Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to Integrated Care Boards to support the delivery of children’s community health services in each of the last three years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children’s community health services are part of integrated care board (ICB) core commissioning responsibilities. ICBs are given a non-ring-fenced allocation from which to commission services to meet these responsibilities and therefore there is no separate allocation.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 the workforce capacity in children’s community health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s community services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community service waiting times via the Community Health Services SitRep data collection, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly and is available at the following link:
The National Health Service has also published an overview of the core community health services that integrated care boards, service providers, and their partners should consider when planning services for their local population, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/standardising-community-health-services/
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 support Integrated Care Boards to reduce waiting times for (a) speech and language therapy, (b) physiotherapy, (a) community paediatrics and (d) other community health services for children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:
A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/
As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for children’s community health services; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for those services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:
A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/
As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 introduce a maximum waiting time target for children’s community health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:
A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/
As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to safeguard patient data under NHS contracts with (a) Palantir and (b) other private sector data collectors.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service operates to the highest standards of data security, and all organisations have governance arrangements in place to ensure the safe, legal storage and use of data. The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to NHS data is tightly governed and independently auditable.
All user activity within the FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are actively monitored by both Palantir’s United Kingdom security team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre, to detect and respond to any malicious activity. Security logs are encrypted at rest and in transit, and are stored on a secure Security Information and Event Management server which is accessible only to authorised personnel
Access to data within the FDP is governed by strict controls, including the principle of least privilege and mandatory access control systems. Only authorised users are granted access for approved purposes, and all permissions are subject to audit and review. In addition to these technical safeguards, the FDP and associated services contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations.
Further information on the FDP’s security and governance framework is available in the published contract documentation and supporting materials, a copy of which is attached.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) review and (b) reconsider the contract between the NHS and Palantir for the Federated Data Platform, in the context of the (i) abolition of NHS England, (ii) opposition of the British Medical Association and (iii) comments of Peter Thiel on the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The provider of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) was identified through a rigorous, competitive procurement process in line with Government procurement legislation. The selection was made by multiple assessors against clear criteria following an open tender process where any supplier could respond with their solution. Potential suppliers were required to demonstrate their financial, commercial, security, and technical capability to meet contractual requirements.
The contract for the FDP includes provisions to ensure transparency. This includes regular audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within National Health Service commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations. There is no plan to reconsider the contract.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many care and support workers in England are paid the national living wage; and whether he plans to increase minimum pay for those workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care is a historically low paid sector. In 2024/25, 22% of care workers in the independent sector were paid the National Living Wage (NLW). The median hourly pay rate for care workers was £12.00 in March 2025, 56p higher than the NLW.
We are committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce. Negotiations between employee and employer representatives will shape how this funding will be used to enhance pay, terms, and conditions.
The Spending Review allows for over £4 billion in additional funding for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This includes other sources of income available to support adult social care, additional grant funding, and an increase in the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund. This £4 billion increase includes £500 million to begin implementing the Fair Pay Agreement in 2028/29.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average income is of care and support workers; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that income.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care is a historically low paid sector. In 2024/25, 22% of care workers in the independent sector were paid the National Living Wage (NLW). The median hourly pay rate for care workers was £12.00 in March 2025, 56p higher than the NLW. Some studies have found the median household income for residential care workers was lower than the national average.
We aim to transform adult social care and support adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding.
Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker representatives, employers and others to negotiate pay and terms and conditions in a responsible manner. This will help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector; in turn supporting the delivery of high-quality care. Negotiations between employee and employer representatives will shape how this funding will be used to enhance pay, terms and conditions.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 implications for his policies of Community Integrated Care's report entitled The Caring Economy – Unfair To Care 2025, published on 12 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We appreciate the work undertaken and the findings presented in the Unfair to Care 2025 report. We are committed to supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce.
The Impact Assessment for the Employment Rights Bill, published in October 2024, provides an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts of a Fair Pay Agreement given the current stage of policy development.
The Spending Review 2025 allows for over £4 billion in additional funding available for ASC in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26. This includes other sources of income available to support adult social care, additional grant funding and an increase in the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund. This £4 billion increase includes £500 million to begin implementing the Fair Pay Agreement in 2028-29.