Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 95676, whether his Department has conducted any evaluation of patient safety risks affecting people with severe and very severe ME/CFS, including malnutrition.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Patient safety risks affecting people with severe and very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), including malnutrition, have been considered during the development of the final delivery plan (FDP) published in July this year, through engagement with stakeholders, including clinicians and patient groups.

To this end, the FDP includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what considerations has she made regarding the adequacy of the classification of ketamine as a Class A illicit substance.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. We are concerned about the harms ketamine causes and the rise in ketamine use, particularly among young people. In October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of this drug.

Home Office Ministers have had discussions about these harms, including with families who have tragically lost relatives as a result of taking ketamine and who have shared their own perspectives on the appropriate classification of ketamine within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (‘the MDA’).

In January 2025 the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, advice on reducing those harms, and advice on whether ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A within the MDA. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August 2025, and we expect to receive its report soon. We will then carefully consider its recommendations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions about the reclassification of ketamine.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. We are concerned about the harms ketamine causes and the rise in ketamine use, particularly among young people. In October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to the dangers of this drug.

Home Office Ministers have had discussions about these harms, including with families who have tragically lost relatives as a result of taking ketamine and who have shared their own perspectives on the appropriate classification of ketamine within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (‘the MDA’).

In January 2025 the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, advice on reducing those harms, and advice on whether ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A within the MDA. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August 2025, and we expect to receive its report soon. We will then carefully consider its recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he will ensure the integration of health and social care with workforce planning.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan set out how the Government will shift care from hospitals to the community. While the scope of the 10 Year Workforce Plan is the National Health Service workforce, for this shift to be meaningful, multi-disciplinary working and effective integration with social care, public health, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector will be vital.

Baroness Casey’s independent commission into adult social care is underway as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The Terms of Reference has been designed to be sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to independently consider how to build a social care system, and workforce, fit for the future.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps to change the licensing of taxis in the context of the Casey Review.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government response to Baroness Casey’s report committed to legislate to tackle the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks a power for the Secretary of State to set national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords.

If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. This is an important first step and the Department continues to consider further options for reform. The Government is consulting on making all local transport authorities responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering licensing across larger areas would further increase consistency in licensing and enable better resourced authorities to make better use of their enforcement powers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the upgrade of York Station will ensure that the East and West entrances are fully accessible.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As part of any future work to develop York Station, we will work closely with Network Rail to ensure that entrances adhere to accessibility standards.

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 waiting times at York Hospital on patients in January (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We know that patients have been let down for too long, with their health deteriorating, while they wait for the care they need.

Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are putting patients first by ensuring that they are seen on time and that they have the best possible experience of care across the country, including at York Hospital.

As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, with an interim target of 65% by March 2026.

The Department does not hold waiting list data for January 2026 and at a hospital level. The latest waiting list data for the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, as of November 2025, shows that 55.7% of waits are below 18 weeks, a 0.2 percentage point improvement from the previous year.

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 ICB centralisation on health and care service transformation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the focus of integrated care boards will be the strategic commissioning of health and care services working across larger footprints to drive improvements in services and improve population health. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/strategic-commissioning-framework/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to measure the effectiveness of the reorganisation of ICBs at delivering service transformation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Oversight Framework provides a consistent and transparent approach to assessing integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-oversight-framework/

In addition, ICBs will be expected to evaluate the impact of their commissioned services, care models, and proactive interventions as set out in the Strategic Commissioning Framework published 4 November 2025 and available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/strategic-commissioning-framework/

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Northern Growth Envoy on engaging with hon. Members representing constituencies in the North of England.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government has set out a Northern Growth Strategy, which will unlock the potential of the Northern Growth Corridor across the Pennines and catalyse growth in key sectors across the whole of the North, in partnership with local leaders and businesses. The Government’s announcement follows a programme of engagement with interested parties across the Corridor, including local leaders, businesses, trade unions, and Northern MPs, by Ministers across government, in consultation and collaboration with Tom Riordan, the Government’s Northern Growth Envoy.

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 effectiveness of York Frailty Hub at supporting rapid discharge from acute care.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise the important role that integrated care services such as the York Frailty Hub play in supporting safe and timely discharge and moving care into the community as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan. While we have not undertaken a formal evaluation, we understand that the hub has proved effective locally in supporting discharge.

