Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the independence of Healthwatch England from the Care Quality Commission; and what discussions the Care Quality Commission has had with Healthwatch England about its abolition.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) both recognise the independent statutory role of Healthwatch England (HWE) in championing the views of those who use health and care services. Although the Health and Social Care Act 2012 established HWE as a statutory committee of the CQC, HWE sets its own priorities, has its own brand identity, and speaks with an independent voice. This arrangement is set out in the CQC’s formal framework agreement with the Department.

Following the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to incorporate the functions of HWE into a new Patient Experience Directorate within the Department, the CQC has been working closely with HWE on all aspects of a closure programme. This work includes engaging with relevant trade unions and regular meetings to plan for the abolishment of HWE in its current format.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the Care Quality Commission has enabled Healthwatch England to set the direction of its own work.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) both recognise the independent statutory role of Healthwatch England (HWE) in championing the views of those who use health and care services. Although the Health and Social Care Act 2012 established HWE as a statutory committee of the CQC, HWE sets its own priorities, has its own brand identity, and speaks with an independent voice. This arrangement is set out in the CQC’s formal framework agreement with the Department.

Following the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to incorporate the functions of HWE into a new Patient Experience Directorate within the Department, the CQC has been working closely with HWE on all aspects of a closure programme. This work includes engaging with relevant trade unions and regular meetings to plan for the abolishment of HWE in its current format.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of variations in reported prevalence of placenta accreta spectrum; and whether this reflects under-detection and under-recording of the condition in England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have not made an assessment of the causes of variations in the reported prevalence of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). NHS England does not currently collect national data on PAS prevalence or outcomes.

Through the national audit into maternal mortality, Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK will report on PAS-associated deaths later this year. The National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Government funded PRiSMM programme will be reporting on PAS by region within the national maternal morbidity surveillance system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a nationally accredited and mandatory placenta accreta spectrum training programme for sonographers, obstetricians and relevant maternity staff.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and NHS England expect midwives, sonographers, and obstetricians to follow national guidance described by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for the diagnosis and management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). There are no plans to introduce mandatory training for all sonographers and obstetricians in how to diagnose PAS.

In the instance of women delivering with PAS, surgeons and anaesthetists in all obstetric hospitals are trained to deal with complex operative findings as well as the management of post-partum haemorrhage. This will be strengthened further through the implementation of the recently published Maternal Care Bundle, which includes an element focussed on optimal management of obstetric haemorrhage.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that clinicians receive placenta accreta spectrum diagnostic training.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and NHS England expect midwives, sonographers, and obstetricians to follow national guidance described by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for the diagnosis and management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). There are no plans to introduce mandatory training for all sonographers and obstetricians in how to diagnose PAS.

In the instance of women delivering with PAS, surgeons and anaesthetists in all obstetric hospitals are trained to deal with complex operative findings as well as the management of post-partum haemorrhage. This will be strengthened further through the implementation of the recently published Maternal Care Bundle, which includes an element focussed on optimal management of obstetric haemorrhage.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken by NHS England to improve the performance of integrated care boards that are making inadequate progress in increasing funding for community care.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Community health services are a fundamental part of the health and care system and an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service.

We know people are waiting too long for community services. That is why, for the first time, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits in NHS England’s Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The Medium Term Planning Framework outlines how integrated care boards (ICBs) should strengthen community services in line with the left shift ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. Specifically, it asks that in 2026/27 all ICBs:

- increase community health service capacity to meet growth in demand, expected to be approximately 3% nationally per year;

- actively manage long waits for community health services, reducing the proportion of waits over 18 weeks and developing a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.

As part of the medium term planning process, ICBs should ensure community health services are adequately funded to meet these targets, and must submit plans which set out how they will implement this ambition. NHS England is currently in the process of assuring these plans and will continue to monitor their implementation.

To support the shift to neighbourhood health, we published in 2025 an overview of the core community health services, called Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of the core components of community health services for ICBs. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity. It will also help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community-based settings.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to enable assessment of the performance of integrated care boards in prioritising community care services.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Community health services are a fundamental part of the health and care system and an essential building block in developing a neighborhood health service.

We know people are waiting too long for community services. That is why, for the first time, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits in NHS England’s Medium-Term Planning Framework.

The Medium Term Planning Framework outlines how integrated care boards (ICBs) should strengthen community services in line with the left shift ambitions set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. Specifically, it asks that in 2026/27 all ICBs:

- increase community health service capacity to meet growth in demand, expected to be approximately 3% nationally per year; and

- actively manage long waits for community health services, reducing the proportion of waits over 18 weeks and developing a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.

As part of the medium term planning process, and to hold the system to account, ICBs have to submit plans which set out how they will implement this ambition. NHS England is currently in the process of assuring these plans and will continue to monitor their implementation.

To support the shift to neighbourhood health, we published in 2025 an overview of the core community health services, called Standardising Community Health Services, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services, a vital part of neighbourhood health. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of the core components of community health services for ICBs. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity. It will also help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community-based settings.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) number and (2) scale of deficits currently being reported by integrated care boards.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes regular updates on the financial performance of all National Health Service organisations in both their quarterly Oversight Framework segmentation league tables and their monthly board papers.

At month nine (M9), the end of December 2025, there are year to date overspends across NHS systems totalling £445 million, reflecting the impact of held back deficit support funding. Six systems account for more than half of this overspend, while 17 systems were delivering in line with their financial plans at that point in the year.

Further details can be found in the M9 Financial Position 2025/26 update to the February NHS England board on the NHS England website.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a comprehensive list of NHS-commissioned placenta accreta spectrum specialist centres that have been established since 2020, including the (1) location, and (2) referral pathways, of each centre.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England regional teams, in conjunction with their local integrated care boards as the responsible commissioners, are leading on commissioning specialised placenta accreta spectrum centres within their geographies. The treating clinician, in consultation with the patient, will advise on referral routes for patients under their care.

Areas with NHS-commissioned placenta accreta spectrum specialist centres:

London:

• North East London: Barts Health NHS Trust; and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (two site, one service model).
• North West London: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (two site, one service model).
• South West London: St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
• South East London: King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (two site, one service model).
• North Central London: University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

East of England:

• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and
• Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

North East Yorkshire and Humber:

• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and
• the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

South West:

• University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust; and
• University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.

East Midlands:

• University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust; and
• Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

West Midlands:

• Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;
• University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust;
• University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust; and
• the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.