Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 capacity of the specialist Parkinson’s workforce to meet increasing demand for care and diagnosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists or geriatricians with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease, nor does NHS England publish workforce projections at this level of granularity. Neurologists typically manage a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s, and geriatricians are trained to manage a broad range of complex health needs in older people. Workforce data is collected for the specialty as a whole rather than by sub-specialty.
As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England uses workforce modelling to establish potential future scenarios for both the supply of, and demand for, NHS workers across all specialties. In doing so, they analyse a range of factors, including population health trends, service utilisation patterns, and projected retirement and training rates. This modelling helps determine the number of training places required and informs long-term workforce planning, ensuring that specialties such as neurology and geriatric medicine have sufficient capacity to meet anticipated needs.
The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
The Department recognises the importance of maintaining high-quality services for people living with Parkinson’s disease. NHS England sets clear expectations of ICBs through national service specifications as well as guidance provided through initiatives like the Getting it Right First Time and RightCare Programmes to ensure equitable access to care for people with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. NHS England monitors ICB performance through planning guidance and assurance processes to ensure compliance with national standards and to prevent inappropriate service reductions.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 ensure that Integrated Care Boards do not cut essential services for people living with Parkinson’s.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists or geriatricians with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease, nor does NHS England publish workforce projections at this level of granularity. Neurologists typically manage a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s, and geriatricians are trained to manage a broad range of complex health needs in older people. Workforce data is collected for the specialty as a whole rather than by sub-specialty.
As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England uses workforce modelling to establish potential future scenarios for both the supply of, and demand for, NHS workers across all specialties. In doing so, they analyse a range of factors, including population health trends, service utilisation patterns, and projected retirement and training rates. This modelling helps determine the number of training places required and informs long-term workforce planning, ensuring that specialties such as neurology and geriatric medicine have sufficient capacity to meet anticipated needs.
The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
The Department recognises the importance of maintaining high-quality services for people living with Parkinson’s disease. NHS England sets clear expectations of ICBs through national service specifications as well as guidance provided through initiatives like the Getting it Right First Time and RightCare Programmes to ensure equitable access to care for people with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. NHS England monitors ICB performance through planning guidance and assurance processes to ensure compliance with national standards and to prevent inappropriate service reductions.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many specialist Parkinson’s nurses are employed in the NHS; and how their distribution is monitored nationally.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists or geriatricians with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease, nor does NHS England publish workforce projections at this level of granularity. Neurologists typically manage a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s, and geriatricians are trained to manage a broad range of complex health needs in older people. Workforce data is collected for the specialty as a whole rather than by sub-specialty.
As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England uses workforce modelling to establish potential future scenarios for both the supply of, and demand for, NHS workers across all specialties. In doing so, they analyse a range of factors, including population health trends, service utilisation patterns, and projected retirement and training rates. This modelling helps determine the number of training places required and informs long-term workforce planning, ensuring that specialties such as neurology and geriatric medicine have sufficient capacity to meet anticipated needs.
The Government will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, including those with Parkinson’s disease, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
The Department recognises the importance of maintaining high-quality services for people living with Parkinson’s disease. NHS England sets clear expectations of ICBs through national service specifications as well as guidance provided through initiatives like the Getting it Right First Time and RightCare Programmes to ensure equitable access to care for people with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. NHS England monitors ICB performance through planning guidance and assurance processes to ensure compliance with national standards and to prevent inappropriate service reductions.
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 reduce transmission of influenza in Lancashire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our flu vaccination campaign started in September, and is helping to keep people out of hospital.
The UK Health Security Agency is also working closely with colleagues in NHS North West and local integrated care boards (ICBs). There continues to be sustained multi-agency communications and marketing across the localised area and work is ongoing to promote and amplify prevention measures. Work continues to encourage prevention through targeted communications using local data to both the public and stakeholders whilst work is ongoing, as in every winter season, to show trends locally to allow the local health family to act accordingly via shared data and intelligence.
The ICB has stepped up public messaging around getting the flu vaccine for eligible groups and the importance of choosing the right service. This has included promoting a bespoke winter campaign in the local area as well as press releases, social media, and broadcast interviews at a local and regional level.
Some local hospitals have made it mandatory for staff to wear a surgical mask in any areas with suspected or confirmed influenza patients, and those patients who are suspected as having influenza on triage may also be asked to wear a mask. Masks are also available to patients and relatives in waiting areas.
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 the extension to the Healthy Start scheme to families with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department ran a consultation, Eligibility for Healthy Start for groups that have no recourse to public funds or are subject to immigration controls, which provided examples of the potential impacts of extending Healthy Start to families with no recourse to public funds. The consultation has now closed, and the Department is currently considering options following the consultation. Further information will be available in due course.
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 he is taking to expand (a) early intervention and (b) targeted mental health support for women at risk of suicide in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including in Surrey and the Surrey Heath constituency, for both men and women. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups, including middle-aged men and pregnant women and new mothers, for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across the Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help, including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience.
We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 merits of providing training to mental health teams on adapting their support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.
At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.
We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings 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 including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
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 merits of providing training to mental health teams on support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.
At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.
We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings 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 including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
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 he has made of possible generational links to suicide; and what support is available to children of people who have taken their own lives.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not made an assessment of possible generational links to suicide. The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups, including children and young people, for targeted and tailored support at a national level. Another key priority area is to improve support for people bereaved by suicide.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across Government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
The Government is expanding access to mental health support teams in all schools and colleges to reach all pupils by 2029, ensuring that every pupil has access to early support services. This expansion will ensure that up to 900,000 more children and young people will have access to support from trained education mental health practitioners in 2025/26.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help tackle suicide.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department currently has no specific plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help tackle suicide.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
The purpose of the Suicide Prevention Strategy is to set out our aims to prevent suicide through action by working across government and other organisations. One of the key visions of the strategy is to reduce stigma surrounding suicide and mental health, so people feel able to seek help – including through the routes that work best for them. This includes raising awareness that no suicide is inevitable.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the ‘Staying safe from suicide’ guidance.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies and giving patients better access to support directly through the NHS App, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.