Written questions by Anderson.

Whether his Department plans to allocate capital funding to improve stroke care infrastructure within the (a) Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board and (b) Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board areas.

The Government is committed to shifting the focus of the National Health Service out of hospitals and into the community through our 10-Year Health Plan, and recognises that delivering high-quality NHS healthcare services requires the right infrastructure in the right places.The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been provisionally allocated £2.8 million from our Primary Care Utilisation fund for 2025/26 to upgrade existing buildings and space, boosting productivity and enabling practices to deliver more patient appointments. In addition, the ICB has been provisionally allocated £39.3 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery fund to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds to increase capacity for elective and emergency care.The Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB has been provisionally allocated £1.7 million from our Primary Care Utilisation fund and £32.5 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery fund for 2025/26.In addition to national programme allocations, the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire ICB and the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB have been provisionally allocated £123 million and £62 million respectively in operational capital for 2025/26, including primary care business-as-usual capital, which can be used to improve stroke care infrastructure where this is a local priority.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of stroke care provision within the (a) Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board and (b) Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board areas.

The Integrated Stroke Delivery Network (ISDN) in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West aims to improve stroke care through collaborative service improvement across the stroke pathway, addressing the approximately 2,200 annual stroke admissions in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West, which cost £38.6 million in 2023/24. The ISDN's 2025/26 plan prioritises reducing stroke incidence and disability through acute care, rehabilitation, and prevention workstreams. Key achievements include artificial intelligence implementation, to reduce treatment times, and increased mechanical thrombectomy rates, particularly due to the 24/7 service at Oxford University Hospital and an agreed referral protocol, with Wycombe Hospital achieving the highest national referral rate for an acute stroke centre. Rehabilitation efforts focus on improving consistency, with projects in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire demonstrating positive outcomes, such as increased access to support and improved patient wellbeing. Building on these positive outcomes will require sustained funding in Oxfordshire’s community rehabilitation services, alongside ongoing efforts to enhance the integration of services and patient engagement across the region.NHS England leads the quarterly joint North and South East of England ISDN meeting, which reviews stroke provision across the region. The Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) Integrated Care Board (ICB) and representatives from provider trusts attend these meetings to provide assurance. The ICB still has contract monitoring in place with trusts, and trusts have their own internal quality assurance processes. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is the main data source for monitoring, which all the above forums use. The last Getting It Right First Time review of stroke services, which included BLMK, was in 2022.

What steps his Department is taking to help meet the mental health needs of children from underserved communities in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

We know that waits for children and young people's mental health services are far too long and that some disadvantaged groups are less likely to access support. That is why the National Health Service’s planning guidance for 2025/26 makes it clear that one of the priorities for children's mental health services is to reduce local inequalities in access to children and young people’s mental health services between disadvantaged groups, including in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, and the wider population. The Government will also recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across child and adult mental health services and provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so that every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. Early intervention and prevention support in the community is vital. That is why we are providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community.

What steps his Department is taking to support improvements in stroke care services at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) is demonstrating an ongoing commitment to delivering stroke services in line with the best practise, set out in the National Stroke Service Model.MKUH operates a 24-bed Hyper-Acute Stroke Unit, providing a seven-da...

What steps his Department is taking to support cancer care in Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country, including in Milton Keynes. This also includes cancer care and treatment.The Government believes that cancer patient...

What proportion of emergency department patients at Milton Keynes University Hospital were seen within four hours in each of the last three years.

The following table shows the percentage of accident and emergency attendances to Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, that were admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours, in each of the last three years:YearPercentage of t...

What steps his Department is taking to address the shortage of healthcare assistants at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

We are committed to building a health service fit for the future, with the workforce it needs to get patients seen on time and cared for by the right professional when and where they need it, but bringing in the necessary staff will take time.Decisions ab...

What proportion of patients referred to mental health services in Milton Keynes are seen within the target waiting time.

The following table shows information on the agreed mental health waiting time standards relating to the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, broken down by the services provided, and compared to their actual performance: Servi...

What proportion of patients at (a) Milton Keynes University Hospital and (b) Stoke Mandeville Hospital are discharged to social care.

The data below shows the proportion of patients who were discharged via pathways 1, 2, and 3. These pathways include both National Health Service and local authority funded services, with each pathway being defined as follows:pathway 1 involves discharge ...

How many NHS dentists are available to residents in (a) north Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For North Buckinghamshire and Milton Key...

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting lists for diagnostic services at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Cutting waiting lists, including for diagnostic tests, is a key priority for the Government. We will provide the number of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other tests that are needed to increase capacity and reduce elective...

What steps his Department is taking to improve mental health service provision for young people in Buckinghamshire.

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people, including in Buckinghamshire, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long.The Department is working across Government to...

What assessment his Department has made of the availability of community mental health services in Buckinghamshire.

We recognise that too many people in places like Buckinghamshire are not receiving the mental health care they need.The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West Integrated Care Board is responsible for providing health and care services, including com...