Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 10 year plan on older residents in rural areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. The 10-Year Health Plan has been built on what we heard during engagement with the public. Our reimagined National Health Service will be designed to tackle inequalities in both access and health outcomes, and will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of age or geography.
The neighbourhood health service will reflect the specific needs of local populations, including the needs of older residents in rural communities. Neighbourhood health centres will be available in every community, providing easy access to NHS, local authority, and voluntary sector services. New technology-led services, including wearable and monitoring technology, will support patients such as older people with frailty to enable them to continue living independently in their own home.
Equality has been considered throughout, and we expect to publish an Equality Impact Assessment later this month.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department considers future demographic changes when planning school funding.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
School funding will increase by £4.2 billion over the Spending Review period, meaning core school funding will total £65.9 billion by 2028/29. This additional funding will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget.
The majority of school funding is allocated on a per pupil basis through the National Funding Formula (NFF) on a lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census. This arrangement helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels and is particularly important in giving individual schools time to adjust to demographic change before experiencing the funding impact.
Local authorities are also allocated funding through the NFF for growth and falling rolls, which they can use to support schools experiencing significant growth in pupil numbers, to support schools facing a temporary drop in pupil numbers, or to help meet the revenue costs of removing or repurposing surplus places.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 Neighbourhood Health Service on healthcare in rural constituencies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Neighbourhood Health Service will mean millions of patients, including those in rural constituencies, are treated and cared for closer to their home by new teams of health professionals. Our priority will be to address underperformance and health inequalities in the areas with the worst health outcomes, such as rural and coastal communities, where we know access to healthcare services is often particularly poor.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan is creating a National Health Service truly fit for the future, keeping patients healthy and out of hospital, with care closer to home and in the home. An impact statement for the plan will be published in shortly.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how the funding commitments for social housing will be (a) allocated for and (b) accessed by (i) local authorities and (ii) developers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771).
In awarding contracts under the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme, Homes England and the GLA will assess the need for grant on the basis of bids from social housing providers, including local authorities, considering what is needed to make projects viable, and the overall value for money for the programme.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to provide adequate social housing to rural areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771).
We are giving further consideration to how policy can better promote rural affordable housing as part of our work to produce a set of national policies for decision making this year.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 10-year plan on waiting lists in the North East.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to delivering the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029, including in the North East and Yorkshire.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a transformed vision for planned care by 2035, where most interactions no longer take place in a hospital building, instead happening virtually, online, or via neighbourhood services. Planned care will be more efficient, timely, and effective, and will put control in the hands of patients.
By 2035, two thirds of outpatient care will take place digitally or in the community closer to home, with patients able to access the best of their local hospital in a much more responsive way via their phones. For patients who do need to be admitted, we will carry out more procedures as day cases and will reduce the time spent in hospital and recovery, as providers make greater use of surgical robots and innovations in anaesthetics and postoperative care.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 NHS is prepared for future demographic changes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our plan to get the National Health Service back on track and make it fit for the future through delivering three big shifts in how the NHS works. By moving more care from hospital to community, shifting from analogue to digital, and reaching patients earlier by shifting from sickness to prevention, the NHS will be better enabled to meet future demographic changes.
Integrated care boards are expected to have a deep understanding of their population’s needs and will engage with the public to develop long-term plans that meet these needs.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional GPs have been hired in North Northumberland constituency through Government funding.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 May 2025, 58 general practitioners (GPs) have been recruited through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme in the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) since 1 October 2024, the ICB in which the North Northumberland constituency is located. Data is not available at a constituency level.
Earlier in the year we announced that we are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract for 2025/26 to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.
Every year we consult with the British Medical Association’s General Practice Committee both about what services practices provide, and the money they are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account the costs of delivering services. Practices are required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of the patients registered at their practice. This includes making their own workforce plans.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 (a) to ensure the provision of Pfizer vaccines to people who cannot take Moderna and (b) with ICBs which have insufficient supplies of the Pfizer vaccine in North Northumberland constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) procures vaccines that have been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and are advised for use in COVID-19 booster programmes by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The make-up of vaccine availability can vary from campaign to campaign based on the latest JCVI and clinical advice and procured stock available.
Published advice in the COVID-19 Green book, chapter 14a recommends that those with known contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination should seek advice from a relevant specialist. This may include an allergy specialist, who can make a clinical assessment of the individual's risks and benefits of vaccination. If suitable, these individuals may be advised to be vaccinated in hospital under medical supervision.
During the 2025 Spring COVID-19 vaccination campaign, UKHSA did not receive any reports of supply issues in North Northumberland.
Vaccine deployment is managed by NHS England which works with the regional teams and integrated care boards to ensure the vaccine is readily available for those eligible, as per the JCVI advice. UKHSA has worked and continues to work with all deployment partners to ensure the supply and provision of vaccines.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what process schools can apply for (a) rebuilds and (b) other capital spending following the funding commitments in the Spending Review 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future.
The government has announced almost £20 billion of investment for the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years. We plan to set out further details about the selection process later this year.
At the 2025/26 budget, the government increased capital investment to improve the condition of school buildings across England to £2.1 billion, almost £300 million more than 2024/25. More information on allocations and successful Condition Improvement Fund bids for 2025/26 can be found on GOV.UK.
£31 billion of capital funding for the education estate was announced at the Spending Review in June 2025 for the period the 2026/27 financial year to the 2029/30 financial year. As part of the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, the government also committed to increase annual capital maintenance investment per year through to 2034/35. Further details on funding commitments and any application processes for capital funding will be announced on GOV.UK in due course.