Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her plans for over £600 million of funding over four years to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, announced on 23 March 2025, how much of that funding she plans to allocate to (a) the East Midlands and (b) Leicestershire.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an additional £625 million of funding to support construction skills training, with the detail set out in Spring Statement 2025. This is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers this Parliament.

The measures will support the expansion of existing skills programmes including Skills Bootcamps and apprenticeships, as well as helping deliver new initiatives such as establishing 10 technical excellence colleges specialising in construction across every region in England.

Additional information regarding allocations at regional and provider level will be shared in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many private schools she has visited since 5 July 2024; and which schools.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools. The Secretary of State for Education prioritises visits to our state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on best practice in joined up systems supporting people with long term health issues to (a) find work and (b) achieve long term employment.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Regular cross government collaboration takes place at both Ministerial and official level. Examples of this can be seen through the publication of the Get Britain Working White Paper and the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits, Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, the Industrial strategy, the Joint Health and Work Directorate and the Make work pay legislation.

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 the abolition of NHS England does not lead to a loss of institutional knowledge critical to NHS operations.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

There are talented, dedicated public servants working across the country, and at every level, of NHS England and the Department. The transition team will be working at pace to develop plans for the future to give certainty to those with the talent and skills needed for the future and ensure they are retained.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

As we work through the next steps on merging the two organisations, we will be putting in place plans to ensure there are no risks to patient safety and that critical information and systems are effectively transferred.

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 the effective continuation of existing contracts and agreements currently held by NHS England after it is abolished.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.

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 Right to Choose policy.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to giving patients greater choice and control over their care. Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment, when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient.

Currently, however, less than a quarter of patients recall being offered a choice of provider. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the work needed to empower patients with greater choice and control, in order to make informed choices. This includes making the NHS App and the Manage Your Referral website the default routes for patients to choose their provider, and improving the information available to patients to support their decision, such as improved waiting time information.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) adults and (b) children currently waiting for an diagnosis of autism.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In England, in December 2024, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics show that there were a total of 212,964 patients with an open suspected autism referral. 129,179 of these patients were aged zero to 17 years old, and 83,837 of these patients were aged 18 years old and over. The median waiting time of all patients across England with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 427 days for zero to 17 year olds, and 266 days for over 18 year olds.

It should be noted that since each metric is rounded to the nearest five in the published data, the number of adults and children do not add up to the total number of patients. Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate and caution should be used when interpreting these statistics, since they are experimental rather than official statistics. The majority of children assessed for autism in the United Kingdom are seen in child development services, which are out of the scope of this dataset. This means the published figures will underestimate the volume of referrals or diagnoses, and the associated impact on health services. NHS England continues to conduct exploratory analysis into the Community Services Dataset, with a view to including autism waiting times data from that dataset.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have pulled out of the Free School Daily Breakfast club pilot in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The evidence is clear on the impact breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn. That is why this government is committed to introducing free and universal breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary aged pupils.

The early adopter scheme has not yet started. We were delighted that over 3,000 schools applied to be early adopters and 750 schools will start delivering from the summer term, bringing change now for pupils and parents in every corner of the country.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have withdrawn from the Free School Daily Breakfast Club pilot in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The evidence is clear on the impact breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn. That is why this government is committed to introducing free and universal breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary aged pupils.

The early adopter scheme has not yet started. We were delighted that over 3,000 schools applied to be early adopters and 750 schools will start delivering from the summer term, bringing change now for pupils and parents in every corner of the country.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the savings to the public purse following the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department, but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

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 speech and language therapy.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We inherited a broken National Health Service with waiting times across all areas unacceptably high. In his investigation into the NHS in England, Lord Darzi highlighted the crisis in children’s community services with too many children waiting too long for services, including speech and language therapy, impacting their wellbeing, education and life chances. Lord Darzi also made clear we need to need to focus on community services. Too many adults are waiting too long to receive speech and language therapy, negatively impacting their communication or swallowing abilities.

Through our 10-Year Health Plan, we will shift healthcare from hospitals to community. This shift to community services, like speech and language therapy, helps to prevent costly and intensive support later. Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we will revisit the Long Term Workforce Plan to ensure we have the right staff delivering the right services in the right place.

We continue to improve access to speech and language therapy, including though the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, with the Department of Education and NHS England. The ELSEC programme provides training and support to education settings, to increase their ability to support speech, language, and communication development.

