Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, which Departments will be impacted by the £150 million for Government employee exit schemes.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, whether the abolition of NHS England will be entirely funded by the £150 million included in the transformation fund.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, how many redundancies from NHS England will be paid for from the £150 million included in the transformation fund.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Oral Statement of 26 March 2025 on the Spring Statement, Official Report, column 945, what proportion of the £150 million included in the transformation fund will be spent on the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments.

On 13 March, the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care to form a new joint centre.

Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term.

Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of which Departments will benefit from this and how this will be spent is not yet known.

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 26 March 2025 to Question 40282 on General Practitioners: Recruitment, what proportion of new GPs employed since July 2024 were not employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data on the number of recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme was published by NHS England on 7 April, and showed that 41% of all new full-time equivalent GPs since July 2024 were not employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

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 impact of the abolition of NHS England on patient outcomes.

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. This reform is about devolving resources and responsibility to the frontline, empowering staff to focus on delivering better care for patients.

We will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care, so that there are no risks to patient safety.

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 impact of the abolition of NHS England on the (a) roles and (b) responsibilities of regional NHS bodies.

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.

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff will form the leadership team to coordinate the transfer of NHS England into his Department.

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 determine the leadership, structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.

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 (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on healthcare delivery.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate. The Government is committed to transparency, and will consider how best to ensure the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes.

We will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.

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 maintain (a) transparency and (b) accountability in NHS operations after the abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The announcement to bring NHS England into the Department and create a new joint centre will allow the national centre to operate very differently to the current arrangements. The change will drive our reform agenda by removing layers of bureaucracy and empowering leaders within the service, and will end the duplication of work across the organisations. We are committed to transparency throughout this process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the abolition of NHS England will impact the management of (a) national and (b) regional NHS budgets.

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.

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. Evidence from these ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.

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 manage existing (a) litigation and (b) other disputes involving NHS England after its abolition.

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. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

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 communicate changes in relation to the abolition of NHS England to the (a) public and (b) NHS staff.

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 ensure that the details of the changes are communicated to staff and the public as quickly and clearly as possible.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also appeared in front of the Health and Social Care Committee on 8 April to communicate these plans. The Department is also committed to maintaining an ongoing dialogue with trade unions and partners throughout this period of change, and updating them as often as is possible.

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 manage the integration of NHS England's IT systems into his Department.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Ministers and senior Departmental officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds and where this may have a direct impact for patients, we will work collaboratively to put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.

We will put plans in place to ensure a smooth integration of IT systems; it is essential that information relating to people’s identifiable health and care is shared appropriately, lawfully and in line with their reasonable expectations.

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 19 March 2025 to Question 33086 on Health Services: Waiting Lists, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies entitled Can the government achieve its 18- week elective waiting time target, published on 20 March 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by March 2029, and will ensure patients get the treatment they need faster and improve their experience of care.

The Department routinely reviews and considers reports on a variety of topics to inform policy development.

Planning Guidance for 2025/26 sets out the expectation of progress towards the target this year with an increase to 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks nationally by March 2026, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement on current performance. We make no apologies for setting stretching ambitions for the National Health Service and have been clear on the productivity efforts and reforms that are required to get there. We are closely monitoring performance and will work to ensure that our oversight and delivery standards provide the right incentives to drive reform and maximise progress.

The Government is already making good progress on waiting lists, with the delivery of an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments, as a First Step. Since July, the waiting list has fallen by over 190,000, and we have seen significant improvements in getting more people diagnosed and starting treatment faster. We are also introducing funding for general practitioners to incentivise the use of Advice and Guidance, which is an effective way of reducing unnecessary demand into hospitals. We have implemented several innovative strategies to boost NHS productivity and reduce long waiting times, including the Further Faster 20 initiative, in which expert clinicians and managers are deployed into NHS trusts in areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity to get patients treated faster.