Written questions by Dinenage.

What steps he is taking to support people living with arthritis in Gosport constituency.

Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making.As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The GIRFT programme is continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high-quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future, including those in Gosport constituency.The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these will help deliver improvements to arthritis care in all parts of the country.More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.Additionally, to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100Whilst guidelines published by NICE are not mandatory, their implementation by ICBs will improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services.

Whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to update regulations in the fertility industry.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which made a number of recommendations for legislative change, including around its regulatory powers. Ministers have met with the HFEA Chair and discussed the emerging regulatory challenges.The Government is considering the HFEA’s priorities for changing the law and will decide how to take this forward at the earliest opportunity.

If he will ensure that NHS England's guidance entitled Play well – resources for health play services for England, published on 2 June 2025, is policy across the NHS.

We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that children's right to play is (a) maintained and (b) supported in healthcare settings.

We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.

What steps he is taking to ensure that high-intensity focused ultrasound is available to patients in Hampshire.

The Government is committed to putting patients first, including in Hampshire. This means making sure that patients, including those waiting to receive high-intensity focused ultrasound, are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.We will transform diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including ultrasound scanners.We have made progress in cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care. As of March 2025, the waiting list has reduced by over 219,000 pathways and since July 2024 we have delivered over three million more appointments, exceeding our pledge of two million.As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015.

Whether he plans to make it his policy to ensure that integrated care boards recommend high-intensity focused ultrasound to people with localised prostate cancer outside London.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has developed interventional procedures guidance on high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for prostate cancer and focal therapy using HIFU for localised prostate cancer. This type of guidance considers if interventional procedures are safe and work well enough for wider use in the National Health Service, and both pieces of guidance acknowledge that there is a lack of evidence on quality-of-life benefits and long-term survival.The NICE’s guidelines recommend that HIFU should not be offered to people with localised or locally advanced prostate cancer, other than in the context of controlled clinical trials comparing their use with established interventions.

Whether he plans to review the length of time GPs take to process medical records for the armed forces.

We are working across Government to increase efficiency in general practices (GPs) and the patient experience by removing red tape and streamlining, or removing, requests to GPs for medical evidence where possible, aiming to free up more GP time to care for patients. This includes improving and helping speed up processes through digital solutions for the sharing of medical records for recruitment to the armed forces, whilst work continues towards the introduction of a new Armed Forces Recruitment Service by 2027.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of consulting with suppliers of community care equipment and services to make an assessment of (a) levels of provision gaps and (b) their potential impact on community care patients.

On 30 January 2025, NHS England published the guidance Standardising community health services, specifically codifying core services, which is available the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/standardising-community-health-services/Community health services cover a diverse range of healthcare delivery, and the guidance supports improved commissioning and delivery of community healthcare services. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity and will help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community based settings.This publication is available for designing, commissioning, and delivering community health services, including neighbourhood health. Integrated care boards and their partners should consider the core components to support demand and capacity assessment and planning with providers, and should ensure the best use of funding to meet local needs and priorities.Equipment such as wheelchair services, orthotics, and prosthetics for both adults and children and young people are core components of community health services and are refenced in the guidance.Local National Health Service organisations have access to a wide range of procurement routes, but the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about the products and the route through which they are bought. These include the NHS Supply Chain, a national body which is responsible for procuring and delivering the majority of consumables, equipment, and other supplies into the NHS. The NHS Supply Chain was set up to leverage the collective buying power of the NHS, to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured quality products at the best value.

What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes to employer National Insurance Contributions and the potential impact on (a) community care services and (b) wider healthcare services.

The Department has discussed the impact of employer National Insurance contributions with HM Treasury, and has been informed of the Department’s allocation.The Government’s intent is to publish the allocations alongside departmental budgets for 2025/26 at the Mains estimates. This will be published as a supplementary table, with a brief description of the methodology used accompanying it, and the table will not list a breakdown of the specific compensation to individual services.

What support his Department has offered to the Care Quality Commission to reduce the backlog of (a) initial inspections and (b) reinspections of healthcare providers.

Departmental officials meet fortnightly with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to discuss measures CQC have put in place to address among other issues, delays in the production of inspection reports and initial inspection and reinspection.As part of this process, the CQC provides fortnightly updates to senior Departmental officials on the work it is doing to improve and ensure it has robust systems in place to support the changes it is making to deliver its assessment activity of the providers it regulates. This increased reporting to, and oversight from, the Department also allows the level of risk across the CQC’s delivery to be monitored at a senior level.Delays to the CQC’s inspection activities are partially due to failures of its IT systems. The CQC has accepted recommendations of the independent review into the CQC’s technology which was published in March 2025 and is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/independent-review-cqc-technology-publishedThe CQC is currently working to review options for alternative methods of inspection report publication while work is carried out to make necessary changes to its IT systems.The introduction of a ‘hybrid’ approach which launched on 2 December 2024 aims to streamline the existing process by discontinuing scoring at the evidence category level and instead reporting at the quality statement level. This change is intended to improve efficiency for CQC staff. In addition, efforts are underway to address the backlog of ‘stuck’ assessments within the system. As of 24 April 2025, the current number of ‘stuck’ assessments is 52, a reduction of 448.Work continues to further lower this number and to strengthen the monitoring and management of assessment delays.

What discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on reducing the delay in the production of reports for healthcare providers following (a) their initial inspection and (b) reinspections.

