ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Tuesday 22nd July 2025

(1 week, 2 days ago)

Written Statements
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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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I am pleased to announce to the House that today the Government have published their final delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

This Government have a clear commitment to ensure that people with long-term conditions like ME/CFS can live as independently as possible and see their overall quality of life enhanced. This plan will help us take an important step towards achieving this.

ME/CFS can be an incredibly disabling condition to live with, for as many as 390,000 people living in the UK. Its fluctuating symptoms can make it difficult for those affected to take part in everyday activities, enjoy a family or social life, access services they need and engage in work or education. Those with severe or very severe ME/CFS face particular challenges, finding even the most basic daily tasks or activities impossible.

The aim of the final delivery plan for ME/CFS is to improve the experiences of those affected, with a focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and enhancing care and support. The plan sets out a series of actions, which will help address the key challenges and drive forward improvements to outcomes and quality of life for people living with ME/CFS in England.

People living with ME/CFS often face stigma and misunderstanding, stemming from a lack of awareness and education about the condition. This lack of awareness and understanding can significantly impact the quality and availability of services and support for those affected.

Research too will be particularly important in helping to improve understanding of the condition, informing improved diagnosis, the development of new effective treatments and better support for patients.

In this respect, the plan sets out a long-term vision for a co-ordinated, well-funded, and inclusive research environment that reflects the complexity and severity of ME/CFS. As part of this, we will launch a new funding opportunity with a National Institute for Health and Care Research application development award focused on evaluating repurposed pharmaceutical inventions for post-acute infection syndromes and associated conditions, including ME/CFS.

On education and awareness, the plan commits to increasing knowledge of ME/CFS among public sector professionals, as well as the wider public, by ensuring that information and learning resources are up to date, publicised and signposted.

Through a range of measures, the plan also commits to: improving the quality and accessibility of health services and adult social care; appropriate and timely support for children and young people in education; and helping people with ME/CFS to find and maintain employment.

While many actions in the plan are specific to ME/CFS, others relate to wider initiatives that will benefit people with long-term conditions, including those with ME/CFS. The recently published 10-year health plan set out the three big shifts our NHS needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. Services will be moved closer to, and into, people’s homes, providing faster diagnosis and faster access to treatment for patients with long-term conditions like ME/CFS. By 2028-29, neighbourhood health teams will be organised around the needs of their patients. Joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings will be created, with multidisciplinary teams, which can provide wrap around support services.

I would like to thank the many people with ME/CFS, carers, health and care professionals, researchers and research funders, charities and patient groups, and other interested organisations and individuals who contributed to the public consultation on the interim delivery plan. Their insights into the realities of living with the condition will help ensure that the agreed actions will meet real needs and help address the health and care inequalities people living with ME/CFS can experience.

I would also like to thank members of the ME/CFS task and finish group, who so generously gave their time to contribute to the development of the plan, and for their continued support in agreeing further actions where these will be required. We have listened very carefully to group members and recognise that further work will be needed, and we will continue to build on the foundations of these actions well beyond the publication of this plan.

While the final delivery plan covers England, the devolved Governments have considered the policy implications arising from the consultation on the interim delivery plan and discussions within the task and finish group for their own nations.

A copy of the final delivery plan will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

[HCWS884]

Oral Answers to Questions

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Tuesday 22nd July 2025

(1 week, 2 days ago)

Commons Chamber
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Kate Osamor Portrait Kate Osamor (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill) (Lab/Co-op)
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8. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10-year health plan for England on the prevention of ill health.

Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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The 10-year health plan sets out how we are transforming our approach to preventing ill health through a set of ambitious measures that make the healthy choice the easy choice. Among those measures is our mandatory partnership with food businesses, through which we will make shopping baskets across the country healthier, and our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, to help deliver our ambition for a smoke-free UK by gradually ending the sale of tobacco products across the country.

Kate Osamor Portrait Kate Osamor
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I thank the Minister for her response. Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects people from African and Caribbean backgrounds, yet systematic inequalities persist. A recent NHS Race and Health Observatory report reveals that research funding for cystic fibrosis is 2.5 times higher, despite similar prevalence. Will the Minister commit to addressing the chronic underfunding and ensure equitable investment in research and workforce specialist training for sickle cell patients across the NHS?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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The Government are committed to addressing health inequalities experienced by people living with rare conditions such as sickle cell disorder. Pioneering research is a cross-cutting theme of the UK rare diseases framework, but we know that there are a small number of rare conditions with a large amount of research, while many more have little or no funded research. I want to confirm for my hon. Friend that the National Institute for Health and Care Research welcomes funding applications for research into all and any aspects of health or care, including sickle cell disorder.

Joe Robertson Portrait Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)
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The Minister talks about her 10-year health plan, with “Fit for the Future” splashed across the front cover, but really, it is a plan from “Back to the Future”, with no new ideas that have not been discussed since Alan Milburn tried to do this in the year 2000. It will only be successful if the Government deliver, but there is no detail in there on how they will deliver. Can the Minister help us: how will she deliver on the priorities, including preventive ill health? Where can we read the “how”, or is it all still fermenting in Ministers’ heads?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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We are already delivering. As I have said, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is making its way through Parliament at the moment. We are tackling the obesity crisis through tackling junk food advertising to children. We are working on school food standards, and we are also bringing in rules around planning for junk food establishments near schools. We are supporting people to make healthier choices when it comes to alcohol, and we are tackling air pollution, which particularly affects working-class communities. The list goes on and on, and I would be more than happy to give the hon. Member another list if he needs one.

