Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 September (HL2165), at what administrative level data on Accessible Information Standard compliance in pharmacies is collected; which local bodies, including Integrated Care Boards and NHS trusts, hold records on compliance; and whether the Department of Health and Social Care plan to request these local records to evaluate national compliance with this statutory obligation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on compliance with the Accessible Information Standard is held locally by healthcare providers, whilst responsibility for monitoring compliance rests with the commissioner of the service such as integrated care boards and NHS England.
The Department does not currently hold these records centrally and has no immediate plans to request them for a national evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 28 August (HL2592), what assessment they have made of the reliability of mortality data for individuals with learning disabilities in the light of reports by Mencap that around three-quarters of people with a learning disability are not on general practice learning disability registers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28 August in response to Question HL2592, in which I set out that we will share next steps in due course regarding the new patient level data set.
In the meantime, work is ongoing to improve identification of people with a learning disability within General Practice (GP) Learning Disability Registers. New guidance was published on 1 September to support the development and maintenance of those registers, enabling patients to access support and services, and improve data on learning disability.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 28 August (HL2592), what steps they will take to identify deaths of individuals with a learning disability which are not correctly flagged on primary care records; and whether they will be included in future early mortality statistics.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28 August in response to Question HL2592, in which I set out that we will share next steps in due course regarding the new patient level data set.
In the meantime, work is ongoing to improve identification of people with a learning disability within General Practice (GP) Learning Disability Registers. New guidance was published on 1 September to support the development and maintenance of those registers, enabling patients to access support and services, and improve data on learning disability.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much (1) NHS England, and (2) the Department of Health and Social Care, have spent on external bodies, including management consultants and advisory firms, to support or provide advice on the current NHS reorganisation and structural changes in the (a) 2024–25 financial year, (b) 2025–26 financial year, and (c) 2026–27 financial year to date; and what is the breakdown of these costs by year and by organisation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department publishes details of its annual expenditure on external consultants on a regular basis in the Department’s annual report and accounts.
In the 2024/25 annual report, published in December 2025, the Department disclosed that it had spent a total of £2.0 million on external consultancy in that financial year, compared to £3.9 million in 2023-24. Figures for 2025/26 and 2026/27 will be published in the normal way in due course in the relevant annual reports.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that the proposed Single Neighbourhood Provider and Multi-Neighbourhood Provider contracts deliver the required expansion in integrated services when no new national funding is to be provided.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to expanding integrated neighbourhood services through better use of existing resources, alongside reform of how services are commissioned and delivered.
The proposed Single Neighbourhood Provider (SNP) and Multi-Neighbourhood Provider (MNP) contracts are designed to support more joined-up, person-centred care by bringing together services that are often commissioned and delivered separately, helping providers to work towards shared outcomes for local populations.
It is proposed that the SNP contract would enable locally determined neighbourhood services and funding to be brought together within a single contractual framework, while the MNP contract would support coordination and integration across multiple neighbourhoods, reducing fragmentation and improving consistency of care.
These proposals are not based on a requirement for new national funding. Rather, they aim to make better use of existing resources by aligning incentives, strengthening accountability for outcomes, supporting the shift of care from hospitals into communities, and enabling providers to work more collaboratively around the needs of people and populations.
These proposals are also currently subject to consultation, which makes clear that MNPs would be expected to work closely with single neighbourhood providers, general practices, community health services, local authorities, civil society organisations, and wider public services to support the delivery of neighbourhood health services.
The Government will continue to engage widely with providers, commissioners, local authorities, and other stakeholders as it considers responses to the consultation, develops any final proposals, and makes decisions on their implementation.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards will be implemented to prevent the Multi-Neighbourhood Provider model resulting in provider dominance by large NHS trusts and corporate bodies.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to expanding integrated neighbourhood services through better use of existing resources, alongside reform of how services are commissioned and delivered.
The proposed Single Neighbourhood Provider (SNP) and Multi-Neighbourhood Provider (MNP) contracts are designed to support more joined-up, person-centred care by bringing together services that are often commissioned and delivered separately, helping providers to work towards shared outcomes for local populations.
