Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has provided to NHS trusts in West Dorset constituency on managing staff concerns over Annual Allowance charges.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual allowance limits the amount that an individual can save in their pension pot before they have to pay tax. It aims to ensure that the incentives for pension saving, which are costly to the taxpayer, are appropriately targeted across society. Tax policy, including the level of the annual allowance, is a matter for my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
From 6 April 2023, the previous administration introduced reforms to the annual allowance, increasing both the standard and tapered annual allowances, allowing National Health Service staff to save more into their pensions each year before facing a tax charge.
Where NHS staff have pension savings that exceed the annual allowance, for example due to unexpected circumstances such as taking on extra hours or additional responsibilities within the NHS, they can carry forward any unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years. This will increase their current year’s allowance, reducing or potentially avoiding any annual allowance tax charge that is due.
Additionally, the NHS Pension Scheme offers a Scheme Pays facility which allows impacted members to pay charges using the value of their pension. This spreads the cost of paying a tax charge over the lifetime of the pension rather than requiring an immediate outlay. For most members, the growth in their pension benefits at retirement, even net of a charge, would still represent an excellent return on their pension contributions.
Information for trusts is available on NHS Employers website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/annual-allowance.
Information for members is available on the NHS Pensions website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/annual-allowance.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the rules on NHS Pension Annual Allowance charges to reduce the risk of staff being financially penalised for working additional hours.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual allowance limits the amount that an individual can save in their pension pot before they have to pay tax. It aims to ensure that the incentives for pension saving, which are costly to the taxpayer, are appropriately targeted across society. Tax policy, including the level of the annual allowance, is a matter for my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
From 6 April 2023, the previous administration introduced reforms to the annual allowance, increasing both the standard and tapered annual allowances, allowing National Health Service staff to save more into their pensions each year before facing a tax charge.
Where NHS staff have pension savings that exceed the annual allowance, for example due to unexpected circumstances such as taking on extra hours or additional responsibilities within the NHS, they can carry forward any unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years. This will increase their current year’s allowance, reducing or potentially avoiding any annual allowance tax charge that is due.
Additionally, the NHS Pension Scheme offers a Scheme Pays facility which allows impacted members to pay charges using the value of their pension. This spreads the cost of paying a tax charge over the lifetime of the pension rather than requiring an immediate outlay. For most members, the growth in their pension benefits at retirement, even net of a charge, would still represent an excellent return on their pension contributions.
Information for trusts is available on NHS Employers website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/annual-allowance.
Information for members is available on the NHS Pensions website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/annual-allowance.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure that NHS staff are not penalised financially for taking on extra responsibilities to maintain patient care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual allowance limits the amount that an individual can save in their pension pot before they have to pay tax. It aims to ensure that the incentives for pension saving, which are costly to the taxpayer, are appropriately targeted across society. Tax policy, including the level of the annual allowance, is a matter for my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
From 6 April 2023, the previous administration introduced reforms to the annual allowance, increasing both the standard and tapered annual allowances, allowing National Health Service staff to save more into their pensions each year before facing a tax charge.
Where NHS staff have pension savings that exceed the annual allowance, for example due to unexpected circumstances such as taking on extra hours or additional responsibilities within the NHS, they can carry forward any unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years. This will increase their current year’s allowance, reducing or potentially avoiding any annual allowance tax charge that is due.
Additionally, the NHS Pension Scheme offers a Scheme Pays facility which allows impacted members to pay charges using the value of their pension. This spreads the cost of paying a tax charge over the lifetime of the pension rather than requiring an immediate outlay. For most members, the growth in their pension benefits at retirement, even net of a charge, would still represent an excellent return on their pension contributions.
Information for trusts is available on NHS Employers website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/annual-allowance.
Information for members is available on the NHS Pensions website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/annual-allowance.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 protocols for exchanging medical records electronically between NHS organisations on patients in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring information can be shared between services is essential for safe and effective care. Improving this will enable better informed clinical and care decision-making that is empowered by access to precise and comprehensive information, enhancing the quality and safety of care for patients.
