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 ensure the palliative care workforce is able to cope with growing demand for end of life care.

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

The Government is committed to publishing a 10-Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10-Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it, including in palliative care and end of life care.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

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 reduce emergency hospital admissions involving people who are in the last 12 months of life.

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

Our recently published 10-Year Health Plan sets out that community-based advice and support will help more people die in their home rather than in hospital, while community teams will work closely with care homes and paramedics to share care plans to avoid people being taken to accident and emergency unless absolutely necessary. Teams can include hospice outreach staff and palliative care professionals. Additionally, rapid response teams will help symptom management, including pain.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

NHS England has published universal principles for advance care planning (ACP). These principles facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP in England. The principles focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences, including place of care, when they are nearing the end of life. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/

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 reduce the number of deaths in hospital.

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

Our recently published 10-Year Health Plan sets out that community-based advice and support will help more people die in their home rather than in hospital, while community teams will work closely with care homes and paramedics to share care plans to avoid people being taken to accident and emergency unless absolutely necessary. Teams can include hospice outreach staff and palliative care professionals. Additionally, rapid response teams will help symptom management, including pain.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

NHS England has published universal principles for advance care planning (ACP). These principles facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP in England. The principles focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences, including place of care, when they are nearing the end of life. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/

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 increase the early identification of palliative care needs.

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

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

The early identification of someone who has palliative and end of life care needs is vital. There are tools to aid clinicians in identifying those approaching the end of life, for example the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool and the EARLY toolkit. Further information on the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool and the EARLY toolkit is available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://www.spict.org.uk/the-spict/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/north-west/north-west-coast-strategic-clinical-networks/our-networks/palliative-and-end-of-life-care/for-professionals/early-toolkit-for-primary-care/

NHS England has published universal principles for advance care planning (ACP). These principles facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP in England. The principles focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences, including place of care, when they are nearing the end of life. The universal principles for ACP are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when will the mandatory digital ID scheme be introduced.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government’s new digital ID scheme will be rolled out by the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled New digital ID scheme to be rolled out across UK, published on 26 September 2025, what steps he is planning to take to ensure that the scheme cannot be (a) misused, (b) expanded without public consent and (c) linked to unrelated services.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The new scheme will be inclusive, secure, and useful. It will give people more control over their data than they have now, and make public services easier to access.

Users will receive clear information about what data is collected, how it is used, retention periods, and their rights. Privacy notices will be accessible and easy to understand, ensuring people remain informed and confident in the system.

We will ensure that the new scheme complies with all data protection legislation, and user privacy will be at the heart of the design of the scheme at every stage of development and delivery.

We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation. (No final decisions will be made until after the consultation).

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is planning to take to ensure Parliamentary oversight of the digital ID scheme in relation to the UN Agenda 2030.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government’s proposed Digital ID scheme will require primary legislation, ensuring full scrutiny by Parliament.

The Government will consult widely with stakeholders and the public, through a public consultation. The consultation will be open for the public and experts who will be able to share their views on how the scheme is designed and implemented.

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 reduce variations in the approaches of commissioners in meeting local population need for palliative and end of life care services.

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

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access to, and quality of, palliative and end of life care services at local and regional levels.

This is further made clear in the recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium Term Planning Guidance, which make clear the expectations that integrated care boards should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.

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 reduce regional inequalities in (a) access to and (b) quality of palliative and end of life care.

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

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access to, and quality of, palliative and end of life care services at local and regional levels.

This is further made clear in the recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium Term Planning Guidance, which make clear the expectations that integrated care boards should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS neurologists and geriatricians have specialist training to treat Parkinson’s disease.

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

The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses employed in the National Health Service in England. These roles are commissioned locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards as part of neurology and movement disorder services.

While the Department does not hold data specifically on the number of Parkinson’s specialist staff in England, we do hold data on the number of doctors working in the wider specialities of neurology and geriatric medicine. As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in NHS trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians.

NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. This specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals.

NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the current number of specialist Parkinson’s disease nurses employed within the NHS.

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

The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses employed in the National Health Service in England. These roles are commissioned locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards as part of neurology and movement disorder services.

While the Department does not hold data specifically on the number of Parkinson’s specialist staff in England, we do hold data on the number of doctors working in the wider specialities of neurology and geriatric medicine. As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in NHS trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians.

NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. This specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals.

NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.

Decarbonising refrigerated transport

Armed Forces Training Contract and Elbit Systems

Local Housing Allowance

Leasehold reform (No. 2)

Found: Luke Taylor: That was a very good answer. I enjoyed that.

Found: from Members The following Members made oral representations: • Liz Jarvis: Free School Meals • Luke Taylor

Found: Richard Baker; Markus Campbell- Savours; Sam Carling; Lauren Edwards; Peter Lamb; John Lamont; Luke Taylor

Found: Q45 Luke Taylor: Again you have said it is not typical.

Found: govuk-table__cell">03/09/2025

The report from the Infected Blood Inquiry includes recommendations for Parliament on two key areas: how to respond to calls for public inquiries and how to scrutinise the implementation of recommendations resulting from future inquiries.