Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps hi Department has taken to support GP practices who have taking on patients coming from private healthcare backgrounds.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service and general practices (GPs) are free at the point of use, and anyone is entitled to register with an NHS GP regardless of whether they have had private healthcare before.
Under the GP Contract, a contractor must not host private paid-for GP services that fall within the scope of NHS funded primary medical services, and must not themselves, or through another person, advertise the provision of private services using the same written or electronic means used to advertise the NHS funded primary medical services they provide.
This does not prevent individual GPs from offering purely private GP services to non-registered patients, although these services must be outside the agreed medical services and separate to the services provided to their NHS patient list and on alternative premises which are not NHS-funded. This is intended to safeguard the model of comprehensive NHS primary medical care and ensure that the line between NHS and private practice does not become blurred.
The British Medical Association provides guidance to GPs on its website for their responsibility in responding to private health care.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional support to people on waiting lists for an ADHD diagnosis who show clear symptoms.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessments and support for people suspected or confirmed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published September 2024, highlighted that the demand for assessments for ADHD has grown significantly in recent years and that there are severe delays for accessing ADHD assessments.
The independent ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England to consider these issues and how to address them, recently published its interim report. The report recommends the need for timely access to needs-based support, including practical help for people showing signs of ADHD, such as coaching, classroom tools, and parenting advice. The taskforce's final report is expected to be published later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
The Government is also supporting earlier intervention for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through the Early Language Support for Every Child and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programmes. The Government will be investing in support for pupils with SEND more widely, enabling transformation of the SEND system to make mainstream schools more inclusive and to improve outcomes.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 ensure that regulatory frameworks at (a) Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and (b) other hospitals do not inhibit patients in obtaining (i) prosthetic eyes and (ii) novelty prosthetics through the National Artificial Eye Service.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the development and implementation of regulations for medical devices placed on the United Kingdom’s market, irrespective of the specific hospital in which they are used. All devices, including prosthetic eyes, must meet the relevant requirements of the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002).
The MHRA is developing a future regulatory framework for medical devices that will ensure patients have access to the safe and effective medical devices they need, including prosthetic eyes and other custom-made devices. The first step is the introduction of new Post-Market Surveillance regulations, which came into force in June, putting in place strengthened legal requirements for how manufacturers monitor and report on their devices once they are being used in the real world. We intend to follow this with updates to the MDR 2002, which will enter into force next year, bringing further risk-proportionate improvements to ensure device traceability and patient safety. This will include additional measures that must be taken before a product can be placed on the market, including enhanced requirements for custom-made devices. To support patient access to medical technologies, the MHRA recently consulted on proposals to introduce an international reliance scheme to enable swifter market access for certain devices that have already been approved in a comparable regulator country. The agency will publish a response to that consultation in due course.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 6 May 2025 to Question 47908 on Community Health Services: Finance, what options to improve homecare services are under consideration; and what his planned timetable is for the implementation of changes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to moving more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receive the care they need when and where they need it.
The 10-Year Health Plan will see more tests and scans and services delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology. All will support people to manage their conditions closer to home.
Homecare medicines services will play a key role in this and have already grown considerably in the past five years, now supporting approximately 600,000 patients in England to receive specialist, hospital prescribed medicines at home, work or another convenient place.
The Department and NHS England recognise the importance of strengthening homecare medicine services and continue to prioritise improvements in this area following the House of Lords Public Services Committee’s report, Homecare medicines services: an opportunity lost. The recommendations accepted by the Department and NHS England continue to be explored and developed. Work is underway to scope the opportunities to improve how homecare services can be procured, contracted, and delivered to meet the future needs of the NHS. An update on progress will be provided to the House of Lords Public Services Committee later this year.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 30 April 2025 to Question 47907 on Community Health Services, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of clinical homecare to moving healthcare out of hospitals and into the community.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to moving more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receive the care they need when and where they need it.
The 10-Year Health Plan will see more tests and scans and services delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology. All will support people to manage their conditions closer to home.
