Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 fund improved provision for addiction support services in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidence-based, high-quality treatment.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet those needs. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing Lancashire with £10,424,106 to help improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems, as set out at the following link:
All funding is provided at the Lancashire level, and it is for Lancashire County Council to determine how to meet needs in Fylde.
This year, the Government is providing an additional £70 million for local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England, building on existing funding made available via the Public Health Grant. Additional funding for Stop Smoking Services is based on the number of smokers in each local authority, and Lancashire has been allocated an extra £1,678,549 for 2025/26.
In April 2025, a new statutory levy on gambling operators, expected to raise approximately £100 million per year, was introduced to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harms. The levy will be distributed across the three workstreams, with 50% allocated to NHS England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, to commission the development of effective treatment and support services at national and sub-national levels.
Asked by: Baroness Parminter (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how integrated care boards are implementing and reporting on patient safety frameworks and strategies in eating disorder services, in particular for patients with longstanding eating disorders.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working closely with NHS England and local integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver eating disorder services but ultimately it is for ICBs to decide how they choose to implement and report on patient safety frameworks and strategies in eating disorder services.
The Department of Health and Social Care have worked with NHS England to produce various guidance for integrated care systems to plan and deliver eating disorder services, and to provide treatment for patients with longstanding eating disorders.
NHS England published guidance in 2019 for adult eating disorder services, to support delivery of community eating disorder services, reduce admissions, length-of-stay and improve outcomes for users, families and carers. A revised service specification for Adult Eating Disorder inpatient provision has just been through public consultation, and following a review of the comments received will progress to publication in 2025.
In addition to these guidance, all Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) have received support via fair shares funding since April 2021 to transform their adult community mental health services. This includes the transformation and expansion of eating disorder services.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to help minimise the potential impact of prosecutions for child truancy from school on mothers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and young people. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, limiting their opportunity to succeed. This government is committed to improving school attendance through our ‘support-first’ approach which seeks to foster strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities and other relevant local services. This ensures that support is made available at an early stage to help children to improve their school attendance. This approach is set out in our statutory attendance guidance, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
Schools, local authorities and other partners should always work together to understand and remove the barriers to attendance. The guidance, which came into effect last August, specifically underlines the importance of working in partnership with families. It also details when Notices to Improve should be issued as a final opportunity for a parent to engage in support and improve attendance before legal intervention is pursued.
The decision to prosecute rests solely with the local authority, but paragraph 164 of the guidance sets out factors for their consideration, including public interest tests and equalities considerations.
The department’s attendance guidance is based on best practice and was introduced following full public consultation.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of prosecutions for child truancy from school on mothers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and young people. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, limiting their opportunity to succeed. This government is committed to improving school attendance through our ‘support-first’ approach which seeks to foster strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities and other relevant local services. This ensures that support is made available at an early stage to help children to improve their school attendance. This approach is set out in our statutory attendance guidance, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
Schools, local authorities and other partners should always work together to understand and remove the barriers to attendance. The guidance, which came into effect last August, specifically underlines the importance of working in partnership with families. It also details when Notices to Improve should be issued as a final opportunity for a parent to engage in support and improve attendance before legal intervention is pursued.
The decision to prosecute rests solely with the local authority, but paragraph 164 of the guidance sets out factors for their consideration, including public interest tests and equalities considerations.
The department’s attendance guidance is based on best practice and was introduced following full public consultation.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she plans to establish family hubs across the country.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and will share further information when we are able to.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide financial support for children’s centres (a) in general and (b) serving (i) disadvantaged and (ii) minority ethnic communities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities have a duty under Part 1 of the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure there are sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families, including disadvantaged families and those from minority ethnic communities. Part 1 of the Act can be read in full here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/21/part/1.
Funding for children’s centres is made available through the local government finance settlement. In addition, other government funding, including that for public health, may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, through children’s centres.
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Delivering this will require strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme, which build on the lessons from Sure Start children’s centres.
75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year Spending Review.
There are three Family Hubs in the Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency that have been funded by the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, as listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-family-hub-sites.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 child vaccination uptakes rates.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving vaccination uptake rates to fully protect children and the public from preventable diseases. It is vitally important that everyone has their recommended vaccinations, as they are the best way to help protect yourself and your family from these viruses that can cause serious harm.
