Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of neighbourhood health centres that will be in North West London ICB by (a) 2030 and (b) 2035.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There will be a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community. The Government has announced its commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres, with 120 delivered by 2030, through a mix of public private partnership and public capital. Integrated care boards (ICBs) and local health systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for Neighbourhood Health Centres.
As noted in the answer on 28 January 2026 to Question 107776, ICBs are responsible for commissioning general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. As they are best placed to make such decisions, ICBs also consider how best to provide urgent care, including Urgent Treatment Centres, to ensure patient demand is effectively met.
The process for commissioning Neighbourhood Health Centres is currently being determined, and we anticipate that planning will be carried out collaboratively with local partners.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department provides guidance to local authorities on ensuring that children and young people moving into temporary accommodation are supported to make necessary changes to personal information and continue to access education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools and colleges in England must follow the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ 2025 statutory guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that all children of compulsory school age in their area are receiving suitable education. To support this duty, every local authority must have a Fair Access Protocol in place to ensure that vulnerable children, including those who are homeless, can be secured a school place as quickly as possible where they fail to secure one through the usual admissions processes.
The government has also tabled an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a new duty on local housing authorities to notify educational institutions, GP practices and health visiting services when a child is placed in temporary accommodation. Guidance will be provided for local authority housing officers and the public bodies receiving notifications.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of public health funding in reducing rates of preventable illnesses in disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Public Health Grant supports local authorities to deliver vital public health services that focus on reducing preventable illnesses through services such as smoking cessation, drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery, health visiting, and sexual health clinics. Public Health Grant allocations are weighted heavily towards deprivation, with per capita funding for the most deprived local authority more than two times greater than that for the least deprived.
More than £13.4 billion will be consolidated into the Public Health Grant to local authorities, and a retained business rates arrangement with Greater Manchester local authorities, over the next three years beginning in 2026/27. This is a 5.6% total cash increase over the period, on top of 5.5% cash growth in 2025/26.
The National Health Service also funds important public health services, including national screening and immunisation programmes. In doing so, NHS England has regard to the need to reduce inequalities both in access to services and in health outcomes.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS works with local authorities to ensure that people moving into temporary accommodation are supported to make necessary changes to personal information and continue to access relevant health services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 introduced a duty on specified public authorities to refer service users who they think may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to local authority homelessness/housing options teams. The specified public bodies include hospitals, emergency departments, and social services.
As part of the recently published cross-Government strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness, the Government is committing to a new Duty to Collaborate as well. This aims to strengthen and improve co-operation, early identification, and information sharing between health, housing, and social care services. Further information on A National Plan to End Homelessness is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-national-plan-to-end-homelessness
Integrated care boards are expected to work in partnership with local authorities and housing services to support continuity of care for people whose housing circumstances change, including those moving into temporary accommodation. The 2025 10-Year Health Plan sets out how the Single Patient Record will support more consistent capture of social risk factors such as housing status, enabling care to be better coordinated across organisations when personal details or accommodation changes.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to improve accessibility at (a) playgrounds, (b) parks and (c) recreational facilities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parks and recreational facilities are an essential part of local social infrastructure. They provide places for social connection, support health and wellbeing and increase community engagement. At Budget, the Chancellor announced £18 million of investment over two years to refurbish up to 200 playgrounds across England, helping to renew communities and advance the government’s Pride in Place commitment. We will announce how this funding will be allocated in due course.
Local authorities support adults and children to lead more active lives through access to public leisure services, green space, parks and playground spaces. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities and that procurement is up to the discretion of Local authorities rather than the government
In addition to this, the National Model Design Code provides a toolkit for planners in councils to produce local design codes that pay particular attention to inclusive design when developing places. This includes a specific reference to making play areas accessible and inclusive for all.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
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 improve dental services in a) Gloucester and b) Gloucestershire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Gloucester constituency, this is the Gloucestershire ICB.
We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available since April 2025.
ICBs are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of public service response to support for missing from home dementia patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tackling this issue requires a multi-agency response and co-ordination across a range of policies and operational partners including the health care sector, local authorities and the police.
The provision of specific dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Many police forces are now participating in the Herbert Protocol, with partner agencies, to assist in locating missing vulnerable people living with dementia. The Herbert Protocol is a national scheme by police forces in partnership with other agencies which encourages carers to compile useful information which could be used in the event of a vulnerable person, living with dementia, going missing. Carers, family members and friends can complete in advance, a form recording vital details, such as medication required, mobile numbers, places previously located, a photograph etc. In the event of a person going missing this information can then easily be provided to the police to assist them in searching for the person, saving valuable time.
The Government is harnessing digital technology to transform adult social care, helping people to stay independent in their homes, joining up services and improving the quality of care provided.
In January, ministers announced immediate steps the Department is taking to improve adult social care. These reforms build upon progress over the last four years to drive adoption of digital social care records by registered care providers to 80%, from a start point of 41% in December 2021, and to test, scale and evaluate innovative care technologies.
In the next year, the Government will set new national standards for care technologies and produce trusted guidance, so that people can confidently buy and use technology which supports them or the people they care for.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have issued any formal guidance for (1) public communications, (2) educational settings, and (3) healthcare pathways, that distinguishes emotional distress from diagnosable mental health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not issued formal guidance as such. The Every Mind Matters campaign is the National Health Service’s national platform for mental health and wellbeing, and it offers advice and information to help people look after their mental health, including managing stress, low mood, and improving sleep. The aim is to guide the public to understand how they can manage their own mental health, and when they may need to seek support.
In educational settings, Mental Health Support Teams work in schools and colleges to offer early intervention for mild-to-moderate issues. They also support the whole school community to build a culture of mental wellbeing through training for staff, educating parents, and developing a whole-school mental health approach. This approach focuses on prevention and improving overall emotional wellbeing, as well as building awareness of when a child or young person may need to access to specialist services.
There is a range of guidance available to healthcare pathways on mental health, such as the NHS Talking Therapies guidance on the pathway for people with long term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms. Primary care services can act as the first point of contact for people with a mental health need, supporting with identifying and managing diagnosable mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Primary care also plays a role in coordinating care and helping service users to navigate mental health support in their local area.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government intends to bring forward legislation to introduce mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse by designated professionals, in the context of the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.
Child Protection Authority
Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.
Mandatory Reporting
Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.
Disclosure and Barring Service
The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.
That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.
On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.
Limitation Period for Civil Claims
The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.
Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code
The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.
Retention of Records
The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.
Single Core National Dataset
The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.
National Public Awareness Campaign
The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.
Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors
The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are being taken to strengthen compliance with the statutory duty to refer individuals to the Disclosure and Barring Service, as recommended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.
Child Protection Authority
Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.
Mandatory Reporting
Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.
Disclosure and Barring Service
The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.
That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.
On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.
Limitation Period for Civil Claims
The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.
Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code
The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.
Retention of Records
The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.
Single Core National Dataset
The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.
National Public Awareness Campaign
The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.
Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors
The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.