then adapted to respond to other organisational pressures. However, a model that worked well in a national crisis is no longer the most cost-effective way of facilitating the important contribution of our much-valued volunteers, and NHS England has recently taken the decision to close the programme.
The following table shows the cost to the public purse of the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme, for 2023/24 and 2024/25:
Financial year | Total |
2023/24 | £6,360,598 |
2024/25 | £4,330,652 |
Note: NHS England is awaiting final invoices for 2024/25 so this figure may change, although the total cost for 2024/25 is expected to be no more than £4,330,652, excluding VAT.
The monthly and quarterly breakdown of costs varies based on invoicing schedules rather than by use of the programme, and therefore only annual figures have been provided. The average cost per task for 2024/25 was £40.74, based on the estimated programme cost of £4,330,652 in 2024/25 and delivery of 106,297 completed tasks, as per figures provided by the Royal Voluntary Service.
Providing a volunteer-based programme will always incur costs as there is a need to provide a supportive infrastructure including recruitment and management of volunteers, appropriate safeguarding support, the digital infrastructure and overall management of the scheme, as well as practical support for volunteers such as payment of expenses. However, the current cost per task is not considered value for money.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are categorised as NATO dental fitness Category (a) 2 and (b) 3 on the basis that they need dental care or treatment to achieve optimal dental fitness.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As at 1 April 2025 (latest available data) 21,461 Armed Forces personnel were categorised as NATO Category 2. As at 1 April 2025 13,742, were categorised as NATO Category 3, meaning that they require either preventative or interventive treatment to achieve optimal dental fitness.
A further 20,870 UK Armed Forces personnel were categorised as NATO Category 4, meaning that they require a periodic dental examination, have an undetermined dental status, or have missing or incomplete dental records.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military personnel are waiting for dental treatment as of 3 June 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As at 1 April 2025 (latest available data) 21,461 Armed Forces personnel were categorised as NATO Category 2. As at 1 April 2025 13,742, were categorised as NATO Category 3, meaning that they require either preventative or interventive treatment to achieve optimal dental fitness.
A further 20,870 UK Armed Forces personnel were categorised as NATO Category 4, meaning that they require a periodic dental examination, have an undetermined dental status, or have missing or incomplete dental records.