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 the national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026, published in July 2021.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not currently made an assessment of the effectiveness of the National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026. Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published September 2024, highlighted the severe delays for accessing autism assessments and that demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years.

The House of Lords has established an Autism Act 2009 Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the Autism Act 2009 and the autism strategy, and will make recommendations to the Government by 30 November 2025. This will inform the Government’s future approach.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to publish an updated national autism strategy.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not currently made an assessment of the effectiveness of the National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026. Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published September 2024, highlighted the severe delays for accessing autism assessments and that demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years.

The House of Lords has established an Autism Act 2009 Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the Autism Act 2009 and the autism strategy, and will make recommendations to the Government by 30 November 2025. This will inform the Government’s future approach.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the Right to Choose policy for ADHD medication.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions on a wide range of matters with NHS England.

Patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) benefit from the Right to Choose their provider. Patients may be prescribed ADHD medication where clinically appropriate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, which Departments will be impacted by the £150 million for Government employee exit schemes.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, whether the abolition of NHS England will be entirely funded by the £150 million included in the transformation fund.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, how many redundancies from NHS England will be paid for from the £150 million included in the transformation fund.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Oral Statement of 26 March 2025 on the Spring Statement, Official Report, column 945, what proportion of the £150 million included in the transformation fund will be spent on the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40282 on General Practitioners: Recruitment, what proportion of new GPs employed since July 2024 were not employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data on the number of recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme was published by NHS England on 7 April, and showed that 41% of all new full-time equivalent GPs since July 2024 were not employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

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 impact of the abolition of NHS England on patient outcomes.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. This reform is about devolving resources and responsibility to the frontline, empowering staff to focus on delivering better care for patients.

We will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care, so that there are no risks to patient safety.

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 impact of the abolition of NHS England on the (a) roles and (b) responsibilities of regional NHS bodies.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff will form the leadership team to coordinate the transfer of NHS England into his Department.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the leadership, structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

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 (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on healthcare delivery.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate. The Government is committed to transparency, and will consider how best to ensure the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes.

We will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.

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 maintain (a) transparency and (b) accountability in NHS operations after the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The announcement to bring NHS England into the Department and create a new joint centre will allow the national centre to operate very differently to the current arrangements. The change will drive our reform agenda by removing layers of bureaucracy and empowering leaders within the service, and will end the duplication of work across the organisations. We are committed to transparency throughout this process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the abolition of NHS England will impact the management of (a) national and (b) regional NHS budgets.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to manage existing (a) litigation and (b) other disputes involving NHS England after its abolition.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to communicate changes in relation to the abolition of NHS England to the (a) public and (b) NHS staff.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to ensure that the details of the changes are communicated to staff and the public as quickly and clearly as possible.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also appeared in front of the Health and Social Care Committee on 8 April to communicate these plans. The Department is also committed to maintaining an ongoing dialogue with trade unions and partners throughout this period of change, and updating them as often as is possible.

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 manage the integration of NHS England's IT systems into his Department.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Departmental officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and where this may have a direct impact for patients, we will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.

We will put plans in place to ensure a smooth integration of IT systems; it is essential that information relating to people’s identifiable health and care is shared appropriately, lawfully and in line with their reasonable expectations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 33086 on Health Services: Waiting Lists, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies entitled Can the government achieve its 18- week elective waiting time target, published on 20 March 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by March 2029, and will ensure patients get the treatment they need faster and improve their experience of care.

The Department routinely reviews and considers reports on a variety of topics to inform policy development.

Planning Guidance for 2025/26 sets out the expectation of progress towards the target this year with an increase to 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks nationally by March 2026, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement on current performance. We make no apologies for setting stretching ambitions for the National Health Service and have been clear on the productivity efforts and reforms that are required to get there. We are closely monitoring performance and will work to ensure that our oversight and delivery standards provide the right incentives to drive reform and maximise progress.

The Government is already making good progress on waiting lists, with the delivery of an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments, as a First Step. Since July, the waiting list has fallen by over 190,000, and we have seen significant improvements in getting more people diagnosed and starting treatment faster. We are also introducing funding for general practitioners to incentivise the use of Advice and Guidance, which is an effective way of reducing unnecessary demand into hospitals. We have implemented several innovative strategies to boost NHS productivity and reduce long waiting times, including the Further Faster 20 initiative, in which expert clinicians and managers are deployed into NHS trusts in areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity to get patients treated faster.