Allison Gardner Portrait Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)
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Urinary tract infections are estimated to impact on the lives of up to 5 million women and girls. In 2023-24, there were over 679,000 hospital admissions, and in 2023, 4,323 deaths. Outdated diagnostic techniques and inadequate treatment for acute UTIs results in the condition becoming recurrent and chronic. Better education of clinical staff and updated guidelines, diagnostics and treatments can help prevent the spiral of ill health that destroys so many women’s lives. Will the Secretary of State engage with me and other campaigners to recognise chronic UTIs as a condition and work to prevent this horrendous, pervasive illness?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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I thank my hon. Friend for her question and commend the work she has done on this issue and her wonderful contribution to the Westminster Hall debate that I responded to recently. It is a really important issue and something we are keen to explore further. The Secretary of State and I would be delighted to meet with her and other campaigners.

Andrew Mitchell Portrait Sir Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)
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The NHS 10-year plan identifies antimicrobial resistance as

“a critical threat requiring urgent action.”

AMR kills 35,000 people in the UK every year and 5 million globally and rising. Why on earth are the Government covertly axing the Fleming Fund without telling Parliament? Will the Secretary of State publish an impact assessment of the effect of the Fleming Fund’s closure on our domestic health security?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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There is nothing covert about the decisions on the Fleming Fund. It has been perfectly open and clear that the existing funding has been cut. Having said that, the work and partnerships that have been developed on AMR continue. The UK continues to be a global leader on this issue, and our ambassador, Dame Sally, continues to do sterling work on it.

Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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I call the shadow Minister.

Caroline Johnson Portrait Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
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Last month, the Government published their 10-year plan. It took a year to write, and it contains promises to make even more plans—a cancer plan, a maternity and neonatal plan, a workforce plan and an HIV plan—which we are still waiting for. Careful planning is important, but taking too long will delay improvements in care, so when do the Government expect to publish those plans and to start delivering?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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We are already delivering. The hon. Lady is absolutely right to identify that a number of plans are being brought forward. We take this matter very seriously, and we want to ensure that we get it right. We plan: we plan so that we perform effectively, and we plan for success. The national cancer plan will be coming later this year, and I am sure that we will be able to outline a timetable for all other plans. I assure her that planning is not doing nothing; planning is making sure that we get this right and that we deliver.

Josh Dean Portrait Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)
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9. What steps he is taking to increase metachromatic leukodystrophy screening provision for infants.

Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue and congratulate his constituent David Kiddie on the 190-mile walk he completed earlier this year to raise awareness and funds for those with MLD and their families. The Government are committed to listening to those with MLD and their families and acting with compassion and care to support them. The UK National Screening Committee, which advises the Government on all screening matters, is consulting on the outcomes of an evidence review looking at whether to screen for MLD.

Josh Dean Portrait Josh Dean
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In 2024, two-year-old Lily Stock was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy, a rare and progressive disease that will, in her family’s words, “slowly take Lily away”. Libmeldy, a lifesaving gene therapy, is available through the NHS, but I understand that it must be administered before symptoms develop. Sadly, that means it is too late for Lily to benefit from the treatment. Emily and Sean, Lily’s parents, are campaigning for MLD screening to be added to the heel-prick test on newborns, so that MLD can be identified early and treated effectively and no family will have to go through this devastating experience. Will the Minister and her officials look into adding MLD screening to the heel-prick test, and will she and the Secretary of State join me to meet Lily’s family and hear their story at first hand?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. Lily’s story really lays bare the heartbreak that rare diseases can bring and the vital role that early diagnosis can play. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and Lily’s family. May I suggest that we meet when the UK National Screening Committee has completed its review, so that the Government have received advice on this important matter? We can then discuss that advice together.

Carla Lockhart Portrait Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)
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In my constituency, there is a little boy called Teddy, who was diagnosed with MLD—one of the most cruel and degenerative diseases, which is now treatable if diagnosed at birth. Teddy was diagnosed too late because there was no screening. He has lost his ability to walk and talk, and he even fights to smile—a battle that no child should ever have to face. The Minister knows that the treatment is now available, yet MLD has not been added to the simple heel-prick screening tests. Will she also agree to meet Teddy’s family when she meets the family mentioned by the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) to discuss this issue? It is too late for Teddy, but for so many other children it is not.

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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As the hon. Lady points out, for Teddy and Lily it is sadly too late for that treatment. That is why we are looking at screening. I would be delighted to meet with Teddy’s family once we have the outcome from the screening review.

Josh Babarinde Portrait Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
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10. What steps his Department is taking to improve car parking provision at NHS hospitals.

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Jim Shannon Portrait Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
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T7.   Will the Minister confirm what steps the Department will take to build neighbourhood health services in partnership with charities, such as Macmillan, that have a proven track record of designing and delivering community-based services for people with long-term conditions? How can we ensure that this is a UK-wide service, and not a postcode lottery for cancer services?

Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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The cancer plan will reflect the three shifts in the 10-year plan, including from hospital to community. Macmillan, Cancer Research UK and Cancer52 all sit on the steering board for the cancer plan, and I meet them regularly. Last week, we announced the Diagnostic Connect partnership with the third sector, linking patients with third sector services on diagnosis. The cancer plan will cover this for the whole of England and build on the commitments in the 10-year plan.

Bambos Charalambous Portrait Bambos Charalambous (Southgate and Wood Green) (Lab)
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T5.   The most recent figures for the three NHS cancer waiting time targets for diagnosis, referral and treatment showed that those targets were missed. Longer waiting times can have a serious adverse effect on cancer patients, so can the Minister confirm whether those targets will be given a high priority in the national cancer plan when it is published?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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The national cancer plan for England will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare, as well as prevention and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, including establishing targets for delivery right through the cancer pathway.

Martin Vickers Portrait Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)
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T9. Will the Minister give an update on the progress being made to introduce nationwide screening and improved treatments for prostate cancer?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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We are looking very carefully at the arguments for national screening. The hon. Member will be aware that there are concerns. We have to look at this very carefully to ensure that screening programmes do not cause unnecessary harm, but targeted and widespread screening for prostate cancer is something that the Department is looking at and will report on in due course.

Richard Quigley Portrait Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)
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T8. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am so delighted to have two questions on health this week that I am not even going to mention ferries!As my hon. Friend will know, the process for securing an education, health and care plan is complex and can lead to delays in accessing vital support. That can have a serious impact on the health and wellbeing of young people and children. What steps is the Minister taking to improve the health element of EHCPs for families navigating the process, including those in my constituency?

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Nick Smith Portrait Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)
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Parkrun is a global public health phenomenon. Will the Minister meet me and the new Parkrun chief executive to talk about future collaboration?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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Parkrun is a fantastic organisation that is doing amazing work. We know that movement saves the NHS around £10.5 billion a year, but 12 million adults are still inactive, and we need a team effort to succeed in getting millions more moving. There is a lot we can learn from Parkrun, and I would happily consider any invitation to meet it.

Gagan Mohindra Portrait Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
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The House has already heard the recent announcement about the closure of the urgent care centre at Mount Vernon hospital. My hon. Friends the Members for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds) and for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) and I are all concerned about the quality of healthcare for our constituents, especially as the Labour Government have delayed the new Watford general hospital until at least 2032. What steps is the Minister taking to improve the quality of healthcare in our areas, instead of just making it worse?

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Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Let me help the hon. Gentleman. If you have a main question and I call you in topicals, you really need to shorten your question in order to let other Members in.

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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NHS England has worked with key stakeholders to develop a framework to aid integrated care systems to commission high-quality services for children and young people with cerebral palsy, including as they transition to adult services. Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on cerebral palsy in the under-25s also sets out key considerations in transition planning.

Adrian Ramsay Portrait Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)
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Data published last week shows that despite the Government’s initial action, the proportion of dentists working in the NHS in Norfolk and Waveney continues to drop. I am pleased to hear about the Government’s work on the dental contract, but the Public Accounts Committee is clear that this will work only if it is backed by sustainable funding. I will give the Minister another chance to answer the question: will the Government ensure that the extra funding that has been put into the Department is actually reflected in extra funding for NHS dentistry?

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Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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The national cancer plan, which will be introduced towards the end of this year, will cover cancer facilities across England. I would be more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the particulars in her constituency.

Lee Anderson Portrait Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)
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Brierley Park medical centre applied for funding from the primary care utilisation and modernisation fund earlier this year. It has been successful, but it has not yet had the money, and the money must be spent by the end of the year. Will the Secretary of State please tell my medical centre when it will receive this vital funding?

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Tessa Munt Portrait Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
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At midnight, The Times published an article on the ME final delivery plan, carrying quotes from three ME campaign groups. The charity Action for ME published a five-page briefing at the same time, and “BBC Breakfast” also featured the plan, so they had all read the plan. I checked with the relevant officers and went to the House of Commons Library about half an hour ago, and no plan has been published. More than 12 hours after the Department’s press release, no MP can access the plan. Is this how it should be?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue. That is not what I was expecting. A written ministerial statement has been tabled, and I will speak to officials and make sure that that plan is available as it should be.

Less Healthy Food and Drink: Advertising Restrictions Consultation

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Wednesday 16th July 2025

(2 weeks, 1 day ago)

Written Statements
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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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As part of our ambition to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and raise the healthiest generation of children ever, this Government made a manifesto commitment to implement advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink on TV and online.

My statement on 22 May informed the House of the Government’s revised approach to implementing the restrictions in response to stakeholder concerns with the Advertising Standards Authority’s draft implementation guidance. Having secured agreement from broadcasters and advertisers to voluntarily comply with the restrictions from 1 October 2025, I laid a statutory instrument on 3 June to change the coming into effect date of the restrictions to 5 January 2026.

The next step is to bring forward regulations that will provide the explicit exemption for brand advertising. We have worked closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and I am pleased to update the House that today we are launching a consultation on the draft regulations. We are seeking stakeholder views on the draft text to ensure that it provides the clarity that the regulators and stakeholders have asked for and is fit for purpose in delivering the Government’s policy intentions to restrict advertising for less healthy food or drink products. The consultation will only seek feedback on the drafting of the brand advertising exemption and will not revisit any other aspects of the policy that are already confirmed and set out in law. The consultation will be published on gov.uk shortly and be open until 6 August 2025.

