Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of his Department's spending was on (a) community, (b) acute and (c) primary care services in (i) Norfolk and Waveney and (ii) the rest of England by ICB area in the latest year for which statistics are available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2023/24, the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) spent £1,275.5 million on acute services, £240.9 million on community services, and £258.7 million on primary medical services. As a proportion of the Department’s Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit outturn of £182,819 million, as per the Department’s 2023/24 Annual Report, this is equivalent to approximately 0.7% for acute services, approximately 0.1% for community services, and approximately 0.1% for primary medical services. Further information on the Department’s 2023/24 Annual Report is available at the following link:
The following table shows a full breakdown of spend across these three service areas by ICB in 2023/24:
Integrated care board | Acute (millions of pounds) | Community (millions of pounds) | Primary medical services (millions of pounds) |
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB | 1,115.9 | 190.4 | 217.8 |
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB | 1,026.2 | 183.3 | 220.4 |
Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB | 1,725.5 | 302.7 | 326.0 |
Mid and South East Essex ICB | 1,427.6 | 230.1 | 254.6 |
Norfolk and Waveney ICB | 1,275.5 | 240.9 | 258.7 |
Suffolk and North East Essex ICB | 1,140.2 | 216.0 | 230.4 |
Nort East London ICB | 2,498.7 | 470.5 | 488.0 |
North Central London ICB | 1,891.5 | 362.2 | 358.2 |
North West London ICB | 2,798.4 | 459.6 | 518.9 |
South East London ICB | 2,309.6 | 457.6 | 419.3 |
South West London ICB | 1,928.2 | 280.0 | 344.9 |
Birmingham and Solihull ICB | 1,612.5 | 314.2 | 339.7 |
Coventry and Warwickshire ICB | 1,142.1 | 174.4 | 221.3 |
Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB | 861.5 | 195.9 | 186.8 |
Derby & Derbyshire ICB | 1,268.2 | 191.0 | 252.9 |
Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland ICB | 1,147.1 | 231.6 | 252.9 |
Lincolnshire ICB | 928.0 | 180.6 | 189.4 |
Northamptonshire ICB | 912.8 | 124.0 | 174.3 |
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB | 1,363.0 | 257.3 | 248.3 |
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB | 612.2 | 126.0 | 115.2 |
Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent ICB | 1,210.5 | 311.9 | 264.3 |
Black Country ICB | 1,610.8 | 277.6 | 258.0 |
Cumbria & North East ICB | 3,768.9 | 724.4 | 743.4 |
Humber, Coast and Vale ICB | 2,019.4 | 358.3 | 388.4 |
Sth Yorkshire ICB | 1,611.8 | 267.4 | 329.0 |
West Yorkshire ICB | 2,776.8 | 536.7 | 571.6 |
Cheshire & Merseyside ICB | 3,404.8 | 648.2 | 637.8 |
Gtr Manchester ICB | 3,738.3 | 665.2 | 729.7 |
Lancashire & Sth Cumbria ICB | 2,374.5 | 399.2 | 411.9 |
Bucks, Oxfordshire & Berks West ICB | 1,831.3 | 392.1 | 383.8 |
Frimley ICB | 753.1 | 152.3 | 178.3 |
Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB | 2,032.0 | 433.0 | 372.4 |
Kent and Medway ICB | 2,228.3 | 460.0 | 407.8 |
Surrey Heartlands ICB | 1,210.2 | 190.4 | 217.0 |
Sussex ICB | 2,045.6 | 381.1 | 415.3 |
Bath & NE Somerset, Swindon & Wiltshire ICB | 1,010.6 | 209.3 | 218.3 |
Bristol, Nth Somerset & South Gloucs ICB | 1,110.5 | 226.2 | 222.5 |
Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly ICB | 651.9 | 166.7 | 144.1 |
Devon ICB | 1,479.2 | 339.5 | 273.3 |
Dorset ICB | 952.3 | 198.9 | 172.1 |
Gloucestershire ICB | 641.1 | 123.1 | 161.4 |
Somerset ICB | 703.2 | 114.6 | 143.1 |
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
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 (a) recent NHS guidance and (b) his Department's health and social care priorities on Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (i) services and (ii) organisations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department values working with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, in particular to address wider health inequalities. The insights and reach of VCSE organisations are instrumental, particularly in engaging with those who have lived experience and communities facing the greatest barriers to health.
