Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 integration between social care and NHS services in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving integration between health and social care services nationally and locally, including in rural areas. Our vision for neighbourhood health will see integrated teams and services designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations while ensuring strong partnership working between health and social care. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.
Through the Better Care Fund, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable National Health Service bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This money is spent across the country, including rural areas.
As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan and starting in the financial year 2026/27, we will reform the Better Care Fund. This reform will provide a sharper focus on ensuring consistent joint NHS and local authority funding for those services that are essential for integrated health and social care, such as hospital discharge, intermediate care, rehabilitation, and reablement.
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of integrating AI into audiology care and diagnoses.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve patient care across a range of clinical areas, including audiology. While there is currently no dedicated programme focused solely on AI in audiology, the Government’s wider strategy for AI in health and care sets out how emerging technologies will be evaluated and adopted where they demonstrate clear benefits for patients and clinicians.
Under the AI in Health and Care Award, the Department and NHS England have invested over £100 million to support real-world testing of AI technologies in high-impact areas such as diagnostics and screening. Lessons from these programmes, such as the need for robust clinical validation, regulatory compliance, and integration into National Health Service workflows will inform future consideration of AI applications in audiology.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 closer NHS and social care integration on reducing the time taken for hospital discharges in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 December 2025 to Question 95574.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 integration between NHS services and social care provision in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 December 2025 to Question 95574.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of additional dedicated cross-Pennine rail freight capacity to support ports (a) in the Humber Estuary and (b) on the east coast of England, including Immingham.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Analysis undertaken to develop the TransPennine Route Upgrade suggests there could be strong potential for new rail freight capacity from both east and west coast ports to inland terminals. Work to develop options for investment, in conjunction with the rail freight sector, is on-going. Such freight flows could lead to environmental and social benefits, such as reducing carbon emissions and road congestion by removing the requirement for large numbers of lorries on cross-Pennine roads. Decisions will be taken in time to allow integration of any suitable projects into the existing TransPennine Route Upgrade programme.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he Department is taking to improve integration between NHS services and social care provision in West Dorset.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving integration between health and social care services nationally and locally. Our vision for Neighbourhood Health will see local government and the National Health Service working more closely together, with a revitalised role for Health and Wellbeing Boards and reform of the Better Care Fund (BCF).
Through the BCF, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable NHS bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This includes setting shared goals to reduce delayed discharges, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, and support people to live independently at home. Dorset has also received additional support from expert advisors working on behalf of NHS England and the Department.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the impact of closer NHS-social care integration on reducing hospital discharge delays in West Dorset, local Health and Wellbeing Boards are required to agree plans under the BCF framework to provide timely and coordinated support for people with complex needs. These plans prioritise effective discharge from hospital and recovery in the community.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 integration between social care and NHS services nationally.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving integration between health and social care services nationally and locally. Our vision for Neighbourhood Health will see local government and the National Health Service working more closely together, with a revitalised role for Health and Wellbeing Boards and reform of the Better Care Fund (BCF).
Through the BCF, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable NHS bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This includes setting shared goals to reduce delayed discharges, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, and support people to live independently at home. Dorset has also received additional support from expert advisors working on behalf of NHS England and the Department.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the impact of closer NHS-social care integration on reducing hospital discharge delays in West Dorset, local Health and Wellbeing Boards are required to agree plans under the BCF framework to provide timely and coordinated support for people with complex needs. These plans prioritise effective discharge from hospital and recovery in the community.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 impact of closer NHS–social care integration on reducing hospital discharge delays in West Dorset.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving integration between health and social care services nationally and locally. Our vision for Neighbourhood Health will see local government and the National Health Service working more closely together, with a revitalised role for Health and Wellbeing Boards and reform of the Better Care Fund (BCF).
Through the BCF, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable NHS bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This includes setting shared goals to reduce delayed discharges, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, and support people to live independently at home. Dorset has also received additional support from expert advisors working on behalf of NHS England and the Department.
Whilst no specific assessment has been made of the impact of closer NHS-social care integration on reducing hospital discharge delays in West Dorset, local Health and Wellbeing Boards are required to agree plans under the BCF framework to provide timely and coordinated support for people with complex needs. These plans prioritise effective discharge from hospital and recovery in the community.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) the Government’s plans to bring NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care and (b) the planned 50% reduction in integrated care board staffing on those boards’ capacity to safeguard children, including their effective participation in multi-agency child protection teams proposed in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish an impact assessment of its plan to bring NHS England into the Department alongside the primary legislation to enact this reform. We do not expect the integration to have an impact on the capacity of integrated care boards (ICBs) to safeguard children, as the existing safeguarding functions of ICBs will be retained.
To ensure ICBs maintain effective safeguarding functions throughout the reform, NHS England has shared best practice on safeguarding with ICBs earlier this year. In November 2025, NHS England also published a strategic commissioning framework for ICBs with a focus on collaboration with local government and wider system partners.
Safeguarding partners, including health, have a legal duty to work together to safeguard and promote children’s welfare, including through the proposed Multi Agency Child Protection Teams. There is no intention to change this duty through the ICB reform.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the neighbourhood health centres announced in the autumn budget 2025 will be based in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years and new-build sites opening in the medium term. The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030 and will be delivered through public private partnerships and public capital.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. Both ICBs and local health systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for Neighbourhood Health Centres.
We have also launched wave 1 of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) in 43 areas across England, including North East Lincolnshire. The NNHIP is supporting systems across the country in driving innovation and integration at a local level to improve the care they provide to their communities.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities such as Lincolnshire.