Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 improve access to pancreatic specialists in children’s healthcare.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it. A range of measures across National Health Service systems support this goal.
NHS England commissions specialist paediatric gastroenterology services, which include the management of pancreatic conditions, through a network of designated regional centres. These centres are supported by clear referral pathways to ensure children can access specialist teams regardless of where they live.
National clinical guidelines, developed by the British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, help ensure consistent standards of diagnosis and care. NHS England continues to work with professional bodies, specialist centres, and commissioners to improve equity of access and ensure timely treatment for children with complex pancreatic conditions.
The Department continues to work with NHS England to support service planning, training, and commissioning for paediatric gastroenterology, to ensure children receive timely and appropriate care for pancreatic conditions.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to require all primary care networks to publish annual accounts.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The network directed enhanced service contract for primary care networks is held by individual practices, and there is no requirement to form separate legal entities or produce separate accounts. Where local arrangements have led to the creation of separate legal entities they are covered by existing company law and requirements to produce accounts.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role neighbourhood mental health centre pilot schemes will play in improving (a) care and (b) support for people living with bipolar disorder; and whether these centres will provide specialist support to help reduce delays to diagnosis and treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adults with mild to severe mental health needs, including bipolar disorder, can receive open access and as you arrive support, signposting and treatment at Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres, which will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These centres will be in the heart of the community and are firmly connected to both primary and specialist services.
Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres promote continuity of care with one team managing the mental health pathway and transitions between hospital and community. These centres will support the improvement of patient safety and clinical outcomes and reduce waiting times and hospitalisation.
NHS England has launched six pilot Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres in Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Sheffield, York, Birmingham and Whitehaven with a further 16 associate sites planned. The six pilot sites will be independently evaluated with findings expected in summer 2026. Evaluation will inform future roll out of the centres.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the use of police vehicles as places of safety for people with mental heath conditions, in the context of police and prison cells no longer being used to place people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Mental Health Act’s Code of Practice states that local organisations are expected to have clear arrangements in place to support individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. This includes the development of a policy which identifies specific places of safety.
These places of safety should be hospitals or health-based facilities where appropriate mental health services are provided.
Other options might, however, be appropriate, such as the home of a relative or of a friend of the person who is willing to accept them, or a residential care home. These settings might provide a more immediate and more suitable setting for the individual.
A police vehicle would not be an appropriate place to hold a person who is in need of specialist mental health support.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with learning difficulties have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of people with learning disabilities admitted to mental health inpatient care under the Mental Health Act 1983, within each year between 2020 and 2024, as of 28 February 2025:
Year | Number of people with learning disabilities admitted to mental health inpatient care under the Mental Health Act 1983 |
2020 | 490 |
2021 | 485 |
2022 | 415 |
2023 | 395 |
2024 | 400 |
Source: Assuring Transformation data collection, NHS England.
Notes:
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which stakeholders (a) he and (b) his officials have met with while (i) preparing, (ii) publishing and (iii) bringing forward the Mental Health Bill.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The reforms delivered by the Mental Health Bill reflect the recommendations made by the Independent Review into the Mental Health Act, which engaged widely with stakeholders, including people with lived experience. There was extensive consultation following this to develop the draft bill, most notably in the Government’s White Paper, Reforming the Mental Health Act. Since the initial draft bill, we have taken on board several recommendations from the pre-legislative scrutiny committee, which heard from a wide range of stakeholders and organisations representing service users, patients, and professionals.
Soon after the Mental Health Bill’s introduction to the House of Lords on 6 November 2024, the Department held a ministerial roundtable to discuss the content of the bill’s reforms with stakeholder groups, and a wider virtual meeting to update a broader range of stakeholders. Engagement has continued throughout the bill’s passage.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met with the Bring People Home from Psychiatric Hospital campaign to discuss the Mental Health Bill.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Engagement with stakeholders and people with lived experience is central to the progression of these reforms, and we will consult and engage as we move to implementation planning, including on revisions to the Mental Health Act Code of Practice. The Department recognises the important work of the Bring People Home from Psychiatric Hospital network. A meeting to discuss the Mental Health Bill has not taken place with this network to date.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with autism have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of autistic people admitted to mental health inpatient care under the Mental Health Act 1983 within each year between 2020 and 2024, based on the Assuring Transformation data collection as of 28 February 2025:
Year | Number of autistic people admitted to mental health inpatient care under the Mental Health Act 1983 |
2020 | 635 |
2021 | 715 |
2022 | 820 |
2023 | 905 |
2024 | 1,015 |
Source: Assuring Transformation data collection, NHS England.
Notes:
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to support self-employed midwives.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent midwives make a valuable contribution to midwifery services across the country. As they are not employed by the National Health Service, we do not have any influence over their pay or terms and conditions, or how they access learning, development, and pastoral support. Many self-employed midwives are members of Independent Midwifery UK, which does offer support and mentoring.
Local employers who work with self-employed midwives are best placed to determine what additional support they can offer, in the interests of delivering high quality services.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to facilitate access to professional indemnity insurance for self-employed midwives.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, most National Health Services are covered by the state indemnity schemes administered by NHS Resolution. Therefore, midwives working in NHS trusts, other member organisations, and general practices are covered by the state indemnity schemes, namely the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) and the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice, respectively. Where self-employed midwives are not covered by state schemes, they need to obtain independent cover which is mainly through regulated insurance or via discretionary indemnity offered primarily by medical defence organisations.
In 2020, the difficulty in accessing indemnity was highlighted by self-employed midwives. Alternative arrangements were agreed via an NHS contract which enabled self-employed midwives to be covered by the state scheme, the CNST. A number use this model, although we understand some do not.
The Department is currently considering policy measures to address gaps in the clinical indemnities system. We would be happy to take further evidence from self-employed midwives to determine issues specific to them and the scale of the problem.