Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2026 to question 105956, if he will publish an assessment of the potential impact of the immigration white paper on social care workers and NHS workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.
The Government has published an Impact Assessment alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which sets out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The Impact Assessment is published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy
The forthcoming 10-Year Health Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.
For adult social care, it is also the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment and improve domestic recruitment and retention. We recognise the scale of reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2026 to question 105956, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the immigration white paper on the NHS long-term staff plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.
The Government has published an Impact Assessment alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which sets out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The Impact Assessment is published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy
The forthcoming 10-Year Health Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.
For adult social care, it is also the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment and improve domestic recruitment and retention. We recognise the scale of reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2025, to Question 95882, on Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties, for what reason CPI is used to calculate business rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The national business rates multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April.
Business rates make up a quarter of Local Authority core spending power and support critical local services, including child and adult social care. Indexing the business rates multipliers in between revaluations helps to maintain the real-terms value of this revenue to fund these services.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish (1) the NHS workforce plan, and (2) the social care workforce plan.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026.
This plan will set out action to create an NHS workforce able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.
Decisions regarding any potential publication for social care remain under consideration and no final position has been reached.
The Department is supporting the Adult Social Care workforce by improving terms and conditions through introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement, and supporting career development and progression by implementing the first ever career structure and investing up to £12 million in training and qualifications.
Baroness Casey’s independent commission into adult social care is underway as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The Terms of Reference have been designed to be sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system, and workforce, fit for the future.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 the provision of care for people with Parkinson’s disease outside specialist hospital settings, including measures to enable care to be delivered closer to patients’ homes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want people with Parkinson’s to receive high‑quality care as close to home as possible, and many aspects of Parkinson’s care, such as medication management, routine monitoring, rehabilitation therapies, and community nursing, can be delivered outside specialist settings, provided that strong local pathways and sufficient specialist workforce support are in place.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with Parkinson’s disease.
ICBs have access to a range of resources that support the delivery of Parkinson’s services closer to home. NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated, community‑linked neurology pathways, helping ICBs design services that provide timely, coordinated care outside hospital settings.
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers evidence‑based recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and medicine optimisation, ensuring that local services deliver consistent, high‑quality Parkinson’s care.
In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation, improve multidisciplinary working, and strengthen community‑based support. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs in community settings.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed the adequacy of the current model of care for people with Parkinson’s disease, including which services may be appropriately delivered outside specialist centres.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want people with Parkinson’s to receive high‑quality care as close to home as possible, and many aspects of Parkinson’s care, such as medication management, routine monitoring, rehabilitation therapies, and community nursing, can be delivered outside specialist settings, provided that strong local pathways and sufficient specialist workforce support are in place.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with Parkinson’s disease.
ICBs have access to a range of resources that support the delivery of Parkinson’s services closer to home. NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated, community‑linked neurology pathways, helping ICBs design services that provide timely, coordinated care outside hospital settings.
Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers evidence‑based recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and medicine optimisation, ensuring that local services deliver consistent, high‑quality Parkinson’s care.
In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation, improve multidisciplinary working, and strengthen community‑based support. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs in community settings.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled £78bn for councils in turning point settlement to cut deprivation, published on 17 December 2025, what impact the National Care Service will have on two-tier authority areas such as Basildon.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are progressing towards a National Care Service based on higher quality of care, greater choice and control, and better join up between services, with approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.
We know that meaningful, lasting reform of adult social care across all tiers of local authority in England cannot be delivered overnight. To build consensus on plans for a National Care Service, Baroness Casey is chairing an Independent Commission into adult social care to shape the medium- and longer-term reforms needed, with phase 1 reporting later this year.
We have already been putting the core foundations for a National Care Service in place, aligned with the Government’s three objectives for adult social care, by improving the quality of care by valuing and supporting our vital care workforce, and by legislating for a Fair Pay Agreement backed by £500 million of funding. We are strengthening join-up between health and social care services by developing neighbourhood health services and reforming the Better Care Fund. We are also enabling people to have more choice and control over their care, for instance by promoting greater use of direct payments.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled £78bn for councils in turning point settlement to cut deprivation, published on 17 December 2025, what impact the National Care Service will have on single-tier authorities such as Thurrock Council.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are progressing towards a National Care Service based on higher quality of care, greater choice and control, and better join up between services, with approximately £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.
We know that meaningful, lasting reform of adult social care across all tiers of local authority in England cannot be delivered overnight. To build consensus on plans for a National Care Service, Baroness Casey is chairing an Independent Commission into adult social care to shape the medium- and longer-term reforms needed, with phase 1 reporting later this year.
We have already been putting the core foundations for a National Care Service in place, aligned with the Government’s three objectives for adult social care, by improving the quality of care by valuing and supporting our vital care workforce, and by legislating for a Fair Pay Agreement backed by £500 million of funding. We are strengthening join-up between health and social care services by developing neighbourhood health services and reforming the Better Care Fund. We are also enabling people to have more choice and control over their care, for instance by promoting greater use of direct payments.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 adequacy of the Care Quality Commission’s inspection capacity in Gloucestershire; and what steps are being taken to help ensure that people in (a) South Cotswolds constituency and (b) the UK have access to up-to-date and reliable inspection information when choosing care providers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. Health is a devolved matter for the rest of United Kingdom.
The Department is aware of the need for the CQC to make improvements in the number of assessments it undertakes, following Dr Penny Dash’s review of the CQC’s operational effectiveness, published in October 2025.
The CQC is being supported and held to account for making improvements, including increasing the number of provider assessments and the timely publication of assessments reports.
Assessment reports are published on the CQC’s website and accessible to the public for information when choosing care providers.
From January 2026, the CQC will prioritise inspections of services with outdated ratings and those not previously assessed, while continuing to respond to risks. These steps aim to provide timely and reliable inspection information for individuals choosing care providers, including those in the South Cotswolds.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what vetting procedures are in place to ensure care agencies providing non UK workers in the care industry ensure the safety of patients before allowing workers to commence a caring role.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Care agencies who carry out a regulated activity must be registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and are expected to comply with relevant regulations. Where a care agency does not carry out a regulated activity but supplies workers to a regulated care provider, the legal duty to comply with CQC regulations sits with the registered provider using the agency and the registered manager.
Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 sets out that it is the responsibility of the regulated provider to ensure robust and safe recruitment practices are in place, and to make sure that all staff, including agency staff, are suitably experienced, competent, and able to carry out their role. Further information on Regulation 19 is avaiable at the following link:
Registered providers are also expected to comply with Regulation 18: Staffing, which sets out a provider’s responsibility to deploy enough suitably qualified, competent, and experienced staff. Further information on Regulation 18 is avaiable at the following link:
The CQC can assess compliance with these regulations through assessment and monitoring activity. Where a breach of regulation or non-compliance is identified, the CQC can take regulatory action.
An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check must be undertaken prior to the recruitment of all care workers. In line with the CQC guidance for DBS checks, staff working with vulnerable adults can only start work before a DBS certificate is received if they have had a DBS Adult First Check, are appropriately supervised, and do not escort people away from the premises unless accompanied by someone with a DBS check.