Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards are in place to ensure that data accessed or processed through the NHS Federated Data Platform cannot be repurposed, now or in the future, for immigration enforcement or other non‑health-related functions, including by third-party contractors or their overseas affiliates.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data held within the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) remains under the full control of the National Health Service at all times. The supplier does not control NHS data and is not permitted to access, use, or share data for its own purposes.
The supplier cannot view NHS data unless explicitly authorised by an NHS Data Controller. The supplier acts solely on the instruction of the NHS when processing data on the platform. The FDP and Associated Services contract includes strict confidentiality requirements, supported by governance arrangements to oversee delivery and the use of the platform.
It is a contractual requirement that data held within the NHS FDP cannot be accessed by supplier staff or contractors located outside the United Kingdom. These arrangements ensure that NHS data remains under UK jurisdiction and that all data processing takes place within the UK.
In line with the General Data Protection Regulation principles of transparency and accountability, NHS England has published information within the FDP Information Governance Framework. Data held within the FDP cannot be accessed or processed by non‑UK Government entities.
There are no products within the NHS FDP that hold immigration status or residency status. Immigration or residency data does not form part of NHS England data collections, nor does it form part of an individual’s health record.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 ensure that there are adequate (a) resources and (b) workforce capacity in community health services, particularly in areas served by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. The formula takes account of population, age, need, deprivation, health inequality considerations, and unavoidable costs, for example the increased costs caused by lower population density in rural areas. Therefore, the ICB allocations issued by NHS England for 2026/27 to 2028/29 will take account of the demographics of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System in providing a fair share of overall National Health Service resources. We recently published the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which is available at the following link:
This framework will help systems deliver neighbourhood health, which will improve people’s health and care outcomes, reduce health inequalities, and help them stay well at home, partly by strengthening primary and community care services. NHS England then wrote to ICBs and NHS providers setting out the expectations on local action to advance neighbourhood health in 2026/27 to 2027/28, including commissioning for population health, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/next-steps-on-neighbourhood-health-and-new-delivery-models/
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the ongoing restructuring of NHS England and the reduction in Integrated Care Systems on (a) the pace of service development and transformation and (b) access to healthcare services for rural and semi‑rural communities (i) in Leicestershire and (ii) elsewhere in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The new Department will operate in a leaner, more agile, and more efficient way and will empower staff at all levels of the health system. These reforms will give more power and autonomy to local leaders and systems, stripping away red tape and bureaucracy and providing more freedom to better deliver health services for their local communities.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out the need for a leaner national centre, one that sets clearer priorities, provides strategic direction, and supports local systems rather than relying on command and control. By integrating the Department and NHS England and significantly reducing duplication, the programme directly delivers this aspect of the 10-Year Health Plan vision, and compliments the other system changes happening at an integrated care board and provider level.
Delivery expectations are embedded throughout the plan, which will shift care from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention, which will benefit local constituencies.
We are moving towards fewer but larger integrated care boards, with a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to delivering care closer to home, and this includes rural and semi rural areas. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for Leicestershire, and will be brought together as part of the integrated care boards’ plans to improve population health locally. All integrated care boards will continue to focus on their role as strategic commissioners, supporting service transformation and development to deliver the priorities set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish an implementation plan for the National Cancer Plan.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan, published on the 4 February, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. The plan sets out in tables at the end of each chapter what actions we will take and when we will implement them. There is no plan to publish an additional implementation plan, for this reason.
A reformed National Cancer Board will support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and will be the forum for updating on progress, exposing issues, and for injecting scrutiny. The board will provide regular updates to ministers and support development of an annual progress report.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to bring the Fielding Palmer Hospital back into full-time use as a community health hub for Lutterworth.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The transition from hospital to community care was one of the three big shifts set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, and we recognise the role of community facilities in delivering this ambition.
The 2025 Spending Review set out a four-year health capital settlement extending to 2029/30. This will provide local National Health Service organisations, including the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, responsible for Fielding Palmer Hospital, with the confidence needed for long-term investment decisions, including larger infrastructure projects.
From 2026/27 to 2029/30, the NHS Midlands Region has been allocated £910.1 million to deliver the shift from hospital to community care and to support the return to constitutional standards. Regional teams are currently prioritising the funding between proposed schemes across the midlands and will be considering the merits of a community health hub for Lutterworth as part of this process. In addition to national capital, the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust has been allocated £40.2 million in operational capital across 2026/27 to 2029/30, which they can allocate to local priorities, including funding for a new health hub.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects to publish details of the funding allocations and capital investment for neighbourhood health centres and community hospitals, including Fielding Palmer Hospital in Leicestershire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of upgrades to expand and improve sites over the next three years, and new build sites opening in the medium term.
The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030 and will be delivered through a mixture of public private partnerships and public capital. 50 of these will be delivered through upgrades and 70 will be new builds.
The 2025 Spending Review settlement provides £426 million over four years for improvements in the primary care estate. Up to half of this funding will support upgrades to existing buildings to deliver NHCs this Parliament. Further information on NHCs and funding will be published over the coming months
At a local level, National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards are responsible for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services, including managing the local capital budget for their areas, and allocating funds according to local priorities, such as investment in healthcare facilities.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding strategies his Department is considering to ensure hospices remain (a) competitive and (b) sustainable.
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, which can include the hospice services available within the ICB catchment.
As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
I have tasked officials to look 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. The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end-of-life care services to support a reduction in variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support hospices to (a) attract and (b) retain their workforce.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. As independent organisations, charitable hospices are responsible for their own recruitment and employment terms. They are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate.
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. The funding will alleviate immediate pressures on hospice finances, enabling them to invest in infrastructure over the longer term. It will allow hospices to create an improved physical environment with enhanced facilities and will allow them to focus their attention and wider resources on providing the best quality care to patients.
Some hospices, however, are NHS services. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create an NHS workforce in England ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it. From now on, we will ensure that staff will be better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to (a) research and (b) mitigate the potential health risks posed by microplastic exposure to humans.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The UK Health Security Agency, in collaboration with Imperial College, is carrying out research and providing evidence to assist the understanding of the potential risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), who made a number of recommendations for further research. The most recent COT statement was published in 2024. The statements are available at the following link:
https://cot.food.gov.uk/M-statementsandpositionpapers#microplastics
Under the 2022/23 UK REACH Work Programme, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs initiated a research proposal to investigate the risks of intentionally added microplastics. The evidence project has reviewed their emissions, and the risks they pose both to human health and the environment. It also included a socio-economic assessment. It will advise on the most effective measures to address any risks and help identify wider evidence gaps that need to be addressed to support a more strategic approach to managing intentionally added microplastics. This project is expected to report in early 2025. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh and Scottish administrations will consider its findings once complete.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the criteria for ambulance dispatch to ensure that suspected sepsis cases are prioritised; and if he will take steps to ensure that the NHS guidelines on (a) calling 999 and (b) going to A&E are strictly adhered to.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Calls to 999 are triaged to ensure the sickest patients get the fastest response. Suspected sepsis is generally allocated a Category 2 response. This category of response is for emergency incidents that require urgent assessment and rapid transportation.
The Government has committed to returning ambulance response time performance to the standards set out in the NHS Constitution. As a first step the Health Secretary has commissioned Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of National Health Service performance, which is due to report in September 2024. We will continue to support the public in accessing the NHS treatment and advice that best meets their needs.