Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that respiratory research challenges funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research will help tackle respiratory disease in adults.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the last five financial years it has invested £152 million directly into research funding on respiratory health conditions in adults. In addition, investment through NIHR infrastructure also supports the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality early translational, clinical, and applied health research across a range of research areas. The NIHR Respiratory Translational Research Collaboration is a network of leading universities, National Health Service trusts, and research centres in the United Kingdom who carry out early translational respiratory research. It works with life sciences companies, charities, and other funders to design and deliver complex, multicentre studies that accelerate research to benefit patients. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve public confidence in performing CPR on women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England runs training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme. This training should help to increase confidence in performing CPR on women. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation in the last 13 years, and 2,134 this year so far. NHS England delivers the sessions via their resuscitation team and via their community first responders.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the lack of female-form CPR mannequins on survival rates for women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is continuing to take action to increase cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) awareness and training, including NHS England leading sessions on first aid, CPR, and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme. This training should help to increase confidence in performing CPR on women.
NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation in the last 13 years, and 2,134 this year so far. NHS England delivers the sessions via their resuscitation team and via their community first responders.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national strategy for palliative and end-of-life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the challenges the palliative care and end of life care sector faces. The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) levels of access to and (b) the quality of palliative and end of life care across England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations
NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is investing £3 million in a Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit, launched in January 2024, is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part charitable hospices play as well. This is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the next three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on improving (a) access to, (b) the quality of and (c) the sustainability of palliative care and end of life care for people of all ages through the 10 Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations.
NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is investing £3 million in a Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit, launched in January 2024, is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part charitable hospices play as well. This is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I am pleased to confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the next three financial years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the potential merits of a national public awareness campaign on the health impacts of air pollution and (b) the capacity of his Department to implement such a campaign.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Earlier this year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), supported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), published a report and recommendations following a comprehensive Air Quality Information System review to explore ways of improving the provision of air quality information to the public.
The review made recommendations for the development of a communications strategy to raise public awareness of air pollution, including the actions that the Government and other public bodies are taking, and the actions that individuals can take to protect their health and reduce their personal contributions to poor air quality.
The Department for Health and Social Care is working closely with DEFRA and UKHSA to address the recommendations from the review to help make air quality part of everyday conversations.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the health costs associated with air pollution in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a tool to allow local authorities to estimate the health benefits and cost effectiveness of improved air quality, at a local authority level.
The information is not held in the format requested. However, the cost of air pollution tool quantifies the potential costs to the National Health Service and social care due to the health impacts of particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in England and separately for each local authority. The tool and the estimated costs are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-a-tool-to-estimate-healthcare-costs
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to incorporate research on (a) masking and (b) internalised behaviours into (i) autism diagnostic pathways and (ii) training for healthcare professionals.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) and health professionals should have due regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines when commissioning and providing health care services, including autism assessment services. NICE guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with stakeholders. In June 2024, NICE’s prioritisation board decided to prioritise updating the current NICE guidelines on autism assessment and diagnosis, namely Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management, and Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis. Both guidelines are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg142
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg128
Although NICE has committed to updating these guidelines, this work has not yet been scheduled into NICE’s work programme.
Under the Health and Care Act 2022, providers registered with the Care Quality Commission are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. To support this, we have been rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to the health and adult social care workforce. The first part of this training has now been completed by over three million people. Staff with responsibility for providing care, support, or healthcare, including social care and other professionals with a high degree of autonomy, are expected to complete Tier 2 of Oliver’s Training, which includes content on avoiding diagnostic overshadowing. Oliver's Training has been developed with reference to the Core Capabilities Frameworks on Learning Disability and Autism, co-produced alongside people with a learning disability and autistic people, and based on learning from the independently evaluated trials of the training in 2021. A long-term evaluation is now underway.
In addition, 5,000 trainers have been trained as part of the National Autism Trainer Programme, which covers autism presentation in women and girls. These trainers will cascade their training to teams across mental health services. NHS England has also published guidance on meeting the needs of autistic adults in mental health services, which makes specific references to the possible role of masking.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commit to increasing the value of the Healthy Start scheme to match the cost of (a) fresh fruit, (b) fresh vegetables, (c) infant formula and (d) other essential items.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Healthy Start is a demand-led, statutory scheme which aims to support those in greatest need. We recently announced in Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan that we will uplift the value of weekly payments by 10%, boosting the ability to buy healthy food for those families who need it most. From April 2026, pregnant women and children aged over one years old and under four years old will each receive £4.65 per week, up from £4.25, and children under one years old will receive £9.30 per week, up from £8.50.
The funding for Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries are also eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins.