Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children and young people with cancer receive (a) treatment and (b) care outside the region from (i) Bournemouth and (ii) the South West; and what assessment he has made if the (A) cost of travel and (B) the adequacy of financial support available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are currently responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of local communities are met, including providing support for travel.
The National Health Service runs schemes in England to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) provides financial assistance to patients in England who do not have a medical need for transport, but who require assistance with the costs of travelling to receive certain NHS services. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. The provision of disability benefits is also the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions.
On 4 February 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer across England, including Bournemouth and the South West region.
The specific information requested is not held by the Department of Health and Social Care. Therefore, we cannot share how many children and young people with cancer receive treatment and care outside the region from Bournemouth and the South West, nor have we have not made a formal assessment of the cost of travel, the adequacy of financial support available, or the effectiveness of the NHS HTCS in providing support for young cancer patients' travel costs across specific localities in England. This information is not held centrally as it is held at individual NHS trust level.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
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 effectiveness of the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme in providing support for young cancer patients' travel costs.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are currently responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of local communities are met, including providing support for travel.
The National Health Service runs schemes in England to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) provides financial assistance to patients in England who do not have a medical need for transport, but who require assistance with the costs of travelling to receive certain NHS services. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. The provision of disability benefits is also the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions.
On 4 February 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer across England, including Bournemouth and the South West region.
The specific information requested is not held by the Department of Health and Social Care. Therefore, we cannot share how many children and young people with cancer receive treatment and care outside the region from Bournemouth and the South West, nor have we have not made a formal assessment of the cost of travel, the adequacy of financial support available, or the effectiveness of the NHS HTCS in providing support for young cancer patients' travel costs across specific localities in England. This information is not held centrally as it is held at individual NHS trust level.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take in the National Cancer plan to improve diagnosis times for children and young people with cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, including children and young people. To achieve this, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
To support timely and effective referrals, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out detailed guidance for general practitioners on the symptoms of cancer in children and young people, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with a range of potential cancer symptoms.
On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer. The Taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include provisions in the NHS 10-Year Plan on the (a) funding, (b) planning, (c) provision and (d) commissioning at (i) national and (ii) regional level of children’s palliative care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every child and young person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receive the care they need when and where they need it, including those who need palliative and end of life care. It is too early to say exactly what the 10-Year Health Plan will look like, but we expect palliative and end of life care to benefit from the plan’s three big shifts.
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have been carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with extensive input at both national and regional levels. In February, I met key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan. Additionally, I recently met my Hon. Friend the Member for York Central, and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, to discuss the Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care’s first report. I welcome the report’s recent publication.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
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 include multi-year funding for voluntary sector providers of children’s (a) palliative care and (b) hospices in the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will set out how the Government will fix our broken National Health Service. Too many babies, children, and young people, including those towards the end of their lives, are not receiving the support and care they deserve, and we know that waiting times for services are far too long. We are determined to change that, by changing the way services operate, rather than by simply funding more of the same.
Whilst it is too soon to say what will be in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are continuing to support the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
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 funding for children's palliative care; and what plans he has to increase the level of funding available.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 service specifications.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones.
In recognition of this, children and young people’s hospices will receive £26 million in revenue funding for 2025/26, once again via ICBs. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.
Additionally, we are also supporting both the child and adult hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for 2024/25 and 2025/26, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
In February, I met with key palliative care and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in (a) Bournemouth and (b) South West England for each of the past five years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of HIV diagnoses, and the number of those diagnoses that were first diagnosed in the United Kingdom, for Bournemouth and the South West region, from 2019 to 2023:
Year | Bournemouth | South West region | ||
| All HIV diagnoses | Of which first diagnosed in UK | All HIV diagnoses | Of which first diagnosed in UK |
2019 | 27 | 19 | 244 | 167 |
2020 | 23 | 14 | 168 | 110 |
2021 | 21 | 12 | 135 | 83 |
2022 | 28 | 18 | 221 | 102 |
2023 | 48 | 15 | 447 | 165 |
Further information on the number of people diagnosed with HIV by local authority and health region is publicly available at the following link:
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth 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 reduce HIV/AIDS transmission in (a) Bournemouth West constituency, (b) the South West and (c) areas with high prevalence of HIV.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The HIV Action Plan was published in 2022 and sets out steps to reduce HIV transmission between 2019 and 2025, including the importance of HIV testing, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, and for those who test positive, rapid access to treatment. A new HIV Action Plan will be published in 2025.
The HIV Action Plan was written to be implemented at both the national and local level. The HIV Action Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-the-hiv-action-plan-for-england-2022-to-2025
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The HIV Action Plan was published in 2022 and sets out steps to reduce HIV transmission between 2019 and 2025, including the importance of HIV testing, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, and for those who test positive, rapid access to treatment. The HIV Action Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-the-hiv-action-plan-for-england-2022-to-2025
Between 2019 and 2023, the number of new HIV diagnoses increased slightly from 2,801 to 2,810, an increase of 0.3%. However, there was a 35% fall in new diagnoses in gay and bisexual men, from 1,242 in 2019 to 811 in 2023.
A monitoring and evaluation framework was published on 1 December 2024 to summarise progress, and this framework is available at the following link:
A new HIV Action plan will be published by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth 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 increase the availability of mental health services in Bournemouth West constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board to make available adequate and appropriate provision to meet the mental health needs of the people in Bournemouth.
Nationally, we know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services across England are too long.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.
Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.
We have also committed £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on the busy mental health and accident and emergency services, and ensuring people have the support they need when they need it.