The VCSE sector has been central to discussions about the forthcoming 10 Year Plan, with input from VCSE organisations directly influencing the plan’s content. As part of the 10 Year Health Plan’s national engagement exercise launched on 21 October 2024, we held 17 roundtables, attended by nearly 300 organisations, including VCSE groups, National Health Service trusts, professional bodies, and national charities. We also provided training, materials, and support to organisations to host their own events in communities across England. Over 600 community events took place with over 17,000 participants. The different components combined to create a programme that reached large numbers of people, engaged the widest range of groups and voices among the public, patients, and staff and partner organisations.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals relating to police use of (a) AI and (b) machine learning technology.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they deploy AI systems. They are accountable to elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
AI deployment must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed. The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for other government departments.
AI-enabled technologies like facial recognition are valuable tools in modern policing, helping the police to quickly identify suspects and keep our communities safe. While existing laws provide a framework for its use, we recognise the need for clarity and are engaging closely with stakeholders to ensure facial recognition operates on a firm legal footing. We will set out our plans in the coming months alongside a broader package of reforms in our forthcoming White Paper on policing.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) safeguards and (b) oversight her Department has in place to monitor the deployment of AI systems by police forces.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they deploy AI systems. They are accountable to elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
AI deployment must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed. The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for other government departments.
AI-enabled technologies like facial recognition are valuable tools in modern policing, helping the police to quickly identify suspects and keep our communities safe. While existing laws provide a framework for its use, we recognise the need for clarity and are engaging closely with stakeholders to ensure facial recognition operates on a firm legal footing. We will set out our plans in the coming months alongside a broader package of reforms in our forthcoming White Paper on policing.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with Palantir on the use of its technology by law enforcement.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they deploy AI systems. They are accountable to elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
AI deployment must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed. The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for other government departments.
AI-enabled technologies like facial recognition are valuable tools in modern policing, helping the police to quickly identify suspects and keep our communities safe. While existing laws provide a framework for its use, we recognise the need for clarity and are engaging closely with stakeholders to ensure facial recognition operates on a firm legal footing. We will set out our plans in the coming months alongside a broader package of reforms in our forthcoming White Paper on policing.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the deployment of AI systems will be decided by individual police forces.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they deploy AI systems. They are accountable to elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
AI deployment must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed. The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for other government departments.
AI-enabled technologies like facial recognition are valuable tools in modern policing, helping the police to quickly identify suspects and keep our communities safe. While existing laws provide a framework for its use, we recognise the need for clarity and are engaging closely with stakeholders to ensure facial recognition operates on a firm legal footing. We will set out our plans in the coming months alongside a broader package of reforms in our forthcoming White Paper on policing.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to the NHS under the Better Care Fund in each integrated care board area; and where monitoring of that spending is publicly reported.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For 2025/26, approximately £9 billion is committed to the Better Care Fund (BCF). This includes approximately £3.3 billion provided to local authorities through the local authority BCF Grant, as well as the £5.6 billion NHS Minimum Contribution.
2025/26 allocations for the NHS Minimum Contribution by integrated care board and upper tier local authority are available on the NHS England website, at the following link:
Data from the monitoring of BCF spending is also available on the NHS England website, at the following link:
The planned expenditure data for 2025/26 will be published on the same website in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting a percentage target spend to be allocated to the VCSE sector in future guidance to (a) mayors and (b) unitary authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of funding within scope of the Local Government Finance Settlement is un-ringfenced in recognition that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, for example investing in their Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sectors.
Similarly, the funding for Mayoral Strategic Authorities does not include a target spend for the VCSE sector. Mayors are best placed to decide how to use their resources to deliver outcomes and best serve their communities.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Bedfordshire Police consulted her Department on appointing Palantir for a pilot scheme trialling AI technology.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that law enforcement has the resources it needs to tackle crime effectively. AI presents an opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing and law enforcement – from automating back-office tasks freeing up time for officers to be on the front line and live language translation enabling better interactions with those unable to speak English, through to applications like facial recognition and CCTV analysis, helping police to catch more criminals and speed up investigations to bring offenders to justice.
Bedfordshire Police consulted the Home Office on appointing Palantir for a pilot scheme trialling AI technology, and this was agreed. While it remains the responsibility of individual police forces to comply with the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’, the Home Office received assurances that Bedfordshire Police are meeting these requirements.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether representatives from the (a) Israeli Defence Force and (b) Israeli government communicated to the UK Government that there were plans to attack Iran.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I hope that the hon. Gentleman understands that, as per the long standing convention, I cannot comment on intelligence matters.