Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS GP surgeries have closed in each year since 2010; and how many new NHS GP surgeries have been built in each of those years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of new or redeveloped primary care facilities required following Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The primary care estate is in mixed ownership between general practices (GPs), property companies, and integrated care boards (ICBs), and can be funded through a variety of routes. The Care Quality Commission regulates sites that provide National Health Services, including primary care facilities, with further information on their data available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data
Prior to 2016, new surgery premises were delivered either by GPs or by third parties. NHS England does not keep a register of the projects funded through these routes.
In the period 2016 to 2025, the upgrades programme delivered 90 new GP or primary care schemes, alongside several refurbishments and extensions of existing sites, at a cost of £996 million. For 2024 to 2025, the NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnership was given £15 million to adapt the existing estate, so that it could be used more intensively.
As a first step in response to the Darzi Report, in 2025/26 £102 million has been allocated for modernisation and improved utilisation in primary care. Capital budgets for 2026/27 onwards will be considered through Phase 2 of the Spending Review process and the launch of the 10-Year Health Plan in Spring 2025. This will give the necessary strategic direction and funding certainty as we shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service and treating patients closer to home. The following table shows the schemes, capital investment, and new facilities delivered from 2016 to 2025:
Scheme | Period | National capital investment | New facilities delivered |
GP or third-party developer | Before 2016 | N/A | N/A |
Primary care estates and IT | 2016 to 2020 | £800 million | 50 |
Local authority joint schemes | 2019 to 2025 | N/A | 30 |
Sustainability and transformation plan upgrades programme | 2020 to 2025 | £196 million | 10 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding has been allocated by Government for the development of new NHS primary care facilities in each year since 2010.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The primary care estate is in mixed ownership between general practices (GPs), property companies, and integrated care boards (ICBs), and can be funded through a variety of routes. The Care Quality Commission regulates sites that provide National Health Services, including primary care facilities, with further information on their data available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data
Prior to 2016, new surgery premises were delivered either by GPs or by third parties. NHS England does not keep a register of the projects funded through these routes.
In the period 2016 to 2025, the upgrades programme delivered 90 new GP or primary care schemes, alongside several refurbishments and extensions of existing sites, at a cost of £996 million. For 2024 to 2025, the NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnership was given £15 million to adapt the existing estate, so that it could be used more intensively.
As a first step in response to the Darzi Report, in 2025/26 £102 million has been allocated for modernisation and improved utilisation in primary care. Capital budgets for 2026/27 onwards will be considered through Phase 2 of the Spending Review process and the launch of the 10-Year Health Plan in Spring 2025. This will give the necessary strategic direction and funding certainty as we shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service and treating patients closer to home. The following table shows the schemes, capital investment, and new facilities delivered from 2016 to 2025:
Scheme | Period | National capital investment | New facilities delivered |
GP or third-party developer | Before 2016 | N/A | N/A |
Primary care estates and IT | 2016 to 2020 | £800 million | 50 |
Local authority joint schemes | 2019 to 2025 | N/A | 30 |
Sustainability and transformation plan upgrades programme | 2020 to 2025 | £196 million | 10 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new NHS primary care facilities have been built using central Government funding in each year since 2010.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The primary care estate is in mixed ownership between general practices (GPs), property companies, and integrated care boards (ICBs), and can be funded through a variety of routes. The Care Quality Commission regulates sites that provide National Health Services, including primary care facilities, with further information on their data available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data
Prior to 2016, new surgery premises were delivered either by GPs or by third parties. NHS England does not keep a register of the projects funded through these routes.
In the period 2016 to 2025, the upgrades programme delivered 90 new GP or primary care schemes, alongside several refurbishments and extensions of existing sites, at a cost of £996 million. For 2024 to 2025, the NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnership was given £15 million to adapt the existing estate, so that it could be used more intensively.
As a first step in response to the Darzi Report, in 2025/26 £102 million has been allocated for modernisation and improved utilisation in primary care. Capital budgets for 2026/27 onwards will be considered through Phase 2 of the Spending Review process and the launch of the 10-Year Health Plan in Spring 2025. This will give the necessary strategic direction and funding certainty as we shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service and treating patients closer to home. The following table shows the schemes, capital investment, and new facilities delivered from 2016 to 2025:
Scheme | Period | National capital investment | New facilities delivered |
GP or third-party developer | Before 2016 | N/A | N/A |
Primary care estates and IT | 2016 to 2020 | £800 million | 50 |
Local authority joint schemes | 2019 to 2025 | N/A | 30 |
Sustainability and transformation plan upgrades programme | 2020 to 2025 | £196 million | 10 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many clinical nurse specialists are currently working in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many psycho-oncologists are currently working in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 the dietary health of young children from financially deprived backgrounds.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever, as set out in our Child Health Action Plan. The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or can be put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHS BSA is committed to increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.
The NHS BSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHS BSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them in promoting the scheme.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 the take up of the Healthy Start Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever, as set out in our Child Health Action Plan. The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or can be put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHS BSA is committed to increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.
The NHS BSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHS BSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them in promoting the scheme.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to obtain contact data for those who are eligible for but not accessing the Healthy Start scheme .
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) runs the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the NHS BSA and the Department for Work and Pensions, to enable the NHS BSA to receive the personal data for those potentially eligible citizens from the Department for Work and Pensions, as soon as possible. The NHS BSA will use this data to reach out to those eligible, who are not currently in receipt of Healthy Start, to encourage them to apply for the Healthy Start scheme.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals have been accepted by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Trafford in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of referrals to Trafford mental health services for those aged 17 years old and under, as well as the number of those referrals who received first contact, in each of the last five years:
Year | Referrals | Referrals who received first contact |
2019/20 | 3,987 | 1,868 |
2020/21 | 4,852 | 2,559 |
2021/22 | 6,677 | 3,362 |
2022/23 | 4,835 | 3,132 |
2023/24 | 4,982 | 2,798 |
Source: data taken from the Mental Health Services Dataset, published by NHS England.