Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the average (a) cost and (b) waiting time for an outpatient paediatric ophthalmology appointment in the 2023-24 financial year..

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need, including children awaiting hospital-based eyecare. The Government will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) within our first term, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. Outpatient services make up most of elective activity, so transforming outpatient services is a key part of our approach to cutting paediatric waiting times.

In 2023/24, the national mean average unit cost of an outpatient paediatric ophthalmology attendance without a procedure was £140, and the mean average national unit cost of a paediatric ophthalmology outpatient procedure was £248. In 2023/24, the median average waiting time for a first outpatient attendance for paediatric ophthalmology was 58 days, and the mean average waiting time was 97 days.

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 support student nurses.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

To supplement the student loan support provided by the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care provides non-repayable and non-income assessed funding via the NHS Learning Support Fund. All eligible nursing students receive a grant of £5,000 per academic year. Additional funding of £1,000 per year is also available for those studying certain course, for example, Mental Health Nursing and Learning Disabilities Nursing, with a further £2,000 per year for childcare, as well as support for placement travel and accommodation costs. Students in exceptional hardship can also access up to a further £3,000 per year.

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 trends in the levels of applications to nursing university courses.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the number of applicants, by the June deadline, to undergraduate nursing courses, for all domiciles, in England, each year from 2019 to 2024:

Source: published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), available at the following link:

https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-releases/applicant-releases-2024-cycle/2024-cycle-applicant-figures-30-june-deadline

Final applicant numbers for the 2024 cycle will be published by UCAS before the end of the year. The drop in nursing applicants follows the unprecedented demand for healthcare courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of applicants continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service.

We are working closely with NHS England, universities, and UCAS to ensure that everyone who wants to pursue a rewarding healthcare career in nursing has the support and opportunities to do so.

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 support the nursing workforce.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government values nurses and is committed to supporting them as a profession, and in their everyday working lives. The Government accepted the pay recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body for 2024/25 in full, providing a 5.5% consolidated pay uplift for 2024/25, backdated to 1 April, to approximately 1.4 million staff in England. A significant amount of work has also gone into developing a set of non-pay recommendations on measures to support the Agenda for Change workforce. This includes specific recommendations on improving career progression for the nursing workforce.

Targeted retention work for nurses and midwives is also being undertaken by NHS England and led by the Chief Nursing Officer. This includes the introduction of a nursing and midwifery retention self-assessment tool, a national preceptorship framework which provides early career support for nurses and midwives, and mentoring schemes.

It is essential that all National Health Service staff, including nurses, can work in a supportive and compassionate environment that recognises and prioritises health and wellbeing. NHS England has a wide-ranging package of mental health and wellbeing support for all staff.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will extend the exemption for the local connection test to survivors of modern slavery.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is committed to ensuring that, where appropriate, barriers preventing vulnerable groups in need from accessing social housing are removed.

We are working with stakeholders to explore the detail of the proposed exemptions from local connection requirements further and consider what more needs to be done to support vulnerable cohorts, including victims of modern slavery.

There are alternative routes for vulnerable cohorts to access social housing. Guidance asks local authorities to make exemptions for applications with special circumstances, such as those who need to move for medical reasons or who are at risk of harm and to escape violence.

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 sustainability of the funding model for the hospice sector.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones.

The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

We, alongside key partners NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face, and we will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.

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 with NHS England to involve sexual health stakeholders in the development of the 10 Year Health Plan for England.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving sexual health services is a priority for the Government and it is important that we capture the views of stakeholders as we develop our 10-Year Health Plan. To support this, we have launched a national engagement exercise. This will be the biggest conversation in the National Health Service’s history. We want to hear from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including many sexual health stakeholders. Organisations are encouraged to log onto the online portal and submit a response by 2 December 2024. The online portal is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

We have also published a Workshop in a Box that will support organisations to conduct their own local engagement activities. This is available from the community engagement tab on the abovementioned website from Monday 18 November 2024, with a request that partner organisations collate and upload their insights to the website by 14 February 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10 Year Health Plan for England development team plan to meet with sexual health stakeholders.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving sexual health services is a priority for the Government and it is important that we capture the views of stakeholders as we develop our 10-Year Health Plan. To support this, we have launched a national engagement exercise. This will be the biggest conversation in the National Health Service’s history. We want to hear from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including many sexual health stakeholders. Organisations are encouraged to log onto the online portal and submit a response by 2 December 2024. The online portal is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

We have also published a Workshop in a Box that will support organisations to conduct their own local engagement activities. This is available from the community engagement tab on the abovementioned website from Monday 18 November 2024, with a request that partner organisations collate and upload their insights to the website by 14 February 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in receipt of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service have had (a) a need for glasses, (b) another sight problem, (c) no previous known history of eye care and (d) a history of hospital-based eye care since its commencement.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England have piloted sight testing and the dispensing of glasses in special schools since 2021. Between April 2021 and August 2024 a total of 23,832 sight tests were provided.

There were a total of 9,909 pairs of glasses issued between April 2021 and August 2024 as part of the service. Between April 2021 and March 2024, 859 sight tests were recorded with another sight problem identified, 14,048 sight tests were recorded where there was either no previous history or previous history was unknown and 6,083 sight tests were recorded where there was a history of hospital-based eye care.

The legislation that will underpin the roll out of this service across the country was laid on 28 November 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children are in receipt of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England have piloted sight testing and the dispensing of glasses in special schools since 2021. Between April 2021 and August 2024 a total of 23,832 sight tests were provided.

There were a total of 9,909 pairs of glasses issued between April 2021 and August 2024 as part of the service. Between April 2021 and March 2024, 859 sight tests were recorded with another sight problem identified, 14,048 sight tests were recorded where there was either no previous history or previous history was unknown and 6,083 sight tests were recorded where there was a history of hospital-based eye care.

The legislation that will underpin the roll out of this service across the country was laid on 28 November 2024.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to encourage the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is working with partners to support a path to long-term peace and stability, with a two-state solution: a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. This government has prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages, in co-ordination with international partners, since day one. We will continue to use every diplomatic lever to bring about a ceasefire deal as the first step towards long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, and the wider region. The Foreign Secretary has raised the issue of securing long-term peace in all his meetings with counterparts across the region, in addition to the US, Germany and France. The UK will play our full diplomatic role in ending this conflict and creating a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help prevent illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution.  To date, we have sanctioned eight individuals responsible for inciting and perpetrating human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.  We have also designated two groups known to have supported, incited and promoted violence against these communities.  We do not comment on future sanctions.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Layla Moran (Chair); Danny Beales; Ben Coleman; Deirdre Costigan;

Found: Presented by Linsey Farnsworth supported by Danny Beales and Mr Jonathan Brash .

Found: Presented by Linsey Farnsworth supported by Danny Beales and Mr Jonathan Brash .

Submit Evidence (by 4 Feb 2025)

The Committee is undertaking an inquiry into community mental health services. The inquiry will examine what good looks like from the perspective of service users and their families/carers. The Committee would like the inquiry to shine a light on case studies of innovative practice and high-quality care across the country, and to undertake meaningful and impactful engagement with people accessing these services.