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 embed trauma-informed practice across the NHS, including in GP surgeries and refugee health clinics.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Recognising that asylum seekers may require additional mental health support, including for trauma-related mental health issues, the Department works together with NHS England and the Home Office to provide additional guidance and support where required.
Examples of national and local interventions aimed at maintaining and improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of individuals seeking asylum are available at the following link:
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 are being taken to reduce reliance on digital consultations and ensure equitable access to in-person appointments, particularly for those with mental health conditions or language barriers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service organisations must ensure that all patients have equitable access to care, and that decisions or policies do not unfairly disadvantage people or lead to an increase in inequalities. All NHS organisations are legally obliged to not discriminate against patients or staff.
This means that a non-digital solution should be available for those patients who cannot or do not wish to engage digitally, including those with mental health conditions or language barriers. These non-digital routes must be available for all services provided by NHS organisations.
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 equitable regional access to NICE-recommended digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, including Sleepio.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for local integrated care boards to decide whether treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy or digital solutions such as Sleepio should be offered to their local populations as a treatment for insomnia.
NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression offer low-intensity therapy which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer, to NHS Talking Therapies. People can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the Every Mind Matters website at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/
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 procedures are in place to ensure that savings thresholds in relation to care costs are communicated to the public at both local and national level.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department undertakes an annual review of the capital limits and the social care allowances within the adult social care charging system.
The capital limits determine eligibility for means-tested local authority support with care costs, and the social care allowance rates set the statutory minimum income that individuals must retain after charging.
To communicate the rates for the upcoming financial year, 2026/27, the Department will publish a Local Authority Circular on the GOV.UK website, in early 2026. Local authorities should reflect these updates in their publicly available charging policies, ensuring consistent communication at both a local and national level.
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 has made an assessment of the potential impact of target-driven GP contracts on the quality of care and doctor-patient relationships.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The GP Contract sees practices receive funding through a range of income streams.
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is an optional pay-for-performance scheme that makes up approximately 10% of overall practice income. The indicators and thresholds included in the QOF are developed in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, underpinned by a robust evidence base. Thresholds are designed to be attainable, while encouraging and incentivising practices to provide the best possible care. Thresholds are aspirational rather than a contractual obligation.
As part of our recently published Medium-Term Planning Framework, we have introduced a new and ambitious target to ensure all urgent appointments are provided on the same day, so that patients requiring urgent care are prioritised. The Department continues to engage with general practitioners broadly to ensure the targets are achievable, reflect the needs of the populations they serve, and to understand barriers to meeting this target.
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 considered the potential merits of conducting a review into the law of causation in clinical negligence, with a focus on increasing support and protection for families with late family members who were misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As announced in the 10 Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. David Lock KC has not been specifically asked to conduct a review into the law of causation in clinical negligence as part of his work, but he is able to consider all aspects of the way clinical negligence law operates as part of his review.
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 assessment they have made of variations in access to Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) across Integrated Care Boards; and what steps they are taking to ensure consistency in prescribing for eligible patients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tirzepatide, brand name Mounjaro, is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of both type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally required to fund NICE-recommended medicines, including obesity treatments, within three months of final approval. NICE granted a phased rollout of tirzepatide for obesity to manage National Health Service resources and establish new care pathways. ICBs have been legally required to fund tirzepatide for obesity so that prescribers can offer the treatment to eligible patients in specialist weight management services since March 2025 and in primary care from 23 June 2025. NHS England is providing support for ICBs, including providing:
- additional funding to support the delivery of services within primary care and the cost of obesity medicines in line with interim commissioning guidance; and
- a centrally funded wraparound care service ‘Healthier You: Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing’ for primary care to refer patients to.
We do not hold information on whether each ICB provides access to specific medicines in its locality. ICBs are responsible for ensuring they meet their legal duties, including making funding for NICE-recommended medicines available.
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 will have discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of extending the Civility Saves Lives initiative to other public-facing services, including Jobcentre Plus and local authority housing departments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Civility Saves Lives initiative highlights the importance of behaviours in the workplace and the impact that rudeness can have on performance, wellbeing, and patient safety. It is a movement created by healthcare professionals, rather than a national initiative developed and rolled out by the Department or NHS England.
There are currently no plans to discuss the initiative with colleagues in other Government departments.
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 are being taken to help ensure that international medical students and trainees working in UK health services are protected from racial discrimination and workplace hostility.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any form of racism or discrimination is unacceptable and has no place in our National Health Service.
The NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan, published in 2023, recognises that we benefit from the skills, expertise, and commitment of internationally recruited healthcare professionals and highlights the important role that NHS organisations have to play in making staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career. NHS organisations are expected to review their data by protected characteristics on bullying, harassment, discrimination, and violence and make plans to improve staff experience year on year.
Additionally, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment which will include tackling racism and reducing violence against staff. The standards will be underpinned by the NHS Oversight Framework and the Care Quality Commission assessment framework.
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 her Department is taking to improve GP (a) awareness and (b) understanding of (i) dementia and (ii) other neurodegenerative 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. The required training needs are set out in the Dementia training Standards Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/info-hub/dementia-2015-updated-2018/
The Dementia Care Pathway: Full implementation guidance emphasises the need to ensure that general practitioners are supported in providing dementia diagnosis with education and training programmes.
There are also a variety of resources available on the NHS England E-learning for Health platform, including a programme on dementia care, designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce.
We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
The framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.