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 he is taking to improve workplace catering and break facilities for healthcare workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Good physical working environments are important for staff wellbeing and retention. Staff need to be given the time and space to rest and recover from their work, particularly when working on-call or overnight. This is recognised as a priority in the NHS People Promise which sets out the importance of employers prioritising spaces for staff to rest and recuperate, and ensuring access to hot food and drinks.
In May 2024, NHS England and NHS Charities Together launched a £10 million Workforce Wellbeing Programme to support National Health Service staff in England. It will provide tailored health and wellbeing support to NHS staff, including grants to improve facilities. A three-year programme of work named Great Food, Good Health, led by NHS England, aims to improve the experience and quality of nutritious food that patients, staff, and visitors receive in hospital. As part of this, the NHS made clear that NHS organisations must be able to demonstrate they have suitable 24/7 food service provision.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure that individuals who have signed an S1 certificate and reside abroad are correctly recorded as non-resident for NHS purposes; and what measures are in place to prevent or recoup costs for any routine NHS treatment received in the UK by such individuals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department publishes guidance for United Kingdom-issued S1 holders when moving and retiring abroad. UK-issued S1 holders should notify the relevant UK authorities, including their general practitioner, so their general practice registration can be removed. The full guidance can be found at the following link:
www.gov.uk/guidance/moving-living-or-retiring-abroad
The S1 scheme is part of Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements between the UK and European Economic Area/Switzerland. In England, people with a registered UK S1 residing abroad are exempt from charging under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 while on a temporary visit. The National Health Service is required to check for the S1 entitlement before applying this exemption. There are therefore no measures in place to prevent or recoup costs from people holding a UK-registered S1. In exchange for providing this additional benefit for UK S1 holders, the UK receives a discount to costs for their healthcare in the country where they live.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 that NHS (a) maternity wards and (b) perinatal services treat fathers as active participants in the birth process.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has committed to putting the voices of families, including fathers, at the heart of the approach to improving quality, safety and accountability in maternity services.
Baroness Amos’ independent national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services will ensure that the lived experiences of families, including fathers and non-birthing partners, are fully heard and used to inform the development of the national recommendations. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will take forward the recommendations of the investigation to develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.
National bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Midwives have issued guidelines emphasising the importance of involving fathers and partners in maternity and perinatal care. These guidelines set expectations for trusts to adopt family-centred care and to treat fathers as active participants, not just visitors or observers. These resources are available at the following link:
Fathers and partners can now receive evidence-based assessments and support through specialist perinatal mental health services where needed, with some NHS trusts now also working with Home Start UK’s Dad Matters project to support paternal mental health. The project engages with fathers to help them understand their baby, their role as a father, and how transition to fatherhood may affect them and their family.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
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 proposed neighbourhood health centres being able to (a) improve musculoskeletal health and (b) treat musculoskeletal health issues.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving health and work outcomes of people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions will help deliver the Government's mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service. Neighbourhood teams will bring together professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care staff, pharmacists, and health visitors, to provide comprehensive care that fits around people’s lives. Neighbourhood health approaches can help ensure that people with MSK conditions receive more personalised and coordinated support, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and enabling earlier, community-based interventions. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together NHS, local authority, and voluntary sector services in one place, offering integrated, holistic support for all health needs, which could include MSK care, rehabilitation, and prevention.
We have launched wave 1 of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) across 43 places in England. The NNHIP will support systems across the country by driving innovation and integration at a local level, to accelerate improvements in outcomes, satisfaction, and experience for people by ensuring that care is more joined-up, accessible, and responsive to community needs.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued (a) a national strategy and (b) guidance for NHS trusts on genetic disorders linked to consanguinity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing is delivered through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and guided by the National Genomic Test Directory, which outlines the eligibility criteria for genomic testing based on specific clinical indications. These eligibility criteria support clinicians to decide whether genetic testing is appropriate, including in cases where genetic disorders may be linked to consanguinity. In addition, through the Genetic Risk Equity Project, NHS England is piloting and evaluating new models of care in nine sites to improve equity of access to genetic services for the small proportion of consanguineous couples at increased genetic risk. NHS England has published training modules about close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, as well as guidance on how to submit data around consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS trusts in areas with higher prevalence of consanguineous unions receive additional (a) funding, (b) training and (c) genetic counselling resources to help tackle related health needs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing is delivered through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and guided by the National Genomic Test Directory, which outlines the eligibility criteria for genomic testing. These criteria support clinicians to decide whether genetic testing is appropriate, including in cases where genetic disorders may be linked to consanguinity. Seventeen NHS Clinical Genetics Services are commissioned by NHS England and deliver a comprehensive clinical genetics and genetic counselling service that directs the diagnosis, risk assessment, and lifelong clinical management of patients of all ages and their families who have, or are at risk of having, a genetic condition. In addition, through the Genetic Risk Equity Project, NHS England is piloting and evaluating new models of care in nine sites to improve equity of access to genetic services for the small proportion of consanguineous couples at increased genetic risk. NHS England has published training modules about close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, as well as guidance on how to submit data around consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 26 March 2025 to Question 38250 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what the ten nationalities with the highest total unpaid invoices were in 2023-24.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have any plans to reassess or revise charging categories. Introducing additional charging categories would likely be disproportionate and not aid in improving cost recovery.
While the Department holds information on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, it does not hold or collect information relating to specific categories of patient, including Category F patients.
The Department also does not hold or collect information on the nationalities that have the highest unpaid invoices.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of splitting charging category A patients ordinarily resident in the UK and (a) asylum seeker and (b) failed asylum seeker under section 95 of the Immigration Act 1999 into two new categories.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have any plans to reassess or revise charging categories. Introducing additional charging categories would likely be disproportionate and not aid in improving cost recovery.
While the Department holds information on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, it does not hold or collect information relating to specific categories of patient, including Category F patients.
The Department also does not hold or collect information on the nationalities that have the highest unpaid invoices.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much income was generated through charges for category f patients in each financial year since 2018-19; and how much aggregate income identified for the 2018-19 financial year was written off.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have any plans to reassess or revise charging categories. Introducing additional charging categories would likely be disproportionate and not aid in improving cost recovery.
While the Department holds information on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, it does not hold or collect information relating to specific categories of patient, including Category F patients.
The Department also does not hold or collect information on the nationalities that have the highest unpaid invoices.
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 potential impact of hospital parking charges on (a) staff and (b) visitors to hospitals; and what information he holds on the total cost of such charges in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of hospital parking charges. Hospitals in England are permitted to charge users for car parking, but those charges must be reasonable and in line with local charges. The revenue from hospital car parking is used to maintain car park facilities and any surplus income is put back into the National Health Service. The following table shows the income from car parking from patients and visitors as well as staff in 2023/24 and 2022/23:
| Income from car parking - patients and visitors | Income from car parking - staff |
2023/24 | £172,332,199 | £70,510,110 |
2022/23 | £145,873,556 | £46,653,234 |
Data on the income from car parking charges is published annually through the NHS Estates Return Information Collection, which is available at the following link:
In 2025/26, the Department is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital, enabling local NHS organisations to allocate funding to local priorities, which could include hospital car parking.