Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the National Service Specification for Cleft Lip and/or Palate Services is being delivered in full by NHS England.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre.

We are assessing the full range of current functions across both organisations and options for future allocation. At this stage, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be and how this will impact on the delivery of services for cleft lip and/or palate.

The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life and raising the healthiest generation of children ever, and this includes children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate.

There are nine specialist services across England that provide lifelong care for individuals with cleft lip and/or palate and non-cleft velopharyngeal dysfunction, offering diagnosis, treatment, and multidisciplinary support from before birth into adulthood.

NHS England’s Service Specification for Cleft Lip and Palate Services, a copy of which is attached, includes optimal timelines for carrying out cleft lip and palate surgeries. National data indicates that there is national variation linked to surgery timings. Consequently, NHS England’s Specialised Surgery in Children Clinical Reference Group has been developing a collaborative programme of work with individual services, integrated care boards, and the Cleft Development Group. The Cleft Development Group is made up of active clinical staff from cleft services, Public Health Consultants, and patient representatives.

The programme of work has only just commenced and will report back progress to NHS England’s Delegated Commissioning Group in December 2025.