Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that Shropshire Council has the resources to provide timely access to education, health and care plans.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The government confirmed a substantial increase in high needs funding in 2025/26, this includes almost £1 billion which is intended to help local authorities in meeting the costs associated with supporting those children and young people with education, health and care plans. A further £740 million has been made available for councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools, paving the way for significant, long-term reform.
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024/2025. For Shropshire Council, the final Settlement represents an increase in Core Spending Power of up to 3.8%, making available a total of up to £353.2 million in 2025/26.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 improve access to respite care for unpaid carers in North Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support they need. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.
The Better Care Fund includes funding that can be used for carer support, including short breaks and respite services. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to commission more adult vaccines from community pharmacy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to increase vaccine uptake and improving access, including by exploring new and innovative delivery models to deliver vaccinations, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan for England.
Community pharmacies already play a key role in delivering seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccinations to adults, and we are exploring options to expand this offer to other vaccination programmes
For example, in 2024, NHS England commissioned selected community pharmacies in the East of England to help deliver year-round respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programmes for pregnant women, to protect newborns, and adults aged between 75 and 79 years old. This is being expanded to support the maternal pertussis vaccination programme, and selected pharmacies in other regions have now also been commissioned to deliver these vaccines.
Looking ahead, the 10-Year Health Plan sets out the Government’s ambition to expand the role of community pharmacy in prevention, including through the delivery of more National Health Service vaccination services. We will increase uptake of human papillomavirus vaccinations among younger adults who have left school including by making it available in pharmacies, supporting our aim to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS 10 Year Plan, published on 3 July 2025, whether (a) parents will be able to access the NHS App on behalf of their (i) children and (ii) young people and( b) data collected through the NHS App will be shared with third parties.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice (GP) surgeries can give someone secure access to another patient's GP services via the NHS App, so that they can help them manage their health and care. This is done through a proxy linked account.
Patients’ health records contain a type of data called confidential patient information. This data can be used to help with research and planning. However, patients can view or change their national data opt-out choice at any time.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) potential cost to the public purse for mental health services delivered through the NHS 10 Year Plan and (b) proportion of the total costs for the NHS 10 Year Plan that will be spent on mental health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The plan commits to wide reaching mental health transformation over the next 10 years, for which the National Health Service has a settlement for the next three years. The Spending Review prioritised health, with NHS day-to-day spending increasing by £29 billion in real terms by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. We are preparing for the first multi-year planning round for the NHS in more than half a decade, which will confirm budget allocations and give local leaders the certainty they need to deliver.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on whether (a) a family and (b) babies and children living in temporary accommodation can remain registered at their GP surgery if they live (i) in the area and (ii) outside the area but within reasonable travelling distance.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have the legal right to choose a general practice (GP) that best suits their needs. If a patient moves outside of their practice’s catchment area, the patient’s permanent practice must not de-register them, unless the patient is away from that practice’s area for more than three months. In those cases, the patient must be informed of this where practicable, and some practices may accept that you remain registered as an out of area patient. Housing status should not affect anyone’s ability to register with a GP. Patients who are homeless or in temporary housing do not need a fixed address to be registered.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish an implementation plan for the NHS 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation of the 10-Year Health Plan is already underway: new reforms to the dental contract will prioritise those with urgent and complex needs; we are taking first steps to rollout new neighbourhood health services, which will target the most-deprived areas first; a new pilot programme will support people with health conditions back into employment and ease pressure on doctors; a new animated series will get more children across the country moving more and encouraging a healthier lifestyle; and patients will benefit from better access to pharmacy services under new proposals.
Delivery expectations are embedded throughout the plan, which will shift care from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. Over the remainder of 2025/26, we will put in place key next steps to deliver the plan, build the foundations for the shifts from hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention, and roll out current best practice across the whole country.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS 10 Year Plan, published 3 July 2025, where the new neighbourhood health centres will be located.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need, like in coastal towns and working-class communities, including by using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest, and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.
Successful centres are already operating across the country in places such as Birmingham and Whitstable, showing how the service can work and be delivered for local people.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 61929 on Integrated Care Boards: Redundancy, whether he is providing new funding to integrated care boards to cover the cost of redundancies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to work with NHS England to manage all financial risk, including the best way to manage cost pressures arising from any redundancy schemes once realised.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of children living in temporary accommodation who presented to A&E with an injury or illness in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not collected centrally.