Asked by: Danny Kruger (Reform UK - East Wiltshire)
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 merits of commissioning children's palliative care at (a) national and (b) regional levels.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services, including for children, are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations also play.
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 also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive, to be distributed again via ICBs. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10- Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 sustainable long-term funding for hospices through Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England are currently working at pace to develop plans on how best to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We are supporting hospices in England with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. We are also 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: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of including broader value elements, such as societal and economic benefits, in the health technology assessment of vaccines.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department works closely with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to design, implement, and deliver programmes offering high levels of long-term protection against preventable diseases.
When doing so, the Department takes into consideration the expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent departmental expert committee. The JCVI bases its advice and recommendations on evidence of the burden of disease, of vaccine safety and efficacy, and of the impact and cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies.
Broader socio-economic factors such as productivity costs from illness, improved educational attainment from reduced school absences, and out-of-pocket expenses and opportunity costs from attending a vaccination may be highlighted by the JCVI or other colleagues across the tripartite to inform policy-making.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 including primary eye care in the NHS 10 year plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan was published on the 3 July and can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future.
The 10-Year Health Plan will support more eye care services being delivered in the community and better joint working between primary and secondary eye care services.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to include a hearing check as part of the NHS Health Check to help identify mid-life hearing loss.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Health Check’s Expert Scientific and Clinical Advisory Panel considered proposals to include a hearing check as part of the programme in 2019 and 2021. The proposals were not supported by the panel, in line with the UK National Screening Committee which has recommended against screening for adult hearing loss. For these reasons, there are no current plans to include a hearing check as part of the NHS Health Check.
The Department is carefully considering options to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check programme, and this work is ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they assessed the risk of infected game meat from highly pathogenic avian influenza in released pheasants entering (1) the human food chain, and (2) pet or zoo meat supplies; and what controls are in place to prevent that entry.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are several statutory measures which minimise the risk of game birds infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) entering the food and feed chains.
The release of game birds is not permitted in any avian influenza disease control zone, nor are game bird releases permitted while an avian influenza prevention zone (AIPZ), including mandatory housing measures, is in force. Additional biosecurity measures for game bird operations mandated by the AIPZs are currently in force across England and Wales.
For farmed game, assimilated Regulation 2019/627 does not permit animals showing symptoms of disease to enter the food chain, and they are actively prevented from entering the slaughterhouse by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
For wild game, assimilated Regulation 853/2004 requires a trained hunter/person to identify signs that may indicate that the meat presents a health risk. If abnormal behaviour is observed before killing or there are abnormal findings during examination, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the FSA must be notified and the bird(s) will be removed from the food and feed chain if the findings are consistent with HPAI.
Under assimilated Regulation 1069/2009, carcases of wild animals, including game animals, when suspected of being infected with diseases communicable to humans or animals, including HPAI, are classed as a Category 1, or high risk, animal by-product and cannot be used for pet food.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 8 October (HL10211), what recourse is available to patients for whom a 'do not resuscitate' decision was made by medical staff prior to a surgical procedure without consulting either the patient or their family.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) is a clinical decision made on the basis of a senior clinical assessment of a patient’s condition. It remains best practice to communicate this decision to the patient and if they lack capacity, their family or representative.
If the patient or their family or representative do not agree with the decision, they should be given time to ask for a second opinion or review. This is in line with the National Health Service guidance for DNACPR decisions. Guidance and information for the public on DNACPR decisions is available on the NHS website, including information on asking for a second opinion or a review and what to do if there are concerns about, or disagreement with, a DNACPR form in a patient’s or family member’s medical records.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reform the NHS Health Check to identify individuals at increased risk for dementia.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Health Check programme, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, already aims to prevent some cases of dementia in eligible people by making them aware that many of the risk factors for CVD are the same as those for vascular dementia.
All attendees aged 65 to 74 years old should be made aware of the signs and symptoms of dementia and be signposted to memory services where appropriate.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 increasing funding for palliative care services in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, including the NHS Lincolnshire ICB, which covers the South Holland and The Deepings constituency. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative care and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
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 also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive, to be distributed again via ICBs. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
More widely, the Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to publish a national strategy for palliative and end of life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
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 also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive, to be distributed again via integrated care boards. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.