Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 the potential impact of increases to employers National Insurance contributions on (a) staff and (b) patients in private nursing homes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
The additional funding available to Wigan in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 9.0% in cash terms.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to private nursing homes in (a) Leigh and Atherton constituency and (b) nationally, in the context of increases to employers National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
The additional funding available to Wigan in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 9.0% in cash terms.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on private nursing homes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
The additional funding available to Wigan in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 9.0% in cash terms.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to financially support nursing homes with increases in National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
The additional funding available to Wigan in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 9.0% in cash terms.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 armed forces veterans access mental health support in Leigh and Atherton constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service, which allows veterans to make self-referrals. The Op COURAGE North service, run by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, covers the Leigh and Atherton constituency area.
The service, which is available across England, has been designed to support veterans from all areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices (GPs), Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate. The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services and can instead choose to use mainstream National Health Services, such as talking therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.
GPs are able to participate in the Veteran Friendly Practice Accreditation Scheme, which is a free support programme for GPs in England that enables GPs to easily identify, understand, and support veterans, and, where appropriate, refer them to specialist healthcare services designed especially for them, such as Op COURAGE. Over 99% of Primary Care Networks have at least one GP accredited as Veteran Friendly.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a centre of excellence for care and research for infection-associated chronic conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not anticipate setting up a new centre of excellence for care and research specifically for post-viral or infection-associated conditions. The Department funds research on post-viral conditions through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and Medical Research Council (MRC) remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of post-viral conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID, and are actively exploring next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, for example research fellowships, and in the case of NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. Funding is available for infection-associated research.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to allocate additional funding towards the Government's myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue delivery plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to allocate additional funding towards the myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue (ME/CFS) final delivery plan. The ME/CFS final delivery plan continues to be developed.
The plan will focus on improving research, attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this disease. The consultation responses, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, will inform the development of the final delivery plan for ME/CFS, which we aim to publish by the end of March 2025.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with (a) NHS England and (b) ITF Pharma UK on the provision of (i) resources and (ii) guidance to NHS trusts to enable them to take part in the Early Access Programme for givinostat.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
ITF Pharma UK, the United Kingdom marketing authorisation holder for givinostat, is providing access to givinostat through a type of compassionate use scheme called an Early Access Programme (EAP). Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the National Health Service, but the trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients, aligned to eligibility criteria.
NHS England does not have any initiatives to encourage participation in compassionate use schemes, which are the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies. Participation in the EAP for givinostat, which must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the UK, is decided at an individual NHS trust level, although there is general advice that trusts should engage with the relevant commissioner if they choose to participate, so that any impacts on the wider service can be taken into account. A NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation.
NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes such as EAPs, including providing advice on potential financial, administrative, and clinical risks. The guidance aims to support the NHS to drive value from the medicines and ensure consistent and equitable access to medicines across England. ICSs should follow the recommendations to determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme, including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 ensure that all eligible NHS Trusts participate in the early access programme for givinostat.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
ITF Pharma UK, the United Kingdom marketing authorisation holder for givinostat, is providing access to givinostat through a type of compassionate use scheme called an Early Access Programme (EAP). Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the National Health Service, but the trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients, aligned to eligibility criteria.
NHS England does not have any initiatives to encourage participation in compassionate use schemes, which are the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies. Participation in the EAP for givinostat, which must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the UK, is decided at an individual NHS trust level, although there is general advice that trusts should engage with the relevant commissioner if they choose to participate, so that any impacts on the wider service can be taken into account. A NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation.
NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes such as EAPs, including providing advice on potential financial, administrative, and clinical risks. The guidance aims to support the NHS to drive value from the medicines and ensure consistent and equitable access to medicines across England. ICSs should follow the recommendations to determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme, including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 standardise the use of Pathological Demand Avoidance for autism diagnosis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is most often understood as a characteristic of, or observed in, some autistic people, but professional consensus on its status is still required. PDA is not a recognised and stand-alone diagnosis within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Disease.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessment services for autistic people, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
The NICE guideline, Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis, recommends that as part of autism assessments, healthcare workers should consider PDA, and carry out appropriate referrals.