Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 integration between NHS services and social care provision in Lincolnshire.
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. Our vision for neighbourhood health will see local government and the National Health Service working more closely together, with a revitalised role of Health and Wellbeing Boards and reform of the Better Care Fund (BCF).
Through the BCF, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable NHS bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This includes setting shared goals to reduce delayed discharges, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, and support people to live independently at home.
In Lincolnshire, local Health and Wellbeing Boards are required to agree plans under the BCF framework to provide timely and coordinated support for people with complex needs. These plans prioritise effective discharge from hospital and recovery in the community.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 maternity and neonatal care for people in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Maternity and neonatal care in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency is delivered locally by Lincolnshire Local Maternity and Neonatal System. They are implementing the Continuity of Carer model of midwifery care so that women receive dedicated support from the same midwifery team throughout their pregnancy. This model will prioritise areas with higher deprivation and complex needs and aims to improve care for people in South Holland and the Deepings.
For Lincolnshire, the main provider for maternity care across the county is the United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust has taken several steps to improve maternity and neonatal care such as implementing the Continuity of Carer model and offering specialised services for women to receive dedicated support to meet specific needs, for example through the Perinatal Community Mental Health Team and Perinatal Trauma and Loss Care Service. Additionally, there are community initiatives, including a breastfeeding campaign, ongoing workforce development initiatives, such as career pathways for maternity support workers, and innovative neonatal staffing models.
The trust has also seen a reduction in women smoking at the time of delivery from 17.1% in 2020/21 to 8.4% in 2024/25, ahead of integrated care system targets.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 implications for his policies of the Taskforce for Lung Health briefing entitled A Modern Service Framework for Respiratory campaign, published on 18 November 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of the taskforce for Lung Health’s report calling for a Modern Service Framework for Respiratory Health, including the impact of respiratory conditions on mortality rates, emergency admissions, inequalities, and productivity.
Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.
The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 support community based preventative services for elderly people in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service. The Neighbourhood Health Service will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a person’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and only in a hospital if necessary.
We have launched wave one of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) in 43 areas across England, including North East Lincolnshire. The NNHIP is supporting systems across the country in driving innovation and integration at a local level, to improve the care they provide to their communities.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and which could include services for elderly people. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities such as Lincolnshire, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 patients with pulmonary fibrosis in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, working closely with National Health Service providers and other stakeholders, to commission services to meet the needs to their population and deliver value for the taxpayer.
I understand that a range of services, across primary and secondary care, are in place in Lincolnshire to support the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with pulmonary fibrosis, including at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 in (1) Lincolnshire and (2) England have waited for (a) 90 and (b) 150 days for brain tumour test results in each of the last three years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes waiting time data from referral to being informed of a cancer diagnosis or having it ruled out for brain and central nervous system. This is the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard. This includes the waiting time data for patients in Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board and in England.
This data is publicly available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists were employed in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data for how many NHS dentists were employed in each of the last ten years in Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, which includes South Holland and The Deepings constituency, is published annually. The latest 2024/25 data is published by the NHS Business Services Authority and is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202425
Figures prior to 2019/20 were published by NHS Digital and are available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics
We do not hold data on how many NHS dentists are employed at constituency level.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 access to specialist wheelchairs for children in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services.
The Lincolnshire ICB and Lincolnshire County Council jointly commission an all-age wheelchair service. To support access to specialist wheelchairs, the Lincolnshire wheelchair service has a close working relationship with bespoke seating services who support with wheelchair fittings and assessments. In addition, the service also operates a personal wheelchair budget option that supports the provision of equipment outside of the standard service and that helps assess the equipment sourced to make sure it is appropriate and meets the patient’s needs.
NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving intervention and equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on the 9 April 2025 which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department which regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The following table shows how much the MHRA has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years:
Year | Translation | Sign language | Total |
2020/21 | £521.86 | £1,554.00 | £2,075.86 |
2021/22 | £9,725.01 | £648.00 | £10,373.01 |
2022/23 | £796.24 | £1,050.00 | £1,846.24 |
2023/24 | - | £3,138.00 | £3,138.00 |
2024/25 | £355.60 | £2,275.20 | £2,630.80 |
Total | £11,398.71 | £8,665.20 | £20,063.91 |
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 people with ME in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Service is a specialist service which provides assessment and advice on myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), management strategies.
This service is available to adults and children. The ME/CFS service team consists of a wide range of skilled staff, including consultant clinical psychologists, assistant psychologists, specialist occupational therapists, and rehabilitation staff.
At a national level, the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan, which the Department published in July, includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.
NHS England has also started its work on co-designing resources for systems to improve services for mild and moderate ME/CFS. It will meet a group of key stakeholders to progress this in the coming weeks.