Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department operates 25 social media accounts in total. Of these, seven are Department-branded accounts, including two specifically focused on adult social care recruitment. The remaining 18 accounts are operated by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and are branded according to specific public health campaigns, such as Better Health, Start for Life, Couch to 5K, and FRANK. These accounts operate across various platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Strava.
In terms of social media subscriptions, the Department maintains one premium subscription on X for social listening purposes.
The following table shows the Department's social media advertising spend across platforms for the last three financial years:
Platform | 2021/22 (£) | 2022/23 (£) | 2023/24 (£) |
Meta | 2,887,477 | 1,461,522 | 1,475,286 |
790 | 22,459 | 7,739 | |
Nextdoor | N/A | N/A | 129,908 |
341,329 | 116,299 | 140,685 | |
Snapchat | 369,188 | 450,694 | 543,388 |
N/A | N/A | N/A | |
N/A | N/A | 158,626 | |
Total | 3,598,784 | 2,050,974 | 2,455,632 |
Source: Department of Health and Social Care
Note: These figures include spending across Departmental and OHID accounts. Some advertisements were run from NHS England accounts but were funded by the Department/OHID. YouTube advertising spend is not included as this is categorised as online video rather than social media advertising.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, of the total additional outpatient appointments statistics published by NHS England on 16 February 2025, how many were performed by treatment function by each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Region.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, of the total additional elective operations statistics published by NHS England on 16 February 2025, how many were performed by treatment function by each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Region.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, of the total additional diagnostic tests statistics published by NHS England on 16 February 2025, how many were performed by treatment function by each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Region.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had on Regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 with (a) Non-Departmental Public Bodies of his Department, (b) Government Executive Agencies, (c) Care Rights UK and (d) other external stakeholders.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen the requirements for health and care providers to facilitate visiting, including during pandemics, as long as it is safe to do so. Visiting is essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of patients and residents, and enabling loved ones to provide support and advocacy.
We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting through Capacity Tracker data and intelligence from external partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. In conducting the review, we will draw on a wide range of evidence, including data, intelligence, and the perspectives of people and organisations with an interest.
Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 adequacy of Regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 in protecting the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable people in health and social care settings during pandemic disease outbreaks.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen the requirements for health and care providers to facilitate visiting, including during pandemics, as long as it is safe to do so. Visiting is essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of patients and residents, and enabling loved ones to provide support and advocacy.
We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting through Capacity Tracker data and intelligence from external partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. In conducting the review, we will draw on a wide range of evidence, including data, intelligence, and the perspectives of people and organisations with an interest.
Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 risk of introducing a legal right for vulnerable people in health and social care settings to be visited by close family members during (a) pandemic disease outbreaks and (b) other healthcare crises.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen the requirements for health and care providers to facilitate visiting, including during pandemics, as long as it is safe to do so. Visiting is essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of patients and residents, and enabling loved ones to provide support and advocacy.
We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting through Capacity Tracker data and intelligence from external partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. In conducting the review, we will draw on a wide range of evidence, including data, intelligence, and the perspectives of people and organisations with an interest.
Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 strengthen the visitation rights of family and friends of vulnerable people in health and social care settings to provide (a) emotional support and (b) advocacy.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen the requirements for health and care providers to facilitate visiting, including during pandemics, as long as it is safe to do so. Visiting is essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of patients and residents, and enabling loved ones to provide support and advocacy.
We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting through Capacity Tracker data and intelligence from external partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. In conducting the review, we will draw on a wide range of evidence, including data, intelligence, and the perspectives of people and organisations with an interest.
Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 adequacy of Regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 in protecting the physical health of vulnerable people in health and social care settings during pandemic disease outbreaks.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen the requirements for health and care providers to facilitate visiting, including during pandemics, as long as it is safe to do so. Visiting is essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of patients and residents, and enabling loved ones to provide support and advocacy.
We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting through Capacity Tracker data and intelligence from external partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. In conducting the review, we will draw on a wide range of evidence, including data, intelligence, and the perspectives of people and organisations with an interest.
Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
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 review the Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying to include (a) data on and (b) experiences of family and friends visiting vulnerable people in health and social care settings.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission Fundamental Standard on Visiting and Accompanying (Regulation 9A) came into force on 6 April 2024 to strengthen the requirements for health and care providers to facilitate visiting, including during pandemics, as long as it is safe to do so. Visiting is essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of patients and residents, and enabling loved ones to provide support and advocacy.
We continue to monitor the situation regarding visiting through Capacity Tracker data and intelligence from external partners. We will conduct a review of Regulation 9A from April 2025, 12 months on from the legislation coming into force, to assess whether the legislation has been effective in addressing concerns about visiting in health and care settings. In conducting the review, we will draw on a wide range of evidence, including data, intelligence, and the perspectives of people and organisations with an interest.
Depending on the outcome of the review we will consider whether further action is needed.