The brand advertising exemption will provide legal clarification on the existing policy intention, as it was understood and agreed by Parliament during the passage of the legislation in 2021-2022, that brand advertising that does not identify a specific less healthy food or drink product is out of scope of the restrictions. It is not a change of policy. Setting this out in legislation will enable the regulators to deliver clear implementation guidance and mean that businesses can prepare advertising campaigns with confidence.

These actions demonstrate our commitment and progress to implementing this important policy for children’s health. I will update the House once the consultation process has concluded.

[HCWS833]

Covid-19 Vaccination

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Wednesday 16th July 2025

(2 weeks, 1 day ago)

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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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His Majesty’s Government is committed to protecting people most vulnerable to covid-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the covid-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025 and spring 2026. On 26 June 2025, the Government decided, in line with JCVI advice, that a covid-19 vaccine should be offered in autumn 2025 to those in the population most vulnerable to serious outcomes from covid-19 and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.

Vaccination will be offered in England in autumn 2025 to:

adults aged 75 years and over;

residents in a care home for older adults;

individuals aged six months and over who are immuno-suppressed, as defined in tables 3 and 4 of the covid-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency green book on immunisation against infectious disease.

The Government will respond in due course to the JCVI’s advice for spring 2026.

The vaccines that will be supplied for the autumn 2025 programme are the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) vaccines.

Notification of liabilities

I am now updating the House on the liabilities HMG has taken on in relation to further vaccine deployment via this statement and accompanying departmental minute laid in Parliament containing a description of the liability undertaken.

As part of the contractual arrangements with covid-19 vaccine producers for vaccines pre-procured as part of HMG’s pandemic emergency response the provision of an indemnity was required to enter into supply agreements. The agreement to provide indemnity increases the contingent liability of the covid-19 vaccination programme, with deployment of further doses of vaccines purchased as part of the emergency response.

The adult Pfizer BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) doses to be used in autumn 2025 are the only remaining doses of covid-19 vaccines purchased as part of the emergency response. This will therefore be the last increase in the overall contingent liability arising from an additional deployment of covid-19 vaccines.

I will update the House as appropriate if any future decisions further impact the contingent liability of the covid-19 vaccination programme.

[HCWS829]

International Health Regulations Amendments

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Monday 14th July 2025

(2 weeks, 3 days ago)

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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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I would like to update the House that the UK Government have accepted the amendments to the International Health Regulations 2005, which were agreed by countries at the World Health Assembly on 1 June 2024.

The IHRs are an important, legally binding technical framework that helps to prevent and protect against the international spread of disease. The existing IHRs, agreed to in 2005, have helped the UK to prevent, detect and respond to global health emergencies such as Ebola and avian influenza by giving the UK timely access to verified information not in the public domain, helping us to mount a rapid and appropriate public health response.

The amendments to the IHRs, agreed at the WHA on 1 June 2024, aim to reflect lessons learned from recent global health emergencies, such as the covid-19 pandemic, including by improving information sharing and collaboration for public health emergency response. On 19 September 2024, the World Health Organisation’s director general formally notified all states parties of the official amendments adopted by the WHA. From that date of notification, the UK had 10 months in which to complete the domestic review of IHR amendments and then notify the WHO director general on whether the UK wished to reject or reserve on any or all of the amendments by 19 July 2025. The amendments, all of which are adopted, will come into force for the UK in September 2025.

Department of Health and Social Care officials led work across Government to confirm the implications of the amendments for the UK. Officials also worked with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations and in our overseas territories and Crown dependencies to ensure that all relevant territories are considered. This analysis concluded that the amendments are in the national interest of the UK and informed the decision to accept all of the amendments. Acceptance of, and compliance with, the amendments does not impact the UK’s right to make domestic decisions on national measures concerning public health. The analysis found that where the amendments placed new obligations on the UK and other member states, the UK is already compliant with all but three areas. To be compliant with these amendments, the UK will:

Designate the UK Health Security Agency as the national IHR authority to oversee overall implementation of the IHR and ensure co-ordination within the UK;

Factor the new tier of alert “pandemic emergency” into domestic pandemic preparedness planning across Government, the devolved Governments, the Crown dependencies and the UK overseas territories; and

Provide representation for the UK on the WHO member state-led IHR implementation committee and provide representation, as required, on the technical sub-committee of the implementation committee.

Please be assured that respect for member state sovereignty is an underlying principle of the IHR, and at no point during negotiations about the amendments were there proposals that would give the WHO powers to impose domestic decisions on the UK, such as those regarding lockdowns, mandatory vaccinations, mask wearing or border restrictions. While the WHO director general may make recommendations on international responses following the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern or a pandemic emergency, these recommendations are non-binding and it is for member states to determine their domestic response.

[HCWS818]

Children’s Health

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Thursday 10th July 2025

(3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) on securing this debate. He is a tireless advocate for children across the country. I also pay tribute to his campaigning on social prescribing before he came to this place, because it is now a key part of our 10-year plan for health.

This issue is dear to my heart. One of the reasons I stood for Parliament is that nearly a quarter of the kids in Skelmersdale, the biggest town in my constituency, live in poverty. As many colleagues have pointed out, the state of children’s health is a national scandal. As my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud said, and as was referred to by the shadow Minister, this is a complex issue that straddles a variety of areas. It is about active travel—and I am delighted that the Minister responsible for active travel, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), is on the Front Bench with me today—as well as air pollution and access to green spaces.

My hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) highlighted links between children’s health, education and poverty. The hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) made a contribution, and her expertise in diet and nutrition was really insightful. My hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) spoke about children with life-limiting illnesses and end-of-life care and palliative care for children.

My hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) talked about junk food advertising and dentistry. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) talked about family hubs and Best Start, which we have launched this week, children’s health and social care infrastructure and the third sector. I was really pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) raised the issue of fast food outlets and junk food advertising, which I will cover in my response.

My hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) talked about children, young people and cancer, and mentioned the Teenage Cancer Trust, which I met recently along with my hon. Friend, and I was delighted to do so. My hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) spoke about how important play and sport are. We are working across Departments in our mission-led Government to deliver the healthiest generation ever. I can confirm that the NHS works with the Starlight charity to support the provision of play facilities within hospitals.

Over 2 million children are not active, and we need to change that. The Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are committed to investing in school sport and have confirmed funding for next year’s primary PE and sport premium. We are working across Government to develop new school sports partnerships, and a national network model was announced by the Prime Minister in June.

Lord Darzi’s review set out in black and white how badly the previous Government let our children down. Tooth decay is the most common reason why children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital. Referrals for mental health services for children and young people have tripled since 2016, and waiting lists for health services have grown faster for children than for adults. That must change, and it will change.

This Government are committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, and work to deliver this ambition has already begun. One of the biggest things we can do to improve a child’s life chances is safeguard their mental health. That is why by the end of this Parliament we will put a mental health support team in every school in England to break the vicious cycle of poor mental health, low attendance and bad behaviour.

My right hon. Friend the Education Secretary is rolling out free breakfast clubs so that kids start school with hungry minds not hungry bellies. To combat tooth decay, we have invested £11 million in supervised tooth brushing for three to five-year-olds in our most deprived communities. We are going further than ever before to tackle long waiting times for children through our elective reform plan. We have already delivered more than 4 million appointments, which is double what we promised in our manifesto.

On children’s social care and neglect, which the shadow Minister talked about, we are committed to rebalancing the system towards earlier intervention. That is why the spending review committed to reforming children’s social care, including through a new £555 million transformation fund.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden for raising the important matter of funding for children’s hospices, and I agree with her about their crucial role. As she said, we have committed £26 million for children’s hospices this year, alongside £100 million of capital funding. Future funding will be announced in due course.

My hon. Friend the Member for Stroud mentioned that it is crucial to involve young people in our conversations and policy development. I spoke recently at a Children’s Hospital Alliance event and a Children’s Commissioner roundtable, where I listened directly to the views and voices of children and young people to make sure that they fed into the 10-year health plan. Our neighbourhood health offer builds on that feedback, and we have re-established the children and young people’s cancer taskforce and insisted that children and young people are around that table.

Last week we published our 10-year plan for health, which sets out how we will fix our broken NHS and make it fit for today’s children and for future generations. We on the Government Benches will not rest until every working person receives the same kind of healthcare that the wealthy expect.

The three shifts that underpin our plan are the building blocks to ensure that children get the best start in life. The first is from treatment to prevention. We know that a baby’s first 1,001 days, from conception to the age of two, set the foundations for later years, so we are establishing Best Start family hubs, building on the legacy of Sure Start, which was a lifeline for working families under the last Labour Government. Earlier this week we published the “Giving every child the best start in life” strategy, and we will provide funding to every local authority in England for Best Start family hubs, because no parent should have to face the challenges of parenthood alone.

We are also taking firm action on obesity, which many Members raised today, and which affects nearly one in five children leaving primary school. Our action includes restricting junk food advertising, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks, updating school food standards, strengthening the soft drinks industry levy, introducing healthy food sales reporting and, ultimately, using that reporting to set new sales targets.

The Government have regulations in place to set nutritional, compositional and labelling standards for commercial baby food, and we continue to challenge the industry to take further action, providing advice and guidance for parents. Enforcement of nutrition legislation is the responsibility of local authorities. Good nutrition in the early years is vital. We recognise that there are opportunities to support parents and make the healthier choice easier by encouraging businesses to improve baby foods. I will set out our plans on that soon.

We are also determined to fix the special educational needs and disability system and restore the trust of parents by ensuring that schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate to crisis point. This autumn, the Government will bring forward a schools White Paper, which will detail our approach to SEND reform, ensuring joined-up support for children and young people.

On the shift from analogue to digital, going beyond the paper red book, the “My Children” function on the NHS app will become the digital companion for parents to access their child’s health information throughout their childhood. Over time, parents will be able to record their children’s habits and developmental milestones, and use artificial intelligence to access help and advice when needed.

On the third shift, from hospital to community, we will roll out neighbourhood health centres in every community, building care closer to where children live, learn and play. That includes multidisciplinary teams made up of GPs, nurses, health visitors, paediatricians, mental health, social workers and the third sector, providing joined-up preventive care and supporting children with complex and chronic needs.

