Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources i) his department and ii) the NHS is providing to support those wards within the government Pride in Place program in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pride in Place is funded and led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Neither the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) nor NHS England holds the information requested. However, our 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service, delivering truly integrated, proactive and personalised care closer to where people live and work.
We have launched wave 1 of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) in 43 places across England, including in the West Midlands. The NNHIP supports systems across the country in driving innovation and integration at a local level to improve the care they provide to their communities.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2025, the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild programme will deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres, with 120 delivered in 2030. Rollout will be progressive over this Parliament, with early sites focused on areas of greatest need.
Neighbourhood Health Centres will bring together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations.
DHSC continues to work closely with MHCLG on relevant policies and programmes including Pride in Place. I recently met with the Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities on this topic to discuss synergies between Neighbourhood Health and Pride in Place.
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 help improve respite services for carers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.
In England, the Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers. The Better Care Fund includes funding that can be used for carer support, including short breaks and respite services. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.
We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.
The Government is making around £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in England in 2028-29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of school milk consumption on children’s oral health, including rates of dental decay.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Water and milk are the only recommended drinks to give children regarding their oral health. Milk and dairy foods, or dairy alternatives, are an important part of a healthy balanced diet, as depicted by the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide. The School Food Standards state that lower fat milk and lactose-reduced milk must be available every school day, during school hours. Whole milk may be provided for pupils up to the end of the school year in which they turn five years old. Sugars naturally present in unsweetened milk and milk products are not classed as ‘free sugars’, which should be limited to reduce the risk of tooth decay. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-types/how-does-sugar-in-our-diet-affect-our-health/
We have invested £11 million in 147 local authorities in 2025/26, alongside a five-year partnership with Colgate-Palmolive, to rollout a national supervised toothbrushing programme for up to 600,000 three- to five-year-olds in the 20% most deprived areas of England. The programme will tackle poor oral health by ensuring children learn positive habits and prevention of tooth decay.
Asked by: Tim Roca (Labour - Macclesfield)
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 increase ease of access to GP appointments in Macclesfield constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are increasing access to general practice appointments nationally and in the Macclesfield constituency.
We have invested an additional £1.1 billion into general practitioners (GPs), the biggest cash increase in over a decade. In October 2024, we invested £160 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of over 2,600 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients.
The new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 practices across England. This investment will deliver more appointments and improve patient care
We are also committed to making it easier for patients to contact their general practices. That’s why, Since 1 October, GP practices have been required to offer access to online services throughout core hours (8:00am–18:30pm), bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. This change aims to improve patient access, reduce long phone queues, and help GPs manage demand more effectively.
After a decade of declining satisfaction, patient experiences with contacting their GP has improved significantly. As of December 2025, 75.2% of patients report that they find it is easy to contact their GP practice, a 14.3 percentage point increase since July 2024 (60.9%).
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
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 help support community-based preventative services for older people in Sutton Coldfield constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of a broader strategy to improve quality of care and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, the National Health Service is implementing various preventative services to support older people in maintaining their health and independence. For example, support for frailty through the NHS Toolkit, that helps general practitioners (GPs) identify and manage frailty in patients aged 65 years old and over, and preventative primary care interventions are being evaluated to improve functional ability and self-rated health for older people. The NHS 10 Year Plan aims to move care from hospitals into communities, bringing together health and care professionals to provide proactive care and prevention.
The Community Care Collaborative in Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (ICS) has rolled out six new neighbourhood health hubs to date. These will bring together multi-disciplinary health and care professionals in each locality across Birmingham to provide easily accessible community-based care for individuals with frailty and long-term conditions.
The neighbourhood health hubs will host 11 new integrated neighbourhood teams (INTs) in Birmingham and Solihull ICS, with an aim to have teams across all 35 of its neighbourhoods by the end of 2026. The INTs provide a holistic response to an individual's care.
A recent evaluation of the first INT pilot teams to go live across the ICS shows a 31% reduction in GP appointments and fewer inpatient stays at acute hospitals.
The NHS offers several vaccinations for older adults to protect them from disease. This includes vaccination for flu, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), shingles and pneumonia. These are delivered in the community primarily through general practice, with flu and COVID-19 vaccinations also available at community pharmacies across England, and RSV vaccinations available at select community pharmacies in some areas including Sutton Coldfield and the wider Birmingham and Solihull region.
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 consideration the Department has given to end-of-life decision-making in cases involving progressive loss of capacity, including advanced dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that high-quality palliative care and end-of-life care should include the opportunity for individuals to discuss their wishes and preferences so that these can be taken fully into account in the provision of their future care, also known as advance care planning (ACP). ACP is a voluntary process of person-centred discussion between an individual and their care providers about their preferences and the priorities for their future care.