We continue to work closely with National Health Service partners to monitor and share best practice in supporting people living with frailty, helping patients to return home or to community settings when clinically appropriate.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that (a) all people who enter prison are assessed for neuro differences and (b) that such people are supported with appropriate strategies to support their learning and rehabilitation.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

HMPPS offers screening to prisoners upon entry to prison for additional learning needs, including neurodivergent needs. A new Additional Learning Needs screener was introduced in October 2025 as part of the new Prisoner Education Service. This screening helps identify any additional learning needs prisoners may have that might impact their ability to engage with learning opportunities in prison. Healthcare also have a duty to ensure that appropriate reasonable adjustments are in place to enable individuals to access and engage with healthcare services and may also be able to offer advice on specialist reasonable adjustments.

Where additional needs are identified, key information, including any required support or adjustments is recorded on a central digital platform so it is accessible to relevant staff across the prison estate. Neurodiversity Support Managers (NSM) in the prison, are responsible for improving processes to identify and support prisoner needs, and ensuring that neurodivergent prisoners can access education, skills and work opportunities. This whole prison approach, led by NSMs, equips staff with the information they need to support prisoners with appropriate strategies that enable them to access learning and rehabilitative opportunities within prison and prepare for a successful reintegration into the community.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of redundancies to be made in the Prison Education Service as a result of the reduction in funding.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice is committed to supporting prisoners’ rehabilitation through educational activities. The national funding for prison education has not been reduced; it increased by 3% this financial year. However, inflationary pressures across education services have affected the proportion of the overall budget that can be directed to Core Education contracts. This has resulted in a national reduction of around 20-25% in Core Education delivery. This reduction is not uniform across the estate, and variation is due to an updated education funding formula, which ensures prison allocations more accurately reflect prison function, capacity and learner need.

Governors continue to have flexibility to commission the education that best meets the needs of their population, and the wider educational offer, such as vocational training in industries settings, further and higher education, libraries, and Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance remain in place. We are also working closely with Governors to maximise attendance at education to ensure best value for money and the best outcomes for prisoners. We will monitor delivery and outcomes through contract management and a full evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service.

Suppliers as part of their mobilisation activities have reviewed their organisational structures to ensure that these are responsive to the commissioned delivery requirements, which unfortunately has led to some redundancies. Suppliers are working to support their employees through this period of change. Specific figures relating to the number of redundancies are held by suppliers, rather than the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of reduced funding for the prison education service on prisoner outcomes.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice is committed to supporting prisoners’ rehabilitation through educational activities. The national funding for prison education has not been reduced; it increased by 3% this financial year. However, inflationary pressures across education services have affected the proportion of the overall budget that can be directed to Core Education contracts. This has resulted in a national reduction of around 20-25% in Core Education delivery. This reduction is not uniform across the estate, and variation is due to an updated education funding formula, which ensures prison allocations more accurately reflect prison function, capacity and learner need.

Governors continue to have flexibility to commission the education that best meets the needs of their population, and the wider educational offer, such as vocational training in industries settings, further and higher education, libraries, and Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance remain in place. We are also working closely with Governors to maximise attendance at education to ensure best value for money and the best outcomes for prisoners. We will monitor delivery and outcomes through contract management and a full evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service.

Suppliers as part of their mobilisation activities have reviewed their organisational structures to ensure that these are responsive to the commissioned delivery requirements, which unfortunately has led to some redundancies. Suppliers are working to support their employees through this period of change. Specific figures relating to the number of redundancies are held by suppliers, rather than the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the Prison Education Service on the future prospects of prisoners.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS are committed to improving the future prospects of prisoners through comprehensive education and skills provision. Last year, a new Prisoner Education Service was launched which is designed to improve the literacy, numeracy and wider skills of all prisoners who need it and support them to gain qualifications that will increase their employment prospects on release. New contracts include a strengthened specification for high-quality delivery, improved screening and assessment, clearer requirements for support for additional learning needs, and a new Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance service. These new contracts are underpinned by improved digital infrastructure, including the Learning & Work Progress Service and new screening and assessment tools which will help prisoners by reducing repeated assessments and ensuring that information about their progress follows them across the estate.

