Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Healthwatch on patient involvement in the NHS.

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

Healthwatch has played an important role in supporting patient involvement in the National Health Service, and in our 10-Year Health Plan we recognise the valuable work they have done to gather patient feedback and influence the debate around local service delivery.

Healthwatch was one of six organisations covered by Dr Penny Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape. The review found that there are too many organisations doing this type of work, which can create confusion for patients and risks limiting impact given their distance from service providers and commissioners.

In response, we have committed in our 10-Year Health Plan to bring Healthwatch England’s strategic functions ‘in house’ within a reformed Department, giving patients a stronger national voice through the creation of a new National Director of Patient Experience. At the same time, the statutory functions of Local Healthwatch will be brought together with the involvement and engagement responsibilities of integrated care boards, ensuring that patient insight is more directly connected to local decision-making and service improvement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether all NHS Trusts will fully adopt the federated data platform from April 2026.

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

It was not expected that all trusts would adopt the platform by April 2026, and the NHS Federated Data (NHS FDP) programme is on track to support adoption of the NHS FDP to 85% of all National Health Service trusts by March 2026.

NHS England published its regular benefits and uptake data on 12 February 2026, which shows that at the end of January 2026 there were 110 NHS trusts live or in delivery of the Federated Data Platform. 167 trusts have signed up to the NHS FDP, or 81% of the 205 providers of secondary and tertiary care in the NHS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of NHS trusts have adopted the federated data platform.

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

It was not expected that all trusts would adopt the platform by April 2026, and the NHS Federated Data (NHS FDP) programme is on track to support adoption of the NHS FDP to 85% of all National Health Service trusts by March 2026.

NHS England published its regular benefits and uptake data on 12 February 2026, which shows that at the end of January 2026 there were 110 NHS trusts live or in delivery of the Federated Data Platform. 167 trusts have signed up to the NHS FDP, or 81% of the 205 providers of secondary and tertiary care in the NHS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission has instructed or advised Healthwatch England to refrain from public comment about its abolition.

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

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has not instructed or advised Healthwatch England to refrain from public comment about its abolition or the transfer of its functions.

The CQC is operationally independent and continues to work with Healthwatch England in line with its statutory duties.

The Department continues to engage with both the CQC and Healthwatch England, as its strategic functions move to a new patient experience directorate within the Department following Dr Penny Dash’s Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape.

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.