Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Eastleigh constituency compared with national averages.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Eastleigh and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
Eastleigh | 1,170 | 935 |
England | 612,855 | 511,558 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s Fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Eastleigh can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 access to (a) treatment and (b) support services for people with musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of access to treatment and support services for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.
To improve access to treatment for those with MSK conditions, 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 further reduce MSK community waiting lists, which are the highest of all community waiting lists in England, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
The 10-Year Health Plan will also support people including those with MSK conditions to better manage their condition and access services and support through the three health shifts.
For example, as part of a major transformation of the National Health Service under the 10-Year Health Plan, patients with MSK conditions will also soon be able to bypass their general practices (GPs) and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions including arthritis, backpain, and joint pain, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals, and freeing up GPs.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 children and young people with arthritis.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting children and young people with arthritis to ensure they get timely, quality care.
Services for children with suspected arthritis are commissioned in line with the national service specification for paediatric rheumatology services.
The national service specification helps to reduce waiting times for diagnosis by mandating clear referral pathways and rapid access to specialist paediatric rheumatology teams. It sets national standards requiring timely triage of suspected cases, prioritisation of urgent referrals, and availability of multidisciplinary expertise for early assessment. The specification ensures consistency across regions, minimises delays caused by local variation, and supports faster initiation of diagnostic tests and treatment planning.
NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Paediatric Rheumatology programme is aimed at improving care for children and young people with inflammatory, autoimmune, and rheumatic conditions. Led by specialists, it uses data-driven, "deep-dive" peer reviews of all National Health Service trusts to reduce unwarranted variations, improve transition services, and standardise best practice.
Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitments to expand community diagnostic centres for quicker access to tests, introduce digital tools to support early symptom monitoring and triage, and improve the integration between primary care and specialist services will further streamline referral pathways and ensure children receive timely assessment and treatment.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will take steps to help support private gym and health facilities facing rising operating costs.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises pressures from rising operating costs on small businesses, including private gyms and health facilities. From April 2026, we are introducing permanently lower business‑rate multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises.
We remain committed to supporting businesses across the economy by reducing the administrative burden of regulation by £5.6 billion this Parliament and providing a £4.3 billion package to protect ratepayers from increases in business rates bills.