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 school nursing services in Lincolnshire.

Local authorities receive funding to provide school nursing through the Public Health Grant. It is local authorities’ responsibility to commission school nursing around the needs of their respective populations according to their local health plan. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities provides both commissioning guidance and a service framework through the Healthy Child Programme. School nursing is a clinical service, and providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission who assure quality through their inspection regime.

We will ensure we have the staff we need so that children and their families are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. This will take time, but we are committed to building a health service fit for the future with the workforce it needs.