Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 ICBs meet national requirements for hospice performance.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative care and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and, therefore, covers the palliative and end of life care sector, including independent hospices. The CQC registers health and adult care providers, monitors and inspects services to see whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and publishes its findings, including quality ratings.
The CQC can use its legal powers to take action where poor care is identified, and publishes regional and national views of the major quality issues in health and social care, including palliative and end of life care, encouraging improvement by highlighting good practice.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
I am pleased to confirm the continuation of children’s hospices funding for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 implement the recommendations of the most recent National Study of Health and Wellbeing.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest prevalence data from the National Study of Health and Wellbeing (also known as the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey) found that 1 in 5 adults in England were experiencing a common mental health condition in 2023/24, up from 1 in 6 a decade ago.
Through our Plan for Change, we are committed to working beyond the health system to tackle the drivers of mental ill health. For example, recently announced welfare legislation is getting more people with health conditions back into work, backed by £1 billion of investment to unlock opportunity and grow the economy.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a number of important initiatives that will help tackle the rising prevalence of mental ill health by intervening earlier when problems first arise. This includes expanding access to mental health support teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage across England by 2030, embedding mental health support in Young Futures Hubs and making it easier than ever to access mental health support via the NHS App.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 help ensure that all Primary Care Network accounts are (a) publicly available and (b) otherwise transparent.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to change the way that primary care network (PCN) accounts, where required, are published. There is no requirement for practices to form separate legal entities when establishing a PCN account, and the Directed Enhanced Service is held by individual practices. Where local arrangements have led to the creation of separate legal entities, they are covered by existing company law and requirements to produce accounts.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the potential merits of reintroducing health in pregnancy grants to support early years development.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health, and life chances. This is why the Government offers financial support to families with young children on low incomes through the Healthy Start scheme and the Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG). The SSMG is a one-off £500 grant payment intended to help with the costs of having a newborn or adopted baby. Eligibility for SSMG is set out on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/sure-start-maternity-grant/eligibility
Healthy Start is a demand-led, statutory scheme that aims to support young families in the greatest need to buy healthy food. We recently announced in the 10-Year Health Plan that we will uplift the value of weekly payments by 10%.
The move to a Neighbourhood Health Service, as described in the 10-Year Health Plan, and the Best Start in Life Strategy, will further improve support for families, so that every child has the healthiest possible start in life. Building on the £126 million funding boost for the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme in 2025/26, Best Start Family Hubs will be rolled out to every local authority from April 2026.
Alongside improving services for all families, tackling child poverty is an urgent priority for the Government. A Ministerial Taskforce is exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across the Government to reduce child poverty and is working to publish the Child Poverty Strategy.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 specialist paediatric Pancreatic Cancer services in the NHS as part of the 10 year plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, children with cancer have their care managed by specialist paediatric cancer multi-disciplinary teams, whose responsibility it is to provide high-quality care through the effective coordination of integrated, disease specific pathways. This includes arranging for access to specialist pancreatic services, where clinically appropriate.
The 10-Year Health Plan for England includes a number of important actions that will improve children’s health and paediatric health services.
A National Cancer Plan for England will also be published this year. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and earlier diagnosis to accessing treatment and ongoing care. It will apply to all cancer types, including pancreatic cancer, and will include a specific focus on children and young people with cancer.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 help improve access to pancreatic specialists in children’s healthcare.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it. A range of measures across National Health Service systems support this goal.
NHS England commissions specialist paediatric gastroenterology services, which include the management of pancreatic conditions, through a network of designated regional centres. These centres are supported by clear referral pathways to ensure children can access specialist teams regardless of where they live.
National clinical guidelines, developed by the British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, help ensure consistent standards of diagnosis and care. NHS England continues to work with professional bodies, specialist centres, and commissioners to improve equity of access and ensure timely treatment for children with complex pancreatic conditions.
The Department continues to work with NHS England to support service planning, training, and commissioning for paediatric gastroenterology, to ensure children receive timely and appropriate care for pancreatic conditions.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to require all primary care networks to publish annual accounts.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The network directed enhanced service contract for primary care networks is held by individual practices, and there is no requirement to form separate legal entities or produce separate accounts. Where local arrangements have led to the creation of separate legal entities they are covered by existing company law and requirements to produce accounts.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role neighbourhood mental health centre pilot schemes will play in improving (a) care and (b) support for people living with bipolar disorder; and whether these centres will provide specialist support to help reduce delays to diagnosis and treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adults with mild to severe mental health needs, including bipolar disorder, can receive open access and as you arrive support, signposting and treatment at Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres, which will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These centres will be in the heart of the community and are firmly connected to both primary and specialist services.
Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres promote continuity of care with one team managing the mental health pathway and transitions between hospital and community. These centres will support the improvement of patient safety and clinical outcomes and reduce waiting times and hospitalisation.
NHS England has launched six pilot Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres in Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Sheffield, York, Birmingham and Whitehaven with a further 16 associate sites planned. The six pilot sites will be independently evaluated with findings expected in summer 2026. Evaluation will inform future roll out of the centres.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the use of police vehicles as places of safety for people with mental heath conditions, in the context of police and prison cells no longer being used to place people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Health Act’s Code of Practice states that local organisations are expected to have clear arrangements in place to support individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. This includes the development of a policy which identifies specific places of safety.
These places of safety should be hospitals or health-based facilities where appropriate mental health services are provided.
Other options might, however, be appropriate, such as the home of a relative or of a friend of the person who is willing to accept them, or a residential care home. These settings might provide a more immediate and more suitable setting for the individual.
A police vehicle would not be an appropriate place to hold a person who is in need of specialist mental health support.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with learning difficulties have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of people with learning disabilities admitted to mental health inpatient care under the Mental Health Act 1983, within each year between 2020 and 2024, as of 28 February 2025:
Year | Number of people with learning disabilities admitted to mental health inpatient care under the Mental Health Act 1983 |
2020 | 490 |
2021 | 485 |
2022 | 415 |
2023 | 395 |
2024 | 400 |
Source: Assuring Transformation data collection, NHS England.
Notes: