Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 adequacy of the level of funding allocated for research into chronic pain disorders.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) including research into chronic pain disorders. Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, the NIHR invested £39.4 million in direct research funding in this area. Further information on that research can be seen at the following link:
https://nihr.opendatasoft.com/pages/homepage/
The NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. At the current time, there are 41 studies actively recruiting for participants on many aspects of chronic pain. Further information is available at the following link:
https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/results/search-results?query=chronic%20pain&location=
The NIHR’s infrastructure also provides support for the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research that is funded by the NIHR’s research programmes, other public funders of research, charities, and the life sciences industry, including many aspects of chronic pain. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in the Tiverton and Minehead constituency compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to help ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
Data is available for emergency finished admission episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. Data for Tiverton and Minehead is shown in the table.
Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector | ||
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence (Office for National Statistics) | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025, provisional) |
Tiverton and Minehead | 995 | 790 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England |
| |
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department of Health and Social Care Fingertips website. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency, but is available at regional, county, unitary authority and integrated care board level. Information for Somerset is available at the following link:
The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.
Through our community diagnostic centres (CDCs), we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get diagnosed closer to home. 101 CDCs across the country now offer out-of-hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. This is alongside action being taken to expand capacity and improve the quality of pulmonary rehabilitation services to support patients living with respiratory conditions.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Science and Technology about the potential for a respiratory Modern Service Framework to strengthen the UK’s life sciences ecosystem by scaling up the adoption of new medicines and innovations for lung conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore innovation and policy prioritisation in respiratory health, including the cross‑Government alignment that may be required.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 adequacy of training for GPs and emergency healthcare staff to understand chronic pain conditions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.
General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.
All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. In 2012 the GMC introduced revalidation which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice, gives patients confidence doctors are up to date with their practice, and promotes improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance.
To support healthcare professionals in the assessment and management of chronic pain, the NICE has published guidance on this topic, which can be found at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng193
The guidance includes recommendations for healthcare professionals on how to carry out a person-centred assessment when an individual presents with chronic pain, how to develop a care and support plan for a patient with chronic pain, and how to manage flare-ups of chronic pain. The guidance also includes recommendations on both pharmacological and non-pharmacological management options for chronic pain.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on the long-term housing strategy; and when he plans to publish that strategy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is making good progress on a long-term housing strategy and will publish it shortly.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of burnout of NHS staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health and wellbeing of all National Health Service staff is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive, including access to high quality health and wellbeing support.
At a national level, NHS staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health and wellbeing support, including trauma and addiction.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will have a focus on supporting our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. This includes the development of a new set of staff standards for modern employment and the roll-out of Staff Treatment Hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure women's health services are included in the Neighbourhood Health Service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan set out our ambition for high autonomy to be the norm across every part of the country. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the healthcare needs of their local population and which have the freedom to do so, and this includes women's health hubs and delivering the direction of the Women's Health Strategy. The Government is backing ICBs to do this through significant funding, with the Spending Review 2025 prioritising health and increasing investment across the health and social care system. The Government is encouraging ICBs to further expand the coverage of women’s health hubs and supporting them to use the learning from the women’s health hub pilots to improve local delivery of services to women and girls.
We have announced our commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme, with 120 delivered by 2030, and with rollout starting in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, which may include women’s health services. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in different places across the country.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to financially support upland farmers in areas such as Exmoor.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with Dr Hilary Cottam to develop a place-based approach for what uplands communities need, co-designing solutions to specific problems.
The Government recently announced the extension of the Farming in Protected Landscape (FiPL) programme until March 2029. This supports farmers and land managers in England’s National Parks and National Landscapes, including upland farmers in Exmoor National Park, to deliver projects that achieve climate, nature, people and place outcomes.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive will be reformed to make it simpler and fairer. To ensure as many farmers as possible can benefit from SFI, we will begin by opening an initial window from June for small farms, and also those without existing Environmental Land Management agreements. This will be followed by a second window opening from September for all other farmers.
The Farming Roadmap and the government response to Baroness Batters’ Farming Profitability Review will be published later this year, setting out wider plans to boost profitability and long-term viability.
Information about agricultural scheme payments made to farmers and land managers in the Exmoor area can be found at the Find farm and land payment website.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
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 an increase in urgent care Units of Dental Activity on trends in the level of the provision of routine and preventative NHS dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that urgent, routine, and preventative dental care is important and we are taking steps to address this.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the National Health Service dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026, and an impact assessment will be published. The proposals are intended to make it easier for those who need dental care and treatment by requiring all dental practices to provide an agreed amount of urgent and unscheduled care which is accessible to all who need it, irrespective of whether they have been to the practice before. Further information is available at the following link:
We have invested £11 million in 147 local authorities in 2025/26, alongside an innovative partnership with Colgate-Palmolive, to rollout a national targeted supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five-year-olds. This will reach up to 600,000 children targeted in the 20% most deprived areas of England to reduce inequalities.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support and encouragement the Government is giving to local authorities to fast-track planning applications for developments on brownfield sites.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that substantial weight should be given to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements to meet the need for homes and other uses.
The revised Framework published on 12 December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. The definition in question can be found in the NPPF glossary on gov.uk here.
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. For further details about the proposed changes to national planning policy and wider funding and support, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 16 December 2025 (HCWS1187). The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.