Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of (a) speech and (b) language therapists in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services, including speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
North Cornwall Speech and Language therapist services are commissioned through the National Health Service, local authorities, educational institutions, independent providers, and the non-profit sector across multiple settings within geographical areas.
Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) workforce for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly includes:
We recognise the impact that long waits to access speech and language therapy can have on the individual, their families, and carers and we are working closely with NHS England to improve timely access to community health services and on actions to reduce long waits. We have also published for the first time an overview of the core community health services, in Standardising Community Health Services, which includes speech and language therapy, and that integrated care boards should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS pension forfeiture provisions apply in cases where a former NHS employee has been convicted of serious criminal offences.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has the power to forfeit some or all NHS Pension Scheme benefits where an individual is convicted of certain offences. This includes individuals who have left National Health Service employment or are retired, provided the offences were committed before pension benefits became payable. The offences are:
- an offence in connection with employment that entitled them to be a member of the scheme, which is certified by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care either to have been gravely injurious to the State or to be liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service;
- an offence of treason; and/or
- one or more offences under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989 for which the member has been sentenced on the same occasion to a term of imprisonment of, or to two or more consecutive terms amounting in the aggregate to, at least 10 years.
NHS pension benefits payable to a surviving partner and/or dependants may be subject to forfeiture if the survivor or dependant has been convicted of the murder, manslaughter, or of any other offence of which unlawful killing of the scheme member is an element.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he has issued to ICBs on the level of expenditure per capita for dental services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no guidance issued to integrated care boards (ICBs) on the level of expenditure per capita for dental services.
ICBs are responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry and receive an annual allocation of funding to secure services to meet the needs of their population.
The Government invests approximately £3 billion on primary care dentistry every year. We want to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding per capita her Department provided for NHS dentistry in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards. The dental ringfenced budget is set net of patient charge revenue. It is the total spend for dental, with less expected revenue from patients, and includes primary, secondary, and community dentistry.
In 2024/25, the National Health Service dental ringfenced budget was £3.97 billion, and the population of England was assumed to be 62.1 million as per published NHS Technical Guidance. Therefore, the spend per capita was £63.93.
In 2025/26, the NHS dental ringfenced budget increased to £4.13 billion. The population of England is assumed to be 63.8 million, as per published NHS Technical Guidance. Therefore, the spend per capita is £64.78.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding per capita her Department provided for NHS dentistry in the last financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards. The dental ringfenced budget is set net of patient charge revenue. It is the total spend for dental, with less expected revenue from patients, and includes primary, secondary, and community dentistry.
In 2024/25, the National Health Service dental ringfenced budget was £3.97 billion, and the population of England was assumed to be 62.1 million as per published NHS Technical Guidance. Therefore, the spend per capita was £63.93.
In 2025/26, the NHS dental ringfenced budget increased to £4.13 billion. The population of England is assumed to be 63.8 million, as per published NHS Technical Guidance. Therefore, the spend per capita is £64.78.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish guidance for (a) town and (b) parish councils on the steps they can take to encourage NHS dental providers to open new practices in areas with (i) limited and (ii) no access to NHS dentistry.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist particularly in more rural areas such as North Cornwall.
The NHS contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. Dental practices are businesses and can decide how they operate, providing they remain compliant with the appropriate regulations. Providers are able to make choices about how they operate within the terms of the contract, including choice over the dental laboratory suppliers and premises they use providing they remain compliant.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment including local incentives. NHS England has published guidance to support commissioners to take advantage of the opportunities offered to commission further and additional services through flexible commissioning which enables the responsible commissioner to tailor services to meet local population oral health needs. Further information can be found at the following link:
ICBs are recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of communities in rural areas providing (a) subsidised premises and (b) other local incentives to support the establishment of new NHS dental practices in areas of extremely low NHS dentist availability.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist particularly in more rural areas such as North Cornwall.
The NHS contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. Dental practices are businesses and can decide how they operate, providing they remain compliant with the appropriate regulations. Providers are able to make choices about how they operate within the terms of the contract, including choice over the dental laboratory suppliers and premises they use providing they remain compliant.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment including local incentives. NHS England has published guidance to support commissioners to take advantage of the opportunities offered to commission further and additional services through flexible commissioning which enables the responsible commissioner to tailor services to meet local population oral health needs. Further information can be found at the following link:
ICBs are recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 the potential implications for his policies of the costs of hospital parking for NHS bank staff working shifts at NHS Trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the provision of car parking are made locally by National Health Service organisations, including considering how they affect local recruitment and the retention of their staff. These decisions will need to reflect the local geography and environment, including travel distances.
All NHS staff, regardless of their type of employment, are expected to be similarly treated by their employing NHS organisation. This includes where free parking is provided to staff working nights shifts.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the local area. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department guarantee safe services for patients when a Hospital Trust is regularly at OPEL 4.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s operational pressures escalation levels (OPEL) framework provides a standardised approach to support an effective, integrated, and coordinated response to acute trust operational pressures. This includes the actions locally, regionally, and nationally that support the depressurising of services and ensure patient safety. Further information about the OPEL framework is published by NHS England at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/integrated-opel-framework-2024-to-2026/
NHS England’s national operations team actively monitors escalations and maintains oversight of organisations at OPEL Escalation Level 4. Where specific support is required, NHS England can enact collaboration with national subject matter experts, regional teams, and external agencies to adapt national policy or provide targeted intervention.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department has provided to Hospital Trusts that reach Opel 4.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s operational pressures escalation levels (OPEL) framework provides a standardised approach to support an effective, integrated, and coordinated response to acute trust operational pressures. This includes the actions locally, regionally, and nationally that support the depressurising of services and ensure patient safety. Further information about the OPEL framework is published by NHS England at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/integrated-opel-framework-2024-to-2026/
NHS England’s national operations team actively monitors escalations and maintains oversight of organisations at OPEL Escalation Level 4. Where specific support is required, NHS England can enact collaboration with national subject matter experts, regional teams, and external agencies to adapt national policy or provide targeted intervention.