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 adequacy of chaplain services in the NHS; and whether the provision of such services are considered to be an essential part of someone's care provided by the NHS.

Chaplaincy and faith services are funded and commissioned locally, in response to the needs of individual patient populations and workforce. When commissioning chaplaincy and faith services, the NHS Standard Contract requires providers to take account of the spiritual, religious, pastoral and cultural needs of service users.

NHS England recognises the important role of chaplaincy services in supporting pastoral, spiritual and religious needs and has produced NHS Chaplaincy Guidelines. These guidelines are currently being updated to support National Health Service organisations in delivering high quality and inclusive pastoral, spiritual and religious care services for all. The revised guidelines will be published in 2023.