In order to facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP, NHS England has published Universal Principles for ACP, which are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/
The universal principles sets out that ACP should take place while a person has the mental capacity to engage in these conversations. An output of these discussions may include an advance statement of wishes, preferences, and priorities. An advance statement is not legally binding, but it is useful to inform and guide decision-making in the future if a person subsequently loses their capacity to make decisions about their care. A person can also nominate a Lasting Power of Attorney who is then able to make decisions on behalf of that person should they lose capacity to make decisions about their care.
Additionally, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on dementia includes recommendations on ACP and involving people living with dementia in decisions about their care. The NICE guidance recommends using an anticipatory healthcare planning process for people living with dementia who are approaching the end of life. It recommends involving the person and their family members or carers, as appropriate, as far as possible and using the principles of best-interest decision-making if the person does not have capacity to make decisions about their care. Further information on the NICE guidance on dementia is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many emergency dental appointments have been delivered under the Urgent Dental Care Incentive Scheme in (a) Norfolk and Waveney and (b) North West Norfolk; and (b) what progress his Department has made on helping to deliver 21,520 additional urgent care appointments for Norfolk and Waveney ICB.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have asked integrated care boards (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 from April 2025.
These appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most. The Norfolk and Waveney ICB, which includes the North West Norfolk constituency, has been asked to deliver 21,520 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.
We are also incentivising high street dentists to offer even more appointments to maximise the availability to those in need of urgent care.
Data on delivery of urgent dental care, will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of National Health Service dental care.
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, what steps NHS England is taking to encourage integrated care boards to commission prioritised oral health pathways for patients undergoing cancer treatment; and whether practices that participate in such schemes are eligible for additional contractual or financial support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe, and effective dental care.
NHS England has produced guidelines which aim to ensure that patients across England with a diagnosis of cancer, including oral cancer, have equitable access to oral healthcare. This could include oral health assessments, prevention, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in primary, either National Health Service or independent, community, secondary, or tertiary care settings. This would be provided as part of a multi-disciplinary team care plan. Ongoing oral health management for the duration of the cancer therapy would take place. Further information can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/oral-healthcare-provision-for-cancer-pathways/
The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the South West a number of pilot models are being trialled, for example, if a patient does not have 'a usual dental practice’ and has primary dental care requirements, they will be referred to specific general dental practices, referred to as cancer action support practices, based in ICBs where the pathway is running.
Participation in schemes supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment does not create any automatic entitlement to additional contractual or financial support. Any supplementary funding, including through flexible commissioning, is determined locally and subject to commissioner discretion, identified local need, and available resources.
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 his Department has identified general dental practices participating in locally commissioned schemes to provide prioritised oral healthcare for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is working to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe, and effective dental care.
NHS England has produced guidelines which aim to ensure that patients across England with a diagnosis of cancer, including oral cancer, have equitable access to oral healthcare. This could include oral health assessments, prevention, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in primary, either National Health Service or independent, community, secondary, or tertiary care settings. This would be provided as part of a multi-disciplinary team care plan. Ongoing oral health management for the duration of the cancer therapy would take place. Further information can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/oral-healthcare-provision-for-cancer-pathways/
The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the South West a number of pilot models are being trialled, for example, if a patient does not have 'a usual dental practice’ and has primary dental care requirements, they will be referred to specific general dental practices, referred to as cancer action support practices, based in ICBs where the pathway is running.
Participation in schemes supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment does not create any automatic entitlement to additional contractual or financial support. Any supplementary funding, including through flexible commissioning, is determined locally and subject to commissioner discretion, identified local need, and available resources.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what number of UK citizens have obtained a primary medical degree outside the UK by country in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the data requested. Data is available that shows the scale of doctors employed in National Health Service trusts in England who qualified outside the United Kingdom and who declare a UK nationality. The data is not available by year of graduation, but an indication of annual numbers is possible by using the year of first General Medical Council (GMC) registration.
Within NHS trusts in England, an average of 473 UK nationals who qualified outside the UK had registered with the GMC annually in the latest five years of available data, from 2019 to 2023. This will not count doctors who do not work in NHS trusts in England, and may include international medical graduates who gained UK citizenship after graduation or UK employment. The table attached presents the total number of doctors employed in NHS trusts in England who qualified outside the UK and who declare a UK nationality, and the ten largest countries of qualification for the years 2019 to 2023.