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.
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 his Department has made of trends in the level of regional inequalities of access to mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Severe Mental Illness Profile, developed by the Department, aims to help develop an understanding of severe mental illness at a regional and local level. It provides a set of metrics that allow planners, providers, and stakeholders to profile their area and benchmark against similar populations. Further information is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/mental-health/profile/severe-mental-illness
The profile shows that new referrals to secondary mental health services increased from 5,960 per 100,000 population in 2017/18, to 6,897 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 15.7%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 5,618 per 100,000 in the South East, to 8,429 per 100,000 in the West Midlands. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was seen in the West Midlands, at 22.3%.
Attended contacts with community and outpatient mental health services increased from 26,899 per 100,000 in 2017/18, to 30,674 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase 14.1%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 24,950 per 100,000 in the South East, to 45,016 per 100,000 in the North East. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was again seen in the West Midlands, at 19.9%. The East Midlands region had the lowest increase, of 4.6%.
Inpatient stays in secondary mental health services increased from 239 per 100,000 in 2017/18, to 241 per 100,000 in 2019/20, an increase of 1.2%. In 2019/20, rates varied from 186 per 100,000 for the South West, to 276 per 100,000 in the London region. Across the three-year period, the greatest increase was seen in the East Midlands, at 10.5%. The London region had a decrease of 3.5%. Data for the following years is expected to be published this year.
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 and what proportion of patients received urgent cancer treatment within 62 days of a GP referral in Dorset integrated care board since October 2023.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were 642 diagnoses of cancer within Bournemouth West constituency between January 2024 and December 2024. Between October 2023 and December 2024, within the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), there have been 7,157 patients treated. Across this time, 69.2% of those treated were within the 62-day target. Performance as of December 2024 for Dorset ICB is 73.2% and exceeding the 70% recovery target.
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 cases of cancer were diagnosed within Bournemouth West constituency in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were 642 diagnoses of cancer within Bournemouth West constituency between January 2024 and December 2024. Between October 2023 and December 2024, within the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB), there have been 7,157 patients treated. Across this time, 69.2% of those treated were within the 62-day target. Performance as of December 2024 for Dorset ICB is 73.2% and exceeding the 70% recovery target.
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 GP appointments in the Bournemouth West constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the capacity and access to general practice (GP) services across the country, including in the Bournemouth West constituency. Bournemouth West North sits within the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board. Since June 2024, there has been an 8.5% increase in GP appointments delivered, higher than the national average increase of 7.1% in the same period
In October 2024, we put £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to enable the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England, which will increase the number of appointments delivered, and care for thousands of patients
The Government has delivered the biggest boost to GP funding in years, an £889 million uplift for 2025/26, with GPs now receiving a growing share of National Health Service resources. For the first time in four years, the General Practitioners Committee England backed the new contract, which includes key reforms to improve access, for instance by making sure patients can request appointments online throughout core hours.