Before I wrap up, I want to say a few words on inequalities. Building a fair Britain is central to our 10-year plan. As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said in Blackpool last month, we will review how health need is reflected in funding for general practice, with a sharp focus on money following need. Child poverty is a stain on our country. We are determined to fix this, which is why we are rolling out free school meals to all children in households on universal credit. From April 2026, we will be increasing the value of Healthy Start payments by 10%. I am also a member of the child poverty taskforce, and the strategy on this will be published later this year.

I again thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud for raising this vital topic and all other colleagues for speaking today. When he launched our manifesto, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister promised to restore

“The bond that reaches through the generations and says—this country will be better for your children.”

That is what we are doing with our 10-year plan. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and all other colleagues to get this done.

Clinical Indemnities Reform

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Tuesday 8th July 2025

(3 weeks, 2 days ago)

Written Statements
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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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My noble friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron) has made the following written statement:

I am pleased to report that through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, my Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the sector-led voluntary code of practice launched by medical defence organisations on 6 January this year.

The intention to develop a sector-led code to address concerns highlighted by the Paterson inquiry report was previously announced in March 2024. The code has now been launched as planned by the Medical Defence Union, Medical Protection Society and Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland.

Clinical negligence cover is the system that enables patients to receive compensation if they are harmed during treatment through the cover held by regulated healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and dentists. The code aims to improve the transparency and clarity of MDOs’ operations and the discretionary indemnity they provide healthcare professionals whose activities (e.g. private practice) are not covered by state schemes. With these improvements and healthcare professionals’ better understanding of the appropriate cover required for their scope of practice, there will be greater protection for patients’ access to compensation if harmed during treatment.

The full code, which can be accessed on the MDOs’ websites, sets out seven core principles described under the following headings:

Corporate governance

Fair member treatment

Scope of benefit available to members

Decision making

Independent complaints review service

Financial attestation

Statement of adherence

This short-term evaluation focuses on the implementation of the code. We will be exploring a further commission to assess impact and whether further interventions are required.

We continue to consider further policy options to reform the clinical negligence cover system such as addressing cover for criminal acts to improve patients’ access to compensation, and I will provide an update in due course.

[HCWS791]

Alcohol and Cancer

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Tuesday 8th July 2025

(3 weeks, 2 days ago)

Westminster Hall
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.

Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart, as ever. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Cat Smith) for securing this important debate during Alcohol Awareness Week. The Government recognise that for too long there has been an unwillingness to lead on issues such as alcohol harm. It is unacceptable that alcohol-specific deaths are at the highest rates on record, having increased dramatically during the pandemic.

As my hon. Friend stated, alcohol is a type 1 carcinogen, meaning there is strong evidence that drinking alcohol can cause several types of cancer, as well as contributing to more than 200 other health conditions, including liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. That places an incredible and preventable pressure on our NHS: in England alone, of more than 1 million hospital admissions last year, 103,000 were due to alcohol-related cancers.

Today, we have heard from many colleagues about the variety of issues that alcohol can cause. The hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) talked about the cost to Government and to society, which I will address later; the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) discussed information and the importance of education; my hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) mentioned the real impacts on communities and families in the north-east; my hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge and Bellshill (Frank McNally) talked about how important early intervention is; and my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) raised the links to poverty and under-investment.

As for the impacts, alcohol kills. Last year, in England, more than 22,600 deaths were alcohol related, with more than 8,000 entirely due to alcohol—an all-time high, with rates still increasing by 4% each year. The rate of alcohol-related deaths is 1.7 times higher in the most deprived local authorities, meaning that alcohol is a major contributor to the levels of health inequality in this country. Alcohol also kills young—in 2015, in England, an estimated 167,000 years of working life were lost due to alcohol-related deaths. That amounts to about 16% of all working years lost.

The hon. Member for East Londonderry asked about the cost to Government and society. Alcohol harms us massively. The estimated annual cost of alcohol-related harms in England is £27 billion, driven by the impact of alcohol-related illnesses and injuries on NHS services and alcohol’s high contribution to levels of economic inactivity, crime and disorder. Each year, £13 billion is raised in tax revenue from alcohol.

The guideline on alcohol consumption produced by the four nations’ chief medical officers advises that drinking any level of alcohol increases the risk of a range of cancers, including mouth, bowel, stomach, liver and breast cancers, and that the risk of harm increases with the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed. In 2020, alcohol was estimated to have caused about 17,000 new cases of cancer in the UK. One study estimated that between 2015 and 2035 there would be 135,000 cancer deaths due to alcohol in England. In terms of cancer risk, drinking a bottle of wine is the equivalent of smoking five cigarettes for a man, and 10 cigarettes for a woman.

We also cannot overlook the impact that being exposed to multiple risk factors has in increasing the risk of developing certain conditions. For instance, the risk of developing head and neck cancer is 3.8 times higher among those who drink and smoke than those who partake in only one of those behaviours. That is why a holistic approach is needed to our health, with people supported to address all risk factors for poor health together.

We are continuing to invest in local alcohol treatment services to make sure that people have access to the treatment they need. While those services are primarily focused on supporting people to become free from alcohol dependence, they are also an important setting for providing health information for people with alcohol dependence, identifying alcohol-related health conditions and ensuring that people can access specialist assessment and care.

In the 12 months to February 2025, nearly 140,000 people were treated for their alcohol needs—9,000 more than in the previous year. In the coming months, the Department of Health and Social Care will publish the first ever UK guidelines on alcohol treatment. The guidelines will include recommendations on healthcare assessments for alcohol-related conditions and will strengthen pathways between specialist alcohol and drug treatment services and the wider healthcare system.

