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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of practising (a) dentists and (b) dental (i) hygienists, (ii) therapists and (iii) nurses.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry and deliver a dentistry service fit for the future.
No recent assessment has been made. The 10-Year Health Plan has set out a new service model for the NHS. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will assess what this means for the workforce, and will ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We are regularly engaging with the sector on a range of issues, including workforce recruitment and retention. For instance, the Department has held two roundtables in the last month with dentists, dental nurses, dental therapists and dental hygienists sharing their views on the changes we are making to NHS dentistry.
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, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing national guidance for autism diagnosis to reflect differences in how males and females (a) experience and (b) present neurodivergence.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis, sets out considerations for clinicians when assessing for autism, including highlighting that this condition may be under-recognised in women and girls. The guidelines are available at the following links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg142
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg128
NICE has committed to updating these guidelines; however, this work has not yet been scheduled into NICE’s work programme. NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services in April 2023.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving diagnostic outcomes for autistic women and girls from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
NHS data suggests that rates of diagnoses for autism are often lower in certain ethnic communities, with research literature indicating that attitudes, beliefs and stigma about neurodevelopmental differences are likely to play a significant role in this.
At the end of last year, a Neurodivergence Task and Finish group was established, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg of Birmingham University, to provide advice and recommendations on the best ways to support and meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within inclusive mainstream settings.
The group have listened to a wide range of people, including other sector experts and stakeholders and neurodivergent children and young people, their parents, and others who care for them. The group are due to report back to me shortly.
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 ensure that the needs and wellbeing of (a) infants, (b) children and (c) young people are central to the priorities in the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and the 10-Year Health Plan is central to achieving this ambition. The three strategic shifts in the Plan set out how we are prioritising them.
Hospital to community will mean parents and children will have better access to care and treatment in their local areas, meaning less time taken out of school to make appointments and fewer hospital visits.
Analogue to digital will see delivery of My Children function on the NHS App. This will enable parents to have access to their child/children’s complete medical history. It will also enable parents to book appointments for their children and be signposted through artificial intelligence to advice for urgent and non-urgent medical questions.
Sickness to prevention will see a greater emphasis on ensuring children develop and maintain healthy habits throughout their childhood and into adulthood. Children turning 16 years old or younger this year will never legally be sold tobacco, and we intend to strengthen the existing ban on smoking in public places to reduce the harms of passive smoking to children. All children will see less junk food advertising and will be given healthy nutritious food in schools.
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 implement benchmarking measures to ensure access to care for people with (a) respiratory conditions and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continues to focus on ensuring that respiratory data is readily available to all regions and systems and to ensuring that there is consistency of data, definitions, and metrics to enable meaningful comparison, monitoring of progress, and to identify population needs.
Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) works with professional bodies, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and clinicians to define and co-produce evidence-informed, best-practice clinical pathways and uses data to identify unwarranted operational or clinical variation. It provides data for continuous improvement via the Model Health System and bespoke data packs. Further information on GIRFT’s respiratory best practice guidance is available at the following link:
https://gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/medical_specialties/respiratory/
NHS England has established a national respiratory dashboard on the new Federated Data Platform which provides analysis and insight for the National Health Service on a growing range of treatment and outcome measures for respiratory disease. This includes bringing in data from the National Respiratory Audit Programme, a continuous audit of respiratory care co-funded by NHS England which aims to improve the quality of the care, services, and clinical outcomes for patients with respiratory disease across England and Wales. The audit is provided by the Royal College of Physicians and further information can be found on its website, 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, whether his Department has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the industrial strategy on increasing the availability of clinical trials for young people with cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including young people with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department is working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including for cancer.
Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan, the Government has committed to improving the speed and capacity of commercial clinical research, including trials for young people with cancer. This is supported by commitments to invest at scale in discovery science and maximise the United Kingdom’s translational research capacities, accelerating the development of new medicines and technologies, and getting innovative treatments to patients more efficiently.
Each action in the Life Sciences Sector Plan includes metrics through which performance can be measured. An annual Implementation Update will transparently summarise progress against both the overarching targets as well as on an action-by-action basis.
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 make it his policy to increase the amount of money available to people using the Healthy Start scheme, in the context of increases in the cost of (a) fruit, (b) 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 and 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.
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 ensure that autism-related mental health needs are recognised and supported before reaching clinical thresholds.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out the core principle of early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis, including for children and young people. In the autumn, the Government will bring forward a schools white paper, which will detail the Government’s approach to reforming the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, ensuring joined-up support, and including education and healthcare providers working together.
NHS England has also rolled out additional training across mental health services. 5,000 trainers have been trained as part of the National Autism Trainer Programme, and this training covers autism presentation in women and girls. These trainers will cascade their training to teams across mental health services.
Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we will continue to roll out mental health support teams in schools and colleges, to reach full national coverage by 2029/30. We will also ensure that support for children and young people’s mental health is embedded in new Young Futures Hubs, alongside a wellbeing offer, to ensure there is no ‘wrong front door’ for young people with mental health needs, including those who are autistic, seeking help.
The Government is transforming mental health services through 24 hour a day, seven day a week neighbourhood mental health centres to support our ambition to shift care from hospitals to communities. People will get better direct access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the NHS App, without needing a general practice appointment.
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 her Department is taking to help reduce the gender diagnosis gap for autism.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that diagnosis rates of autism are lower in women and girls and lower than the best evidence on prevalence. This may reflect differences in how autism presents in males and females, which may make autism more difficult to identify in women and girls.
Autism assessments should be undertaken by appropriately skilled clinicians who consider a number of factors before coming to a clinical decision. Integrated care boards 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. The NICE guideline Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis sets out considerations for clinicians when assessing for autism, including highlighting that autism may be under-diagnosed in women and girls.
NHS England has also rolled out training across mental health services with 5,000 trainers having been trained as part of the National Autism Trainer Programme, and this training covers autism presentation in women and girls. These trainers will cascade their training to teams across mental health services.
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 reduce waiting times for autism (a) diagnosis and (b) support for (i) adults and (ii) children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, the demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and it recognises the need for early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of autism services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and following a recent diagnosis of autism. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.
The Government is supporting inclusive environments and earlier intervention for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through the Early Language Support for Every Child and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programmes. In addition, through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that neighbourhood health services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people, and their families, including for those with SEND.