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 (a) address the backlog in NHS England's diabetes service, (b) promote greater integration of diabetes services with other NHS services, (c) promote greater co-ordination of diabetes services with other NHS services and (d) improve diabetes services.

To address the backlog in NHS England’s diabetes service, in 2022/23, £36m was allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) to support the recovery of routine diabetes care. In addition, the 2023/24 ‘NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance’ asked that ICBs update plans for the prevention of ill-health including a continued focus on diabetes in their joint forward plans.

On 17 May 2023, the Government launched a call for evidence to inform the Major Conditions Strategy on how best to prevent, diagnose and manage six groups of major conditions, including diabetes.