Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of eye problems as part of its 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in eye care services to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. More information is available at the following link:
Alongside the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has been testing how integrating primary and secondary eye care services, through IT connectivity and the development of a single point of access, could improve the referral, triage and management of patients with eye care needs and reduce the time from diagnosis to treatment.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to maximise take up of the Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Those on the scheme have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHSBSA is committed to increasing uptake of the scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.
The NHSBSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHSBSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them to promote the scheme. In January 2025, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 people.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 poor dietary health on the UK economy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that poor diet and obesity are major drivers of physical and mental ill health and early mortality. Ill health leads to increased sickness absence and early death which reduces workforce productivity, putting a burden on businesses and the wider economy.
Frontier Economics estimates that the total cost of obesity to society was approximately £74.3 billion per year in the United Kingdom in 2021, expressed in 2023 prices. Included in these costs is an £8.9 billion per year cost to businesses and the economy from productivity losses due to obesity related diseases.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to extend eligibility for the NHS Learning Support Fund to include pharmacy students.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no immediate plans to make changes to the NHS Learning Support Fund scheme design. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times, the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many eye care professionals are delivering NHS Special School Eye Care Service under Primary Ophthalmic Service contracts; and how many special schools are in receipt of that service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of March 2024, 38 optometrists and 29 dispensing opticians had been recorded as delivering sight testing services within the 83 special educational settings, participating in the proof-of-concept programme. Regulations were laid on 28 November 2024 to support the roll out of this service across England.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 (a) meet demand for radiation treatment and (b) reduce NHS waiting times for people with cancers that require urgent treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to improving cancer care and reducing waiting times for treatment. We understand that cancer patients are waiting longer than they should for the care they need, and we are taking action to address this.
To ensure the most advanced treatment is available to patients, we are investing £70 million in new radiotherapy machines. In addition, we are committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England. As a first step, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, helping to ensure earlier diagnoses and faster treatment for those who need it most.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 (a) help prevent burnout and (b) increase the capacity of postgraduate GP trainers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play, and we are determined to address the issues they face. We recognise that burnout among postgraduate GP trainers is a risk that needs to be tackled, as highlighted in the General Medical Council’s National Trainer Survey. We will continue to work with the National Health Service and profession to understand how we can help GPs and improve their working environment.
The Government is committed to reducing bureaucracy and paperwork for GPs, an intention we stated at the Royal College of General Practitioners Annual Conference earlier this month. This will be an important step in reducing burnout risk, which is often reported to be due to workload challenges.
NHS England is working to expand GP trainer numbers in addition to the number of trainees, and has made changes to the delivery of GP specialty training to better support trainees and to support trainers and educators, such as piloting blended learning and standardising entry and approval requirements.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
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 increase the number of GPs in Leicester.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are working to increase the general practice (GP) workforce across England, including in Leicester. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.
NHS England has allocated £1.9 million of emergency short-term funding this year for the recruitment of newly qualified GPs in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) has communicated the available funding for additional resource to each Primary Care Network, with guidance on how it can be most effectively used across the ICB area.
In order to offer wider opportunities beyond the standard recruitment platforms, the LLR ICB is also enabling its GPs to widen their candidate search by utilising the LLR Local Medical Committee’s recruitment channel. The ICB continues to work closely with NHS England Workforce Training and Education to ensure they maximise the number of GP trainees that they take in LLR, which also helps with longer term recruitment and retention.