Every parliamentary written question tabled by Alex Baker this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 29 · Department of Health and Social Care
What steps his department are taking to support NHS pharmacy contractors affected by medicine supply issues.
Medicine supply chains are complex and global, and the overwhelming majority of medicines remain in good supply. As set out in A guide to the systems and processes for managing medicines supply issues in England, we have a range of established tools to ma...
What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the Hughes Report entitled Options Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. I have met the Patient Safety Commissioner this month to work up the Department’s plans to address her recommendations, and the Government will provide an update in due course.
What assessment he has made of the performance of the not-for-profit adult social care sector in (a) ratings achieved through CQC inspections and (b) workforce (i) pay and (ii) turnover reported by the Skills for Care adult social care workforce dataset.
We recognise the role and value that not-for-profit providers play in delivering adult social care (ASC). As of November 2025, 8.1% of Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated social care organisation locations are providers with a charity number. Of these locations, 89.1% are rated “Good” or “Outstanding” compared with 83.8% of other providers, of which the vast majority are for-profit. Overall, 84.3% of ASC providers are rated “Good” or “Outstanding”.Filled posts working for independent sector employers cannot be accurately split into “private” and “voluntary”, as this information is not reported by the CQC. Estimates from the ASC workforce dataset suggests that approximately 74%, or 1,000,000, of the filled posts working for independent sector employers were in private sector establishments, which is approximately 63% of all posts, and 26%, or 345,000, were filled posts in voluntary/charity sector establishments, which is approximately 22% of all posts.The National Institute for Health and Care Research funded Adult Social Care Research Unit is researching the impact of provider ownership type, including not-for-profit status, on care outcomes and workforce outcomes, including pay and turnover. The project will conclude in June 2026.
If he has made an assessment of the (a) value and (b) contribution of the not-for-profit adult social care sector to adult social care delivery.
We recognise the vital role and value of not-for-profit providers in delivering adult social care. As of November 2025, 8.1% of Care Quality Commission regulated social care organisation locations are registered as charities.Local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people under the Care Act 2014. Local authorities are encouraged to commission a range of different approaches to services to ensure people have a genuine choice. This includes supporting and commissioning different types of service provider organisations, including third sector, voluntary, and community-based organisations.
How many Mental Health Support Teams there were in (a) Aldershot constituency, (b) Hampshire and (c) London in each year since 2010.
The Department does not hold the data requested at a constituency level. Nationally, the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) pilot programme commenced in 2018. The number of MHSTs in each integrated care board, from 2018, is available at the following link:...
What proportion of care homes were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Aldershot constituency on 3 September 2024.
There are currently 22 care homes registered with Care Quality Commission in the Aldershot constituency. As of the latest data from 1 August 2024, 16 of those care homes, or 73%, are rated ‘Good’.
What steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of midwives in Aldershot constituency.
The Government will make sure the National Health Service has the staff it needs, to be there for all of us when we need it, and will get the staff to the places where patients and the NHS need them. This will not only benefit the Aldershot constituency, ...
What the average payments to community pharmacies were in Aldershot constituency in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.
The average payments by the NHS Business Services Authority to community pharmacies in the Aldershot constituency were: £68,547.19 per pharmacy per month in 2021/22, or £822,566.32 per pharmacy for 12 months; and £77,398.58 per pharmacy per month in 2022/...
What steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of GPs in Aldershot constituency.
We have committed to training thousands more general practitioners (GPs) across the country, as well as taking pressure off those currently working in the system. The inclusion of newly qualified GPs into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme will als...
What proportion of dental practices were rated as good by the Care Quality Commission in Aldershot constituency on 3 September 2024.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates all health and social care services in England. The Commission ensures quality and safety across a range of sectors that deliver health and care to people in England.The CQC carries out assessments of approximat...
What recent assessment he has made of trends in rates of perinatal mortality in Aldershot constituency.
While no specific assessment has been made of the trends in rates of perinatal mortality in the Aldershot constituency, NHS England does collect some data on perinatal mortality through the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS), although this is not collecte...
How many children aged 11 and under were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
The data requested for the Aldershot constituency is not available, as it is not obtainable at a constituency level.
How many children aged four and under were admitted to hospital for a tooth extraction due to decay in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
The data requested for the Aldershot constituency is not available, as it is not obtainable at a constituency level.
What information his Department holds on the number of people who were diagnosed with HIV in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
While the information is not collected in the format requested, the following table shows the number of people diagnosed with HIV for the local authority of Rushmoor, which covers the Aldersholt constituency, from 2018 to 2022: 20182019202020212022HIV di...
What steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of mental health specialists in Aldershot constituency.
To fix the chronic workforce shortages in the mental health workforce we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services, to reduce waiting times and provide faster treatment, across all areas of Eng...
What information his Department holds on the number of people who were diagnosed with diabetes in Aldershot constituency in each of the last five years.
The following table shows the number of people that were newly diagnosed with diabetes in the Aldershot constituency, in each of the calendar years from 2018 to 2022, broken down by diabetes type:Year of diagnosisNumber of people newly diagnosed with diab...
What steps his Department is taking to increase uptake of breast cancer screening in Aldershot constituency.
In Aldershot at a local level, the team will soon start trialling an animated video to promote breast screening. This has been developed in partnership with Imperial College London.On a national level, NHS England has developed an improvement plan in collaboration with key stakeholders to support local and regional uptake, which includes: expanding access and reducing inequalities by increasing the use of evidence based and evaluated interventions, focusing on low uptake areas and groups; improved data and analytics by ensuring we have the availability of population level data to show insights into uptake and support services, to deliver targeted initiatives; IT developments to continue development of the breast screening IT systems, as part of the Digital Transformation of Screening programme, and by starting a programme of work to enable people to book appointments through the NHS App; contracting and service oversight, by strengthening contracting mechanisms and performance management to monitor impact and benefits; and communication, by ensuring the programme has appropriate inclusive and accessible communication mechanisms and materials.
What steps his Department is taking to provide (a) resources and (b) other support to help GP surgeries to reduce (i) patient backlogs and (ii) workloads in Aldershot constituency.
We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP), and we are committed to fixing this crisis in GPs to secure the long-term sustainability of the National Health Service. Aldershot sits within the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board, where 84.8% of appointments were delivered within two weeks of booking, 2.1% higher than the national average.The Government has committed to fixing the front door to the NHS by shifting the focus from hospitals and into the community. We know that if patients can’t get a GP appointment, they will end up in accident and emergency, which is worse for them, and more expensive for the taxpayer.NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks, so the health service has enough staff for the future, and we have provided £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified GPs, to increase capacity and reduce workloads.We are pleased to announce that newly qualified GPs will be included in the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment, with additional funding over 2024/25.
What steps his Department is taking to provide support to young people with eating disorders in Aldershot constituency.
The Department is committed to working closely with NHS England to ensure that people with an eating disorder get the care and treatment they need, when they need it. The Department will focus on improving the performance of the existing waiting time standards for Children and Young Peoples’ Eating Disorder services including in Aldershot.This will be supported by recruiting 8,500 additional mental health staff across children and adult mental health services, ensuring every young person has access to a specialist mental health professional at school, and setting up Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.
What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of social care capacity in Aldershot constituency.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people. In performing that duty, a local authority must have regard to the need to ensure that it is aware of current and likely future demand for such services, and to consider how providers might meet that demand.The Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund includes grant conditions which require each local authority to submit an adult social care capacity plan. These were submitted to the Department in June 2024. The hon. Member's local authority, Aldershot, submitted their 2024/25 capacity plan, which is currently undergoing processing and quality assurance.