Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 the 10 Year Health Plan supports people with (a) arthritis and (b) other long-term conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The three shifts outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan will support people with long-term conditions, including those with arthritis, to better manage their condition and access services closer to home. For example, it will empower them to access their medical history and allow them to book and manage their appointments and medication.
In addition, by 2028/29, neighbourhood health teams will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings with multi-disciplinary teams who can provide wrap-around support services.
By 2030, one million patients with long-term conditions will be offered Personal Health Budgets, which will enable them to use National Health Service resources and determine the care that best suits their needs.
Patients will be able to self-refer to services where clinically appropriate through the My Specialist section on the NHS App. This will accelerate their access to treatment and support. The NHS App will provide access to advice, guidance, self-care support, and appointment management. Patients will be able to manage their care in one place, giving them direct access to and preference over the services they need.
As part of the NHS App, My Medicines will enable patients to manage their prescriptions, and My Health will enable patients to monitor their symptoms and bring all their data into one place.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) training and (b) education pathways align with the skills required in the (i) artificial intelligence, (ii) fintech, (iii) medtech and (iv) green industry.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through our Industrial Strategy, published in June 2025, this government will ensure the skills system and employment support align with strategic economic priorities, including the needs of priority growth sectors such as digital and technologies, clean energy, financial services and health, and for emerging technologies and transformative opportunities such as artificial intelligence (AI). For example, new short courses in areas such as digital, AI, and engineering will be introduced in England from April 2026, funded through the growth and skills levy. Skills England has been established to identify skills gaps across the economy, including in these priority growth sectors, and use these insights to improve and simplify skills provision so that people and business can best benefit from training. Skills England will work across government to ensure young people starting out in their careers, as well as adults who need to reskill, have clear education and training pathways.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Government’s free breakfast club early adopter programme on children’s (a) welfare and (b) educational outcomes.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to delivering on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.
Breakfast clubs offer much more than just food, serving as a welcoming space for children, providing valuable opportunities for them to play, learn, and socialise at the beginning of the school day. This will set them up to be ready to learn and supports working parents, boosting household incomes.
Schools running breakfast clubs report improvements in behaviour, attendance, concentration and attainment, and a universal breakfast club offer has been found to be a less stigmatising way to reach those who need it the most.
We are working closely with our early adopter schools during the test and learn phase to understand how schools are delivering the new free clubs, pupil take-up and impact. We will publish findings from the test and learn phase in due course.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish further details on plans to expand the provision of (a) palliative and (b) end of life care in community settings as outlined in the 10-Year Plan for Health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
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. ICBs, including the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, which covers the Stafford constituency, are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that, in future, services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 ensure that the 10-Year Plan for Health delivers equitable access to (a) palliative and (b) end of life care across all communities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
One of the three shifts that the 10-Year Health Plan will deliver is the shift of healthcare from the hospital into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative and end of life care, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department are working on (a) promoting and (b) preserving Britain's industrial heritage; and if she will make it her policy to publish a strategy on the restoration of industrial heritage.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Historic England, the government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, is responsible for managing and protecting heritage, including industrial heritage, across the country. As well as funding Historic England, the government announced new, additional funding for heritage in 2025/26 - £15m for the Heritage At Risk fund and £4.85m for the Heritage Revival Fund.
Within the Department for Culture Media and Sport, there is a small team that oversees Historic England, a team delivering heritage policy, and the designation of listed buildings and monuments. There are no current plans to publish a strategy on the restoration of industrial heritage but for all these workstands, industrial heritage is an important part of what they do and we will look at what more we can do to preserve and restore significant sites and structures.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 health inequalities in the North East.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This government is working to stamp out this country’s stark health inequalities. The North East has had the lowest healthy life expectancy for over ten years, which is unacceptable.
The Government has put tackling these inequalities at the heart of the 10 Year Plan. We will create a fairer Britain where everyone can access quality care, regardless of background, income or postcode.
We are taking unprecedented action by diverting billions of pounds to working class communities that need it most – prioritising investment in towns with the greatest health needs.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how her Department plans to quantify the (a) costs and (b) savings associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence in (i) health, (ii) defence, (iii) education and (iv) other public services; and whether she considered including such an assessment in the recent Fiscal Risks and Sustainability report.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government has committed to invest in upgrading essential digital infrastructure, modernise public services and drive a major overhaul in government productivity and efficiency by harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Spending Review 2025 sets out plans for a step change in investment in digital and AI across public services, including an uplift of £1.2 billion for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to drive forward cross-cutting digital and AI priorities.
HM Treasury has not made a central assessment of AI adoption costs and savings in each public service area. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) provides independent analysis of the UK's public finances and publishes the Fiscal Risk and Sustainability Report and, as such, determine the scope and details within the report. The OBR has full discretion over the judgements underpinning their forecasts.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department's long-term fiscal modelling includes assumptions on the potential impact of artificial intelligence on levels of productivity.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The OBR is the government's official forecaster and is responsible for assessing the UK’s economic and fiscal outlook.Its annual publication of its Fiscal Risks and Sustainability (FRS) report includes biennial long-term projections and analysis of major potential fiscal risks.
The OBR includes a long-run productivity assumption in its forecasts. In its July 2025 long-run report, it noted that if productivity grows faster than expected it could significantly improve the outlook for the public finances. One driver for stronger-than expected productivity growth is the rapid development and spread of artificial intelligence. However, the magnitude and timing of the potential boost to productivity remains highly uncertain.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has produced internal modelling on the potential fiscal impacts of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The OBR is the government's official forecaster and is responsible for assessing the UK’s economic and fiscal outlook.Its annual publication of its Fiscal Risks and Sustainability (FRS) report includes biennial long-term projections and analysis of major potential fiscal risks.
The OBR includes a long-run productivity assumption in its forecasts. In its July 2025 long-run report, it noted that if productivity grows faster than expected it could significantly improve the outlook for the public finances. One driver for stronger-than expected productivity growth is the rapid development and spread of artificial intelligence. However, the magnitude and timing of the potential boost to productivity remains highly uncertain.