Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much is being spent each year on primary care, and how much is being spent on the core GP contract.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2024/25, the latest year for which data is available, the total value of expenditure on all primary care was £19.8 billion. This includes expenditure on commissioning optometry, pharmacy, and dental services and excludes prescribing and secondary dental care. At this time, the total value of the GP Contract was £12.3 billion.
We are investing £485 million in general practice in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This uplift represents a 3.6% cash increase from 2025/26, or 1.4% real terms increase, and includes an assumed pay increase of 2.5%. It follows a record £1.1 billion of investment in 2025/26. As with previous years, we have asked the independent pay review body for Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, for a pay recommendation for 2026/27 for the Government to consider.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Patients to benefit from improved access to dental appointments, published on 21 February 2026, how many (a) urgent and (b) additional dental appointments have been provided by the NHS in (i) total and (ii) each month since the General Election; and how many additional urgent dental appointments he expects the NHS to provide by the end of 2026-27 above the baseline he is using to monitor progress against his target.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the available data for the number of National Health Service urgent dental treatments and total courses of dental treatments delivered each month from July 2024 to October 2025:
Treatment month (July 2024 to October 2025) | The number of urgent dental treatments delivered | The number of NHS dental treatments delivered |
July 2024 | 323,162 | 3,107,924 |
August 2024 | 290,178 | 2,954,258 |
September 2024 | 303,268 | 2,878,678 |
October 2024 | 324,990 | 3,340,505 |
November 2024 | 305,265 | 2,963,893 |
December 2024 | 307,611 | 2,499,861 |
January 2025 | 326,374 | 3,106,909 |
February 2025 | 280,959 | 3,066,611 |
March 2025 | 285,474 | 2,781,951 |
April 2025 | 310,741 | 3,251,218 |
May 2025 | 305,998 | 3,008,029 |
June 2025 | 308,110 | 2,958,788 |
July 2025 | 327,068 | 3,249,401 |
August 2025 | 293,708 | 2,926,398 |
September 2025 | 338,330 | 3,148,312 |
October 2025 | 346,099 | 3,461,661 |
Source: Monthly National Dental Activity data – England July 2023 to October 2025, available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dental-activity-data-england-july-2023-to-october-2025
Data for April 2025 to October 2025 should be treated as provisional. Final data for 2025/26 will be published in August 2026. Data for dentistry is measured in courses of treatment, not appointments. One course of treatment can be more than one appointment.
1.8 million additional courses of NHS dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April and October 2025, compared to the same period before the general election, nearly half of which were delivered to children.
We are broadening the scope of the commitment to deliver additional appointments so that they can be used for more patients, not just those who meet the clinical criteria for “urgent” care.
We will ensure a continued urgent care safety net by requiring, from April 2026, high street dentists to deliver 8.2% of their total contract value as urgent or unscheduled care.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of homicide incidents in each of the last 12 months which involved a suspect who had been a patient of an NHS mental health trust within the preceding six months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff left his Department in each of the last five years by grade.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the number of civil servants leaving each Government department and organisation for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the ‘Civil Service data browser’ as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. This information is available through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following link:
https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of departmental staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Senior civil servants (SCS) and delegated grades follow different performance management frameworks. SCS’ operate within the framework for SCS performance management prescribed by Cabinet Office. For delegated performance there is a flexible framework that requires departments to reflect a number of core elements in their approach, including differentiating performance, addressing under and poor performance, and addressing diversity and inclusion. The following table shows the top ratings within the different performance management frameworks by grade and proportion, as of April 2025:
Grade | Number rated in the top performance category | Proportion |
Executive Officer | 30 | 14% |
Higher Executive Officer | 55 | 11% |
Senior Executive Officer | 80 | 12% |
Grade 7 | 170 | 17% |
Grade 6 | 90 | 23% |
SCS | 30 | 14% |
Notes:
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The average number of working days lost per full-time equivalent member of staff in the Department in the period between October 2024 and September 2025, the most recent period for which records are available, was 5.12.
The average number of working days lost per full-time equivalent member of staff in the executive agencies over the same period was 8.22 in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and 5.71 in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
There were no formal performance warnings issued against civil servants in the Department or the UKHSA between 1 December 2024 and 30 November 2025 where the civil servant was also issued a formal attendance warning for exceeding sickness trigger points.
There were four formal performance warnings issues to staff in the MHRA whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing departmental staff in the last year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the period 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, the total cost of settlement agreements to the Department was £15,000. Under HM Treasury’s rules, payments made under settlement agreements are classed as Special Severance Payments.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of departmental staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 28 November 2025, the Department had 112 employees, or 3%, on a temporary promotion to a higher grade from their substantive grade. The following table shows the percentage of employees on temporary promotion, broken down by grade:
Grade | Percentage on temporary promotion |
Higher Executive Officer | 4% |
Senior Executive Officer | 3% |
Grade 7 | 2% |
Grade 6 | 6% |
Senior Civil Service 1 | 5% |
Overall | 3% |
We have only recently started to capture performance markings on the system and so cannot provide a breakdown for last year. Due to the way our data is held, we are not able to provide a breakdown of the number or proportion of staff who were promoted to a higher grade whilst on temporary promotion.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been employed by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and (b) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in each year since 2005.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget was for the (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and (b) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in each year since 2005.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.