Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 impact of the current care funding framework on people with dementia who want to remain at home.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care is part of our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service that shifts care from hospitals to communities, with more personalised, proactive, and joined-up health and care services that help people stay independent for as long as possible.
We are empowering people and giving them more choice and control over their care, for instance by promoting greater use of direct payments. We are also expanding care options to boost independent living at home through an additional £172 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant over two years, enabling approximately 15,600 extra home adaptations, and are introducing care technology standards to help people choose the right support.
This year's Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements.
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 91 of his Department's policy paper entitled Fit for the future: 10 year health plan for England, published 1 July 2025, what criteria was used to determine which conditions should receive a modern service framework; and whether respiratory health meets these criteria.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone in the National Health Service is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks to accelerate progress in conditions where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity.
Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of modern service frameworks.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to determine which conditions should receive a modern service framework; and whether respiratory health meets these criteria.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone in the National Health Service is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks to accelerate progress in conditions where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity.
Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of modern service frameworks.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to support the production of a modern service framework to help (a) improve outcomes and (b) reduce health inequalities for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone in the National Health Service is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks to accelerate progress in conditions where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity.
Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of modern service frameworks.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 merits of producing a modern service framework for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone in the National Health Service is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks to accelerate progress in conditions where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity.
Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of modern service frameworks.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to determine which conditions should receive a modern service framework.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone in the National Health Service is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks.
Between 1997 and 2010, national service frameworks were a clinically led approach to developing guidance that supported sustained improvement in major condition outcomes, including by narrowing inequality and reducing unwarranted variation. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will reintroduce and modernise this approach. These modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and support for delivery.
Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
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 mandating specialist dementia care homes to complete the Herbert Protocol for all residents with dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Herbert Protocol is a form that can provide the police and other emergency services with essential information about a person with dementia should they go missing.
While this is not currently mandated, it is freely available for use online and can be completed by a person living with dementia, or those that care for them. Further information is available on the Herbert Protocol website at the following link:
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of stress on Alzheimer's disease.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As highlighted in the Dementia Care Pathway: Full implementation guidance, poorly managed behavioural and psychological symptoms, which accompany dementia, may lead to increased distress, accelerated cognitive decline, inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing, unnecessary use of restraint, and earlier admission to residential care. This guidance is available at the following link:
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines recommend, as initial and ongoing management, offering psychosocial and environmental interventions to reduce distress in people living with dementia.
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
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 embedding specialist dementia Admiral Nurses within neighbourhood health teams.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, closer to people’s homes, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, this will mean services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses or admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.
We are intending to publish a National Framework for Neighbourhood Health Plans in the autumn. This will set-out how areas should design neighbourhood health services around local needs and different patient cohorts.
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 steps his Department is taking to support families with rises in care home fees for relatives with dementia; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of those changes on the savings of older people.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on self-funder residential care home fees sufficient to make a comparative assessment between different local authorities. Fee rates are set by providers of adult social care. The Department does not have the power to limit the level of fees that a care home can charge. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.
We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will deliver recommendations for the transformation of adult social care, including how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.
The current system of charging for care provides funded support for those with the least financial means. Only the income and assets, including savings, of the cared for individual can be considered by the local authority when assessing their financial eligibility for support. Where individuals have assets below £14,250, they will not contribute to their care from their assets. Local authorities have the power to set a higher threshold if they choose.