Education activities in each prison are planned by Heads of Education, Skills and Work who bring teaching expertise into prison leadership to ensure provision meets the needs of the local cohort. Prisoners can access a comprehensive curriculum including reading support, functional skills, digital skills, vocational and technical training, and opportunities to progress to higher-level learning. Governors can use the Dynamic Purchasing System to commission specialist provision that reflects local labour market needs and the requirements of their population. The Ministry of Justice is undertaking a full evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is he taking to develop a comprehensive education programme for prisoners.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS are committed to improving the future prospects of prisoners through comprehensive education and skills provision. Last year, a new Prisoner Education Service was launched which is designed to improve the literacy, numeracy and wider skills of all prisoners who need it and support them to gain qualifications that will increase their employment prospects on release. New contracts include a strengthened specification for high-quality delivery, improved screening and assessment, clearer requirements for support for additional learning needs, and a new Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance service. These new contracts are underpinned by improved digital infrastructure, including the Learning & Work Progress Service and new screening and assessment tools which will help prisoners by reducing repeated assessments and ensuring that information about their progress follows them across the estate.

Education activities in each prison are planned by Heads of Education, Skills and Work who bring teaching expertise into prison leadership to ensure provision meets the needs of the local cohort. Prisoners can access a comprehensive curriculum including reading support, functional skills, digital skills, vocational and technical training, and opportunities to progress to higher-level learning. Governors can use the Dynamic Purchasing System to commission specialist provision that reflects local labour market needs and the requirements of their population. The Ministry of Justice is undertaking a full evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to assure the safety of people working in the prison education service.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS has zero tolerance for violence against prison officers and prison staff, including those who work in prison education.

The Education Provider is required to abide by all prison risk assessments and safe systems of work put in place by the Governor to ensure appropriate staff safety. Education Providers have a further responsibility to ensure that all staff are properly trained and carry out their duties in line with Health and Safety Policies, and are required to work with the Governor, including participating in Risk Assessment processes where necessary. There are established routes for escalation of any Safety issues for resolution.

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 build resilience in community pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.

The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.

The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in devising the workforce plan, if he will include palliative care services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how does he intend to address the revenue shortfall in palliative care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, the Government has confirmed multi-year revenue support for children and young people’s hospices, totalling £26 million in 2025/26 and approximately £80 million across the three years 2026/27 to 2028/29, adjusted for inflation, which will, once again, be allocated via ICBs on behalf of NHS England, providing greater certainty for planning.

We are developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England later this year. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan.

Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality.

The recently published Medium-Term Planning Framework also states that, from April 2026, ICBs and relevant NHS providers should ensure an understanding of current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to stabilise drug pricing for community pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.

The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.

The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the pharmacy first model.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.

The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.

The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to devise an alcohol strategy which reduces (a) use and (b) harmful use and (c) dependency on alcohol.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.

Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.

To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent consideration has he made of the need for a harm reduction strategy to the use of alcohol.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.

Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.

To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of funding for sexual health services in York and across the country.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department provides funding for sexual health services through the Public Health Grant, which is allocated to local authorities in England, including in York. Sexual health is one of a number of public health services funded through the Public Health Grant, and the Department does not specify how much is spent on sexual health specifically. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning sexual health services to meet the needs of their populations.

In 2025/26 the Public Health Grant, which funds Sexual and Reproductive Health services, rose to £3.884 billion. This was a cash increase of £224 million compared to 2024/25, providing local authorities with an average 6.1% cash increase.

We will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing over £13.4 billion over the next three years through a consolidated ringfenced Public Health Grant. This will support vital local health services, including sexual health services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he can set out the amount of the public health grant for York for each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the amount of core Public Health Grant funding for the City of York Council for each financial year dating back to the last 10 years:

Source: Public Health Grant and social care charging: local authority circulars, avaiable at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-circulars

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 impact of the change in the public health grant for 2025/6 and 2026/7 on the shift to prevention in the NHS 10 Year Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Our 10-Year Health Plan will deliver a shift in the whole health system from sickness to prevention.

Over £13.4 billion will be consolidated into the Public Health Grant over the three-year period beginning in 2026/27, a 5.6% total cash increase over the period. We will publish three-year consolidated Public Health Grant allocations up to 2028/29, in line with the Local Government Finance Settlement, giving local authorities greater certainty to support long term prevention planning and make the best decisions to promote better population health.

