Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 implications for his policies on neighbourhood health of the York Frailty Hub.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to moving towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and support people to stay healthier and maintain their independence for longer. Moving care from hospitals into the community will be at the heart of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Many places have already made progress in developing an integrated local approach to National Health Service and social care delivery, and there are excellent examples, such as the York Frailty Hub, of partnership working between the health and care system and its partners, including local government, other statutory services, the voluntary sector, and communities themselves.
Moving to a Neighbourhood Health Service will build on this good practice and will reinforce a new way of working for the NHS, local government, social care, and their partners, where integrated working is the norm and not the exception
In advance of the publication of the plan, NHS England published Neighbourhood Health Guidelines to help integrated care boards, local authorities, and health and care providers to continue to progress neighbourhood health in 2025/26.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure (a) MPs, (b) care provider organisations, (c) VCS and (d) other stakeholders are included in the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Terms of Reference are sufficiently broad to enable the commission to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future. The commission is independent and will consider its own plans on how to engage with stakeholders and lead a national conversation on how best to meet the current and future needs of the population.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS Trusts on ensuring that community rehabilitation is offered as a viable alternative to (a) medicine and (b) surgery.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published guidance setting out five core perioperative requirements relating to the care of adult patients awaiting planned inpatient surgery. As part of the core requirements, patients must be involved in shared decision-making conversations to discuss the benefits, risks, alternatives, and likely outcomes of the surgery. This could involve discussing whether community rehabilitation is offered as a viable alternative to surgery. This allows patients to confirm their decision to proceed with the surgery, seek further specialist advice if required, or make the informed choice to pursue alternative options.
Local providers are best placed to decide how to embed and maintain perioperative care approaches into their organisations, to reflect local needs and circumstances. The national elective recovery and outpatients programme is working with NHS England’s regional teams to help oversee and support compliance, and will continue to do so throughout 2024/25.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 implications for his policies on community mental health services of the Trieste Model of mental health care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the important role that community-based mental health systems play. As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are aiming to shift more care into community settings.
Building on international best practice, including those in the Trieste model, NHS England is already piloting new models of care in the community for those with severe mental illness. These new open access mental health centres are being piloted in six neighbourhood areas, including in York. These centres will provide 24/7 support to individuals and their families during times of crisis, without needing to book an appointment. Additionally, centres will provide advice around housing or employment to support individuals to stay well.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 increase recruitment of social care workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care (ASC).
The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the ASC sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth and improve the recruitment and retention of the domestic workforce. This is why we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. As we work towards a Fair Pay Agreement, the Government will engage all those who draw upon care, as well as those that work to provide care and support. We will also consult local authorities, unions, and others from across the sector.
We are supporting the professionalisation of the ASC workforce, through expanding the Care Workforce Pathway, including registered manager and deputy manager roles. The Pathway will set out how people can develop across a long-term career in adult social care with support and training; attracting people to join and remain in the sector.
The Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) will provide over £1 billion for adult social care to local authorities over 2025/26. MSIF is designed to support increased adult social care capacity and improve market sustainability. One of the three target areas local authorities can spend their allocation on is increasing adult social care workforce recruitment and retention.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to the NHS on retention of newly qualified physiotherapists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, to ensure the retention of our hardworking and dedicated staff, including physiotherapists.
NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS Trusts with recruitment freezes for (a) physiotherapists and (b) physiotherapy support workers on 17 June 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no estimate of the number of National Health Service trusts with recruitment freezes for physiotherapists or physiotherapy support workers. How NHS systems and trusts plan resources within their budgets is a matter for local discretion.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 integrate the health and social care (a) workforce and (b) terms and conditions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Much of the responsibility of the adult social care (ASC) workforce, including their terms and conditions, rests with ASC employers, who are largely private providers. The terms and conditions for National Health Service staff, including those on the Agenda for Change contract, are agreed in partnership by the relevant joint negotiating committees.
The Government is introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the ASC sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. The scope of fair pay agreements is yet to be determined. Following engagement and consultation with the sector, further detail will be set out in secondary legislation with regards to the negotiating body’s remit.
The Department has launched an independent commission into ASC as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission forms a key part of the Government’s Plan for Change, recognising the importance of ASC in its own right, as well as its role in supporting the NHS.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment NHS Property Services has made of the state of repair of Bootham Park Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since the site was fully vacated in 2018, the NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has spent £5 million on holding costs, including site security, and building and grounds maintenance, for the Bootham Park Hospital site.
The NHSPS has assessed that the investment required to bring Bootham Park Hospital back into operational use would be very significant, given the current estimate for backlog maintenance and operating costs. When the decision was taken in 2018 to permanently decommission Bootham Park Hospital, the estimate at that point was that over £30 million was needed to make the site safe, in order to provide operational National Health Services, and this will have significantly increased since then. The NHSPS continues to undertake essential maintenance to the building in the period the asset has been held for sale.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS has spent on Bootham Park Hospital since it closed in September 2015.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since the site was fully vacated in 2018, the NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has spent £5 million on holding costs, including site security, and building and grounds maintenance, for the Bootham Park Hospital site.
The NHSPS has assessed that the investment required to bring Bootham Park Hospital back into operational use would be very significant, given the current estimate for backlog maintenance and operating costs. When the decision was taken in 2018 to permanently decommission Bootham Park Hospital, the estimate at that point was that over £30 million was needed to make the site safe, in order to provide operational National Health Services, and this will have significantly increased since then. The NHSPS continues to undertake essential maintenance to the building in the period the asset has been held for sale.