Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support community-based preventative services for older people in Norfolk.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS is implementing various preventative services to support older people in maintaining their health and independence.
These services include:
These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to improve the quality of care and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions for older people. The NHS is working with partners across health and social care to ensure that older people receive the highest quality care when they need it.
Norfolk and Waveney ICB, working with Norfolk County Council, local authorities, the voluntary sector, and NHS providers, has established a wide range of preventative services to help older people live healthier, more independent lives. The ICB’s Protect NoW programme is tackling inequalities and improving access to health and care services through Population Health Management (PHM) and risk stratification. Projects include improving access to talking therapies, falls prevention, and the Dementia North Norfolk programme, which connects people to housing, benefits, social activities, and carers’ support.
In addition, the Health Connect initiative has supported over 9,000 residents after hospital discharge, reducing the risk of readmission through practical, emotional, health, and social support.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a national safeguarding review into the protection of disabled dependents when their sole carer is incapacitated.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any form of abuse or neglect is unacceptable, and the Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a statutory duty to make enquiries about safeguarding concerns and support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 also requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers.
The Carer Contingency Campaign Pack: Supporting Carers and Strengthening Local Care Systems, developed by the Carers Trust with NHS England and the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, helps local carer organisations to implement Carer Contingency Plans, which are structured protocols ensuring care continuity when the carer is unexpectedly unavailable. Unpaid carers can be supported to create contingency plans to ensure the person they care for continues receiving support if they are suddenly unavailable. It includes practical tools, good practice examples, and guidance on emergency planning.
We have launched an independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Casey. The Commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
The Commission's Terms of Reference are sufficiently broad to enable Baroness Casey to define its remit to independently consider how to build a social care system fit for the future, including the safeguarding of those receiving care if the Commission sees fit.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on (a) elderly and (b) disabled people who do not have a reliable internet connection.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Those who don’t have access to, or cannot use digital technologies, including older people and disabled people, are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances. Knock-on effects of digital exclusion can include difficulty accessing essential services and isolation from their community.
That’s why in February, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which include older and disabled people.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on disabled people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Those who don’t have access to, or cannot use digital technologies, including older people and disabled people, are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances. Knock-on effects of digital exclusion can include difficulty accessing essential services and isolation from their community.
That’s why in February, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which include older and disabled people.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on elderly people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Those who don’t have access to, or cannot use digital technologies, including older people and disabled people, are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances. Knock-on effects of digital exclusion can include difficulty accessing essential services and isolation from their community.
That’s why in February, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which include older and disabled people.
Asked by: Fred Thomas (Labour - Plymouth Moor View)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that essential home adaptations required for hospital discharge are (a) supported and (b) delivered in a timely manner.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The statutory ‘Hospital discharge and community support guidance’ outlines that health and care systems and providers should collaborate to share information early to support a safe and timely discharge, minimise issues that may disrupt care provision, and ensure necessary home adaptations and equipment are considered, while also requiring local authorities to engage housing services to provide support and advice where needed.
In January, we published a new policy framework for the Better Care Fund, which requires local areas to agree joint plans, developed in collaboration with local housing authorities, that achieve more timely and effective hospital discharge.
Housing adaptations, including those delivered through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) play a key role in supporting these objectives by funding changes that help people remain well, safe, and independent at home for longer. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide around 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Alongside this, local authorities have a statutory duty under various legislations, including the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014, to ensure provision of community equipment and disability aids in order to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area, which help support independent living at home. This facilitates safe discharge into the community from hospital and prevents avoidable admissions into acute services, such as hospitals or care homes.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of employment support services for over-50s in the North East.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP currently offers employment support for eligible customers of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. We provide tailored support for those older jobseekers affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications. Through Midlife MOTs, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older people to assess their health, finances and skills.
The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new jobs and careers service that will enable everyone, including the over-50s, to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in their careers. This includes an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.
As part of the national jobcentre work, in the North East, Employer and Partnership Teams work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers.
Economic Inactivity Trailblazer areas have received a share of £80 million of funding in 2025/26 to design and test new interventions to support economically inactive people into the labour market. Across their interventions, the North East Combined Authority Economic Inactivity Trailblazer aims to support over a 1000 residents, including specific testing to support people over the age of 50.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 potential impact of digital exclusion on older people’s ability to access NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
People unable to access the NHS App or online services, or visit their general practice (GP) in person, can ask for a feature called proxy access available through the NHS App. This function allows a trusted relative or carer to act on the patient’s behalf and can be set up through the patient’s GP surgery, so that they can help them manage their health and care. This is done through a proxy, or linked, account. Depending on the access that the GP surgery has enabled, proxy users may be able to act for the person they support, by ordering repeat prescriptions, booking appointments, viewing test results or vaccinations, and accessing all or part of the GP health record, to help with health-related tasks and managing health issues.
While digital health tools like the NHS App offer convenience, they should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.
NHS England has published a framework for National Health Service action on digital inclusion and is developing further resources to support practical actions. All programmes are actively considering how they can contribute to improvements in healthcare inequalities and digital inclusion. Digital health tools are part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support and telephone services, with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.
NHS England has successfully run a number of programmes to support patients, carers, and health service staff with their digital skills. These include:
- the NHS App ‘Spoken Word’ Pilot project, designed to test the efficacy of promoting NHS digital health products and services in languages other than English;
- the Digital Health Champions programme, a proof of concept to support citizens who have no or low digital skills with understanding how to access health services online; and
- the Widening Digital Participation programme, aimed to ensure more people have the digital skills, motivation, and means to access health information and services online.
GP surgeries also offer patients non-digital methods to manage their primary and secondary healthcare, and these methods usually consist of telephonic communication and letters. Patients can request a non-digital route by registering their preference with their GP surgery.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of caring responsibilities on levels of social isolation among unpaid carers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
Local authorities have duties to support unpaid carers and are required to deliver sustainable, high-quality care and support services.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) secondary school and (b) university students participating in organised sport are routinely tested for heart health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommends screening babies for heart problems in pregnancy and twice in the newborn period. These programmes are run successfully in the National Health Service. The UK NSC does not recommend routine testing for heart health in older children. The committee reviewed the evidence for screening for risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019 and concluded that screening should not be offered. The committee’s review is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
Research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use in young people without symptoms, and that treatments and interventions were not based on good scientific evidence to prevent SCD.
To reduce SCD in young people, the current consensus is to focus on the rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD, due mainly to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.
NHS England has published guidance for inherited cardiac conditions, a major cause of SCD in young people, which requires services to investigate patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease, suggestive symptoms, or patients who are from families with sudden unexplained deaths. Where a genetic variation is identified, cascade testing should be offered to relatives based on risk.
We are aware that the UK NSC has received a submission via its annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged between 14 and 35 years old engaging in sport. The UK NSC has included this in their review of screening for SCD which is currently under way.