The incidence of liver cancer has increased by 50% over the past decade and is expected to rise further. A large percentage of liver cancer is caused by alcohol-related liver disease, which in its early stages has no outward symptoms. If we can find liver disease by screening at-risk populations, there is an opportunity to halt its progress and monitor for the development of cancer. To identify people at high risk of liver cancer due to liver cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, the NHS in England has been piloting community liver health checks in 20 areas, and liver primary care case-finding pilots across 12 primary care networks. Those pilot sites have screened nearly 125,000 people, and over 9,000 of them have been enrolled in liver cancer surveillance.

As the Secretary of State has made clear since we came into power, one of the three big shifts that we want to see in the NHS is a shift from treatment to prevention. The complex challenge of cancer prevention will not be solved by a single solution.

Grahame Morris Portrait Grahame Morris
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I am listening intently, but I may have missed an important point, so I wonder whether it would bear repeating. The Minister indicated that a treatment framework will be published very shortly. Will that be informed by an alcohol strategy that the Government will also produce? We have not had one since 2012.

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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A number of hon. Members have asked about a national alcohol strategy. We are continuing to work across Government to understand what other measures might be needed to reduce the negative impact of excessive alcohol consumption. I meet regularly with Ministers from across Government to discuss how we take that forward.

The drug and alcohol area of work is led by the Home Office. There are no plans to introduce such a strategy at this stage, but I expect further information on how we will deal with alcohol prevention and cancer in the national cancer plan, which, as I was just about to state, the Government will publish later this year. This plan will build on the progress of the 10-year health plan, which was published last week, and will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.

We are taking steps now. The 10-year health plan for England includes an important commitment to ensure that health warnings and nutritional information are legally required on alcohol labels. That is a crucial step in supporting people to make healthier choices when it comes to alcohol. There is international support for that approach. The World Health Organisation’s “Global alcohol action plan 2022-2030” recommends that countries should implement labelling requirements to display relevant information to support health protection.

Despite the fact that alcohol is a group 1 carcinogen, alcohol labels are currently required to display far less information than those for food, soft drinks, alcohol-free products or tobacco. We know that voluntary regulation does not lead to consistently good practice in alcohol labelling, so we need to ensure that there is a legal requirement to display certain information on alcohol products. We also know that consumers want more information on alcohol labels: a 2021 survey showed that 75% wanted unit information, 61% wanted calorie information, and 53% wanted sugar content to be displayed. Those results are supported by those of the 2023 alcohol toolkit study, which found that public support for health warning labels was 61.5%, and that 78% supported nutritional information labelling.

There is widespread awareness among people in the UK that smoking causes cancer. That information is important to supporting behavioural change. But public awareness that alcohol is carcinogenic is far too low. In a 2016 study of 2,100 adults, only 13% named cancer as a health risk from hazardous drinking. Another recent international study found that only 15% were aware that alcohol can cause breast cancer.

We will soon share details of our consultation to determine the best ways to get the necessary information to consumers. We welcome the support and input of parliamentarians in taking that important piece of work forward, but let me be absolutely clear: we will consult on how we will implement mandatory labelling, not whether we will do so. This Government are determined to introduce mandatory labelling for alcohol.

We have also discussed various other options available for controlling alcohol consumption. My hon. Friends the Members for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Alison Taylor), for Easington and for Lancaster and Wyre talked about minimum unit pricing. The Government are acutely aware of the cost of living pressures being felt by families and individuals, and the difficult economic conditions facing the country. Although interventions that affect the price of alcohol have been shown to be effective at directly reducing alcohol harms, the Government have chosen not to pursue policies that could exacerbate economic issues at this time, although we will continue to keep those options under consideration.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the branch of Government responsible for advertising and marketing. The Advertising Standards Authority is responsible for regulating advertising through codes set by the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice. Those codes are enforced by the ASA, include specific rules about how alcohol can be advertised, and recognise the social imperative of ensuring that alcohol advertising is responsible.

We will continue to work across Government to consider what other measures might be needed to reduce the negative impact that excessive alcohol consumption has on health, crime and the economy. The Government are committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health, and to preventing premature deaths. The commitment to labelling in the 10-year plan is a crucial first step to support people to make healthier choices about alcohol. It is the beginning, not the end. We will continue to work across Government to consider what other measures might be needed to reduce the negative impact of excessive alcohol consumption.

My hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre also talked about public health as a licensing objective. Evidence to support its impact is, at the moment, somewhat limited, but we continue to work with the Home Office to consider how best to use licensing powers to support local leaders to address alcohol-related harms. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Easington for his leadership on this important issue. Officials are considering that report from the APPG on drugs, alcohol and justice. I recently met the Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Dame Diana Johnson), who leads on alcohol and drugs policy across Government. I will soon meet Lord Timpson to discuss those areas and their impact on prisons. We are working across Government. I would be happy to meet the APPG, as I have previously agreed. Diary pressures are very high at the moment, but I am confident that we will soon find time to do that.

