Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent report by NHS Providers Beyond Councils of Governors: rethinking public accountability, published 20 March, for future governance arrangements for NHS Foundation Trusts.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The report will be considered as part of the wider work underway on future engagement models.
The removal of councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making.
While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps have been taken by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to address shortages in access to NHS dentistry, and to increase the number of NHS dental practices in the region.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. The North East and North Cumbria ICB has implemented measures to improve access to dental services as part of the ICB’s Oral Health and Dental Strategy for 2025/27. Further information can be found on the NHS.UK website, in an online format.
The Government is committed to ensuring that people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS dental contracts have been handed back to NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since 2022; how many units of dental activity (UDAs) were associated with those contracts; and what the UDA value was for each contract handed back.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the total number of general dental practice contracts, including the number of units of dental activity (UDA) and the total value, that were handed back in the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since it took over the delegated commissioning responsibility in April 2023:
Year | Number of General Dental Services contract hand-backs | Total Number of UDAs | UDA value for contract handbacks |
2023/24 | 13 | 108,684 | £23.85 to £32.59 |
2024/25 | 15 | 237,987 | £28.00 to £43.25 |
2025/26 | 7 | 105,308 | £32.50 to £40.08 |
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 18 March (HL15247), when they expect to reach a conclusion in their review of VAT for public bodies under section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury is currently analysing data provided by Section 41 bodies on their irrecoverable VAT and will set out the next steps to the reforms in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal for a system for equitable distribution of general medical practitioners in England, submitted to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care on 22 February by John G Gooderham.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to publishing 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. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. This workforce plan will set out how we will deliver that change by making sure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.
We are investing £485 million in general practices (GPs) in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26. As part of the 26/27 GP Contract, we are increasing flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner.
Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme which ring-fences and repurposes £292 million of funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions with existing GPs to improve access in practices. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment.
We know that the way core GP funding is allocated across England is considered outdated and we recognise the importance of ensuring funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country. This is why we are currently reviewing the GP funding formula, the Carr-Hill formula, to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
The first phase of the review is expected to conclude in March 2026. Subject to ministerial decision, further work would be undertaken to technically develop and model any proposed changes to the formula. Findings from the review will be published in due course by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The proposal has been received and Government officials will assess it in the normal manner.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board did not increase the units of dental activity (UDA) value of contracts awarded through its March 2024 procurement by the same percentage their regional UDA values increased by, following two separate increases to the minimum UDA value for existing contract holders; and what assessment they have made of the potential impact of this decision on the financial viability of those newly tendered contracts, particularly given their requirement to treat new patients with higher treatment needs.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, of the 11 new NHS dental contracts procured by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board in March 2024 to address shortages in NHS dentistry in the region, how many were successfully awarded; and how many are now operational.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board awarded dental contracts subsequent to its March 2024 procurement outside of a formal procurement process without transparently offering all NHS contract holders the opportunity to apply; if so, what assessment they have made of these awards; and if commissioning flexibility has been applied in such cases, why similar flexibility has not been extended to contracts awarded through the March 2024 procurement.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will require NHS England to use its powers under section 14Z61 of the National Health Service Act 2006 to ensure that integrated care boards allow the prescription of liothyronine where clinically appropriate.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about prescribing liothyronine are made by the responsible clinician. NHS England guidance, which aligns with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the assessment and management of thyroid disease, is clear that liothyronine should not be routinely prescribed in primary care. Where clinically appropriate, liothyronine should only be initiated by a National Health Service consultant endocrinologist, and only where no clinically appropriate alternative treatment is available.
Integrated care boards are responsible for local commissioning arrangements and for supporting the application of national guidance, but it is for clinicians, working with their patients, to decide on the most appropriate treatment in line with that guidance.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Action 6(iii) in the report, A Bolder, Braver Approach for Organ Donation in the UK, published by the Organ Donation Joint Working Group on 21 January, to change the Human Tissue Authority Code of Practice and NHS Blood and Transplant processes so that families are approached for information to support donation proceeding using affirmative language.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not held discussions with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) regarding the final report of the Evaluation of the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019.
The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly chaired by the Department and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), made recommendations which ministers have noted, and which action owners are working together to implement. As part of this work, the Department, NHSBT, and HTA have met to discuss the report’s findings and actions. The HTA is currently at an early stage of reviewing its current statutory codes of practice and will revise them where necessary to ensure they remain clear, up to date, and effective.
NHSBT is actively progressing work to ensure that their family approach processes use clear, affirmative language that supports a family’s understanding of their loved one’s recorded donation decision. As part of this, NHSBT are reviewing their operational guidance and training materials for specialist nurses in organ donation to strengthen support offered to families by focussing on building trust and rapport with the family to explore the patient’s beliefs and values as a central reference point for the donation decision, rather than focusing on any last known expressed wishes.