Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has for departmental funding arrangements for the recruitment of 8,500 additional mental health workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future, we will publish a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. We are listening to and co-designing the plan with the public and health and care staff. A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.
Our mission is to improve mental health care across the spectrum of need which fluctuates across the life course from poor wellbeing to common mental health disorders to severe mental illness. Therefore, we are focusing on ensuring the NHS is providing the right support to the right people at the right time.
The NHS has funding to pay for staff recruited in 2025/26 because the Government has maintained the Mental Health Investment Standard. Future funding for the NHS, including mental health services, will be determined by my Rt. Hon. friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Spending Review for 2026/27 and beyond.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible families were in receipt of Healthy Start in Brighton Pavilion constituency on 9 June 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start and does not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for Healthy Start. The NHSBSA does not hold data on local constituencies. The table below shows the number of people on the digital scheme in the relevant local authorities as of 23 May 2025:
Local authority | Number of people on the digital scheme |
Blackpool | 1,434 |
City of Bristol | 2,778 |
County of Herefordshire | 736 |
Southampton | 1,677 |
Worthing | 348 |
Brighton and Hove | 1,041 |
East Suffolk | 1,129 |
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the Air Quality Information Systems Review recommendation 4 on raising public awareness of (a) air pollution, (b) the associated health impacts and (c) how people can protect themselves.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following publication of the Air Quality Information Systems (AQIS) Review final report and recommendations on 6 March 2025, we are working closely with the UK Health Security Agency and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to improve public awareness of air pollution and the associated health impacts.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is currently developing a new air quality web service which embeds the communication principles recommended in the AQIS review. The new service will provide clearer and more relevant information to the public about air pollution, its associated health impacts and actions people can take to protect themselves.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 40020 on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services, whether he has had discussions with the British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS on the myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome delivery plan; and whether that plan will establish more NHS specialist ME/CFS services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are engaging with our myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Task and Finish Group, including the British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS, seeking their feedback and suggestions as we develop our final delivery plan for ME/CFS. We will use that feedback, alongside the responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, to inform the final delivery plan, which we will publish by the end of June.
The contents of the delivery plan are still being finalised. However, the three key themes will be boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he will provide for drug and alcohol treatment through (a) the Public Health grant and (b) other funding steams beyond March 2025; and if he will continue funding for the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery grant.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government supports investment in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services to ensure that those people with a substance use need get the appropriate help and support. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department has allocated local authorities a further £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. This is alongside the £105 million made available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve employment and housing support.
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced updates to the fiscal framework, and earlier this year launched the Spending Review, which has now settled 2025/26 departmental budgets. She has also made clear that the Government will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025. In future, we anticipate that Spending Reviews will be set every two years to cover a three-year period, including a one-year overlap with the previous Spending Review, helping build in greater certainty and stability over public finances.
Now that the Autumn Budget has been completed, the Department is working to be able to announce future funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems. We will communicate with the sector about this as soon as we are able to, as we recognise the importance of this information in maintaining delivery and planning for 2025/26.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and (b) other experts on the potential merits of offering the Covid-19 booster vaccine to frontline healthcare workers over 65 years old.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
As with all United Kingdom vaccination programmes, the decision on which groups are eligible for a particular part of the programme is only made following careful consideration of the groups most at risk of illness, severe illness, or death, as a consequence of infection. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to the following individuals in autumn 2024:
- adults aged 65 years old and over;
- residents in a care home for older adults; and
- persons aged six months to 64 years old in a clinical risk group, as defined in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book.
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care accepted the JCVI’s advice for COVID-19 vaccination in autumn 2024, and so COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to all adults aged 65 years old and over in the upcoming campaign.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 communities have equal access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) across different (a) risk, (b) demographic and (c) geographic groups.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a priority for the Government, and we will commission a new plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of our work in developing a new plan, we will explore options for ensuring equity and equal access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for all communities, including those across different risk, demographic, and geographic groups. We will also explore opportunities to deliver PrEP in settings outside of sexual health services, to improve access and equity, including considering online PrEP provision and PrEP in pharmacies.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 potential merits of making pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) available (a) in pharmacies and (b) from an online service.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a priority for the Government, and we will commission a new plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of our work in developing a new plan, we will explore options for ensuring equity and equal access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for all communities, including those across different risk, demographic, and geographic groups. We will also explore opportunities to deliver PrEP in settings outside of sexual health services, to improve access and equity, including considering online PrEP provision and PrEP in pharmacies.