Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 (a) reschedule Psilocybin to allow it to be prescribed and (b) retain its status as a class A substance for other purposes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to reschedule psilocybin under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, also known as the Act.
There is an established process for the development of medicines, overseen by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This enables medicines, including those containing Schedule 1 controlled drugs under the Act, such as psilocybin, to be developed, evaluated in clinical trials, and licensed, based on an assessment of their safety, quality, and efficacy, before being made available to patients in the United Kingdom. Should an application be submitted for a marketing authorisation, for a product licence, it will ultimately be a decision for the MHRA whether to license psilocybin as a therapy. There are no psilocybin-based medicines with a marketing authorisation in the UK.
If a manufacturer is successful in being granted a marketing authorisation by the MHRA for a medicine containing psilocybin, the Home Office is committed to reviewing its scheduling under the Act, subject to advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the appropriate scheduling and safeguards for the medicine.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is supporting psilocybin research via the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility, the NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility, and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, where researchers are developing and evaluating the efficacy and safety of psilocybin therapies.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Children's Hospital Grant will be (a) centrally distributed, (b) ringfenced and (c) take account of the recent proposed increase in employers National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
2023/24 was the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant. In 2024/25, however, NHS England provided £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of funding from 2023/24.
For the first time, however, this funding was transacted by integrated care boards (ICBs), on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before. I am aware that the shift to dissemination via ICBs for 2024/25 has not been as smooth a transition as I would have hoped, and the Department and NHS England are learning the lessons from that experience.
We do understand that, financially, times are difficult for many voluntary and charitable organisations, including children’s hospices, due to a range of concurrent cost pressures.
I met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting. We are working very closely with NHS England to get the funding arrangements for 2025/26 confirmed as a matter of urgency.
On the increase in employer National Insurance contributions, we have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.
The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025. We will set out further plans in due course, including through NHS Planning Guidance.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 risks associated with aggregating NHS performance data; and what steps he is taking to provide transparent data on an individual hospital level for emergency departments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is publishing more data about patient care in hospital emergency departments than ever before. Performance data is published at an organisational level, so that it is appropriately aligned with accountability.
The Government will continue to consider how to increase the transparency of National Health Service data as part of future reforms.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 Child health GP hubs on access to specialists in local GP settings.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will trial neighbourhood health centres to bring together a range of services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home and patients receive the care they deserve. This is part of our broader ambition to move towards a neighbourhood health service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier. They will bring together existing services such as family doctors, district nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, palliative care, and mental health specialists.
We have also made changes to the Medical Performers List to remove barriers preventing secondary care doctors working in primary care, which would allow paediatricians to deliver care in general practice settings as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 increase investment in the children’s mental health system to (a) reduce waiting times and (b) ensure that more (i) children and (ii) young people can access support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult and children and young people’s mental health services. We are discussing our future investment in children and young people’s mental health services.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to consider how to deliver our manifesto commitment of accessing a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.
Alongside this we are working toward rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.
The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the 21st century. The Bill will amend the Act, which applies to England and Wales, and give patients detained under the Act greater choice, autonomy, rights, and support.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of fireworks on veterans (a) with PTSD and (b) experiencing other war-related mental health trauma.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of fireworks on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or any other mental health condition.
Recognising the particular challenges that veterans face, NHS England has commissioned several services for veterans, including Op COURAGE, the bespoke integrated veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. The services provide a fully integrated mental health care pathway, including personalised care plans, to ensure veterans can access support and treatment both in and out of hours.
Op COURAGE is available across England. Individuals can contact the service to make an appointment or ask someone to do this on their behalf. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/armed-forces-community/mental-health/veterans-reservists/
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of school nurses.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many children are not receiving the start in life they deserve, and the Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children in our history by shifting the focus from treatment to prevention. School nurses have an important role to play, leading the delivery of the 5-19 components of the Healthy Child Programme.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is aware that school nurse numbers have decreased, with 27% fewer now than in October 2015. In June 2024 there were 1,985 school nurses of all grades employed within the National Health Service. The Chief Public Health Nurse Office has established a programme of work which aims to improve the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, which includes school nursing.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to create a National Care Service; and what his planned timetable is for this.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to building a National Care Service based on clear, consistent national standards, that will improve the quality of care. On 10 October 2024, recognising the central role of our amazing care workforce, we took a critical step, introducing the legislation that will establish the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals.
We will set out the next steps in due course for a process that engages with adult social care stakeholders, including cross-party members and a diverse range of people with lived experience of care, to build consensus towards a National Care Service.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 merits of introducing annual health check-ups for young carers under 18.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of all young carers having their support needs identified, assessed, and met in a timely manner. Local authorities have a statutory duty to identify when a young carer may need support, and to what extent. The local authority needs assessment provides a holistic approach to understanding the young person’s caring responsibilities and the impact it may have on their education, well-being, and development.
NHS England is working to increase identification and support for young carers. This includes working in partnership with key stakeholders and sharing data and insights on young carers with colleagues in education, to improve the support we provide.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with their counterparts in the Treasury on the potential merits of funding measures to improve access to sunscreen.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of melanoma. This advice is available publicly on the NHS website, via the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/
The Department is not taking any additional steps, currently or within the last three years, to specifically fund awareness campaigns to encourage the use of sunscreen to prevent melanoma.