Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible families are receiving Healthy Start in Chester South and Eddisbury constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The Chester South and Eddisbury constituencies are included within the local authority areas of Chester West and Chester, within NHSBSA data reporting. The total number of people on the scheme for Chester South and Eddisbury in March 2025 was 1,729.
The NHSBSA does not currently hold data on the number of people who are eligible for the scheme. An issue was identified with the source data that is used to calculate uptake of the NHS Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA has therefore removed data for the number of people eligible for the scheme and the uptake percentage from January 2023 onwards.
The issue has only affected the data on the number of people eligible for the scheme. It has not prevented anyone from joining the scheme or continuing to access the scheme if they were eligible.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
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 (a) support people with Sjogrens to work and (b) implement a multi-disciplinary care system.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions such as Sjogren’s syndrome are a diverse group, so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key.
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with Sjogren’s, and have range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Measures include joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, as well as support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants.
It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the joint Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care’s Work and Health Directorate is facilitating Keep Britain Working, an independent review of the role of the United Kingdom’s employers in reducing health-related inactivity, and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025.
Most patients with Sjogren’s syndrome will be cared for in primary and secondary care services. A small number of people with complex disease will be cared for in specialised rheumatology services. The national service specifications for specialised rheumatology services define the standards of care expected from organisations commissioned by NHS England to provide specialised rheumatology services for either adults or children. These specifications set the national minimum standards for the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for people with Sjogren’s syndrome, and include the requirement for a multi-disciplinary team. People with Sjogren’s will be given the support to manage their condition and signposted to employment advice if required.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
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 support specialist neuromuscular clinics that wish to take part in the Givinostat Early Access Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government welcomes the Early Access Programme (EAP) that the company has put in place to provide early access for patients to givinostat. Access to the EAP must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the United Kingdom. However, participation in the EAP is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level and a NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat, if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, but the NHS trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to rebuild Leighton Hospital by 2030.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The programme this government inherited was severely delayed and did not have funding required to deliver it.
The Secretary of State has asked for an urgent report on the degree to which the New Hospital Programme (NHP) is funded and a realistic timetable for delivery. This will take into the account the urgent need to rebuild Leighton Hospital, which was built using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), to protect staff and patient safety.
Once the review into the New Hospital Programme is concluded the Secretary of State will update parliament and set out the next steps for the Programme.