Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 develop a national clinical pathway for the diagnosis and management of lipoedema.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 adequacy of training on lipoedema provided to healthcare professionals.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken is for patients in England to receive a diagnosis of lipoedema.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the average time taken to diagnose lipoedema in England. Diagnosis is typically made clinically in primary or specialist care, and timelines can vary depending on individual presentation, awareness of the condition among healthcare professionals, and local referral pathways.
Responsibility for service design and care pathways sits with integrated care boards, which assess and meet the needs of their local populations. Clinicians are expected to draw on available evidence and guidance when diagnosing and managing lipoedema to ensure that care is informed by the best available knowledge, supports consistent clinical decision‑making, and reflects current understanding of this relatively under‑recognised condition. This helps promote safe, effective, and patient‑centred care while allowing clinicians to exercise judgement based on individual need.
Training curricula and continuing professional development are set by independent professional regulators and bodies, and it is for clinicians to maintain their knowledge and skills in line with the needs of their patients.
Clinicians can access a range of relevant education and training through existing professional development routes, including from the Royal College of General Practitioners, and condition-specific training provided by organisations like Lipoedema UK. These resources support clinicians in recognising and managing lipoedema.
Lipoedema is a relatively under‑researched condition, and evidence on co‑existing conditions is still emerging. Clinicians are expected to take a holistic, patient‑centred approach, considering co‑morbidities where present.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of fiscal arrangements in supporting long-term regeneration in coastal communities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to working in partnership with the nation’s coastal and rural communities, including Southport, so that they can kickstart growth in their area and make everyone better off.
Many coastal communities sit within mayoral combined authorities - like the West of England CA, Liverpool City Region, and the North East MSA – and therefore benefit from an Integrated Settlement allowing more flexible, long-term funding to invest locally and plan strategically – including on infrastructure investment. Many areas have also received specific support; Southport, for example has received £5m to renovate the Town Hall Gardens and funding for the Regeneration of Southport Pier through the Growth Mission Fund.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of permitting development corporations to borrow for regeneration projects outside the Government's fiscal rules on economic growth.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role that development corporations can play in unlocking large-scale regeneration and
supporting economic growth, including through coordinating investment, land assembly, and accelerating delivery.
Development corporations have significant financial flexibility. They can access central government grants and borrowing. They can co-invest with private and institutional partners to de-risk development and attract additional capital and can develop and hold assets to generate income for reinvestment.
The Government recognises that long-term funding models and financial flexibility will be important to support delivery at scale.
We will continue to consider how best to ensure that development corporations have access to the tools they need to deliver nationally significant growth, working closely with local partners and relevant public financial institutions