NHS England has been supporting National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in acquiring and developing the effectiveness of their electronic patient records and support is available to bring trusts to an optimum level of digital maturity which will further reduce barriers to the sharing of information needed to treat patients. Further information on electronic patient records for trusts and foundation trusts is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/data-and-clinical-record-sharing/
To ensure continuity of care and to reduce delays in treatment, NHS England is working with NHS Wales on improving the interoperability of services, sharing care records, technical collaboration on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources based messaging standards, and longer-term ambitions for a single patient record.
The Government's 10-Year Health Plan includes the objective of delivering a single patient record. We will be engaging with the devolved administrations on the single patient record, to support appropriate cross-border referrals, and appropriate information sharing to inform good decision-making, support healthcare, and minimise risk to patients.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of ensuring electronic medical record systems in NHS England and NHS Wales can exchange patient information more easily.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring information can be shared between services is essential for safe and effective care. Improving this will enable better informed clinical and care decision-making that is empowered by access to precise and comprehensive information, enhancing the quality and safety of care for patients.
NHS England has been supporting National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in acquiring and developing the effectiveness of their electronic patient records and support is available to bring trusts to an optimum level of digital maturity which will further reduce barriers to the sharing of information needed to treat patients. Further information on electronic patient records for trusts and foundation trusts is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/data-and-clinical-record-sharing/
To ensure continuity of care and to reduce delays in treatment, NHS England is working with NHS Wales on improving the interoperability of services, sharing care records, technical collaboration on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources based messaging standards, and longer-term ambitions for a single patient record.
The Government's 10-Year Health Plan includes the objective of delivering a single patient record. We will be engaging with the devolved administrations on the single patient record, to support appropriate cross-border referrals, and appropriate information sharing to inform good decision-making, support healthcare, and minimise risk to patients.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 reduce risks to patients from the electronic exchange of medical records between NHS England and NHS Wales.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ensuring information can be shared between services is essential for safe and effective care. Improving this will enable better informed clinical and care decision-making that is empowered by access to precise and comprehensive information, enhancing the quality and safety of care for patients.
NHS England has been supporting National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in acquiring and developing the effectiveness of their electronic patient records and support is available to bring trusts to an optimum level of digital maturity which will further reduce barriers to the sharing of information needed to treat patients. Further information on electronic patient records for trusts and foundation trusts is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/data-and-clinical-record-sharing/
To ensure continuity of care and to reduce delays in treatment, NHS England is working with NHS Wales on improving the interoperability of services, sharing care records, technical collaboration on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources based messaging standards, and longer-term ambitions for a single patient record.
The Government's 10-Year Health Plan includes the objective of delivering a single patient record. We will be engaging with the devolved administrations on the single patient record, to support appropriate cross-border referrals, and appropriate information sharing to inform good decision-making, support healthcare, and minimise risk to patients.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 improve integration between social care and NHS services in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving integration between health and social care services nationally and locally, including in rural areas. Our vision for neighbourhood health will see integrated teams and services designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations while ensuring strong partnership working between health and social care. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.
Through the Better Care Fund, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable National Health Service bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This money is spent across the country, including rural areas.
As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan and starting in the financial year 2026/27, we will reform the Better Care Fund. This reform will provide a sharper focus on ensuring consistent joint NHS and local authority funding for those services that are essential for integrated health and social care, such as hospital discharge, intermediate care, rehabilitation, and reablement.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 adequacy of dementia care provision in (a) rural constituencies and (b) West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking into account National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
This Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy that they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with dementia. That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help places and systems identify where improvements need to be targeted.
Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to specialist dementia care services in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking into account National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
This Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy that they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with dementia. That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help places and systems identify where improvements need to be targeted.
Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 potential impact of closer NHS and social care integration on reducing the time taken for hospital discharges in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 December 2025 to Question 95574.