Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the level of support that unpaid carers can access once they have undertaken a Carer’s Assessment in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All unpaid carers are entitled to a carer’s assessment. Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duties relating to unpaid carers. This means that the CQC is looking at how local authorities are supporting carers in their area, including the provision of services following a carers assessment.
The Government also recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system. That is why the Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.
The commission will start a national conversation about what working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
We have already taken steps to support unpaid carers to balance work and care, including by increasing the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196, from April 2025. This means carers can earn up to £10,000 a year whilst still retaining their Carer's Allowance, which is approximately an additional £2,000 a year.
The Government is also committed to reviewing the implementation of Carer’s Leave and examining the benefits of introducing paid Carer’s Leave.
Further, the Accelerating Reform Fund's second tranche of funding worth £22.6 million for 2024/25 has now been released. More than half of the projects are focused on identifying, recognizing, and supporting unpaid carers.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of funding for local authorities to support unpaid carers who have requested a Carer's Assessment in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support, and to meet their eligible needs upon request from them.
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. Local authorities are responsible for how they use the available funding to fulfil their duties under the Care Act 2014.
The Government recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system. That is why the Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.
The commission will start a national conversation about what working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 impact of the recommendations of his Department's publication entitled JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026, updated on 14 November 2024, on the clinically vulnerable population (a) nationally and (b) in Gosport.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.
For spring 2025, as in spring 2024, the JCVI advises that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to: adults aged 75 years old and over; residents in a care home for older adults; and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.
As in previous COVID-19 spring campaigns, the only clinical risk group included in the campaign are those aged six months or over with immunosuppression. The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Gosport.
The Government accepted the independent JCVI advice for spring 2025 on 12 December 2024. The Government is considering the advice on autumn 2025 and spring 2026 carefully, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's publication entitled JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026, updated on 14 November 2024, what the evidential basis was for accepting the JCVI’s advice on spring 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.
For spring 2025, as in spring 2024, the JCVI advises that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to: adults aged 75 years old and over; residents in a care home for older adults; and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.
As in previous COVID-19 spring campaigns, the only clinical risk group included in the campaign are those aged six months or over with immunosuppression. The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Gosport.
The Government accepted the independent JCVI advice for spring 2025 on 12 December 2024. The Government is considering the advice on autumn 2025 and spring 2026 carefully, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance he is providing to ICBs to ensure consistent interpretation of NHS continuing healthcare checklist guidance.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department published national guidance, the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, intended to ensure the consistent delivery of National Health Service continuing healthcare (CHC) by integrated care boards (ICBs). Further information on this guidance is available at the following link:
We have published additional guidance on the completion of the CHC checklist screening tool, called the NHS continuing healthcare checklist, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-continuing-healthcare-checklist
NHS England also has an assurance regime that promotes the standardisation and consistency of CHC assessments. NHS England CHC regional teams provide ICBs oversight and assurance to support robust, effective, and timely service delivery. ICBs should have processes in place to ensure checklists are completed by staff who are trained in checklist completion. An NHS England online learning resource to support all staff working in health and social care is in place. This includes an e-learning module on completing CHC checklists.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to update existing regulations in the fertility industry.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, its recommendations for updating the regulatory framework in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health met with the HFEA Chair on 30 July 2024 to discuss these proposals and asked for the key issues to be prioritised.
The Government is currently considering this latest advice from the HFEA about the priority issues for law reform covering their regulatory powers.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 adequacy of existing regulation of the fertility industry.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, its recommendations for updating the regulatory framework in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health met with the HFEA Chair on 30 July 2024 to discuss these proposals and asked for the key issues to be prioritised.
The Government is currently considering this latest advice from the HFEA about the priority issues for law reform covering their regulatory powers.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Agency on the closure of the Apricity business.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advised the Department about the closure of the on-line service for fertility patients, Apricity, on 24 December 2024. The Apricity service did not fall under the HFEA’s current regulatory remit as it offered advice, diagnostic testing and prescribing but did not offer fertility treatment services directly. No discussions have therefore been held.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to help increase (a) survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and (b) the availability of defibrillators in Gosport.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces, and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the new Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.
The defibrillators provided through this scheme are required to be registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator ambulance service database, operated independently by the British Heart Foundation in collaboration with the National Health Service. Upon registration, contact details are provided for the nominated AED guardian or guardians, who are local to the defibrillator’s location and conduct checks when required. The registered guardian receives an automatic email or text message notification if the defibrillator has potentially been used, therefore prompting the guardian to conduct a check on the AED.
The Department does not hold data on the availability of AEDs in the Gosport area, nor does it hold data on AEDs installed in Government buildings, or whether those AEDs are registered on The Circuit.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage community organisations to register defibrillators onto the national defibrillator network.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces, and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the new Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.
The defibrillators provided through this scheme are required to be registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator ambulance service database, operated independently by the British Heart Foundation in collaboration with the National Health Service. Upon registration, contact details are provided for the nominated AED guardian or guardians, who are local to the defibrillator’s location and conduct checks when required. The registered guardian receives an automatic email or text message notification if the defibrillator has potentially been used, therefore prompting the guardian to conduct a check on the AED.
The Department does not hold data on the availability of AEDs in the Gosport area, nor does it hold data on AEDs installed in Government buildings, or whether those AEDs are registered on The Circuit.