Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance that parking charges at NHS facilities are (a) equitable, (b) proportionate to the cost of (i) maintaining and (ii) improving parking facilities and (c) not to be used to subsidise clinical services.
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 to be consistent with the national guidance provided by NHS England.
This guidance requires free parking to the four free groups: disabled people; frequent outpatient attenders; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working night shifts. In addition, parking charges are expected to be fair for the area. Where car parking income exceeds the costs of providing the parking, the excess income is invested into NHS services.
Local charging for NHS parking will depend on a number of local factors including the availability and cost of parking, the demands for parking, for instance the pressure of parking from shopping, and the availability of alternative forms of transport such as public transport and NHS shuttle buses services.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 support people with epilepsy to monitor seizures.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with epilepsy, such as the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the Neurology Transformation Programme.
The RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit signposts readers to the Epilepsy Self-Monitoring app developed by SUDEP Action, which is a digital tool designed to help patients understand their own personal risk of seizures, and to track and manage this risk.
In our recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we set out our plans to expand the use of wearable technologies and biosensors which will be able to provide ‘real-time data’ and help patients track and monitor their health, including people with epilepsy.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 adequacy of support for displaced care workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has made up to £12.5 million available this financial year for 15 regional partnerships to continue to support displaced international care workers. The international recruitment regional fund aims to prevent and respond to exploitative employment practices of internationally recruited care staff. This includes support for individuals impacted by their sponsor’s license being revoked to find alternative, ethical employment.
As of July 2025, over 1,600 people have been directly supported into new sponsored employment by the regional partnerships. This data has not been independently verified by the Department or UK Visas and Immigration, and these figures do not provide a complete picture as workers are under no obligation to report their employment outcomes back to their regional partnership. Regional partnerships are also currently supporting thousands more displaced workers, including support with CV writing and interview techniques, introducing workers to ethical providers with appropriate vacancies, and offering pastoral support to workers who have experienced unethical or exploitative practices.
We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce to undertake an independent evaluation of the 2024/25 international recruitment regional fund. We expect the final report of this evaluation to be published by King's College London in 2026.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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) unprocessed and (b) minimally processed foods on public health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Scientific risk assessment and United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).
SACN has considered the evidence on the impact of processing on health in a position statement in 2023 and rapid evidence update in April 2025 which considered evidence published since the 2023 position statement. SACN has concluded that the observed associations between higher consumption of ultra processed foods and adverse health outcomes are concerning.
SACN recommended that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars and low in fibre. This is based on the nutrient content of many ultra processed foods and concerns raised in relation to health.
SACN’s recommendations align with existing policies for supporting healthier diets and advice to consumers. SACN will keep the topic of food processing and health under annual review and consider it again in 2026.
SACN has also previously advised on consumption of fruit and vegetables, supporting the WHO recommendations (2003), red and processed meat as part of its assessment on iron and health (2010), and on consumption of whole grain foods, as part of its recommendations on Carbohydrates and Health (2015). The UK’s national food model the Eatwell Guide, which is based on SACN’s recommendations, already advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of minimally processed foods (a) for children and young people and (b) in general.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s Eatwell Guide advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.
The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns. Examples include the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.
A range of actions that have already been taken to create a healthier environment to help children eat a healthy, balanced diet including:
- the Healthy Start scheme which supported over 355,000 people in August 2025;
- the Nursery Milk Scheme which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers (in England and Wales) for a daily one-third pint portion of milk to children and babies; and
- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme which provides around 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.
In relation to processed foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt and free sugars, work on manifesto commitments is progressing through:
- implementing the TV and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink;
- consulting on plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old; and
- giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate.
Earlier this year, the Government committed to reviewing the School Food Standards to reflect the most recent government dietary recommendations. In particular, this will reduce levels of sugar and increase fibre in school food.
In August 2025, voluntary industry guidelines for commercial baby food and drink were published by government. The guidelines challenge businesses to reduce the sugar and salt content and improve marketing and labelling of foods and drinks aimed at children aged up to 36 months.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 potential impact of changes in funding for (a) fifth year medical students and (b) above on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government reviews and updates the NHS Bursary rules annually and keeps the funding arrangements for all medical students under close review to ensure they meet the needs of students and the National Health Service.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, we will explore options to improve financial support for students from the lowest socioeconomic background so that they are able to thrive at medical school.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will ensure that Aphasia is included in the NHS 10-year plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to managing conditions such as aphasia in all parts of the country.
More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including aphasia, closer to home.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) support and (b) resources his Department are providing to help support medical facilities in Crewe and Nantwich constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Crewe and Nantwich constituency, like all constituencies, will benefit from a fair share of the £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and the £3.1 billion increase to the capital budget over the 2024/25 to 2025/26 period, as announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been provisionally allocated £43.3 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery Fund for 2025/26 to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds to increase capacity for elective and emergency care. In addition, it has been provisionally allocated £5 million from our Primary Care Utilisation Fund to modernise and upgrade general practice surgeries, and £18.1 million from our Estates Safety Fund to address critical infrastructure and safety risks.
The ICB has also been provisionally allocated £61.7 million for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) mitigation and eradication for trusts that are part of the National Health Service’s RAAC programme. This includes funding for the RAAC mitigation works at Leighton Hospital. Funding is subject to business case approval.
Alongside national programme allocations, the ICB has been provisionally allocated £214.7 million in operational capital funding, including primary care business-as-usual capital, for 2025/26, to be prioritised according to local needs such as investing in hospital infrastructure.
Leighton Hospital in Crewe is part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) with construction of the new hospital expected to commence in 2027/28. As an RAAC scheme, we are working at pace to ensure Leighton Hospital will be replaced as quickly as possible and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned an updated site by site report, due in summer 2025, to inform decisions on the delivery of the replacement RAAC hospitals. The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is also being supported by the NHP to develop their Strategic Outline Case as part of the business case process for their main hospital.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 raise awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in (a) hospitals, (b) schools and (c) local authorities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
The Government recognises that foetal alcohol spectrum disorders can have a significant impact on the early years development of children. As a result, schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person gets the special educational provision they need. This includes monitoring the progress of pupils regularly and putting support in place where needed, including arranging diagnostic tests where appropriate. To support all teachers, we are implementing a range of high-quality teacher development programmes, from initial teacher training and into early career teaching, through to the reformed suite of leadership and specialist national professional qualifications, to ensure that teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed.
The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a Quality Standard in England for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to help providers and commissioners improve both diagnosis and support for people affected by FASD. This includes guidance on individualised management plans, which help to coordinate care across a range of healthcare professionals, as well as education and social services, and improve outcomes. The Quality Standard also covers support during pregnancy to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. It was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204
Healthcare providers advise pregnant women about the risks of alcohol consumption, document alcohol use, and refer children with probable prenatal alcohol exposure for assessment.
In addition, healthcare professionals conduct thorough neurodevelopmental assessments and develop tailored management plans for diagnosed individuals, aiming to improve early identification and provide comprehensive support to help children achieve their full potential.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 ensure that research into long-COVID is adequately funded.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR remains committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for long COVID.
We are actively exploring next steps for research in this area. We recently held a roundtable on long COVID research on 17 October 2025, led by the Minister responsible for long COVID and co-hosted with the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Lucy Chappell.