Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 improve the availability of local in-person support services for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, particularly within the Henley and Thame constituency.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government is committed to ensuring that people experiencing a mental health crisis can access timely, high-quality support close to home.
Significant progress has also been made in strengthening the mental health crisis care pathway. This includes the NHS 111 mental health option, the expansion of crisis cafés, sanctuaries and crisis houses, the rollout of crisis text services across England, the delivery of 88 Mental Health Response Vehicles across local systems, and full national coverage of 24/7 liaison mental health teams in acute hospitals.
In addition, £473 million of capital funding over four years is supporting the development of new models of care, including community-based mental health centres and mental health emergency departments, helping to shift care closer to home and improve access to timely support.
Decisions about the configuration and delivery of local mental health services, including crisis support available to people in the Henley and Thame constituency, are the responsibility of the local integrated care board, which is best placed to assess the needs of its local population and commission services accordingly.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 28 May 2026 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame on the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We received the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 28 May 2026 and will reply in due course.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 2nd June 2026 from the Hon. Member for Henley and Thame.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the Hon. Member’s correspondence of 2 June about the NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board on 9 July 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 the number of newly qualified midwives in England in 2026 unable to secure employment within NHS maternity services; and whether he plans to introduce a nationally funded employment pathway, including guaranteed entry-level posts, to ensure adequate recruitment to meet workforce demand.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the difficulties newly qualified midwives are experiencing in securing employment in the National Health Service. NHS England actively monitors future nursing and midwifery student numbers, current vacancies, and staff turnover and is taking action to support newly qualified midwives into NHS employment.
We are investing £10.6 million to fund an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The new roles for graduates will help build on the success of the 2025 Graduate Guarantee that means every newly qualified midwife in England will have the opportunity to apply to join the NHS.
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee the development of a new national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This will include how to support the maternity and neonatal workforce. This is in addition to a new 10 Year Workforce Plan, due to be published soon, to ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with the rights skills to deliver care to patients when they need it.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 maternity services not recruiting newly qualified midwives on patient safety, continuity of care and overall costs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the difficulties newly qualified midwives are experiencing in securing employment in the National Health Service. NHS England actively monitors future nursing and midwifery student numbers, current vacancies, and staff turnover and is taking action to support newly qualified midwives into NHS employment.
We are investing £10.6 million to fund an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The new roles for graduates will help build on the success of the 2025 Graduate Guarantee that means every newly qualified midwife in England will have the opportunity to apply to join the NHS.
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee the development of a new national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This will include how to support the maternity and neonatal workforce. This is in addition to a new 10 Year Workforce Plan, due to be published soon, to ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with the rights skills to deliver care to patients when they need it.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 whether funding provided to local authorities for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) is adequate for them to meet the cost of adaptations, in the context of increases in construction and labour costs; and what estimate he has made of the aggregate funding required by local authorities for delivering DFGs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
In England, we continue to fund the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is delivered by local authorities. This grant helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs.
We have confirmed £723 million of funding for the DFG in 2026/27. We continue to keep funding levels under review to ensure the DFG supports those who can benefit most. Following consultation, we introduced a new approach to allocating DFG funding to local authorities in England from 2026/27 to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. Transitional protection means no local authority received less than they did in June 2025. The response to the consultation can be found at the following link:
The upper limit for DFG awards is currently set at £30,000, however, local authorities have a high degree of flexibility to fund adaptations above this amount where they judge it is appropriate.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the UK National Screening Committee is scheduled to review the evidence from the GBS3 trial, to consider whether screening for Group B Streptococcus should be routinely offered during pregnancy.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The UK National Screening Committee is in close contact with the GBS3 trial researchers and stands ready to commence a review of the evidence for antenatal screening for Group B Streptococcus as soon as the trial reports.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to answer of 10 June 2026 to question 3175, if he will take steps to have those discussions.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
There are no current plans to have discussions with My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice on protecting maternity safety campaigners from Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure that (a) quality and (b) safety of maternity services are more (i) clearly and (ii) consistently reflected in CQC ratings.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is committed to strengthening its oversight of maternity services and has commissioned an independent developmental review to identify opportunities to improve how quality and safety are assessed and reflected in ratings, ensuring alignment with wider system reforms, including those set out in the 10‑Year Health Plan.
Feedback from the consultation published on the CQC’s website on their sector‑specific assessment frameworks also presents a further opportunity to improve how quality and safety are assessed and more consistently reflected in ratings for maternity services.
Findings from investigations and inquiries, including any recommendations from the Baroness Amos‑led Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services, alongside the CQC’s national inspection programme, from 2022 to 2023, and internal review, will inform the CQC’s longer‑term priorities for assessing and regulating maternity services.
Currently, where the CQC identifies breaches of regulations or concerns about the quality and safety of maternity services, it has a range of regulatory powers and may take action where necessary.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 produce a set of specific local recommendations for each trust included in the Amos review of maternity and neonatal care following the publication of the National recommendations.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, led by Baroness Amos, is bringing together the findings from past reviews, local investigations in selected trusts, and evidence from families and staff into one single set of national recommendations.
The Government’s Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will lead work to translate these recommendations into a national action plan and will hold the system to account to drive consistent improvement across all trusts.