Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, what steps they are taking to improve access to allergy care in the community.

The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), which is co-chaired by the Department, currently advises the Department, NHS England and other Government departments on the priority areas for policy change and development related to allergy care and outcomes. The EAGA will continue to support the Department and its partners to ensure that the specific needs of people with allergies are addressed through broader National Health Service reforms.

The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. Its three big shifts, namely from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention will all help deliver improvements to allergy care. With more tests delivered in the community and better joint working with multidisciplinary teams, including allergy specialists, working in local communities as part of the neighbourhood health service. The greater use of apps and wearable technology will also support people to manage their allergies closer to home.

We are committed ensuring we have the staff we need in the NHS, and we want to hear from partners to make sure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills. We will provide more details about what will be included in the 10-Year Workforce Plan in due course.

The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme aims to enhance the overall capacity of and capabilities of primary care teams to address a wide range of patient needs and broader healthcare challenges in their localities. Networks may recruit dieticians and nurses with advanced skills and knowledge in a specific area of healthcare or disease management depending upon the needs of their populations.

NHS England does not collect national data on allergy prevalence or services, nor does it issue specific guidance. In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.