Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to provide financial support for local community-based (a) rehabilitation and (b) reablement services for brain injury survivors.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We intend to develop an acquired brain injury (ABI) Action or Delivery Plan, with input from NHS England and other Government departments, to be published in autumn 2025. The 10-Year Health Plan will provide the overarching plan for the future of the National Health Service, and a subsequent ABI Plan would then focus on specific actions and deliverables for ABI against the backdrop of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Community rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions is named as one the integrated care board-funded core components of community health services. Further information on Standardising community health services planning guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/standardising-community-health-services/
The Department launched the Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS) in September 2024, providing funding for eligible care staff to complete courses and qualifications. The scheme is backed by up to £12 million this financial year.
We have published a list of over 200 training courses and qualifications which are eligible for funding from the LDSS, including training to enable staff to support care users with specific needs and medical conditions. It also includes qualifications to enhance quality of care more broadly, including the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate (L2ASCC).
The L2ASCC is an accredited occupational qualification for all eligible non-regulated care staff aged 19 years old and over. It is based on the Care Certificate standards and ensures that those working in the sector have the right skills to provide the right care for individuals who draw on care and support.
While brain injuries are not explicitly mentioned, the L2ASCC and the Care Certificate standards provide a foundation of knowledge and skills necessary to support individuals in the adult social care sector safely and effectively.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make the NHS chickenpox vaccination available to all children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is considering the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s recommendation, published in November 2023, to introduce a varicella, also known as chickenpox, programme into the immunisation schedule for children.
It is important that any proposed change to the childhood immunisation schedule is comprehensively assessed to maintain the high standards of the United Kingdom’s world-leading vaccination programmes and ensure the best value for money for taxpayers.
The Government will make a final decision about whether to introduce a chickenpox programme, including the eligibility and timing of any potential programme, when this work has concluded.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will hold discussions with patient experience boards from integrated care boards to help inform the restructuring of (a) NHS England and (b) his Department.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England are strongly committed to embedding patient experience across our work. On the transformation programme to restructure NHS England and the Department, the change is being explicitly designed to take forward the Government’s ambitious reform agenda and three strategic shifts which will be set out in the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan. Patient experience will feature as a prominent theme in the Plan.
Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions and responsibilities. At the appropriate time, we will ensure that the public and parliamentarians are updated on developments.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 tackle trends in the level of ketamine abuse among young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department takes seriously the threat ketamine use poses to young people. Local authorities are responsible for providing drug treatment services based on the needs of their local populations, and this includes services to support ketamine users. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol services and wider recovery support, including housing and employment.
Local authorities, Combating Drugs Partnerships, and treatment providers lead on prevention, harm reduction, and treatment interventions, which includes awareness raising. Widespread action is already in progress through local and regional initiatives. Many of the national treatment providers, as well as local areas, have developed bespoke awareness-raising resources and approaches in response to ketamine, and a number have held events for professionals working in the field. In addition to this, the Department recently cascaded a briefing to local authorities and treatment systems on data on ketamine use and guidance on prevention, harm reduction, and treatment interventions. Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office ministers have written to festival organisers, asking them to work closely with police and health partners on their harm reduction and first aid measures, which includes highlighting the dangers of ketamine. The Department has also worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on a joint letter and advice for the police and local authorities about festivals, drugs, and alcohol, to minimise the risk of harm to individuals at these events.
Statutory guidance on relationships, sex, and health education requires all primary and secondary schools to ensure that pupils know the key facts and risks associated with drug use, as well as how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on drugs and alcohol and commissioned an update of the resources, which was published at the end of last year. The Government has a drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness, particularly for young people and parents. Talk to FRANK offers easy to read information on the risks of using ketamine, including bladder problems, and mixing it with other substances, as well as basic harm reduction advice.
As a result of additional funding, and in response to increased prevalence, the treatment system is responding, and the proportion of children and young people under the age of 18 years old accessing help in relation to ketamine has increased from under 1% in 2015/16 to 9% in November 2024.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether training is available through the NHS for school nurses on managing allergies and administering adrenaline auto-injectors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) sets the standards for education preparation for school nurses, who are registered nurses that undertake a post-graduate Specialist Public Health Nurse qualification with an NMC-approved university. School nurses will then also undertake any mandatory training required by their employer, as appropriate to their role.
