Neighbourhood Health Services

Baroness Manzoor Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

First, we are investing where it is needed, particularly on new estates and on improvement support. We are also asking ICBs to refocus their existing resources. This is not just tinkering; it is a fundamental shift—one of the three main shifts—to deliver neighbourhood health, which people very much welcome. We are also creating financial incentives. We are creating—the national evaluation will assist us more with this—funding flows and payment mechanisms, which means that savings from improved quality of care will then go into investment in new services. I say to the noble Lord that that has not always been the case in the past.

[Baroness Manzoor (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, we know, and it is very well researched, that people with learning disabilities face enormous barriers in access to primary health care and have lower life expectancy as a result. Can the Minister assure me that these neighbourhood health services will ensure that screening and support for people with learning disabilities will be embedded in this service?