Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 GP Connect requirements do not adversely impact (a) confidentiality and (b) data integrity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Cheltenham on 17 December 2025 to Question 98448.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms will ensure accountability for primary care outcomes within merged ICBs, particularly where decision-making may be centralised elsewhere.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Oversight Framework will continue to provide the approach to assessing integrated care boards, including in relation to primary care.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 of the potential impact of levels of funding for primary care on levels of demand for secondary and urgent care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, which is the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole. Over six million more GP appointments have been delivered in the 12-months to November 2025 compared to the same period last year, building capacity and improving access so that patients can be seen when they need to be in primary care.
As part of the GP Contract funding, since 1 October, GPs must allow patients to contact them via an online form at any time during core hours to request an appointment or raise a query, in addition to telephone and in-person requests. By expanding ease of contact via online access, we expect to reduce pressure on accident and emergency as we know that many patients seek medical care in accident and emergency if they fail to make contact with their GP.
We are also funding the expansion of Advice and Guidance (A&G) to improve two-way communication between GPs and hospital specialists and ensure care is delivered in the right setting. We expect this to increase the usage of A&G and help patients receive the care they need in primary and community settings where appropriate, reducing referrals to secondary care.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of services that have been permanently cut from community hospitals following temporary trials in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about NHS services, including in Cirencester, are best taken at a local level, and the responsibility for the delivery, implementation and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate NHS commissioner.
All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. Substantial planned service change should be subject to a full public consultation and meet the Government and NHS England’s ‘tests’ to ensure good decision-making.
The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of services that have been permanently decommissioned from community hospitals following temporary trials.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 support Cirencester Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about NHS services, including in Cirencester, are best taken at a local level, and the responsibility for the delivery, implementation and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate NHS commissioner.
All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. Substantial planned service change should be subject to a full public consultation and meet the Government and NHS England’s ‘tests’ to ensure good decision-making.
The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of services that have been permanently decommissioned from community hospitals following temporary trials.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 help ensure that smaller systems, such as Gloucestershire, will not lose visibility or influence within larger merged ICBs that include urban centres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Across larger integrated care board (ICB) footprints there will be a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to deliver care closer to home. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for Gloucestershire, and will be brought together as part of the ICBs’ plans to improve population health locally.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of ICB mergers on continuity and access in rural and semi-rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Across larger integrated care board (ICB) footprints there will be a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to delivering care closer to home, and this includes rural and semi rural areas. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created and will be brought together as part of the ICBs’ plans to improve population health locally.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will commit extra funding for social prescribing, including to support individuals to engage in nature-based interventions and activities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has underlined its commitment to taking a preventive approach to address health inequalities. We are determined to improve people’s physical and mental health to support them to live longer and healthier lives and we recognise the role that social prescribing can play in this.
The Department funds social prescribing link workers in primary care through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. In March 2025, the Department agreed a further year of grant funding for the National Academy for Social Prescribing, securing £1.5 million to advance and expand social prescribing. Future funding allocations have yet to be confirmed.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs leads on green social prescribing and, together with Natural England, has recently invested £300,000 to track the uptake and impact of green social prescribing using primary care data. The evidence will inform future policy for the spread and scale of nature-based health interventions.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 that care providers have a (a) clear and (b) enforceable duty of care towards employees who are victims of serious assaults in the workplace.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government condemns violent or aggressive behaviour towards social care staff. They have a right to expect a safe and secure workplace.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), and the health and safety regulations made under it, impose duties on employers, such as care providers, to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of their workers, and to assess the risks to employees and take appropriate measures to prevent or reduce the risk. The HSWA applies to work-related acts of violence and aggression. Health and Safety Executive, along with local authorities, play a critical role in preventing violence in the workplace by regulating and enforcing health and safety legislation in Great Britain.
Other enforcing authorities, such as the police, are responsible for dealing with the criminal acts of serious assaults and for bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of residential and nursing care home fees on older people; and if his Department will take steps to ensure that annual fee increases are transparent.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fee rates are set by the providers of adult social care, the majority of which are in the independent sector. The Department does not have the power to limit the level of fees that a care home can charge. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.
The importance of price transparency is set out in Regulation 19 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, which requires that providers give timely and accurate written information about the cost of their care and treatment to the people who use their services.