Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will respond to Question 59924 on aplastic anaemia tabled on 13 June 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 July 2025 to Question 59924.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to (a) continue to provide financial support for children's hospices and (b) increase the level of funding in line with (i) inflation and (ii) rises in costs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has provided £26 million in revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26, through what was, until recently, known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. This was an increase in funding from £25 million in 2024/25.
Integrated care boards will once again administer the funding to their respective children and young people’s hospices on behalf of NHS England. The majority of children and young people’s hospices should now have received their allocations, with the remaining few receiving theirs in the coming weeks.
We cannot yet confirm what the funding for 2026/27 will be, or how it will be administered.
In February, I met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, including Together for Short Lives, in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 ensure that integrated care boards (a) commission children’s palliative care and (b) fund children’s hospices in (i) an equitable and (ii) a sustainable way.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services, including children’s palliative care services, are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification for children and young people. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the important contribution that children and young people’s hospices make to care and support for babies, children, and young people with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, as well as to their families.
NHS England has provided £26 million in revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26, through what was, until recently, known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant. This was an increase in funding from £25 million in 2024/25.
ICBs will once again administer the funding to their respective children and young people’s hospices on behalf of NHS England. The majority of children and young people’s hospices should now have received their allocations, with the remaining few receiving theirs in the coming weeks.
In February 2025, I met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, including Together for Short Lives, in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 merits of prescribing Mounjaro for Cushing's syndrome on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment. Mounjaro is not licensed as a treatment option for Cushing’s syndrome. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) would consider an evaluation of Mounjaro for Cushing’s syndrome if the company, Eli Lilly, were to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for a marketing authorisation, or licence, for use in the treatment of Cushing’s syndrome.
Clinicians can prescribe medicines outside of their licensed indication, known as “off-label” use, where there is sufficient evidence and/or experience of using the medicine to show its safety, quality, and efficacy, provided there is no suitable alternative licensed medicine, and subject to funding by the National Health Service locally.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 improve access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.
Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible front door to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.
The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. To support these private contractors, NHS England is providing fully funded national training opportunities to help them deliver quality NHS services.
We have now recommenced our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding funding arrangements for 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase access to GP appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that patients are finding it difficult to see a general practitioner (GP), and we are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service to ensure that patients receive the care they deserve. That is why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice, which will benefit thousands of patients that are struggling to care the care they desperately need. This will also secure the future supply of GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system.
Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP contract in 2025/26, with a rising share of total NHS resources going to general practice. We are also currently consulting on key proposals to improve access, continuity of care and GP recruitment. This uplift reflects this government’s commitment to bring back the family doctor, slash red tape and put general practice at the heart of the neighbourhood health service.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
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 impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on NHS GP practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have made necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025.
We recently announced a proposed funding uplift for general practices (GPs) for 2025/26 of £889 million, representing a 7.2% cash growth, estimated at approximately 4.8% in real terms growth. This is the largest uplift to GP funding since the beginning of the five-year framework, and means that we are reversing the recent trend, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to GPs. We are currently consulting the profession on corresponding reforms to the GP Contract that would improve access, increase continuity of care, enhance GP recruitment, and reduce bureaucracy.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are waiting too long for cancer treatment, and we will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer on time or earlier, treating it faster, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.
As we set out in our new plan for reforming elective care, we are committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times. Further details will be set out in a dedicated national cancer plan and the NHS’s annual operational planning guidance.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to emergency dentistry.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Dental Statistics - England 2023-24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324
In England, in 2023/24, 3,674,731 urgent dental treatments in the National Health Service were delivered, which was 10.8% of all treatments delivered.
This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency, this is the NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough ICB.