Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is given to local authorities on supporting carers’ mental health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, local authorities are required by the Care Act 2014 to undertake carers assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support at their request. As stipulated in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance, a carer’s mental health must be considered when considering whether a carer has eligible needs.
The Government is making over £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. Part of this includes an increase to the National Health Service contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund. 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, but this can certainly include support for carers’ mental health.
Adults, including carers, who need support with common mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies or be referred by their general practitioner. As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, we are expanding Talking Therapies so that 915,000 people complete a course of treatment by March 2029.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of whether rural hospitals have adequate access to specialist medical equipment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. National Health Service providers, working with integrated care boards, are responsible for delivering NHS healthcare services that meet the needs of their local populations. This includes the medical equipment needed to deliver those services.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance is provided to GPs on faith-sensitive medical care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s Good Medical Practice. The standards cover personal beliefs and medical practice, and set out that in assessing a patient’s conditions and taking a history, doctors should take account of spiritual, religious, social, and cultural factors, as well as their clinical history and symptoms.
The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council. The RCGP curriculum includes content on ‘demonstrating the holistic mindset of a generalist medical practitioner’, which covers spirituality and cultural factors.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving support and diagnosis for women experiencing menopause in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is largely devolved and the Government works closely and collaboratively with the devolved administrations on a range of health priorities. The Department engages regularly with counterparts in the devolved administrations to share information and discuss areas of mutual interest. This includes engagement through established intergovernmental structures such as the Interministerial Group for Health and Social which meets quarterly at the ministerial level.
While health policy, including services relating to menopause, is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, the Government remains committed to constructive engagement with the devolved administrations on shared health challenges and opportunities to improve outcomes across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional variations in waiting times for diagnostic imaging appointments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No recent assessment has been made of trends in the level of regional variations in waiting times for diagnostic imaging appointments.
We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and are supporting the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to bring down the size of the list and reduce waiting times, including for imaging diagnostic tests.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that victims of domestic abuse presenting in the NHS outside of primary care get the responses they need.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Victims of domestic abuse may present in any part of the National Health Service. All NHS staff receive national mandatory safeguarding training that is being strengthened for launch in December 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.
The risk of domestic abuse can increase during pregnancy, which is why midwives and health visitors are trained to spot the signs and to provide support.
From April 2026, sexual assault referral centres will be asking victims and survivors about domestic abuse. This will improve outcomes by ensuring that the correct referral pathways are accessed in a timely and appropriate manner.
As well as rolling out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service across integrated care boards, which will include training general practice staff to spot the signs of violence and abuse, the Department will be investing a further £5 million each year for the next three years into support services for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
To go further, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has appointed the Hon. Member for Lowestoft, Jess Asato as his advisor on violence against women and girls to drive further transformation across the health system.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 adequacy of the availability of specialist nurses for neurological conditions in rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Workforce planning, including decisions about the number and type of specialist nurses needed locally, is the responsibility of individual employers and their integrated care boards, which are best placed to assess the needs of their populations.
We continue to work with NHS England through programmes like Getting It Right First Time to support improvements in access to specialist care for patients with neurological conditions. We have also set up the United Kingdom‑wide Neuro Forum, which brings together the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations, and the health services and Neurological Alliances of all four nations, to share best practice and address system-wide challenges, including neurology workforce challenges.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 help ensure that primary care staff delivering the Steps to Safety domestic abuse project are supported with effective referral routes to (a) other parts of the NHS and (b) specialist domestic abuse voluntary sector organisations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, the Department has committed to roll-out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service, Steps to Safety, across integrated care boards. This will ensure that general practices (GPs) in every area of England can connect victims and survivors with specialist services. The ambition is that by 2029 there will be national provision of Steps to Safety which will include:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 to provide network of support to GPs for enquiring about domestic abuse.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, the Department has committed to roll-out a domestic abuse and sexual violence referral service, Steps to Safety, across integrated care boards. This will ensure that general practices (GPs) in every area of England can connect victims and survivors with specialist services. The ambition is that by 2029 there will be national provision of Steps to Safety which will include:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 expand community-based rehabilitation services for people recovering from long-term respiratory illnesses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) services that meet the needs of their local populations, including delivery in community settings. To improve referral rates for PR, NHS England has issued guidance to ICBs on strengthening PR workforce capacity, ensuring safe staffing levels, and developing accessible service models to reduce health inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/pulmonary-rehabilitation-workforce/