Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 Integrated Care Boards provide equal levels of funding for children's hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member for Leicester South and the Rt. Hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are providing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over the next three financial years, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 25 November 2025 to Question 92292, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the requirement for pre-visit notifications on the uptake of free eye health screening on people experiencing long term homelessness.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of the requirement for a pre-visit notification on access to eye care for a) people experiencing homelessness and b) care home residents.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service funded domiciliary, mobile, sight tests are available for patients who are eligible for free NHS sight tests, and who would have difficulties accessing care through the high-street due to physical or mental illness, or disability, or who would have difficulties communicating their health needs unaided. As well as services being provided in residential homes, these services can also be provided in day centres.
In order to ensure people experiencing homelessness can access NHS sight tests on the high street, NHS England issued a clarification via local commissioning teams to ensure that having no fixed abode should not prevent access to NHS care. Integrated care boards can also commission enhanced eye care services, where they feel these are needed to meet local needs.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he intends to remove the requirement for a pre-visit notification (PVN) for eye care assessments for people experiencing homelessness.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service funded domiciliary, mobile, sight tests are available for patients who are eligible for free NHS sight tests, and who would have difficulties accessing care through the high-street due to physical or mental illness, or disability, or who would have difficulties communicating their health needs unaided. As well as services being provided in residential homes, these services can also be provided in day centres.
In order to ensure people experiencing homelessness can access NHS sight tests on the high street, NHS England issued a clarification via local commissioning teams to ensure that having no fixed abode should not prevent access to NHS care. Integrated care boards can also commission enhanced eye care services, where they feel these are needed to meet local needs.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 prevent irreversible sight loss caused by glaucoma.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 support the use of medical technologies to prevent sight loss.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we want patients to have fast and safe access to the most innovative technology, wherever they live in the country. Improving the adoption and procurement of medical technology will help the National Health Service secure the best outcomes for patients, including patients with sight threatening conditions, whilst also delivering greater value-for-money for the NHS.
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research, including on eye care, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness before recommending them for NHS use.
Where a NICE technology appraisal recommends a medicine or treatment, the NHS is legally required to fund them. Where NICE guidance is not available on a particular medical technology, we would expect commissioners to take funding decisions on the basis of the available evidence of the clinical benefits.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) trabecular bypass procedures at the time of cataract surgery and (b) other minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries in delaying glaucoma progression.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
The best treatment options for any individual patient will be decided by the treating clinician in discussion with the patient, taking into account relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.
NICE guidance on trabecular stent bypass microsurgery for open-angle glaucoma sets out that trabecular bypass surgery can be combined with a cataract operation and has shown its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 impact of (a) trabecular bypass procedures and (b) other minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries on preventing glaucoma progression.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
The best treatment options for any individual patient will be decided by the treating clinician in discussion with the patient, taking into account relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.
NICE guidance on trabecular stent bypass microsurgery for open-angle glaucoma sets out that trabecular bypass surgery can be combined with a cataract operation and has shown its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 improve patient access to innovative medical technologies designed to prevent glaucoma.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we want patients to have fast and safe access to the most innovative technology, wherever they live in the country. Improving the adoption and procurement of medical technology will help the National Health Service secure the best outcomes for patients, including patients with sight threatening conditions, whilst also delivering greater value-for-money for the NHS.
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research, including on eye care, through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness before recommending them for NHS use.
Where a NICE technology appraisal recommends a medicine or treatment, the NHS is legally required to fund them. Where NICE guidance is not available on a particular medical technology, we would expect commissioners to take funding decisions on the basis of the available evidence of the clinical benefits.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 through the NHS 10 Year Health Plan to improve glaucoma care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to preventing and managing conditions such as glaucoma. More tests and scans delivered in the community and better joint working between services will support the management of conditions, including glaucoma, closer to home.