Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 help ensure that social care providers recruiting (a) internationally and (b) within the UK comply with British (i) legal obligations and (ii) ethical standards towards their staff.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with regulators, local authorities, other departments, and enforcement bodies to share concerns and intelligence about illegal or unethical practices in adult social care. The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority investigates reports of worker exploitation and illegal activity, such as human trafficking, modern slavery, forced labour, and other labour market offences.
The Government is delivering legislation to improve employment rights, and the Fair Work Agency in the Employment Rights Bill will bring together existing state enforcement functions which, over time, will take on enforcement of a wider range of employment rights.
We are also committed to ensuring ethical and sustainable approaches to international recruitment. All providers should be meeting the clear ethical standards laid out in the Code of Practice for International Recruitment. The Code of Practice sets stringent ethical standards for recruiters and employers to follow to ensure that people coming from overseas are treated fairly and provided with the appropriate support. Any accusations of illegal employment practices will be fully investigated by the relevant authorities. Any business found guilty of serious employment law breaches will have action taken against them by the Home Office, up to and including having their visa sponsorship licences revoked. The Department of Health and Social Care is providing up to £12.5 million to 15 regional partnerships this financial year to support them to prevent and respond to unethical international recruitment practices in the sector. This includes support for international recruits to understand their employment rights to switch employers, to remain working in the care sector when they have been impacted by their sponsor’s license being revoked.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many physician associates were employed by the NHS in England in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of physician associates employed by the NHS in England in the last 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not hold data on physician associate (PA) numbers for each of the last ten years, but the table below provides figures for the number of full time equivalent (FTE) PAs employed in both National Health Service trusts and primary care from 2017 to 2024.
| Physician Associates in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England - FTE | Physician Associates in Primary Care in England - FTE | Of which, Physician Associates employed by General Practices in England - FTE |
December 2017 | Not Available | Not Available | 55 |
December 2018 | Not Available | Not Available | 116 |
December 2019 | Not Available | Not Available | 268 |
December 2020 | 973 | Not Available | 378 |
December 2021 | 1,136 | 1,041 | 477 |
December 2022 | 1,384 | 1,541 | 628 |
December 2023 | 1,624 | 2,009 | 763 |
December 2024 | 1,616 | 2,068 | 830 |
Sources: NHS Workforce Statistics, NHS England; General Practice Workforce Statistics, NHS England; Primary Care Quarterly Workforce Update, NHS England
Notes:
The Government has commissioned Professor Gillian Leng CBE to lead an independent review of physician and anaesthesia associate professions. It will consider the safety of the roles and their contribution to multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The conclusions of the review will inform the workforce plan to deliver the 10-Year Health Plan.
The review will consider the approach that was adopted in England to support the safe introduction, employment and deployment of these new roles.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 improve access to treatment for people with Parkinson’s in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have delivered an additional two million appointments in England, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests, and treatments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.
We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities, including in the Stockport constituency and Greater Manchester.
There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease in England, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme.
Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with Parkinson’s can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. One of these neurological centres is based at the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust in Greater Manchester.
Within specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including Parkinson’s disease nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
In addition, in February 2024, a new treatment for advanced-stage Parkinson’s, foslevodopa–foscarbidopa, was rolled out in the NHS. It has been shown to improve motor function, with patients experiencing longer periods of time without dyskinesia.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 support children living in poverty to access healthcare services in Stockport .
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our commitment to tackle child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, and the ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. The Department is working closely with the Child Poverty Ministerial Taskforce on an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle its root causes, and give every child the best start in life. The Government is committed to alleviating the negative experience of living in poverty through supporting families and enhancing public services.
Ahead of this strategy, work is already underway to support children living in poverty to access healthcare services. For example, the Department and NHS England are supporting Greater Manchester to improve access to the Healthy Start Scheme and poverty proofing services for children with long term conditions in the Northwest. Services for children offered in Stockport which are supported by the Department include Family Hubs, Start Well, and health visiting services.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 with the NHS to help ensure that it meets the target that 92% of people waiting for elective mental health treatment wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to their first treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The overall elective waiting list stands at 7.48 million patient pathways, with over six million people waiting. We are committed to putting patients first, making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.
As set out in the Government’s Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. This includes those patients waiting for mental health services where a referral is made to a medical consultant-led mental health service. The majority of National Health Service mental health care is outside the scope of the elective waiting list and the referral to treatment 18-week constitutional standard.
We know that too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure that mental health is given the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on hospitals.
The NHS Planning Guidance 2025/26 includes objectives to increase the number of children and young people accessing services to achieve the national ambition for 345,000 additional children and young people aged zero to 25 years old compared to 2019, and to reduce 12 hour accident and emergency waits. We will also ensure every young person has access to a mental health professional at school, and will set up Young Futures hubs in communities, offering open access mental health services for young people.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many physician associates are working in GP surgeries across (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the North West.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 December 2024, there were 287 full-time equivalent physician associates working in the North West NHS England region, 121 of which were working in the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board area.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 ensure that care homes meet high standards of (a) hygiene, (b) cleanliness and (c) quality of care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and social care in England. The CQC monitors, inspects, and regulates adult social care services, including care homes, to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. Inspection reports on individual providers are made publicly available.
Where concerns on quality or safety are identified, the CQC uses a range of regulatory and enforcement powers, to take action to ensure the safety of people drawing on care and support.
This includes using requirement notices to highlight areas that need improvement or placing adult social care providers into special measures to closely supervise the quality of care. In cases of significant concern, the CQC can take action that could lead to the removal of a provider’s registration or, in the most serious cases, take criminal action.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 ensure the accountability of care homes providing care below acceptable standards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and social care in England. The CQC monitors, inspects, and regulates adult social care services, including care homes, to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. Inspection reports on individual providers are made publicly available.
Where concerns on quality or safety are identified, the CQC uses a range of regulatory and enforcement powers, to take action to ensure the safety of people drawing on care and support.
This includes using requirement notices to highlight areas that need improvement or placing adult social care providers into special measures to closely supervise the quality of care. In cases of significant concern, the CQC can take action that could lead to the removal of a provider’s registration or, in the most serious cases, take criminal action.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the length of waiting lists for a lifesaving organ in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Elective Reform Plan, published in early January, sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target, in order to tackle the approximate 6.3 million patients on the waiting list. As of 31 December 2024, there were 6,858 people on the transplant waiting list in England, and 405 people in Greater Manchester, excluding temporarily suspended patients.
In July 2021, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care established the Organ Utilisation Group (OUG) to provide recommendations to maximise the potential for organ transplantation in England, and save more lives of those on the waiting list.
The OUG’s recommendations address barriers to transplantation and best practice. The Department established the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation in April 2023, bringing together key organisations involved in delivering the transplant service, to oversee and coordinate the recommendations’ implementation. Once fully implemented, the aim is to utilise more donor organs for transplant to save and improve the lives of those on the waiting list.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 help encourage more people to become blood donors in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) the North West.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood donation in England. NHSBT runs marketing and partnership activity across England, including in Stockport, to encourage new donors to come forward. For example, on 11 November it launched a new campaign to ask the public to give the best gift this winter, to inspire people to fill the 100,000 vacant appointments in the run up to Christmas. It has also been working with the BBC on the Casualty Christmas Special, which will focus on blood stocks.
In addition, there are three NHSBT Community Grant projects based in the North West to promote blood donation, including a Caribbean and African Health Network, One Wirral Community Interest Company, and the community charity Become United. These focus on raising awareness in black heritage communities via events, webinars, videos, and web content.