Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans there are to widen pay bands for Level 3 Staff in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any changes to the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay structure, including for Band 3 staff, will be for the NHS Staff Council to ratify or agree to as part of any future discussions. The NHS Staff Council is a partnership body made up of trade unions and employers and has overall responsibility for the AfC pay system and the terms and conditions of service.
The Government accepted the NHS Pay Review Body’s recommendations for 2025/26 in full, which included a recommendation to provide the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to make improvements to the AfC pay structure.
The Department intends to deliver this mandate as soon as possible, to make the changes in time for 2026/27. Once the mandate is confirmed, the Department will work closely with the NHS Staff Council to agree the changes to the pay structure. This may or may not include changes to Band 3 pay, depending on NHS Staff Council views.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the department has to improve retention of level 3 staff within the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.
To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment by April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff including promoting flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.
NHS England is already leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.
Regarding pay, the Government remitted the Pay Review Bodies on 22 July and published its written evidence on 30 October, with the target of getting uplifts into the pockets of health workers early next year.
Earlier this year, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care was also able to accept the vast majority of recommendations that were produced from the non-pay work from the 2023 Agenda for Change deal. This covers work on a variety of issues including job evaluation and tackling violence and aggression against staff. NHS organisations are now in the process of implementing these recommendations.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department will provide to support the delivery of (a) art therapy, (b) animal therapy, (c) talking therapies, (d) group therapies and (e) other community-based preventative mental health support provision for residents in the Eastbourne area.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board is responsible for funding decisions relating to the provision of mental health care for people in the Eastbourne area.
Nationally, funding to expand evidence-based NHS Talking Therapies services has been prioritised, with the number of people completing a course of treatment expected to increase by 384,000 by 2028/29.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to allocate funding to the Lobular Moonshot Project.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC).
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, accompanied by the Minister of State for Health, met with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot Project on 14 July 2025 to discuss their work. The Chief Scientific Adviser and officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the MRC have held two further meetings with the Lobular Moonshot Project to provide advice on existing funding options.
Both the MRC and the NIHR have committed to continuing to work with the Lobular Moonshot Campaign team to support the development of fundable research proposals in this area and help drive our collective ambition to increase understanding and effective management of this disease.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality, high impact funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including lobular breast cancer.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 mental health of (a) victims and (b) survivors of crime.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many people with mental health issues, including victims and survivors of crime, are not getting the support or care they need. This is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.
We are committed to improving mental health care for people with a range of mental health conditions, and to shifting the focus from treatment to prevention as we make the National Health Service fit for the future.
This Government is recruiting 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services. More than 6,700 extra mental health workers have been recruited since July, latest data shows. The latest recruitment milestone means the government is more than halfway towards its target of hiring an extra 8,500 mental health staff by the end of this Parliament, helping get people the care they need so they can get back to work, school and doing what they love.
We are transforming mental health services into 24 hour a day, seven day a week neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, and increasing access to evidence based digital interventions. People will get better access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week directly through the NHS App, including through self-referral for Talking Therapies.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 the supply of Pancreatin for people struggling to acquire their required quantity and dosage.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently managing a supply issue with the pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) Creon, which is used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer and neuroendocrine cancer. The supply issue with Creon is impacting countries throughout Europe and has been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce the volumes needed to meet demand. This is causing knock-on supply issues with alternative PERT products.
The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term. This includes asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. Through these discussions we have managed to secure additional volumes for 2025 for the United Kingdom.
The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. In May 2024, pancreatin preparations were added to the Department’s list of medicines that cannot be exported from the UK or hoarded. In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers of PERT wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers, and if authorised, these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.
The Department has widely disseminated comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues, which provides advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply to ensure that no patient is left without PERT.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve access to reproductive health in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving access to reproductive health services in Eastbourne and East Sussex is a matter for local determination.
The Government has mandated local authorities in England to commission comprehensive open access to most sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception advice, through the Public Health Grant. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, and to commission the blend of service access that best suits their population.
In addition, under the GP Contract, contraceptive services are an essential service that practices must provide, or arrange for the provision of, to their patients. Practices are paid for providing essential services via the global sum, which is a capitated payment based on practice patient list size, weighted to account for estimated patient workload and unavoidable costs.
Contraception is also available direct from pharmacies, both prescribed and over the counter, as well as online and through other health care services.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 increase the number of available general practice appointments in Eastbourne.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to work with the National Health Service to fix the front door of our health service and ensure that everyone can access general practice (GP) appointments and services, including in Eastbourne. Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a GP. The 8:00am scramble will end, we will train more doctors, and we will guarantee digital consultations within 24 hours.
In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of 1,900 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients.
We have also delivered the biggest boost to GP funding in years, an £889 million uplift, with GPs now receiving a growing share of National Health Service resources. Additionally, the new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 practices across England. This investment will deliver more appointments and improve patient care.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
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 tackle health inequalities in (a) Eastbourne and (b) the South East.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain, one where people can live longer, healthier lives regardless of where they are born or their financial circumstances. Tackling health inequalities requires a whole-Government effort. The newly published 10-Year Health Plan outlines a long-term vision to tackle these inequalities, address social determinants of health, and to make the National Health Service fit for the future, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
In Eastbourne and across the South East, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ South East Regional Team provides system leadership for population health and for reducing health inequalities. This includes working with local authorities and integrated care systems to develop and deliver population health programmes at a local level, supporting regional NHS priorities and long-term planning on prevention and health inequalities, contributing to the development of the public health workforce, and enhancing data, intelligence, and insights for population health.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, steps his Department is taking to support patients with (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes in Eastbourne.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Sussex has made notable progress in recent years in tackling the growing challenge of diabetes, with a strong focus on prevention, equity, and modernisation of care pathways. NHS Sussex is committed to commissioning the diabetes care that people need, and has a range of services available.
With rising prevalence, particularly among those under 40 years old, prevention is a strategic priority. A range of nationally commissioned programmes are available to support people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, including:
- the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme;
- the type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme;
- the Digital Weight Management Programme; and
- access to GLP-1 receptor agonists where clinically appropriate.
Sussex partners are actively working to increase the uptake of these offers, particularly in high-inequality and underserved populations.
In 2024/25, Sussex launched a multi-agency initiative to co-design a structured education programme tailored for people under 40 years old with type 2 diabetes, an increasingly prevalent yet underserved group.
In 2025/26, this work will shift to a neighbourhood level delivery model, enabling enhanced reviews and improving access to bespoke, community embedded education, especially for those in high-need areas.
In Eastbourne, a specialist diabetes care service is provided at Eastbourne District General Hospital, complemented by a general practice led locally commissioned service to support primary care delivery.
Building on this, NHS Sussex is co-designing an integrated, all-age, whole-pathway model for diabetes care across Sussex. This model will:
- embed prevention throughout the pathway;
- align with Integrated Community Team structures;
- leverage the diabetes technology revolution, for instance remote monitoring, diagnostics, and digital coaching;
- reduce variation in access and outcomes; and
- support a resilient and retained specialist workforce, through robust training and multi-disciplinary team development
In the first year of the hybrid closed loop (HCL) roll-out, Sussex achieved approximately 80% uptake among eligible children, young people, and high-risk adults with type 1 diabetes. In the second year, the rollout will expand to additional national priority groups in line with NHS England’s guidance.
Workforce planning is fully embedded in this process to ensure sustainable, equitable access to HCL technology across the system.
NHS Sussex continues to make progress and remains fully committed to improving outcomes, reducing variation, and delivering person-centred, future-ready diabetes care for people across Eastbourne and the wider Sussex system.