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions, and should have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. This includes allergies. The policy should also set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
NHS England has also produced the Healthy School Child e-learning programme, which is available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/healthy-school-child/
This programme is designed for healthcare professionals, including school nurses, working with children aged between five and 12 years old. Module 5 of the e-learning programme includes sessions on asthma, eczema, and other allergies.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 the effectiveness of the Pharmacy First initiative in relation to reducing the workload for GP surgeries.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service pharmaceutical services delivered in community pharmacy are subject to evaluations to assess various outcomes such as clinical appropriateness and impacts on other parts of the NHS. The National Institute of Health and Care Research is conducting an evaluation of Pharmacy First to assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice (GP) setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access and cost for different patient groups.
From July 2024 to February 2025, over 1.7 million Pharmacy First clinical pathway consultations were delivered by community pharmacies. In the same period, over 1.5 million minor illness referrals and 1.4 million consultations for urgent medical supplies were delivered by community pharmacies in England to support patients and help to alleviate the pressure on GP surgeries.
Pharmacy First compliments and enhances the already wide range of services offered by community pharmacy including the provision of health advice and sale of over-the-counter medicines for a wider range of minor illness to support patients to selfcare rather than attend a GP, helping to increase access to care for patients closer to home in their communities.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 consulting with experts from the voluntary support sector during the (a) planning for and (b) piloting of mental health support teams in schools.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the NHS Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26, integrated care boards are responsible for planning and implementing mental health support teams. Since the inception of the programme, guidance to local commissioners has been to engage with local partners including the voluntary sector in planning for mental health support teams, mapping local support, and through representation in local governance.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 deafblind people can access care needs assessments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014, local authorities are responsible for ensuring deafblind people in their area access the right care and support. This includes making contact with and keeping a record of all deafblind people in their area and ensuring that needs assessments are carried out by a person who has specific training and expertise relating to individuals who are deafblind. In addition, under the Equality Act (2010), local authorities must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.
The Government recognises the many challenges facing the adult social care system and is taking steps to improve access to adult social care. We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will make clear recommendations to define and build an adult social care system that will meet the current and future needs of our population. The commission will consider older people’s care and support for working age disabled adults separately, recognising that these services meet different needs.
In the interim, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are assessing how well local authorities in England are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duties relating to the access and provision of care and support for deafblind people. Support for deafblind people will form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report when there is something to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice or an area for improvement. If the CQC identifies a local authority has failed or is failing its functions to an acceptable standard, my Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has powers to intervene. The CQC has published over forty local authority ratings and reports, which are available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 social care reform tackles barriers faced by (a) disabled people with complex needs and (b) deafblind people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking forward a package of reforms to enable more people to live independently for longer, including older adults, disabled people, and those with complex needs. For example, in 2025/26, we are providing up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities, including an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
We are also providing £172 million across this and the last financial year, for approximately 15,000 home adaptations, and are introducing new national standards and trusted guidance for care technologies such as remote monitoring. In addition, to strengthen the workforce, we are legislating for the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care workers and are providing a £2,000 uplift to the Carer’s Allowance.
We have also launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will work with people who draw on care and support, their families, staff, and the wider sector to build a system that meets the current and future needs of our population. These improvements will help support the quality of adult social care for all who draw on it, including disabled people with complex needs and deafblind people.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the provision of emergency back up generators in rural (a) hospitals and (b) GP surgeries.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No national assessment has been made of the provision of emergency backup generators in hospitals and general practice surgeries. It is the responsibility of each National Health Service provider to have resilience plans and procedures in place.
Guidance is provided to the NHS within the Health Technical Memorandum 06 series, namely Health Technical Memorandum 06-01: Electrical services supply and distribution, Health Technical Memorandum 06-02: Electrical safety guidance for low voltage systems, and Health Technical Memorandum 06-03: Electrical safety guidance for high voltage systems, which are all respectively available at the following three links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/electrical-services-supply-and-distribution-htm-06-01/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/electrical-safety-guidance-for-low-voltage-systems-htm-06-02/
This guidance is for healthcare organisation, defined as an organisation that provides or intends to provide healthcare services, and is therefore applicable to primary and secondary care providers.