Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 the continuation of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme following the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A central mission of the Government is to build a health and care system fit for the future. To achieve this, it is crucial that we tackle preventable ill health, such as type 2 diabetes.
The highly effective NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme continues to be delivered. Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 the continuation of the Type 2 Diabetes in the Young programme following the abolition of NHS England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we work to bring NHS England and the Department together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.
The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.
A central mission of the Government is to build a health and care system that is fit for the future. Tackling preventable ill health such as type 2 diabetes is crucial. Shifting the focus from treatment to prevention is one of three shifts for the Government’s mission for a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and is a cornerstone of supporting people to live healthier lives.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating pilots.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we work to bring NHS England and the Department together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care. For 2025/26, national funding has been made available to support delivery of Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) services up to 31 March 2026 in the five current pilot site areas based in Coventry and Warwickshire, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, Humber and North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Mersey, and Norfolk and Waveney.
The funding allocated to the relevant integrated care boards (ICBs) has been ring fenced which means that the funding should be protected for T1DE in 2025/26 rather than reallocated to cover other costs.
Funding for the T1DE pilot programme has been provided to sites on a pump prime basis, to allow the services to establish, feed into the national evaluation and generate the evidence that would be required to attract longer term sustainable local funding, following this initial period of national investment.
NHS England is undertaking a national evaluation of the five pilot services and to support local teams to make the case to the relevant ICB for longer term continuation of services, will provide an evaluation report in summer 2025. This will include data on patient outcomes, insight into staff and patient experience and analysis of National Health Service costs and savings to run the services, alongside supportive resources such as a model business case and commissioning support tool.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 3 April 2025 to Question 42886 on NHS England: Redundancy Pay, whether he is making provision to reclaim redundancy payments for any staff subsequently reemployed by a public health body during the payout period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At this stage, while we are scoping the transformation programme, it is too early to share details of any redundancy programmes and what any terms will be regarding the clawback of redundancy payments.
The leadership of the Department and NHS England will communicate information about these reforms to staff at the earliest opportunity, and are committed to a culture of transparency.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 23 April 2025 to Question 45093 on Alan Milburn, whether Mr Milburn has initiated the process outlined in that Answer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any updates to a declaration of interest will be published in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and on the GOV.UK website, in alignment with Government policy.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Mr Alan Milburn has consulted his Department on taking on any new work that involves, or may potentially involve, health and social care through his business A.M. Strategy Ltd.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The usual process of declarations of interest and agreement of appropriate mitigations for non-executive board member (NEBM) appointments was carried out, overseen by the Permanent Secretary, when Mr Milburn was initially appointed. NEBMs’ contract terms state that they must alert the Department to any new interests. Mr Milburn will consult with the Department before taking on any new work which involves, or may potentially involve, health and social care through his business A.M. Strategy Ltd.
NEBM declarations of interest are published each year in the Register of Interests in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, and are also be published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to transfer any NHS England functions to other arm's-length bodies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Work is progressing at pace to map functions, appraise options, and inform decision making on where NHS England’s functions will best sit. There are important choices to be made here, and ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to consolidate estates following the closure of NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.
Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
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 with the Leader of the House on the timetable for bringing forward legislative proposals to abolish NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.
Primary legislation will be required, and we intend to bring this forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when guidance will be issued to ICBs on where the expected 50% cuts in running costs should come from.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the necessary changes to support the National Health Service to recover, NHS England has indicated that integrated care boards (ICBs) should reduce in size. NHS England and the Department are working in close collaboration with ICBs to ensure implementation is carried out effectively and at a pace, to support the work to get the NHS back on its feet. Further detail on the future of ICBs was provided in a letter issued to all ICBs and NHS trusts and foundation trusts on 1 April 2025.
This letter is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/working-together-in-2025-26-to-lay-the-foundations-for-reform/