Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the £10 billion NHS technology investment will be spent on software licensing.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of comedy within social prescribing.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the value that social prescribing can play in supporting people’s health and wellbeing. This includes activities such as the creative arts, as well as cultural activities.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 collaborates with the Health Innovation Network to support local innovation in NHS care pathways.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to fund and support the Health Innovation Network to help the adoption of local innovation into National Health Service care pathways, and digital innovation into local NHS services. Each of the 15 regional networks deliver services for their local population, as well as working as a national network.
The network’s Innovation Collaborative for Digital Health exemplifies their support for digital innovation in local NHS services, and the scaling of these innovations across the NHS, as the collaborative supports 487,000 people with technology-enabled remote monitoring at home.
Since 2020, over 340,000 hours of healthcare staff capacity has been released through the network’s national programmes.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 with the Health Innovation Network to support digital innovation in local NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to fund and support the Health Innovation Network to help the adoption of local innovation into National Health Service care pathways, and digital innovation into local NHS services. Each of the 15 regional networks deliver services for their local population, as well as working as a national network.
The network’s Innovation Collaborative for Digital Health exemplifies their support for digital innovation in local NHS services, and the scaling of these innovations across the NHS, as the collaborative supports 487,000 people with technology-enabled remote monitoring at home.
Since 2020, over 340,000 hours of healthcare staff capacity has been released through the network’s national programmes.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication entitled Health Technical Memorandum 04-01: Safe water in healthcare premises, updated on 27 August 2024, what processes are in place to help support the (a) NHS and (b) healthcare sector with the implementation of the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin No.2024/3.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health Technical Memorandum 04-01: Safe water in healthcare premises was last updated in 2016, and is currently being reviewed for the publication of an update in 2026.
The NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB) No.2024/3: Designing safe spaces for patients at high risk of infection from nontuberculous mycobacteria and other waterborne pathogens was created in response to a recent outbreak of mycobacterium abscessus (Mab), a nontuberculous mycobacterium, and the resulting risks for vulnerable patients in specialised wards/units. The NETB was created in response to a Regulation 28 report from the coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
National Health Service organisations are responsible for reviewing their own organisational risks, in line with the guidance, for this specialist group, and for managing its implementation at a local level.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to enable all day booking at GP surgeries.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 2025/26 GP Contract has been updated to give patients the right to access help electronically, including requesting appointments, throughout the duration of core practice hours.
All practices in England are required to offer online and video consultation tools, secure electronic communication methods, and online facilities to provide and update personal information.
Practices are required to offer patients an appropriate response on the day they contact the practice, or the next day if they contact the practice in the afternoon, according to the urgency of their clinical needs and other circumstances. An appropriate response could, for example, involve inviting the patient to an appointment, providing appropriate advice or care by another method, signposting to the patient to appropriate services, or communicating with the patient to request more information.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to abolish (a) Primary Care Support England and (b) any other NHS organisations, in the context of the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Work is progressing at pace to map functions, appraise options, and inform decision making on where NHS England’s functions will best sit.
There are important choices to be made, and ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team in NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to ensure the new joint centre will operate more efficiently, cut out unnecessary bureaucracy, and empower those working on the frontline.
In taking forward the work, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 28 March 2025 to Question 40872 on Epilepsy: Drugs, what steps he is taking to support patients whose neurologist has specified that Levetiracetam must come from Millfarm.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is not aware of any supply issues with levetiracetam tablets from the manufacturer, Milpharm. Pharmacies can obtain stocks from their usual wholesalers.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 availability of (a) Levetiracetam and (b) other medications in the supply chain.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware that some manufacturers of levetiracetam tablets are facing supply issues. However, alternative suppliers can fully support the market during this time.
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines, and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.
While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on issues to healthcare professionals including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to ensure a multi-year funding agreement for social care to cover the full cost of care and enable care providers to plan long term.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 2026/27, we want to fundamentally improve the way we fund councils and direct funding to where it is most needed through the first multi-year settlement in 10 years. This will provide greater long-term certainty for local authorities and will enable local government to focus on its priorities, delivering for residents and providing vital front-line services that people rely on every day.