Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
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 help ensure digital health services are accessible for patients in the most disadvantaged areas; and in what way he plans to support vulnerable communities with enhanced digital health resources in Dudley constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are using technology to help health and care professionals communicate better and enable people to access the care they need quickly and easily, when it suits them. Dudley Council is implementing digital technologies to support person-centred care, increase connectivity, reduce loneliness, and promote independence through the use of everyday technology.
The Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also aims to empower communities, provide access to health services, and improve overall outcomes through its digital strategy. Success is gauged through metrics like enhanced employee productivity, the successful upgrade of equipment, and the overall satisfaction and engagement of citizens with digital platforms.
Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust uses the Allscripts Sunrise Electronic Patient Record system, which was deployed in May 2018 to consolidate patient information into a single digital platform.
Patients are able to access NHS services, such as requesting GP appointments, managing secondary care appointments and NHS111 online through local online tools and the NHS App (which can also be accessed through a web browser). The NHS App is designed to meet international accessibility standards, and the services are routinely tested with a range of people with accessibility issues. However, digital health tools are part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.
NHS England has also published a framework for NHS action on digital inclusion and is developing further resources to support practical actions. All digital programmes are actively considering how they can contribute to improvements in healthcare inequalities and digital inclusion.
We have also recruited over 2,000 NHS App ambassadors and 1,400 libraries to help people to learn how to use the NHS App.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeline is for implementing digital transformation initiatives in the Dudley area; and what metrics he will use to measure success.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are using technology to help health and care professionals communicate better and enable people to access the care they need quickly and easily, when it suits them. Dudley Council is implementing digital technologies to support person-centred care, increase connectivity, reduce loneliness, and promote independence through the use of everyday technology.
The Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also aims to empower communities, provide access to health services, and improve overall outcomes through its digital strategy. Success is gauged through metrics like enhanced employee productivity, the successful upgrade of equipment, and the overall satisfaction and engagement of citizens with digital platforms.
Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust uses the Allscripts Sunrise Electronic Patient Record system, which was deployed in May 2018 to consolidate patient information into a single digital platform.
Patients are able to access NHS services, such as requesting GP appointments, managing secondary care appointments and NHS111 online through local online tools and the NHS App (which can also be accessed through a web browser). The NHS App is designed to meet international accessibility standards, and the services are routinely tested with a range of people with accessibility issues. However, digital health tools are part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.
NHS England has also published a framework for NHS action on digital inclusion and is developing further resources to support practical actions. All digital programmes are actively considering how they can contribute to improvements in healthcare inequalities and digital inclusion.
We have also recruited over 2,000 NHS App ambassadors and 1,400 libraries to help people to learn how to use the NHS App.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the guidance on Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 to ensure clarity and consistency for NHS Trusts engaged in developing digital health initiatives; and if he will take steps to engage citizens and stakeholders on this matter to enhance transparency and trust in NHS data practices.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since May 2024, the Department and NHS England have been delivering a national programme of public engagement on health and social care data. To date, over 8,600 members of the public have been engaged. The aim is to understand people’s views on how their data is used and improve trust in NHS uses of data.
The reports from the first two cohorts are available at the following link: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/key-tools-and-info/data-saves-lives/national-public-engagement-on-the-use-of-health-data/
The recommendations from this public engagement are being used to shape a planned public consultation with a view to making new regulations under section 251 of the NHS Act 2006, on the control of patient information.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of implementing a Modern Service Framework for musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone in the NHS is responsible for delivering high-quality care. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, as well as an overall quality strategy, the National Quality Board will oversee the development of a new series of service frameworks to accelerate progress in conditions where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
Early priorities will include CVD, mental health and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia. The Government will consider other long-term conditions with significant health and economic impacts for future waves of Modern Service Frameworks.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department plans to provide for the provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in the West Midlands Combined Authority area in 2025-2026.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office does not fund Mayoral Combined Authorities for provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Please refer to the response dated 4th July from my Ministerial colleague in the Department for Education, Janet Daby MP, the Minister for Children and Families, for more detail on how ESOL is funded [UIN 63247].
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to schools that are experiencing an increase in pupils with an EHCP.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government wants all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive. We will set out our plans for SEND and alternative provision (AP) reform in a Schools White Paper this autumn.
We are increasing high needs funding by £1 billion in 2025/26, raising the total to over £12 billion to help local authorities and schools with rising costs for pupils with complex SEND.
The department has published £740 million in high-needs capital allocations for 2025/26 to expand SEND and AP places. This funding can be used to improve classroom accessibility, establish specialist facilities within mainstream schools, and create special school places for pupils with complex needs.
We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in schools, drawing on learning from programmes such as Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS).
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the UK's 41st place in the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, what steps his Department is taking to improve women's health.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future.
Our focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as providing emergency hormonal contraception free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS from October 2025, setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan, and taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan.
The 10-Year Health Plan for England, published on 3 July, sets out the vision to distribute power to patients, including women, and to revitalise the NHS, making it fit for the future.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
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 take steps to increase awareness of the importance of pelvic floor strength for women before pregnancy to prevent post pregnancy incontinence.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Supporting women’s health before, during, and after pregnancy is a priority for the Government. The women’s health area on the National Health Service’s website brings together over 100 health topics for women seeking health information, including information and advice on planning for pregnancy, keeping well in pregnancy, and pelvic health.
NHS England has rolled out perinatal pelvic health services to support the prevention and identification of pelvic floor dysfunction, including incontinence, during pregnancy and post-birth. Additionally, NHS England the Royal College of General Practitioners have published guidance on the six to eight week postnatal check-up. This check-up provides personalised postnatal care for women’s physical and mental health, including a specific section on pelvic floor health.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
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 make eye tests mandatory for primary school children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to make eye tests mandatory for primary school children. The UK National Screening Committee recommends vision screening in school for children aged four to five years old, to look for reduced vision in one or both eyes.
In addition to vision screening, free sight tests are widely available for children under 16 years old and under 19 years old in full time education. Free sight tests are also being made available for children and young people with special educational needs, attending special educational settings across England, where those settings choose to host a service.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of publishing records of incidents and fatalities at nurseries.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department’s priority is to grow high-quality, affordable and flexible education and care for children, whilst ensuring their safety, giving every child the best start of life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The department is responsible for setting the standards which early years settings such as nurseries must follow, these are set out in the early years foundation stage statutory framework. The department has responsibility for policy on inspection and registration but how it is implemented is for Ofsted to decide and to be held to account by Parliament.
Given the sensitivity and quality of the information around incidents, Ofsted do not publish incident data as routine statistics. However, their annual report and accounts include some national level data on notifications that may relate to incidents. The latest is accessible at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e575d987cebda7c4ca4cde/31795_Ofsted_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2023-24_-_Accessible.pdf.
Ofsted can only commit to publishing national headline data about the number of complaints or notifications relating to incidents.