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 plans his Department has to update the NHS Car Parking Guidance 2022 for NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no plans to review National Health Service car parking guidance. Free hospital car parking is available to the groups that are most in-need, including disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, the parents of sick children staying overnight, and staff working night shifts.
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 he has made of the adequacy of ambulance response times in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance response times have not met the high standards that patients should expect.
We are determined to turn things around. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.
We have already seen improvements in ambulance response times for the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), which serves Eastleigh. The latest NHS performance figures for SCAS show that Category 2 incidents were responded to in 30 minutes 44 seconds on average, over eight minutes faster than the same period last year.
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 he has made of the effectiveness of NHS England’s processes for (a) identifying and (b) responding to concerns about the (i) quality and (ii) accuracy of children’s hearing test services; and what steps his Department is taking to improve the (A) consistency and (B) reliability of children’s hearing tests.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2021, a report was published into service issues in children’s hearing services in NHS Lothian. The report focused on whether children’s hearing tests were being conducted properly and were effectively followed up. Further problems with the diagnosis of hearing issues in newborns and children were identified in other Scottish NHS trusts in 2023.
Subsequent assessment of NHS hearing services in children’s departments across England in 2023 and 2024 identified similar problems. In 2023, NHS England established the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme to address the issues and oversee remedial action.
In April 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Dr Camilla Kingdon to chair an independent review into children’s hearing services. The review has considered:
The Department is currently considering next steps and how to ensure lessons learned can be acted upon promptly, including whether steps need to be taken to improve both the consistency and reliability of children’s hearing tests.
NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and directing support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.
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 proportion of people with a Parkinson’s diagnosis were diagnosed by a specialist; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that proportion.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults published by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people with suspected Parkinson's disease are referred for an expert clinical diagnosis by a specialist without delay, and that the diagnosis should be reviewed regularly by a specialist.
While a formal diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease should always be undertaken by a specialist, NHS England does not hold information centrally to audit this.
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 protect nurseries from measles outbreaks; what support he is providing to the early years sector to deal with cases; and whether he plans to introduce a public health awareness campaign on measles.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the National Health Service are working with local partners to provide advice, as well as supporting local communities to be aware of actions they can take to protect against measles, including by getting vaccinated. Vaccination has a direct positive impact on health and wellbeing, protecting individuals as well as their communities. Vaccination induces long-term immunity and thereby provides protection to that individual and reduces transmission to others.
UKHSA health protection teams support cluster and outbreak management. Further advice is available at the following link:
NHS England continues to deliver national and regional improvement plans. These include activities to strengthen the routine vaccination offer and to address inequalities, supporting measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) catch up vaccination by school age vaccination services in schools and community settings.
The UKHSA, NHS England, and the Department will launch a new ‘always on’ vaccination campaign this summer to drive increased take up of the routine maternal, childhood, and seasonal flu vaccinations. The MMR vaccine is a particular focus, with parents and carers of zero- to five-year-olds and pregnant women being two of the priority audiences for campaign activity.
NHS England has provided detailed information for parents whose children have contracted measles, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/
The Department for Education also provides advice to parents, which is available 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 he has made of the adequacy of the support available to (a) families and (b) carers of people with frontotemporal dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the vital role of families and unpaid carers and is committed to improving dementia care and ensuring carers have the support they need.
Under the 10 Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
To support carers, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App. The Government is also reviewing the implementation of carer’s leave and the potential benefits of introducing paid leave.
From 7 April, the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit increased from £151 to £196, the largest rise since its introduction. Local authorities, under the Care Act 2014, have a duty to provide high-quality, sustainable support services for carers.
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 improve training for health and social care staff in supporting patients with frontotemporal dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10 Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
The Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia; it will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.
We want all health and care staff to have received appropriate training to provide high quality care to people with dementia. Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients. The required training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework, which is available through Skills for Health.
In January, we announced that the Care Workforce Pathway will expand to further support opportunities for career progression and development.
The Care Workforce pathway is designed to be a foundation which will enable individuals to develop a ‘portable portfolio’ of skills attained both through learning programmes and practical experience within a range of care services, such as learning disabilities, autism or dementia.
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 improve awareness of the potential impact of Group B Strep on (a) pregnant women and (b) newborn children.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Practitioners are expected to take a risk-based approach to the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of group B streptococcus (GBS). Under current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, pregnant women who are known to carry GBS, or who have risk factors such as a previous baby with GBS infection or fever during labour, should be offered antibiotics during labour to help prevent early-onset infection in their baby.
To improve understanding, prevention, and treatment of GBS infection, the Department is supporting a trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. It aims to determine whether routine testing for GBS for all women, either in late pregnancy or on admission for labour with point of care testing, reduces early-onset neonatal sepsis compared to the current approach of risk-based screening. Findings from the trial will be submitted to the Department and reviewed by the UK National Screening Committee to inform future decisions on national screening policy.
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 he is taking to increase support for children with Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community: these include getting a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals; better coordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. In February, we published the annual England action plan, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance these priorities.
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 he is taking to ensure that patients prescribed Mounjaro privately are able to continue to access that treatment at an affordable cost.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we shift the focus from treatment to prevention through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are determined to bring revolutionary modern treatments to everyone who needs them, not just those who can afford to pay.
NHS England has worked with Eli Lilly to ensure that the list price increase will not affect National Health Service commissioning of tirzepatide in England as a treatment for eligible patients, and we remain committed to the rollout of this medicine as a weight loss treatment based on clinical priority. This will enable 220,000 eligible people to access the medication over the first three years. Not everyone who wants tirzepatide will be able to access it at first, and the initial eligibility criteria will be for people with a body mass index of 40 or more in addition to four or more qualifying comorbidities.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have also entered equivalent agreements to maintain their current commissioning approaches.
Pricing in the private market is a matter for Eli Lilly and for private providers. Private patients who are impacted by price increases should discuss any concerns with their private provider. This includes their options regarding payment plans, alternative treatments, and/or stopping or tapering off their current medication. Eli Lilly is working with private providers to support continued patient access.