We acknowledge the challenges that neurology services have faced, particularly regarding workforce, delays to treatment and care, and a lack of information and support for patients. Nationally, there are initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for Parkinson’s patients, including the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time Neurology Programme. NHS England (NHSE) has established a Neurology Transformation Programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients.

We have set up a UK-wide Neuro Forum, to bring together key stakeholders from across all four nations, to share learning, best practice examples and potential solutions.

NHSE commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. Within specialised centres, multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals and specialised treatment, according to their needs.

A central part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we train and provide the staff the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities. This summer, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan aiming to treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it, including in neurology.

In January, NHSE published a new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by 2029. We have achieved our pledge to deliver 2 million extra elective appointments. The additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology. We have made the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment – in line with the NHS constitutional standard – by March 2029.

NICE guidance recommends that people with Parkinson's should be seen at regular intervals of 6-12 months. While NICE guidance is not mandatory, we expect commissioners to take it fully into account when designing services for their local population.

The Government currently has no plans to increase specific funding for people with Parkinson’s. However, at the Autumn Budget, DHSC received a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending from 2023-24 to 2025-26. How this is spent will be determined according to clinical priorities.

There are no plans to add to the list of conditions that give entitlement to free prescriptions. Around 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges are in place. People with Parkinson’s who are 60 years old or over are entitled to free prescriptions. For those that pay for prescriptions, the cost can be capped by purchasing a pre-payment certificate. Also, the NHS Low Income Scheme can provide help with health costs on an income-related basis.

The Government recently brought forward a Green Paper on the health and disability benefits system and the support we offer, entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working. Within that, we consider how to improve the system for those with very severe health conditions and disabilities, including exploring ways to reduce the need for some people with very severe health conditions to undergo a full Personal Independence Payment functional assessment.

Eligibility for a Blue Badge is not condition specific. Blue Badge eligibility criteria in England were extended in 2019 to include more people with non-visible disabilities, to ensure that people with the greatest needs, whatever their disability or condition, all have the same access to a badge.

The Government spent £79.06 million on Parkinson’s research from 2019-20 to 2023-24, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). We are continuing to invest in Parkinson’s research. For example, the UK Dementia Research Institute, primarily funded by Government, is partnering with Parkinson’s UK to establish a new £10 million research centre dedicated to better understanding the causes of Parkinson’s and finding new treatments. The NIHR welcomes high-quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Parkinson's. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on Parkinson’s disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Department of Health and Social Care

This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/713714)