Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safety and clinical risk assessments NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have made of the (1) Epic, and (2) Oracle Cerner, electronic patient record systems.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Safety, clinical risk assessments, and functionality or customisation requirements are the responsibility of National Health Service organisations adopting technologies to ensure local needs are taken into consideration. NHS England and the Department do not conduct central assessments.
NHS England has digital clinical safety standards DCB0129 and DCB0160 which are essential requirements for manufacturers of health IT systems and healthcare providers in assessing and managing clinical risks to ensure the safety of digital solutions used across the NHS and adult social care services in England. In addition, the NHS uses Snowmed Clinical Terms and the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases to ensure accurate clinical coding for United Kingdom medical terminology.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimated percentage of the population with a learning disability who are recorded on the Quality and Outcomes Framework learning disability register in general practice in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Quality and Outcomes Framework indicator relating to the learning disability register was retired for the 2025/26 contract year.
National published data is recorded on a financial year basis from April to March. This published data shows that, at the end of October 2025, there were 342,928 people aged 14 years old and over on a general practice learning disability register. This is approximately a quarter of the estimated number of adults with a learning disability in England.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the full-time equivalent vacancy rate for learning disabilities nurses across all NHS organisations in England in each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England published data every quarter on vacancies in National Health Service trusts. However, the data is not granular enough to identify rates for learning disability nurses.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent learning disabilities nurses were employed across all NHS organisations in England in each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics for England. These include staff working for hospital trusts and core organisations but excludes staff working for other providers such as in primary care, general practice, or social care. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service. The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent learning disability nurses in hospital trusts and core organisations across England as of 30 September for each of the years 2022 to 2025:
| 30 September 2022 | 30 September 2023 | 30 September 2024 | 30 September 2025 |
|
Learning disabilities nurses | 2,974 | 2,998 | 3,040 | 3,167 |
|
Source: NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics, NHS England. | |||||
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking following the report by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body regarding electronic patient records (EPRs), which found that EPR systems have contributed to incidents of missed, delayed, or incorrect patient care, and that these risks have been "persistent despite national recommendations and guidance."
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is actively considering the issues raised by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body regarding electronic patient records (EPRs).
EPRs are already improving safety and care to patients, helping to detect conditions such as sepsis more quickly and preventing medication errors. Analysis shows that highly digitised trusts have a 17.5% reduction in sepsis mortality.
The National Health Service has well-established systems in place for reporting, investigating, and learning from any patient safety incidents. We are working closely with NHS trusts to ensure EPRs are used to the highest quality and safety standards.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of patients on the Quality and Outcomes Framework learning disabilities register received an annual health check in general practice in England in each of the past three calendar years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicator relating to the learning disability register was retired for the 2025/26 contract year. Only people aged 14 years old and over on a general practice (GP) learning disability register are eligible for a learning disability annual health check.
The following table shows the most recent data for those on a learning disability register who have received an annual health check in England for the last three calendar years, up until March 2025, as well as the percentage of patients on a learning disability register who are eligible for an annual health check:
Period | Learning disability annual health checks completed | Percentage of eligible people, aged 14 years old and over, on a GP learning disability register |
April 2022 to March 2023 | 242,641 | 78.13% |
April 2023 to March 2024 | 255,145 | 77.6% |
April 2024 to March 2025 | 267,666 | 79.9% |
The annual statistics publication of Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities sets out the key differences in healthcare between people with a learning disability and those without. This includes data on key health issues for people who are recorded on their GP learning disability register, such as uptake of annual health checks. The 2024 to 2025 statistics is scheduled for publication on 4 December 2025.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the integrated care board (ICB) reorganisation process on ICB staff satisfaction.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal assessment has been made, although the Department recognises that the current process of transition to new integrated care board (ICB) structures and roles directly impacts staff. As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acknowledged in his speech at the NHS Providers conference on 12 November, there has been uncertainty for staff for too long but funding arrangements for voluntary redundancy arrangements have now been confirmed and that will help to provide certainty for people. NHS England is working to support ICBs as part of the change process.
The Government is committed to the modernisation of the National Health Service as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including refocusing the role of ICBs to strategic commissioning. This will help to support the delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the remits of the National Director of Patient Experience, the National Quality Board, and the forthcoming Quality Strategy specifically include the quality of care for people with learning disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The remits of the National Director of Patient Experience, the National Quality Board, and the forthcoming Quality Strategy will encompass all patient groups, including those with learning disabilities. The remit of the National Director of Patient Experience will include listening to the experiences of people with learning disabilities and understanding their priorities for improvement.
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 plan to introduce a modern service framework for learning disability services to improve patient outcomes and reduce inequalities, and if so, by when.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to driving service improvements and reducing health inequalities for people with a learning disability. There are currently no plans to introduce a specific modern service framework for learning disability services.
A wide range of work is underway to improve the care of people with a learning disability. The NHS Learning Disability Improvement Standard supports National Health Service trusts by setting guidance on safe, personalised, and high-quality care provision. The standards are designed to support organisations in assessing the quality of their services and to promote uniformity across the NHS in the care and treatment provided to people with a learning disability.
People with a learning disability are identified as a priority cohort in the national Core20PLUS5 programme, which seeks to drive local action on health inequalities. NHS England has developed and embedded indicators to monitor access, experience, and outcomes for Core20PLUS populations.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism, ensuring there is senior oversight and accountability for tackling health inequalities. Every ICB has a requirement to consider and demonstrate how they will reduce the health inequalities faced by people with a learning disability and autistic people within their local populations within the five year strategic plans required as part of the Medium-Term Planning Framework issued by NHS England in October 2025.
The NHS Act 2006 requires ICBs to have regard to the need to reduce health inequalities and NHS England produces a Statement of Information on Health Inequalities setting out advice for ICBs on how they can achieve this duty. Published in November 2025, this year the statement includes specific reference to people with a learning disability and autistic people.