It is proposed that the SNP contract would enable locally determined neighbourhood services and funding to be brought together within a single contractual framework, while the MNP contract would support coordination and integration across multiple neighbourhoods, reducing fragmentation and improving consistency of care.
These proposals are not based on a requirement for new national funding. Rather, they aim to make better use of existing resources by aligning incentives, strengthening accountability for outcomes, supporting the shift of care from hospitals into communities, and enabling providers to work more collaboratively around the needs of people and populations.
These proposals are also currently subject to consultation, which makes clear that MNPs would be expected to work closely with single neighbourhood providers, general practices, community health services, local authorities, civil society organisations, and wider public services to support the delivery of neighbourhood health services.
The Government will continue to engage widely with providers, commissioners, local authorities, and other stakeholders as it considers responses to the consultation, develops any final proposals, and makes decisions on their implementation.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how NHS England and Integrated Care Boards monitor compliance with the Accessible Information Standard in (1) community pharmacies, and (2) hospital pharmacies, in particular with regard to provision of easy-read, pictorial, or simplified medication labels for patients with learning disabilities; and what data NHS England collects on the number of pharmacies in each sector routinely providing these adjustments.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested data is not centrally held. However, the Government is clear that pharmacies play a crucial role in ensuring NHS-funded services are accessible to all, and as part of that, pharmacy teams are expected to take reasonable steps to meet patients’ communication and information needs, including by providing information in formats they can understand and offering appropriate support to aid their understanding.
In addition, all organisations providing publicly funded National Health Service care, including community and hospital pharmacy services, are responsible for implementing the Accessible Information Standard. NHS England and commissioners, including integrated care boards, must have regard to the standard, and may consider providers' compliance with the standard as part of their oversight of commissioned services.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will allocate funding to the Learning Disability (LD) Physician training course beyond February 2027; if so, for how many years they project any such funding to continue, and how many training posts this will support; and, if no further funding is planned, what are their reasons for discontinuing the funding for the course.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We remain committed to reducing health inequalities experienced by people with a learning disability and we recognise the contribution that programme participants and graduates make to the care of people with a learning disability.
Decisions regarding future funding for specific programmes are reviewed regularly and made in the context of wider workforce planning and available resources. NHS England will continue to engage with stakeholders on future workforce planning and funding decisions.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to commission an independent, external audit of the deliverables and data security under the Federated Data Platform contract with Palantir.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continually assesses performance against the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) contract, and performance of the programme as a whole. NHS England regularly publishes data on uptake and benefits each quarter, in the interest of full transparency and to help the public understand the difference it is making to patients’ lives. The NHS FDP is delivering for the National Health Service, helping people get the care they need quicker and more efficiently.
NHS England has commissioned an academic partner, Imperial College London, to conduct an independent evaluation of the impact, processes, and value for money of the NHS FDP. This evaluation is currently in progress.
In addition, the National Audit Office has also begun a study examining how the Department and the NHS in England are working to integrate patient data, and whether they are on track to secure the expected improvements from their investments.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to measure, monitor, and publish national statistics on the life expectancy gap for people with a learning disability following the conclusion of the national LeDeR annual report; and through what formal mechanism future evidence-based national recommendations will be made to address avoidable early mortality.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the conclusion of the national Learning from Lives and Deaths – People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People (LeDeR) annual report, data will be incorporated into a new patient-level dataset. This will bring together data on the health outcomes of people with a learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome and autistic people in England. Using the General Practice Extraction Service, it will aim to address limitations of current data sources and link with wider datasets such as hospital episodes and mental health activity. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of disparities and inform targeted local and national solutions. We are committed to publication of this dataset and will share next steps in due course.
There are clear expectations of local systems to improve outcomes for people with a learning disability and governance through existing frameworks, including to ensure they consider and act on LeDeR findings. Each integrated care board (ICB) has a duty to reduce health inequalities, including addressing avoidable and premature mortality. Each ICB is also expected to have an executive lead for learning disability and autism, who supports the board in addressing health inequalities, as well as an executive lead on LeDeR, who oversees prioritisation of LeDeR reviews and produces local annual reports. Existing expectations on local health and care systems to review deaths, act on LeDeR findings and address health inequalities remain the same.