Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he plans to make available to Integrated Care Boards to meet demand for ADHD and Autism assessments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards (ICBs). Funding for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism assessments are included within NHS England’s financial allocations to ICBs. The process of setting allocations is informed by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, an independent committee that provides advice to NHS England on setting the target formula which impacts how allocations are distributed over time.
ICB allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29 were published on 17 November 2025, and are avaiable at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2026-27-to-2027-28/
Through the Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experiences, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the shingles vaccine is offered by the NHS to people who turned 65 on or after 1 September 2023 but not those who were born between 1955 and 1958 unless they have a severely weakened immune system.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
From September 2023, the routine shingles vaccination programme changed from the one-dose Zostavax vaccine to the two-dose Shingrix vaccine, to better protect individuals from the effects of shingles, provide better clinical outcomes, and reduce pressures on the health system. The programme was also expanded, and as a result, almost one million more people became eligible for the shingles vaccination.
The expansion to individuals aged 60 years old is being rolled out in phases to maximise cost-effectiveness and population benefit, ensure consistent messaging to maximise coverage, and take account of National Health Service capacity, all while being consistent with the approach taken by all four nations in the United Kingdom. During the first phase, which commenced in September 2023, those who reach the ages of 65 or 70 years old will be called in for vaccination on or after their 65th or 70th birthday. During the second phase, from September 2028, individuals will be called in for vaccination on or after their 60th or 65th birthday. From 1 September 2033 onwards, vaccination will be routinely offered to those turning 60 years of age on or after their 60th birthday.
At this point in the year, the majority of individuals born in 1955 will have turned 70 years old and therefore will now be eligible for their vaccination. Those who have not yet turned 70 years old but were already 65 years old or over before 1 September 2023 will become eligible when they turn 70 years old.
As of September 2025, all severely immunosuppressed individuals aged 18 years old and over became eligible for shingles vaccination. This is because individuals who are severely immunosuppressed are most at risk of serious illness and complications from shingles, and so it is particularly important that they are protected against this disease.
This is a relatively newly expanded programme, and anyone unsure if they are eligible for the shingles vaccination should check online, on the NHS.UK website, or should speak to their general practitioner.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to strengthen statutory guidance related to the legal duty to commission palliative care services included in the Health and Care Act 2022.
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. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. 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 hospice services, available within the ICB catchment. There are no current plans to update the statutory guidance.
The ICBs are expected to follow the statutory guidance in exercising their functions and must pay due regard to it in the planning, commissioning, and delivery of palliative care and end of life care services.
Additionally, NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of funding for the NHS was spent on (a) legal costs and (b) compensation related to employment tribunals in each of the last five financial years, broken down by NHS Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Neither the Department nor NHS England hold information which breaks down the proportion of National Health Service funding that was spent on legal costs and compensation relating to employment tribunals.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) which stakeholders he has consulted and (b) what data sources he has used to develop the basis of the adult social care resource formula.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula accurately reflects the relative need for services to ensure funding is allocated to the places that need it most and to enable all local authorities to focus on improving adult social care outcomes.
The Department commissioned independent academics at the Adult Social Care Research Unit to develop an update to the current Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula. This update reflects a more up to date assessment of relative adult social care need in England and is being consulted on as part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Local Government Funding Reform consultation. The Adult Social Care Research Unit’s research report is available at the following link:
https://ascru.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025_06_16_Revision-of-ASC-RNF-2024.pdf
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
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 the assessment framework used for commissioning the adult social care resource formula focuses on outcomes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula accurately reflects the relative need for services to ensure funding is allocated to the places that need it most and to enable all local authorities to focus on improving adult social care outcomes.
The Department commissioned independent academics at the Adult Social Care Research Unit to develop an update to the current Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula. This update reflects a more up to date assessment of relative adult social care need in England and is being consulted on as part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Local Government Funding Reform consultation. The Adult Social Care Research Unit’s research report is available at the following link:
https://ascru.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025_06_16_Revision-of-ASC-RNF-2024.pdf
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of mental health staff that will be placed in schools; and what assessment he has made of the level of qualification that will be required by those staff members; and how those staff members will be funded.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working closely with local commissioners to deliver mental health support teams in schools in England so they cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30. NHSE have estimated that around 2,400 Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP) are placed throughout the 600 current operational Mental Health Support Teams. Actual numbers will vary slightly at a local level, according to need. The average coverage of schools per team can change from year to year and an extensive independent evaluation is due to publish in 2026 that will inform future roll-out.
EMHP undertake a year-long training course to qualify. They can train for a postgraduate or graduate diploma, depending on whether they already have a degree qualification.
Annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, via a £53 billion cash uplift, by 2028/29, compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.
In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil the Government’s commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff by the end of the Parliament.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 3rd April 2025 on Question 44192 on Events Industry: First Aid, when his Department plans to publish the updated Event Healthcare Standard; and whether he is taking steps to consult with (a) stakeholders, (b) healthcare providers and (c) event organisers during its development.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the Manchester Arena Inquiry Volume Two report recommendations the government committed to develop an Event Healthcare Standard. This guidance will support the Care Quality Commission’s regulation of the provision of treatment of disease, disorder, or injury rather than first aid.
The Event Healthcare Standard will be written by an authorship group, made up of clinicians and experts from within the healthcare sector, sports and events industries. The authorship group is also overseen by a review panel of experts and stakeholders also made-up healthcare providers, sports and events industries. We aim to publish the standard in the middle of 2026.
The Government will continue to engage with stakeholders within the health, sports and events sector as work on the standard progresses.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of whether local authorities are able to meet their statutory duties to unpaid carers under the Care Act 2014.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duties relating to unpaid carers. This means that the CQC is looking at how local authorities are supporting unpaid carers in their area.
All 153 local authorities in England are being assessed, with ratings and reports available on the CQC’s website. The assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for improvement, facilitating the sharing of good practice and helping us to target support where it is most needed.
The Government recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system. That is why the Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.
The commission will start a national conversation about what working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers, who provide vital care and support.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 on Enzyme Replacement Therapy: Drugs, what progress his Department has made in tackling shortages of (a) ADHD medication, (b) Creon and (c) other medications used in the management of (i) enzyme deficiency disorders and (ii) cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has continued to work hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, atomoxetine oral solution, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.
We are continuing to work to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term.
In parallel, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinions for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
The Department is also continuing to engage with suppliers of Creon and other pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies (PERT) to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. The supplier of Creon expects to receive increased quantities for 2025. Suppliers of alternative PERT and specialist importers of unlicensed medicines continue to supply increased volumes to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a public facing page to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible prescribing advice, including advice on preserving the available stock of alternative PERT for certain patient cohorts.