Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 ensure timely access to treatment for children experiencing sudden medical emergencies in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring that appropriate specialist support is available for paediatric medical emergencies in their areas. In Surrey Heath, this responsibility sits with the Frimley Integrated Care System.
Children who require specialist support for medical emergencies in the Surrey Heath constituency are served by their local hospital at Frimley Park which has a dedicated Paediatric Emergency Department. The Paediatric Emergency Department is a separate facility within the main department and is open 24 hours a day.
Children who require treatment for sudden medical emergencies can also access the South East Coast Ambulance Service via 999. Following support from the ambulance service, children may be taken to the Paediatric Emergency Department at Frimley Park Hospital or another suitable facility.
In our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, we commit to increasing the number of children seen within four hours in accident and emergency. This means thousands of children every month receiving more timely care than before.
The Department continues to work with NHS England and local systems to monitor capacity so that children receive timely, specialist care in emergencies.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 the availability of specialist support for paediatric medical emergencies in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring that appropriate specialist support is available for paediatric medical emergencies in their areas. In Surrey Heath, this responsibility sits with the Frimley Integrated Care System.
Children who require specialist support for medical emergencies in the Surrey Heath constituency are served by their local hospital at Frimley Park which has a dedicated Paediatric Emergency Department. The Paediatric Emergency Department is a separate facility within the main department and is open 24 hours a day.
Children who require treatment for sudden medical emergencies can also access the South East Coast Ambulance Service via 999. Following support from the ambulance service, children may be taken to the Paediatric Emergency Department at Frimley Park Hospital or another suitable facility.
In our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, we commit to increasing the number of children seen within four hours in accident and emergency. This means thousands of children every month receiving more timely care than before.
The Department continues to work with NHS England and local systems to monitor capacity so that children receive timely, specialist care in emergencies.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to improve (a) recognition and (b) support for volunteer emergency responders in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises and is grateful for the valuable contribution volunteers make in supporting National Health Service staff, patients, and services.
Individual ambulance trusts are responsible for making decisions on recruiting, supporting, and developing volunteers to support their specific service needs. NHS England recently launched a single volunteer recruitment portal making it easier for trusts across the NHS to advertise volunteer vacancies, and for potential volunteer applicants to source and apply for available opportunities.
There are currently no plans for the Government to review the ways that emergency responders are recruited or supported by trusts.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when statutory guidance will be produced on the duty to collaborate under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024; and what plans the Government has to ensure its implementation following the decision to abolish PCCs and the upcoming changes to integrated care boards.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We will work closely with the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social care as Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Integrated Care Board reforms unfold and this will inform our consideration of implementation of the Duty to Collaborate under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. The Ministry of Justice has recently announced that it will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.
We are taking this opportunity to review and strengthen the commissioning and delivery of victims’ services. In light of the announcement to abolish the PCC function in May 2028, we will also explore changes to the delivery of victims funding to ensure this is delivered in the best way in the future.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to consult stakeholders in the mental health and neurodivergence sectors as part of its review into over-diagnosis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 4 December 2025, via a Written Ministerial Statement, the launch of an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.
The Government is deeply concerned that many adults, young people, and children with mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving timely or appropriate support and treatment. Therefore, we are launching this review to understand the rise in the prevalence and demand for services, so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.
The review will look to understand, with regard to mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, the similarities and differences regarding prevalence, early intervention and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals.
Professor Peter Fonagy will chair the review with the support of two vice chairs, Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird. The review will appoint an advisory working group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence. The Terms of Reference have been published on GOV.UK website and are available at the following link:
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of current inpatient capacity and waiting times for secure mental health placements for individuals detained under the Mental Health Act in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester (c) Oldham.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Nationally, NHS England collates information from annual contracts to understand the commissioned and available capacity across all adult forensic services, including high, medium, and low secure. A change notification process is managed nationally to capture in-year changes to this capacity and to monitor provider-reported activity via the Mental Health Services Dataset. NHS England does not hold information about waiting times for all individuals detained under the Mental Health Act who require admission to an adult forensic service except where the individual is transferred from prison to hospital.
NHS England and the Greater Manchester Adult Secure Provider Collaborative continue to work closely with National Health Service trusts and independent sector organisations to monitor capacity and demand for secure mental health beds for the population of Greater Manchester.
Whilst work is in progress to achieve more timely transfers into secure mental health facilities for prisoners, and work with providers around reducing overall secure length of stay, based on current demand there are sufficient adult secure beds across Greater Manchester and the wider North West region, including Oldham, to meet demand against the national adult secure specification.
Waiting list numbers are stable and consistent which indicates that commissioned provision is sufficient to meet need. As waiting lists are managed on a clinical priority basis and due to the low volumes of people requiring secure mental health services, it is difficult to provide a meaningful statistic about waiting times for admission.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 tackle potential gaps in specialist vision rehabilitation monitoring.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England have a legal duty to support people with sight loss to develop practical skills and strategies to maintain independence.
Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is not currently required to assess vision rehabilitation services as regulated activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, do form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care.
The CQC assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, in their delivery of their duties under part 1 of the Care Act. This facilitates the sharing of good practice and helps us to target support where it is most needed. It may be helpful to know that the CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement.
West Berkshire Council was rated ‘Good’ by the CQC. Its assessment was published on 17 May 2024, and the report is available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/WBerkshire-0524
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 improve access to (a) emotional support and (b) mental health services for people living with a visual impairment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that people with mental health issues, including those people living with a visual impairment, are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we are working to ensure the National Health Service provides the right support to the right people at the right time.
At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30, and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.
We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together NHS, local authority, and voluntary sector services into one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations, including those living with a visual impairment.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to reintroduce improving dementia diagnosis times into NHS Operational Planning Guidance.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Planning Guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the National Health Service does, and the absence of a target does not mean it is not an area of focus.
We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis, and remain committed to increasing diagnosis rates and ensuring people can access any licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatment and/or support they need.
We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect NHS priorities to provide the best possible care and support.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
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 merits of the use of the drug Vorasidenib to manage the symptoms and progression of low grade Glioma.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Department has made no assessment, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS on the basis of an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE is currently evaluating vorasidenib for treating astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with IDH1 or IDH2 mutations after surgery in people 12 years old and over.
The draft guidance was shared with all stakeholders as well as being published on the NICE website for public comment as part of the consultation which took place between 15 October and 4 November 2025. The committee reviewed the consultation comments at the committee meeting on 20 November 2025. NICE currently expect to publish final guidance in January 2026.