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 greater (a) consistency and (b) fairness in NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility decisions across Integrated Care Boards for people with progressive neurological conditions.

Operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) with oversight from NHS England. The Department’s statutory guidance on CHC supports practitioners to assess and deliver CHC appropriately, which all ICBs must follow. Eligibility for CHC is not determined by age, diagnosis, condition, or financial means, but is assessed on an individual basis. Eligibility may vary across ICBs due to factors such as the age profile of the local population and differing health needs between regions.

NHS England’s assurance regime promotes accurate assessment, equal access, and consistency within CHC delivery. Their assurance model focusses on reducing variation in the delivery of CHC services across England.

The NHS All Age Continuing Care Data Set, which was launched in April 2025, provides NHS England with regional, ICB, and sub-ICB-level data on CHC eligibility, referrals, and assessment outcomes to help monitor and improve CHC delivery.