Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the proportion of NHS expenditure allocated to primary care dentistry net of patient charge revenue compared with other areas of NHS primary care in each financial year since 2010/11.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prior to 2023/24, there was no specific dental budget allocation and dentistry formed part of a wider budget including community pharmacy and optometry. Since 2023/24, there has been a specific dental ringfence allocation for integrated care boards. This includes primary, secondary and community dentistry and is set net of patient charges.
The attached table sets out actual spend on different aspects of primary care for 2013/14 onwards, with previous comparable figures not being available as they predate the creation of NHS England.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made towards publishing the family engagement strategy and methodology for the National Maternity Investigation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national maternity and neonatal investigation is operationally independent of the Department and, therefore, we do not hold this information.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 the provision of mobile breast cancer screening units.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government fully supports the use of mobile breast screening units where they are deemed appropriate. Mobile units support reduction of health inequalities by providing access to screening in areas where local people have difficulty accessing static screening units.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 improve mental health provision in (a) rural and (b) agricultural communities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working with NHS England on a refreshed workforce plan, which will revolve around the three shifts to deliver our 10-Year Health Plan: moving more care from hospitals to communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it, including in rural and agricultural communities.
Responsibility for the onward commissioning of mental health services sits with integrated care boards (ICB). It is the role of local ICB decision-makers to consider the implications of mental health services, specific to each geography and including the perspectives of healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, and local authorities.
We are also committed to the rolling out Young Futures Hubs in communities in England, which will be designed with local areas, leveraging local understanding of services in each area, including rural and agricultural needs. Young Futures Hubs will develop from existing buildings and provision, identified by local areas. This will make best use of existing local assets and the successes of existing provision partnerships and support.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 ensure that NHS dentistry receives adequate investment from new NHS funds allocated to the Department through the Spending Review.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.
The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.
NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 access to NHS dentists in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government is determined to improve access to NHS dentistry.
We are targeting areas most in need, including in rural areas, by delivering 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments and recruiting dentists under the Golden Hellos scheme.
We will reform the dental contract, with a consultation underway on measures to improve access. More fundamental reforms will follow before the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 ensure that more same-sex couples can access NHS-funded IVF.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service-funded treatment are still appropriate.
In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 increase grant funding for men’s mental health support charities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recently announced a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England and take a life-course approach. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and encouraging more men to come forward for healthcare, including mental health. The strategy will be informed by a call for evidence to understand what is working and what more needs to be done. We will consider all the levers at our disposal in drawing up plans for the strategy.
The 12-week call for evidence will gather vital insights from the public, health and social care professionals, academics and employers so the Government can properly consider how to prevent and tackle the biggest issues facing men from all backgrounds. We will be looking at where the learning can be used to inform future policy and funding bids.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 merits of moving non-clinical service delivery decision-making from managers to (a) consultants and (b) specialist doctors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are the strategic commissioners of health and care services in England. NHS England has asked the ICBs to reduce the duplication of functions, to achieve efficiencies and reduce their running costs, with the aim to direct the cost savings towards front line National Health Service health and care services.
No assessment has been made in regard to moving any non-clinical services to clinical staff. We expect the ICBs to review their functions whilst acting as strategic commissioners, and this includes where multiple assurance and regulatory functions are being done by different organisations, wider performance management, and comms and engagement, which similarly exists in local authorities, providers, and regions, with a view of delegating these functions appropriately.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is his Department taking to increase awareness about the risks of skin cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of skin cancer. This advice is available publicly on the NHS website, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/melanoma-skin-cancer/
NHS England run Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address the barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging body awareness to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point.