Homecare medicines services will play a key role in this and have already grown considerably in the past five years, now supporting approximately 600,000 patients in England to receive specialist, hospital prescribed medicines at home, work or another convenient place.
The Department and NHS England recognise the importance of strengthening homecare medicine services and continue to prioritise improvements in this area following the House of Lords Public Services Committee’s report, Homecare medicines services: an opportunity lost. The recommendations accepted by the Department and NHS England continue to be explored and developed. Work is underway to scope the opportunities to improve how homecare services can be procured, contracted, and delivered to meet the future needs of the NHS. An update on progress will be provided to the House of Lords Public Services Committee later this year.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department considered including Cheadle Practice as being a high priority for estate improvements when determining allocations for the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We have made sure that every single region across the country receives a share of the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation funding, so the benefits are felt nationwide.
NHS England worked with all integrated care boards, including Greater Manchester, to prioritise the schemes that local health leaders identified that met their communities most urgent needs.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria were used to determine which GP surgeries received funding under the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund in the 2025-26 financial year; and what role integrated care boards had in the decision-making process.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We recently announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (PCUMF) to deliver upgrades this financial year to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England.
We have made sure that every single region across the country receives part of the funding, so benefits are felt nationwide. Decisions were made based on the highest priority of need and where the investment would quickly create additional clinical space, specifically to deliver more appointments.
NHS England worked with all the integrated care boards (ICBs), including in Greater Manchester, to prioritise the schemes that local health leaders identified as meeting their communities’ most urgent needs.
The Greater Manchester ICB has been allocated £5.6 million from the PCUMF to be spent on physical improvements resulting in additional clinical space and increased access to appointments. Digital transformation projects were not considered to be in scope for the £102 million of funding.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England held discussions with (a) NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board and (b) Place Leads in Stockport before finalising the list of GP practices funded through the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We recently announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (PCUMF) to deliver upgrades this financial year to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England.
We have made sure that every single region across the country receives part of the funding, so benefits are felt nationwide. Decisions were made based on the highest priority of need and where the investment would quickly create additional clinical space, specifically to deliver more appointments.
NHS England worked with all the integrated care boards (ICBs), including in Greater Manchester, to prioritise the schemes that local health leaders identified as meeting their communities’ most urgent needs.
The Greater Manchester ICB has been allocated £5.6 million from the PCUMF to be spent on physical improvements resulting in additional clinical space and increased access to appointments. Digital transformation projects were not considered to be in scope for the £102 million of funding.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund is being used for (a) digitisation projects and (b) physical improvements to GP premises.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We recently announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (PCUMF) to deliver upgrades this financial year to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England.
We have made sure that every single region across the country receives part of the funding, so benefits are felt nationwide. Decisions were made based on the highest priority of need and where the investment would quickly create additional clinical space, specifically to deliver more appointments.
NHS England worked with all the integrated care boards (ICBs), including in Greater Manchester, to prioritise the schemes that local health leaders identified as meeting their communities’ most urgent needs.
The Greater Manchester ICB has been allocated £5.6 million from the PCUMF to be spent on physical improvements resulting in additional clinical space and increased access to appointments. Digital transformation projects were not considered to be in scope for the £102 million of funding.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund has been allocated to practices in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We recently announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (PCUMF) to deliver upgrades this financial year to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England.
We have made sure that every single region across the country receives part of the funding, so benefits are felt nationwide. Decisions were made based on the highest priority of need and where the investment would quickly create additional clinical space, specifically to deliver more appointments.
NHS England worked with all the integrated care boards (ICBs), including in Greater Manchester, to prioritise the schemes that local health leaders identified as meeting their communities’ most urgent needs.
The Greater Manchester ICB has been allocated £5.6 million from the PCUMF to be spent on physical improvements resulting in additional clinical space and increased access to appointments. Digital transformation projects were not considered to be in scope for the £102 million of funding.