We have also talked about preventing under-age drinking, which was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge and Bellshill. There is a commitment in the 10-year plan to make the sale of alcohol-free drinks also illegal to under-18s, ensuring that no-alcohol and low-alcohol products do not become a gateway to standard-strength alcoholic drinks. On alcohol misuse and mental health support, raised by the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers), we totally agree on the importance of mental health support. The Government are committed to recruiting 8,500 new mental health workers, and have already recruited 6,700.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), cheerily reminded us that all activities are risky. She talked of improving the understanding of alcohol dependency. She focused broadly on alcohol use, but did not necessarily mention cancer. To avoid digressing from the debate, I commit to writing to her further on the areas she raised more generally on alcohol policy.

I thank everyone for their contributions to this important debate. We will continue to work across Government to reduce the negative impact that excessive alcohol consumption has on health—including cancer—crime and the economy.

Services for Adults with Learning Difficulties: Hillingdon

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Friday 4th July 2025

(3 weeks, 6 days ago)

Commons Chamber
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Ashley Dalton Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
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I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) for securing this debate around services in the community for people with a learning difficulty in Hillingdon, and for championing the rights of people with learning difficulties in his area. I welcome those in the Gallery who are here to demonstrate how important services for people with learning difficulties in Hillingdon are to them. I join my hon. Friend in paying particular tribute to Oliver, Doug, George and Georgia for all their work in this area.

I am aware that, as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, my hon. Friend has a keen interest in health and social care matters. He will therefore be pleased to know that the Government have today published their response to the Health and Social Care Committee report “Adult Social Care Reform: the cost of inaction”. I am sorry to hear that Hillingdon council has decided to close the Rural Activities Garden Centre, but as Members know, decisions on local services are for councils to make since they are best placed to understand and meet the needs of their local populations.

John McDonnell Portrait John McDonnell
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I fully appreciate the point that the Minister makes, but will she take advice from colleagues in other Departments on the following specific point? My hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) and I have been working with different groups and we have sought to register, under relevant legislation, the Rural Activities Garden Centre as a community asset, which would force the local authority to properly consult with us and to engage with the wider community. The council is going ahead with the decision to sell or close in advance of even considering whether it should be a community asset. Will she help us by taking advice, from whichever Department is relevant, about whether or not there is anything we can do, as a Government, to ensure that Hillingdon council abides by the legislation that was passed to protect community assets such as this one?

Ashley Dalton Portrait Ashley Dalton
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I will ensure that that issue is raised with the relevant Department. I will say a little more about some of the expectations we place on local authorities to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people, as required under the Care Act 2014.

This Government recognise the vital importance of co-production and working with people who draw on care and support. To ensure local authorities are meeting these duties, the Care Quality Commission are assessing local adult social care services by publishing a full report and overall performance rating for each local authority. Hillingdon has been rated as “Good” in the CQC’s recent assessment, but the report also includes feedback on areas where the CQC concluded that Hillingdon could improve.

It is great to be having this discussion today, on the last day of Co-production Week, an important annual awareness campaign to recognise the benefits of working in equal partnership with people using health and social care provision. Local councils should absolutely involve, engage and consult adults with learning difficulties on their care plans, as well as on wider decisions that affect their care and support, and their lives in general. We are committed to encouraging genuine co-production between social care professionals, local authorities, policymakers and, crucially, people who draw on care and support, to design a system that works better for everyone—one that is fair, inclusive and puts people first.

The Government recognise that investment in local services in the community is vital. That is why we have made available over £69 billion for local government this financial year, increasing core spending power by up to 6.8% in cash terms on last year. For Hillingdon, that means a total of £266.3 million in its core spending power for this year, an increase of 6.2% on 2024-25.

We strongly encourage councils to apply elements of good market-shaping practice involving providers. My hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip talked about how people with learning disabilities should be worked with across the Government, but actually that applies to all Government, because we seek to serve the people and that includes people with learning disabilities.

Yesterday, we published our 10-year plan. I am delighted that social care will, for some people, be a key part of the neighbourhood health services we discussed, but the adult social care system is in need of wider reform. We have already begun that journey, including legislating for a fair pay agreement and the independent commission into social care. Over time, the neighbourhood health service and the national care service will work hand-in-hand with each other to help people stay well and live independently.

To conclude, I note my hon. Friend’s invitation to visit Hillingdon and I will ensure that that invitation is extended to the relevant Minister. I once again thank him for bringing forward this important debate, and every Member who has contributed. I hope that Hillingdon council takes notice of this debate.

Question put and agreed to.

NHS 10-Year Plan

Ashley Dalton Excerpts
Thursday 3rd July 2025

(4 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right; it was on a snowy day of campaigning for him in Bury North that I received the phone call that would change my life, giving me my kidney cancer diagnosis. Despite that fact, I have since been back to Bury North; I am not saying that it was his bad luck—

Wes Streeting Portrait Wes Streeting
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

It was coincidence rather than causation, as my hon. Friend the cancer Minister says—although, given both our experiences, we will rethink our visit schedule to Bury.

On a serious note, my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Frith) is absolutely right to make the link between poverty, particularly child poverty, and ill health. The last Labour Government lifted 400,000 children out of poverty; I am so proud to think that when in the first year of this Labour Government we chose to extend free school meals to half a million children from low-income families, with that one measure on one day we lifted 100,000 children out of poverty. That is the difference Labour Governments make, and that is how we will deliver not just an NHS fit for the future, but a fairer, more equal, more just society.