The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities and integrated care boards to assess progress on prevention of ill health. For example, the Public Health Outcomes Framework will help us to understand trends in the public’s health by tracking key indicators linked to healthy life expectancy, thereby reducing inequalities, preventing disease, and boosting well-being, as well as providing data for policy, planning, and targeting of interventions which support the shift to prevention.

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 effectiveness of York Frailty Hub for enabling people to access palliative care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

While no formal national evaluation of the York Community Frailty Hub’s specific impact on palliative care access has been undertaken, the evidence set out in our 10-Year Health Plan shows that the hub is an effective model for improving timely and appropriate care for older frail people closer to their home, including those who may require palliative support.

The Government is developing a palliative and end-of-life care modern service framework (MSF) for England. As part of the development of the MSF, we are running an open call for evidence from stakeholders for examples of evidence-based interventions that are demonstrated to be effective at improving the quality of, and/or access to, palliative care. We welcome submissions on the York Frailty Hub in response to this call for evidence.

The York Frailty Hub was established in November 2023 to address the fragmented support for older people in the community. The hub is an integrated multidisciplinary initiative designed to proactively manage frailty within the community. This service provides frailty prevention, crisis response, and discharge support, aiming to reduce hospital admissions and improve the quality of life, and health and social care outcomes for frail individuals in York.

The Frailty Hub team is a multi-disciplinary team comprised of co-located frailty nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, general practitioners with a special interest in frailty, and a palliative care nurse, among other healthcare professionals.

The Frailty Hub is delivering impactful, coordinated, and cost-effective care for some of York’s most vulnerable citizens and is being recognised nationally as an example of excellent integrated delivery of community care. Continued investment in this model promises further efficiencies, reduced hospital admissions, better outcomes, and an enhanced community care experience. This integrated service is evolving at pace and finding efficiencies whenever possible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how will he ensure that the number of deaths for alcohol use will reduce in this Parliament.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to shortening the amount of time spent in ill health and preventing premature deaths by addressing the key preventable drivers of poor health, such as alcohol.

Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in several current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan commits to some crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. The upcoming National Cancer Plan will continue the work to shift from treatment to prevention, including for alcohol-related cancer risks.

To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November. All drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding is channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Furthermore, in 2025/26, in addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in targeted grants to improve treatment services and recovery support, including housing, employment, and inpatient detoxification.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government assesses qualification for funding projects against receipt of other funding received in the locality.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Departments are required to follow the Green Book and accompanying business case guidance when developing spending proposals.

In developing a business case, departments may take account of other public funding already received in an area where it is relevant to the proposal.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how is she ensuring funding into services for people with gambling and gaming dependencies.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In April 2025, the statutory levy on gambling operators came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm. In its first year, the levy has raised just under £120 million, 50% of which is allocated to NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to deliver treatment and support services, with 30% allocated to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission prevention activity across Great Britain.

NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities are working collaboratively on the development of their respective gambling treatment and prevention programmes during this period of transition to the new levy system. NHS England continues to work at pace to take on commissioning responsibility for the full treatment pathway in England, from referral and triage through to aftercare from 1 April 2026.

NHS England currently funds a National Centre for Gaming Disorders, offering help and support for people in England aged 13 years old and over, who have difficulty controlling their gaming and the impact it has on their lives. NHS England is currently considering the future approach to gaming services.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Government funding to (a) local authorities in Yorkshire and (b) York Central constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade.

The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For York Council we are making available up to £198 million in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of 7.7% compared to 2024-25.

Core Spending Power allocations for individual local authorities through the provisional Local Government Financial Settlement 2026-27, including those in the Yorkshire region can be found here.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether plans are being developed to upgrade York Station.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government has announced as part of phase one of Northern Powerhouse Rail that it will deliver upgrades between Leeds and York Station in the 2030s. This will be aligned with work being undertaken by Network Rail to develop a sustainable long-term strategy for the East Coast Main Line. We will ensure a coherent plan for the area, building on the work already in hand as part of York Central to maximise the growth opportunities through development and redesign of York Station.

Seafarer pay and conditions at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Public toilet provision

New US sanctions on Cuba

Right To Food UK Commission

Essentials Guarantee

Short-term holiday let licensing with caps