Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average funding is allocated per pharmacy in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency under the 2025–26 contractual framework.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework will be increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The majority of this funding is linked to activity, so each pharmacy’s share of the funding depends on how many prescriptions it dispenses, and the volume of NHS clinical services it delivers. Therefore, we cannot forecast how much pharmacies in Buckingham and Bletchley will earn from delivering NHS services in 2025/26.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the GP-to-patient ratio is in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 March 2025, the median number of full time equivalent doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency was 4.5.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP practices in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have received funding for estate upgrades.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Buckingham and Bletchley constituency falls into the areas of two integrated care boards (ICBs). No practices in the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) ICB, part of the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, will be receiving money from the national Utilisation and Modernisation Funding, but we understand the ICB is supporting three practices in the constituency with potential premises improvements using S106 funding.
All general practices (GPs) in the BLMK area were given the opportunity to apply for funding under the national Utilisation and Modernisation Fund. No applications were received from practices in Bletchley within the deadline.
In the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and West Berkshire ICB area, within the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, there are two GPs which have benefited from significant recent estates funding, those being:
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes have been recruited through the increase to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 March 2025, the number of general practitioners (GPs) who had been recruited through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) was 26 in the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB), and 58 in the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB.
As of 28 February 2025, the number of full time equivalent (FTE) ARRS GPs was 13.5 in the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, and 35.3 in the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB.
Funding to employ GPs through the scheme has been available since October 2024 and therefore the number of GPs recruited is from 1 October onwards.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many recently qualified GPs have been recruited in (A) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme since April 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 March 2025, the number of general practitioners (GPs) who had been recruited through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) was 26 in the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB), and 58 in the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB.
As of 28 February 2025, the number of full time equivalent (FTE) ARRS GPs was 13.5 in the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, and 35.3 in the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB.
Funding to employ GPs through the scheme has been available since October 2024 and therefore the number of GPs recruited is from 1 October onwards.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of stroke care provision within the (a) Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board and (b) Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Integrated Stroke Delivery Network (ISDN) in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West aims to improve stroke care through collaborative service improvement across the stroke pathway, addressing the approximately 2,200 annual stroke admissions in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West, which cost £38.6 million in 2023/24.
The ISDN's 2025/26 plan prioritises reducing stroke incidence and disability through acute care, rehabilitation, and prevention workstreams. Key achievements include artificial intelligence implementation, to reduce treatment times, and increased mechanical thrombectomy rates, particularly due to the 24/7 service at Oxford University Hospital and an agreed referral protocol, with Wycombe Hospital achieving the highest national referral rate for an acute stroke centre.
Rehabilitation efforts focus on improving consistency, with projects in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire demonstrating positive outcomes, such as increased access to support and improved patient wellbeing. Building on these positive outcomes will require sustained funding in Oxfordshire’s community rehabilitation services, alongside ongoing efforts to enhance the integration of services and patient engagement across the region.
NHS England leads the quarterly joint North and South East of England ISDN meeting, which reviews stroke provision across the region. The Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) Integrated Care Board (ICB) and representatives from provider trusts attend these meetings to provide assurance. The ICB still has contract monitoring in place with trusts, and trusts have their own internal quality assurance processes. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is the main data source for monitoring, which all the above forums use. The last Getting It Right First Time review of stroke services, which included BLMK, was in 2022.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to allocate capital funding to improve stroke care infrastructure within the (a) Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board and (b) Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to shifting the focus of the National Health Service out of hospitals and into the community through our 10-Year Health Plan, and recognises that delivering high-quality NHS healthcare services requires the right infrastructure in the right places.
The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been provisionally allocated £2.8 million from our Primary Care Utilisation fund for 2025/26 to upgrade existing buildings and space, boosting productivity and enabling practices to deliver more patient appointments. In addition, the ICB has been provisionally allocated £39.3 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery fund to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds to increase capacity for elective and emergency care.
The Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB has been provisionally allocated £1.7 million from our Primary Care Utilisation fund and £32.5 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery fund for 2025/26.
In addition to national programme allocations, the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire ICB and the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB have been provisionally allocated £123 million and £62 million respectively in operational capital for 2025/26, including primary care business-as-usual capital, which can be used to improve stroke care infrastructure where this is a local priority.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 help meet the mental health needs of children from underserved communities in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that waits for children and young people's mental health services are far too long and that some disadvantaged groups are less likely to access support. That is why the National Health Service’s planning guidance for 2025/26 makes it clear that one of the priorities for children's mental health services is to reduce local inequalities in access to children and young people’s mental health services between disadvantaged groups, including in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, and the wider population.
The Government will also recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across child and adult mental health services and provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so that every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.
Early intervention and prevention support in the community is vital. That is why we are providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of community mental health services in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that too many people in places like Buckinghamshire are not receiving the mental health care they need.
The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West Integrated Care Board is responsible for providing health and care services, including community mental health services, to meet the needs of the people of Buckinghamshire.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.
There are currently approximately 65 locally-funded early support hubs across England, offering early easy access mental health interventions to thousands of children and young people. The Department is running an £8 million Shared Outcomes Fund project throughout 2024/25 to boost and evaluate the impact of 24 of these existing early support hubs, which includes one based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, run by the Youth Enquiry Service.
In addition, work is ongoing across Government to deliver our commitment to set up Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 improve mental health service provision for young people in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many children and young people, including in Buckinghamshire, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long.
The Department is working across Government to consider how to deliver our commitment of access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure that any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.
Alongside this we are working towards rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community and working with colleagues at NHS England to consider options to deliver our commitment to recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult, and children and young people’s mental health services.
It will be important that these commitments can provide appropriate support for children and young people with a range of mental health needs.