Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 changes to levels of staffing for Integrated Care Boards in St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire constituency on the capacity of those Integrated Care Boards to plan new services for areas of high population growth .
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to act as main strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure to achieve a 50% cost reduction in their running cost allowance. NHS England provided additional guidance to ICBs, National Health Service trusts, and NHS foundation trusts on 1 April 2025, and tasked ICBs with developing plans by the end of May setting out how they will manage their resources to deliver across their priorities.
NHS England will be working closely with ICBs to support the development of these plans, ensuring that their implementation reduces duplication and supports patient care. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/working-together-in-2025-26-to-lay-the-foundations-for-reform/
In his letter to ICBs, Sir Jim Mackay committed to greater transparency and moving back to a fair shares allocation policy over time. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB is within range of their fair shares allocation targets.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to correspondence of 5 February 2025 from the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire on healthcare in Northstowe.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the Hon. Member on 28 March 2025.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with pharmaceutical companies on taking steps to ensure an adequate supply of hormone replacement therapies for women experiencing the menopause.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department manages medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Cambridgeshire is not held centrally.
Previously, there have been issues with the supply of a limited number of these products, primarily driven by very sharp increases in demand. Following the Department’s intensive engagement with industry, the supply position has improved considerably. As part of this we have met with suppliers on a very regular basis and have held nine hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply roundtables since April 2022, with the most recent in September 2024, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists, to provide updates on the supply position and the actions being taken to address the issues, share data, and discuss relevant policy developments and their potential impacts.
There are over 70 HRT products, and the vast majority are in good supply. Where there are issues with HRT products, we continue to work closely with suppliers and other stakeholders, such as the National Health Service and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, to expedite resupply dates of disrupted products to resolve the issues as soon as possible
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 adequacy of access to hormone replacement therapies for women experiencing the menopause in Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department manages medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Cambridgeshire is not held centrally.
Previously, there have been issues with the supply of a limited number of these products, primarily driven by very sharp increases in demand. Following the Department’s intensive engagement with industry, the supply position has improved considerably. As part of this we have met with suppliers on a very regular basis and have held nine hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply roundtables since April 2022, with the most recent in September 2024, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists, to provide updates on the supply position and the actions being taken to address the issues, share data, and discuss relevant policy developments and their potential impacts.
There are over 70 HRT products, and the vast majority are in good supply. Where there are issues with HRT products, we continue to work closely with suppliers and other stakeholders, such as the National Health Service and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, to expedite resupply dates of disrupted products to resolve the issues as soon as possible
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 support NHS dentistry in St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, 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 the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire constituency, this is the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid 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 (a) promote patient awareness of walking aid return and reuse schemes, (b) promote NHS staff awareness of the possibility of establishing those schemes and (c) encourage NHS trusts to set up those schemes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is committed to reducing its environmental impact, and in 2020, published its Delivering a Net Zero NHS strategy, committing to reach net zero by 2045.
The NHS recognises that reusing walking aids, such as crutches, frames, and walking sticks, provides an excellent opportunity for carbon savings due to the high greenhouse gas intensity of aluminium manufacture. As part of its commitment to reach net zero by 2045, NHS England is working to expand walking aid refurbishment and reuse schemes, and has made a range of resources and tools available to support NHS staff starting new schemes or boosting existing schemes. The most recent support for staff being the inclusion of walking aids in the net zero product savings calculator, available to all NHS staff. NHS Supply Chain’s Aid for Daily Living framework has also been designed to maximise the return and reuse of such devices with the inclusion of a refurbishment service.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of compulsory walking aid return and reuse schemes for NHS trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is committed to reducing its environmental impact, and in 2020, published its Delivering a Net Zero NHS strategy, committing to reach net zero by 2045.
The NHS recognises that reusing walking aids, such as crutches, frames, and walking sticks, provides an excellent opportunity for carbon savings due to the high greenhouse gas intensity of aluminium manufacture. As part of its commitment to reach net zero by 2045, NHS England is working to expand walking aid refurbishment and reuse schemes, and has made a range of resources and tools available to support NHS staff starting new schemes or boosting existing schemes. The most recent support for staff being the inclusion of walking aids in the net zero product savings calculator, available to all NHS staff. NHS Supply Chain’s Aid for Daily Living framework has also been designed to maximise the return and reuse of such devices with the inclusion of a refurbishment service.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November to Question 14520 on Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients, how many people have been held in Section 136 suites for over 24 hours in the last five years; and under which section of the Mental Health Act 1983 they were held.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information in the format requested. Information on the number of uses of section 136 suites, collected by NHS England, is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to meet regularly with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board; and whether he plans to issue guidance to the Board on the the construction of a town hub in Northstowe.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no plans to meet regularly with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board, and is not taking any steps to issue guidance to the ICB on the construction of a town hub in Northstowe.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the extra funding awarded to early support hubs after March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented the Autumn Budget to Parliament on 30 October 2024. As a Department, we are finalising the outcomes of the Budget. We will set out plans for mental health funding for 2025/26 in due course. We remain committed to improving mental health support for children and young people, with our commitment to roll out a network of Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support as proof of this.