Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many existing NHS workers in Poole constituency could be affected by proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of existing National Health Service workers, either nationally or in the Poole constituency, who could be affected by proposed changes to the rules on indefinite leave to remain.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many existing NHS workers could be affected by the proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the number of existing National Health Service workers, either nationally or in the Poole constituency, who could be affected by proposed changes to the rules on indefinite leave to remain.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the 111 service in ensuring patients are referred to the correct place for treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to continuing to improve NHS 111 to ensure patients can access the right care first time, only visiting accident and emergency when necessary.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 committed to reviewing NHS 111 services and incorporating the recommendations from the review, to make the service more effective, quicker, and simpler to navigate.
NHS England have now completed the NHS 111 review and is working with system partners to implement actions to improve service efficiency, consistency, and integrated delivery to reduce pressures this winter. We are also working with general practitioners and other healthcare providers to improve the patient referral process to primary care.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions have taken place with the Home Office regarding proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers and the impact this could have on the viability of the NHS 10-year workforce plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made as to the impact of the proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers on the viability of the National Health Service 10 Year Workforce Plan.
The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the current settlement rules in favour of an “earned settlement” model, that considers factors such as contribution, integration, and conduct. The consultation, which runs until 12 February 2026, seeks views on how these reforms should apply to different groups, including health and care workers. The consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made as to the impact of proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers on the viability of the NHS 10-year workforce plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made as to the impact of the proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers on the viability of the National Health Service 10 Year Workforce Plan.
The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the current settlement rules in favour of an “earned settlement” model, that considers factors such as contribution, integration, and conduct. The consultation, which runs until 12 February 2026, seeks views on how these reforms should apply to different groups, including health and care workers. The consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 assessment of the potential merits of introducing regulation of non-therapeutic male circumcision.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates male circumcisions including those performed for non-therapeutic reasons, when carried out by a healthcare professional. Circumcisions performed by regulated healthcare professionals are subject to CQC registration and oversight, ensuring consistent standards of safety and quality in those cases. Religious or cultural circumcisions by individuals who are not registered healthcare professionals remain outside the regulatory scope.
The Department had made no recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing regulation of non-therapeutic circumcision when performed by those who are not healthcare professionals.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 help ensure that the views of (a) patients and (b) the public continue to be heard when the responsibilities of Healthwatch are moved to Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has accepted the recommendation of the Dash review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, to abolish Local Healthwatch.
In future, integrated care boards will be responsible for seeking patient, user and wider community input for health along with their existing duties of patient involvement, and local authorities for social care, where it can feed directly into overall strategic planning and be more closely aligned with the commissioning and provision of care.
The Dash review recommends that the strategic functions of Healthwatch England are transferred into a new patient experience directorate of the Department.
The abolition of Healthwatch England and the transfer of its functions and the changes to Local Healthwatch will require primary legislation. Timing of this is subject to the will of parliament and will happen when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 WHO target of 90% for the HPV vaccination programme is achieved in Poole constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2025, NHS England published the Cervical cancer elimination by 2040 – plan for England, which outlines how the National Health Service will improve uptake and coverage across human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening, including in Poole constituency. The plan is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/
For young people who may have missed out at the point of initial offer, the NHS-commissioned School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent HPV vaccination programme.
NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS app, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.
The UK Health Security Agency works closely with charities and academics to develop resources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV and the importance of vaccination.
Poole constituency is covered by the Dorset SAIS Leads who, alongside their leadership team, remain fully engaged with NHS England to drive performance improvements. A summary of key developments during the 2024/25 academic year includes the launch of a new e-consent system in September 2025 and a named link nurse for every school: a dedicated nurse has been assigned to each school in Dorset, including Poole, to improve communication and foster stronger relationships.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 introduce type one diabetes testing for all infants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and care of children and young people with diabetes. NICE’s NG18 guideline for type 1 and 2 diabetes recommends that children and young people with suspected type 1 diabetes are referred immediately (on the same day) to a multidisciplinary paediatric diabetes team with the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and provide immediate care.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 merits of providing dairy-free alternatives as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Plant-based drinks are currently not covered by the legislation on the Nursery Milk Scheme, which only allows reimbursement to be made for cow’s milk and infant formula based on cow’s milk.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Committee on Toxicity published an assessment on plant-based drinks in July 2025. This assessment made a number of recommendations to the Government and industry about plant-based drinks which may be considered suitable for children in terms of fortification and sweetening.
The Government does not currently have plans to provide dairy-free alternatives as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme. However, the Department is considering the Committee’s recommendations.