The NHS Vaccination Strategy outlines the steps that we will take to improve uptake of our childhood vaccination programmes through investing in the digital infrastructure and data systems for vaccination programmes, delegating commissioning of services to integrated care boards (ICBs), and exploring new ways of using workforce and delivery networks to administer vaccinations that meet the needs of local communities. The strategy is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-vaccination-strategy/
In line with the strategy and with the Government’s commitment, children will receive vital vaccines more easily thanks to a new trial using health visitors to administer childhood immunisations. The initiative, outlined in our urgent and emergency improvement plan, will test having health visiting teams deliver flu vaccinations and other jabs to eligible children, making protection more accessible for underserved families across selected areas.
We are also updating the vaccination schedule from 1 January 2026 to offer the second dose of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at eighteen months old to give young children the best protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Any children who have missed this second dose of MMR can have it at their pre-school vaccinations, at the same time as their 4 in 1 booster. This change is expected to improve MMR vaccine uptake, as has been demonstrated in a number of London boroughs where this change has already been made, and better uptake will reduce the likelihood of measles outbreaks. This is in addition to schedule changes from 1 July 2025 to move the second dose of meningococcal B vaccination to 12 weeks of age to provide earlier protection.
To raise awareness of potential vaccination benefits and increase awareness of the programmes, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides a comprehensive suite of resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats. UKHSA also provides comprehensive clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals. These are available in print form and for download at the following link:
https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/ArticleSearch.html
UKHSA also undertakes regular surveys of parents and adolescents to understand how their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety, and disease severity influence their vaccine uptake decision-making. This information enables the resources to be revised and updated to meet the needs of those accessing vaccination services. Data on vaccination uptake is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 reduce the number of drugs-related deaths; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland on this issue.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidenced-based, high-quality treatment, to reduce the number of drug related deaths.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for drug and alcohol prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet those needs. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol services and recovery support, which includes housing and employment.
The Department has an action plan in place to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths, which is currently being reviewed to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. In 2024, the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses, to prevent future deaths.
Alongside the funding allocations, the Department has a range of existing and forthcoming best practice resources and guidance that supports those working in the sector to tailor drug and alcohol treatment services to meet local needs, to improve treatment outcomes. The commissioning quality standard provides guidance to local authorities on how to ensure they have a shared understanding of local need, including the experiences of diverse populations. The commissioning quality standard is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services
The Department continues to work with all local areas to address unmet needs and drug and alcohol misuse deaths, and to drive improvements in the continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit, which can be used by local areas to assess local need and plan to meet it.
As health is a devolved matter, each administration of the United Kingdom takes its own decisions on the provision of treatment and other action to address drug related deaths. Nonetheless, it is important that the four nations work together and share learning to tackle the health harms that drugs pose. This includes through our UK wide legislation to expand access to take home naloxone that has been developed in close partnership with devolved administrations. We will continue to work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations, to share learning and align our approaches where appropriate.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 support (a) HIV prevention and (b) HIV care services in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030 and is developing the new HIV Action Plan which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address ways to improve and support HIV prevention and HIV care services across the whole of England, including in the Surrey Heath constituency.
Local authorities, such as Surrey County Council, are responsible for commissioning comprehensive open access to most sexual health services, including HIV prevention. It is for individual local authorities to commission HIV prevention services that best suit their population. In 2025/26, the Department has increased funding through the Public Health Grant to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.
NHS England is responsible for providing HIV treatment and care, which continues to have very high coverage and effectiveness across England. Commissioning responsibility for adult specialist services for people living with HIV has been delegated by NHS England to the integrated care boards.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 access to healthcare facilities in rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since June 2022, the 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) across England have been responsible for arranging National Health Service healthcare services which meet the needs of their respective populations, reflecting the diversity of need within these. The local ICB is therefore responsible for ensuring that NHS services are accessible in their area.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to ICBs. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA).
The ACRA endorsed the introduction of a new community services formula, that they believe will better recognise needs for much older populations with higher needs for certain community services which on average tend to be in some rural, coastal, and remote areas.
Work is also underway across the Department and with NHS England and the regional directors of public health to develop approaches to address regional health inequalities. In line with the Government’s Health Mission, the Department’s goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind.