Oral Answers to Questions

Ashley Dalton Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the Minister to her place.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his continued support for people with Parkinson’s disease, a condition that I know is close to his family. This Government inherited long waits for neurology services, with only 53.4% of patients, including those with Parkinson’s, waiting less than 18 weeks for a referral in June. Our elective reform plan will free up over 1 million appointments each year for those who really need them, including patients with Parkinson’s, and NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme continues to work with 27 specialised centres in England, including at University Hospitals of North Midlands.

[Adam Jogee]

I thank the Minister for her answer and congratulate her on her appointment. Will she join me in paying tribute to my constituent Julie Hibbs, from Bradwell in Newcastle-under-Lyme, who has long campaigned for support for people with Parkinson’s, like her? Will the Minister meet me and Julie to discuss the merits of adding Parkinson’s to the medical exemption list, and to discuss how we ensure that those with Parkinson’s get the support they need and deserve?

[Ashley Dalton]

I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and his constituent to discuss all of those matters of concern—I look forward to doing so as soon as my diary will allow.

[Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)]

The eyes are not only the windows to the soul, but a window to our health. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the team at Moorfields eye hospital who, alongside a team at University College London, have done some work on a simple retinal scan that can detect Parkinson’s disease seven years prior to any symptoms. Does the Minister agree that optometry, eye care and eye health should be at the forefront of NHS England’s plan for integrated care, and that we should bring forward a national eye health strategy?

[Ashley Dalton]

Yes, I would be more than happy to support that. That is part and parcel of this Government’s aim to shift the NHS from hospitals to community.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

2. What steps his Department is taking to improve access to mental health services.

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[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to reduce inequalities in healthcare.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

Lord Darzi’s report laid bare the shocking health inequalities in our country. It is completely unacceptable that in Britain in 2025, maternal mortality rates for black women are more than double those of white women and life expectancy at birth for females in Blackpool is eight years less than in Kensington and Chelsea. Reducing inequalities in elective care was identified as a key priority in the planning guidance and mandate that the NHS published last month, and further measures to address these inequalities in our country will be at the heart of our 10-year health plan, which will be published in the spring.

[Debbie Abrahams]

In 2013, the then coalition Government reduced the health inequalities weighting in the NHS formula, with the result that less money went to deprived areas. That was despite evidence that between 2001 and 2011, every £10 million invested in such areas resulted in four fewer men and two fewer women dying early. Can my hon. Friend reassure Government Members that that health inequalities weighting will be reinstated so that we can ensure that deprived areas get the funding they need and that lives are saved?

[Ashley Dalton]

The Government mandate to NHS England was published on 30 January and makes the importance of tackling health inequalities clear. NHS England has an existing programme that targets the most deprived 20% of the population, with the aim of reducing health inequalities. I can reassure my hon. Friend, who has been a determined campaigner on inequalities, that the health inequalities weighting has not been withdrawn. The funding in question, which amounted to £200 million, has been incorporated into the main integrated care board allocation. The weighting of that health inequalities adjustment has been increased from 10% to 10.2%, so that the ICBs still benefit from that extra investment, with funding redistributed to areas with the poorest health outcomes, based on measures of avoidable mortality provided by the Office for National Statistics.

[Sir Alec Shelbrooke (Wetherby and Easingwold) (Con)]

I welcome the hon. Lady to her position. She may be unaware of the number of debates that I have led into women’s health and endometriosis and pelvic mesh, and there is an inequality in the health service with how women are treated. Many women are deeply concerned by the announcements and statements about how the concentration on women’s health has been reduced. Will the Minister speak to the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists? Following that meeting, will she speak to the Secretary of State, who rightly says that he recognises when mistakes have been made, about reconsidering the approach to women’s health taken in the statement the other week?

[Ashley Dalton]

The Darzi review highlighted that there were too many targets set for the NHS, which made it hard for local systems to prioritise actions. There has been no reduction in women’s health services. The Government are committed to prioritising women’s health as we build an NHS that is fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. Women’s health hubs, which provide integrated women’s health services in the community, have a key role in tackling the inequalities faced by women. The Department has invested £25 million over 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system.

[Connor Naismith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

9. Whether he has had discussions with NHS England on including vasa praevia screening as part of antenatal care.

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[Matthew Patrick (Wirral West) (Lab)]

T8. As we heard from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, this is National HIV Testing Week. In the Liverpool city region, Steve Rotheram is forming plans to end new HIV cases by 2030, and the Royal Liverpool university hospital is starting opt-out testing. As my right hon. Friend said, this week, our Prime Minister became the first leader in, I think, the G20 to take an HIV test. What plans does my right hon. Friend have to ensure that there is more HIV testing beyond this important week?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

Increasing HIV testing is a vital step towards meeting our goal, and it will be a core element of our new HIV action plan, which will be published later in the year. We are investing more than £4.5 million in delivering a national prevention programme, and, with backing of an extra £1.5 million, we will extend the programme for a further year, until March 2026.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

T3. The charity that organised the campaign “The Darker Side of Pink” estimates that 31 women lose their battle against metastatic breast cancer every day, which means that more than 20,000 have died since I first raised this matter two years ago during Prime Minister’s Question Time. What will the Government do to increase awareness, understanding, the availability of drugs and screening for women facing this challenge?