Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will ringfence funding for independent patient advocacy services after the abolition of Healthwatch.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent complaints advocacy service in the National Health Service is covered by a wider grant for Local Reform and Community Voices and is not a requirement of Healthwatch England or Local Healthwatch. This grant provides funding to local authorities which assists them in meeting statutory duties. This funding will continue to be provided. This grant has not been ringfenced to date and there are no plans to ringfence it, moving forward.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure that (a) the views of patients and (b) patient engagement are independently provided to (a) his Department, (b) the NHS, and (c) local authorities after Healthwatch's abolition.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dr Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. The review recommends bringing together the work of local Healthwatch organisations, and the engagement functions of integrated care boards and providers, to ensure patient and wider community input into the planning and design of services.
In addition, as also recommended by the review, we are amalgamating the functions of Healthwatch England to a new directorate. Its strategic functions will be transferred to the new directorate for patient experience in NHS England, transferring, in due course, to the new structures in the Department. This directorate will be responsible for overseeing the collection of more informed feedback from both patients, service users and carers and significantly improving the complaints function across the National Health Service.
These changes will improve quality, including safety, by making it clear where responsibility and accountability sit at all levels of the system, and making it easier for staff, patients and users to directly feed into the system to improve quality of care. We believe that patients and users will have a stronger voice once it is heard inside the system.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has conducted an impact assessment of the effect of the abolition of Healthwatch on (a) patient representation, (b) accountability and (c) local authority scrutiny functions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The abolition of Healthwatch England, the transfer of its functions and the changes to local Healthwatch require primary legislation. Timing of this is subject to the will of parliament and will happen when parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment would be produced in line with HM Treasury's Green Book standards and published on the Government website when legislation is introduced in Parliament. No assessment has been made at this time, although the expertise of Dr Dash and her critical review of patient safiety will continue to guide the Government’s policy in this regard.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
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 merits of extending the provision of Covid vaccinations to people with (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) long term immunosuppressive health conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert committee which reviews the latest data on COVID-19 risks, vaccine safety, and effectiveness and advises the government on eligibility for vaccination and immunisation programmes. The JCVI has published advice for future COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in autumn 2025, spring 2026, autumn 2026, and spring 2027. The government has accepted JCVI advice for autumn 2025. The Government is considering the JCVI’s advice for 2026 and spring 2027 carefully and will respond in due course.
The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious disease (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.
Therefore, in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to:
The JCVI has advised that more recent data are needed to assess whether any other population groups under the age of 75 years with specific clinical comorbidities, such as type 1 diabetes, are at similar risk of serious disease as those aged 75 years and over.
The JCVI continues to review evidence and may update its advice in future.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of parents who are unable to take up or remain in employment because they have children with special educational needs and disabilities that do not have access adequate educational provision and require full-time care at home.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing and can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Our Get Britain Working White Paper, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 25/26, will deliver the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation to help more people into work and to progress.
Children living in households where no adults work are around 4 times more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work. We are therefore considering how we can improve our support to help parents into work as part of our upcoming Child Poverty Strategy. We are listening carefully to the voices of children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND) and their families. We have also engaged with charities and organisations like Contact, ALLFIE, and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation to discuss the experience of disabled children living in poverty.
Carers on low incomes can claim Universal Credit at a higher rate through the carer element. An unpaid carer receiving UC who meets the eligibility threshold for receiving Carers Element is not required to undertake work-related activity but can access employment support on a voluntary basis. Support offered can include access to skills provision, referral to an employment support programme, for example the Restart programme, careers advice, job search support, volunteering opportunities and access to the Flexible Support Fund to aid job entry.
Support is also available through Carer’s Allowance (CA) which provides a measure of financial support and recognition for unpaid carers who are unable to work full time as a result of their caring responsibilities.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to start building a third track between York and Skelton Junction during this Parliament.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has worked extensively with Network Rail and stakeholders on development and design of a scheme to deliver a third line between York North Throat and Skelton Junction. As the broader strategic benefits of the project would only be realised as part of a wider package of investment on the East Coast Main Line, the decision was taken at the Spending Review to pause the project until a long-term strategy for the route can be developed further. The scheme will remain under review to ensure it can be delivered in the most effective way as part of a holistic strategy of investment.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
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 the potential impact of the 10 year health plan on levels of inequality in access to wearable diabetes technology.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10 Year Health Plan aims to reduce the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and enhance the care of patients living with diabetes through the delivery of the three shifts. Hospital to community will enable those living with diabetes to manage their care in the best way for them through the Neighbourhood Health Service. Analogue to digital will make it easier for those living with diabetes to access tailored advice and manage their appointments at a time that suits them. Treatment to prevention will make it easier for people to access diabetes screening and support people to make healthier choices to prevent them from developing type 2 diabetes.
By 2035, all patients will have access to wearables. Wearables will enable patients and their carers to better manage their care by having access to their health data such as blood pressure and glucose levels. They will also enable remote monitoring to alert a patient’s care team to any issues so that appropriate interventions can be made quickly before they progress.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
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 improve the quality of national primary care data on Young Onset Dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Young onset dementia is defined as dementia diagnosed under the age of 65.
The dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising those aged between zero and 64 years old are not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The dementia diagnosis rate for patients aged 65 years old and over is calculated and published monthly via the Primary Care Dementia Data publication, which is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/primary-care-dementia-data
This publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record. This is expressed as a raw count and as a percentage of registered patients aged between zero and 64 years old.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
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 the potential impact of the 10 year health plan on health outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan aims enhance the care of patients living with type 1 diabetes through shifts in how care is delivered. Hospital to community will enable those living with diabetes to manage their care in the best way for them through the Neighbourhood Health Service, while analogue to digital will make it easier for those living with diabetes to access tailored advice and manage their appointments at a time that suits them.
By 2028, patients will be able to manage all their care through the NHS App. People with diabetes will be able to book appointments, manage their medication and prescriptions and view their single-patient record so they can become better advocates for themselves.
Patients will be able to access tailored advice through the NHS App on how to manage their diabetes. The App will give patients a doctor in their pocket, and artificial intelligence functionality will enable patients to check their symptoms and find out where to go for further advice or screening as appropriate.
Patient care will be personalised through the comprehensive single patient record. When patients attend appointments, clinicians will be able to see all their medical information and history, helping them to make informed diagnoses against co-morbidities and advise patients of their individual risk factor.
By 2035, all patients will have access to wearables. Wearables will enable patients and their carers to better manage their care by having access to their health data such as blood pressure and glucose levels. They will also enable remote monitoring to alert a patient’s care team to any issues so that appropriate interventions can be made quickly before they progress.
The MyHealth tool will enable remote monitoring, giving patients piece of mind that their condition is being monitored and healthcare professionals will step in if needed.
The Neighbourhood Health Service will give those living with diabetes more choice and control of their care. Patients will receive seamless care across services through high-quality care plans. The plan proposes that by 2027, 95% of people with complex needs, including long-term conditions, will have an agreed care plan.
More people will be able to access Personal Health Budgets. Patients will be told how much money is available to them and will be supported by their National Health Service team to decide how to spend that money to meet their needs.
By 2028 the Diagnosis Connect service will support better self-care. In partnership with the Richmond Group, this service will bring together the NHS and the voluntary sector to help people with new diagnoses manage their care.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
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 the potential merits of having a universal screening programme for type 1 diabetes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for South Northamptonshire on 25 July 2025 to Question 67791.