Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)]

I am concerned that the disruption caused by an uncosted, unplanned simultaneous reorganisation of NHS England and the ICBs is affecting patient care. Before the summer, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the RSV vaccine should be given to those over 80 and those in adult care homes. In July, I asked the Secretary of State to confirm that this vaccine will be available in time for the winter season, and he said,

“I can certainly reassure the shadow Minister on this.”—[Official Report, 22 July 2025; Vol. 771, c. 677.]

The winter vaccine programme started three weeks ago. Why has he not delivered on his promise?

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

We have.

[Karin Smyth]

As my right hon. Friend has just said, we have delivered on that commitment. The hon. Member talks about the reorganisation being a distraction. If her party had focused taxpayers’ money on patient services rather than ballooning bureaucracy, with costs increasing both among providers and through ICBs, we would not have inherited the mess that we did, and would be able to roll out programmes more effectively. We have committed to doing that.

[Dr Caroline Johnson]

I thank the hon. Lady for her answer, but I would like her to check and perhaps update the guidance for GPs and the websites that continue to say that it is only available to 80-year-olds who turned 80 after 1 September 2024, which is not all people over the age of 80.

Reorganisation is affecting delivery elsewhere, too. The Secretary of State also promised that the continued roll-out of fracture liaison services would be one of his first priorities. How many new fracture liaison services have opened since the general election?

[Karin Smyth]

On the hon. Lady’s first point, this Government, unlike the previous Government, do believe in experts, and we follow the clinical advice that we are given. On her second point, as she is so keen on reading our manifesto commitments, the commitment was to do that by 2030. It is currently 2025. Our reforms to ICBs and providers, bringing NHS England inside the Department of Health and Social Care to make it more democratically accountable for taxpayers, will reverse the shocking increase in funding that the previous Government put into a leaky bucket. We are fixing the foundations of the NHS. We are targeting resources at people in line with our 10-year plan.