Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 the adequacy of the performance of AJM Healthcare in delivering wheelchair services to the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The safety of all patients, whether they are treated in the National Health Service or the independent sector, is a top priority for the Government. There are a range of providers of NHS wheelchair services across England. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers.
NHS England are aware there have been a number of separate complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare, which are being dealt with on an individual basis by the Ombudsman’s office. NHS England has flagged this to the relevant ICBs, who are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services. NHS England supports ICBs to make improvements and commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services. Actions taken include:
- establishing a national wheelchair dataset, where data has been collected quarterly from ICBs, formerly clinical commissioning groups, since July 2015 and which supports the drive for improvements in wheelchair services. This data looks at waiting times across the pathway to enable targeted action if improvement is required. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/national-wheelchair/
- the Wheelchair Quality Framework, which was published on the 9 April 2025, and which was co-produced with key stakeholders, including Whizz Kids. The framework sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
- personal wheelchair budgets, with NHS England having introduced personal wheelchair budgets, including in legal rights, in 2019, providing a clear framework for ICBs to commission personalised wheelchair services which are outcomes focused and integrated. Personal wheelchair budgets give people greater choice over the wheelchair provided, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/guidance-on-the-legal-rights-to-have-personal-health-budgets-and-personal-wheelchair-budgets/
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 end the use of body mass index as a criterion for determining eligibility for joint replacement surgery.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of individual integrated care boards to determine clinical commissioning policies for their local areas, including eligibility for joint replacement surgery.
As with all surgery, body mass index (BMI) should be considered as part of a holistic, personalised perioperative evaluation of the risks versus the clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. BMI should not be considered in isolation as a barrier to surgery.
As part of the NHS Elective Reform Plan, the Government has committed to expanding access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for patients waiting for hip and knee replacements. This will help optimise patients for their surgery, potentially leading to a reduced length of hospital stay and minimising their risk of post-operative complications.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish an inquiry into delays in the NHS providing (a) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and (b) any other services related to children's mental health.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that many children and young people are currently experiencing significant delays in accessing mental health support and we are taking action to address this, as committed to in the 10-Year Health Plan. This includes providing mental health support for almost one million more young people in school this year and an extra £688 million in Government funding this year to transform mental health services, to hire more staff, deliver more early interventions, and get waiting lists down.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. Almost 8,000 of these workers have been recruited since July 2024, which will help to ease pressure on busy mental health services. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan later this year to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places to care for patients when they need it.
Additionally, we are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools to achieve full national coverage by 2029. This includes investing £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff, so that they can offer more support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to extend business rates reimbursement to community pharmacies on the same basis as GP practices and NHS dental surgeries.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and to continue to prioritise reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to implement Hospice UK’s four-point plan for fair hospice funding.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Hospice UK’s four-point plan highlights key challenges faced by the hospice sector. We are addressing these concerns through wider reforms. The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan.
Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. Contracting and commissioning arrangements will be considered as part of this work. We recognise there is currently a mix of contracting models across the hospice sector, and by supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant-based and block-contract models and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
As part of the MSF’s development, we have invited colleagues from a range of organisations, including Hospice UK, to engage in this process. It would not be right to pre-empt exactly what will be in the final MSF at this time, as we develop it with our palliative care and end-of-life care stakeholders.
Additionally, the Government has also invested significantly in the hospice sector, including £125 million of capital funding for adult and children and young people’s hospices in 2024/25 and 2025/26, with a further approximately £80 million of revenue funding support for children and young people’s hospices over the next three years in England.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 introduce a public health campaign on air pollution.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how the Government will take action to reduce exposure to harmful emissions, including commitments to increase public understanding of air pollution and to enhance communication of air quality information.
The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with partners across the Government and the health system to ensure that the public has access to clear, evidence-based information. This includes working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to deliver commitments in the Environmental Improvement Plan, helping to ensure that air quality becomes part of everyday public conversations.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle health disparities amongst people who live in the most deprived areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government is to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths, with a vision of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background or location, live longer, healthier lives.
Our 10-Year Health Plan for the National Health Service in England sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as to give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with it on their own terms. Delivering the plan is a cross-Government effort.
For example, we know that the Carr-Hill formula is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that general practices (GPs) serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs-adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
We also recognise that much of what determines of health and wellbeing in influenced by factors other than health services. Recent cross-Government action has included the introduction of Awaab’s Law and reform of the Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sector, the English Devolution Bill, and a new statutory heath inequalities duty for strategic authorities.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to provide support for women who are disproportionately affected by long-term health conditions like arthritis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting women with long-term conditions like arthritis. Through the 10-Year Health Plan’s three big shifts, we will ensure more tests are delivered in the community, improved working between services, and greater use of technology to support women managing their long-term conditions. Delivering these shifts will be a cross-Government effort.
We are renewing the women’s health strategy, to tackle enduring challenges and build on vital progress in women’s health.
For those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including women with arthritis, we are working to deliver the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, which are the highest of all community waits, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to improve workplace (a) catering and (b) rest facilities for healthcare workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Good physical working environments are important for staff wellbeing and retention. Staff need to be given the time and space to rest and recover from their work, particularly when working on-call or overnight. This is recognised as a priority in the NHS People Promise which sets out the importance of employers prioritising spaces for staff to rest and recuperate, and ensuring access to hot food and drinks.
In May 2024, NHS England and NHS Charities Together launched a £10 million Workforce Wellbeing Programme to support National Health Service staff in England. It will provide tailored health and wellbeing support to NHS staff, including grants to improve facilities. A three-year programme of work named Great Food, Good Health, led by NHS England, aims to improve the experience and quality of nutritious food that patients, staff, and visitors receive in hospital. As part of this, the NHS made clear that NHS organisations must be able to demonstrate they have suitable 24/7 food service provision.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 in developing independently verified, modelled projections of the number of NHS staff required to meet future population demand, as set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to publishing regular workforce planning. This will start with the 10 Year Workforce Plan, which will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be supported by independent external scrutiny to assess and test it.