Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to build neighbourhood health services in partnership with (a) Macmillan and (b) other charities.

The Department recognises the value of neighbourhood health services being built in partnership with voluntary organisations, such as Macmillan. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations.

The Planning Framework for the National Health Service in England, published on 8 September, reiterates the commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan that place partners develop a local neighbourhood plan, which integrated care boards will bring together into a population health improvement plan. These local plans should set out how the NHS, local authority, and other organisations, including social care providers and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, will work together to design and deliver neighbourhood health services. The Department will publish separate guidance to support their development in the autumn.

The National Cancer Plan will build on the shift from hospital to community set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to foster improved collaboration with the VCSE sector to deliver this.

This includes exploring how the impact economy can help deliver the goals set in the National Cancer Plan, collaborating across the Government, the NHS, civil society, and the corporate sector.