Departmental officials meet fortnightly with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to discuss measures CQC have put in place to address among other issues, delays in the production of inspection reports and initial inspection and reinspection.As part of this process, the CQC provides fortnightly updates to senior Departmental officials on the work it is doing to improve and ensure it has robust systems in place to support the changes it is making to deliver its assessment activity of the providers it regulates. This increased reporting to, and oversight from, the Department also allows the level of risk across the CQC’s delivery to be monitored at a senior level.Delays to the CQC’s inspection activities are partially due to failures of its IT systems. The CQC has accepted recommendations of the independent review into the CQC’s technology which was published in March 2025 and is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/independent-review-cqc-technology-publishedThe CQC is currently working to review options for alternative methods of inspection report publication while work is carried out to make necessary changes to its IT systems.The introduction of a ‘hybrid’ approach which launched on 2 December 2024 aims to streamline the existing process by discontinuing scoring at the evidence category level and instead reporting at the quality statement level. This change is intended to improve efficiency for CQC staff. In addition, efforts are underway to address the backlog of ‘stuck’ assessments within the system. As of 24 April 2025, the current number of ‘stuck’ assessments is 52, a reduction of 448.Work continues to further lower this number and to strengthen the monitoring and management of assessment delays.

What discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on minimising the risk of future backlogs emerging for (a) inspections and (b) reinspections of healthcare providers.

Departmental officials meet fortnightly with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to discuss measures CQC have put in place to address among other issues, delays in the production of inspection reports and initial inspection and reinspection.As part of this process, the CQC provides fortnightly updates to senior Departmental officials on the work it is doing to improve and ensure it has robust systems in place to support the changes it is making to deliver its assessment activity of the providers it regulates. This increased reporting to, and oversight from, the Department also allows the level of risk across the CQC’s delivery to be monitored at a senior level.Delays to the CQC’s inspection activities are partially due to failures of its IT systems. The CQC has accepted recommendations of the independent review into the CQC’s technology which was published in March 2025 and is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/independent-review-cqc-technology-publishedThe CQC is currently working to review options for alternative methods of inspection report publication while work is carried out to make necessary changes to its IT systems.The introduction of a ‘hybrid’ approach which launched on 2 December 2024 aims to streamline the existing process by discontinuing scoring at the evidence category level and instead reporting at the quality statement level. This change is intended to improve efficiency for CQC staff. In addition, efforts are underway to address the backlog of ‘stuck’ assessments within the system. As of 24 April 2025, the current number of ‘stuck’ assessments is 52, a reduction of 448.Work continues to further lower this number and to strengthen the monitoring and management of assessment delays.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the number of local authority funded adult social care beds in (a) England and (b) Hampshire.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.The additional funding available to Hampshire in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 6.7% in cash terms.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the number of local authority funded adult social care beds.

The Government did consider the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024. To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in local authority funded adult social care beds due to the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the number of delayed hospital discharges.

The Government has announced an additional £502 million of support for local authorities in England to manage the impact of the changes to employer National Insurance contributions announced at the Autumn BudgetTo repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the necessary decision to increase employer National Insurance. A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the bill containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions. The TIIN sets out the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

What data his Department holds on the number of local authority funded adult social care beds (a) leaving and (b) joining the care sector.

Any provider carrying out regulated care activities must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which includes providing information on the number of registered care beds which can be occupied by the local authority, the National Health Service, or self-funded residents. If a regulated activity is no longer being provided, the provider must notify the CQC so that the location can be removed from the register. However, the CQC’s registration does not require providers to inform the CQC if care beds are funded by the local authority.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting times for Care Quality Commission initial inspections for (a) GP practices, (b) dental practices and (c) care homes.

The Department has introduced additional oversight measures to ensure significant improvements are made to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) operational performance.CQC is aware of the issues providers have experienced with delays in processing registration applications and the reduction in the number of assessments it undertakes.CQC is progressing four immediate actions and five foundational improvements, which includes clearing the backlog of registration applications and making improvements to its assessment approach to enable it to complete more, and better quality, assessments. These actions will ensure CQC is more efficient, and lead to a reduction in the time providers wait before they receive a first inspection and rating.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for Care Quality Commission initial inspections for (a) GP practices, (b) dental practices and (c) care homes.

The Department has introduced additional oversight measures to ensure significant improvements are made to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) operational performance.CQC is aware of the issues providers have experienced with delays in processing registration applications and the reduction in the number of assessments it undertakes.CQC is progressing four immediate actions and five foundational improvements, which includes clearing the backlog of registration applications and making improvements to its assessment approach to enable it to complete more, and better quality, assessments. These actions will ensure CQC is more efficient, and lead to a reduction in the time providers wait before they receive a first inspection and rating.

What guidance he is providing to ICBs to ensure consistent interpretation of NHS continuing healthcare checklist guidance.

The Department published national guidance, the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, intended to ensure the consistent delivery of National Health Service continuing healthcare (CHC) by integrated care boards (ICBs). Further information on this guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-framework-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-careWe have published additional guidance on the completion of the CHC checklist screening tool, called the NHS continuing healthcare checklist, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-continuing-healthcare-checklistNHS England also has an assurance regime that promotes the standardisation and consistency of CHC assessments. NHS England CHC regional teams provide ICBs oversight and assurance to support robust, effective, and timely service delivery. ICBs should have processes in place to ensure checklists are completed by staff who are trained in checklist completion. An NHS England online learning resource to support all staff working in health and social care is in place. This includes an e-learning module on completing CHC checklists.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026, updated on 14 November 2024, what the evidential basis was for accepting the JCVI’s advice on spring 2025.

The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.For spring 2025, as in spring 2024, the JCVI advises that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to: adults aged 75 years old and over; residents in a care home for older adults; and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.As in previous COVID-19 spring campaigns, the only clinical risk group included in the campaign are those aged six months or over with immunosuppression. The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The data available to the JCVI is national data, and they therefore made no assessment specific to Gosport.The Government accepted the independent JCVI advice for spring 2025 on 12 December 2024. The Government is considering the advice on autumn 2025 and spring 2026 carefully, and will respond in due course.