Written questions by Robertson.

What steps he is taking the reduce the time taken for people to receive urgent mental health care.

It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. We are determined to change that.As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.We are also committing £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on busy emergency mental health and accident and emergency services and ensuring people have the support they need when they need it.Additionally, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through a new mental health option on NHS 111.

What discussions he has had with (a) charitable organisations and (b) community groups on helping to (i) reduce pressure on mental health services and (ii) ensure comprehensive mental health support.

Ministers and departmental officials hold discussions regularly with stakeholders in the mental health sector on a range of mental health issues.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that increased funding for mental health services is (a) improving patient outcomes and (b) reducing waiting times.

All integrated care boards met the Mental Health Investment Standard for 2023/24, meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Information for 2024/25 is expected to become available later this year. NHS England publishes new waiting time metrics in line with the clinical review of mental health access standards. These are published monthly via the mental health services data set, which delivers robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent, and comparable person-based information for children, young people, and adults who are in contact with mental health services. This dataset is also used to inform the NHS Mental Health Dashboard and provides transparency in assessing how National Health Service mental health services in England are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

What steps his Department is taking to measure the potential impact of the (a) amount and (b) distribution of funding for mental health services on the (i) quality and (ii) accessibility of those services for patients.

All integrated care boards met the Mental Health Investment Standard for 2023/24, meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Information for 2024/25 is expected to become available later this year. NHS England publishes new waiting time metrics in line with the clinical review of mental health access standards. These are published monthly via the mental health services data set, which delivers robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent, and comparable person-based information for children, young people, and adults who are in contact with mental health services. This dataset is also used to inform the NHS Mental Health Dashboard and provides transparency in assessing how National Health Service mental health services in England are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

What steps he is taking to ensure access to mental health services in (a) England, (b) areas with fewer mental health services and (c) rural areas.

Waiting lists for those referred for support are too high all across England, especially in areas with fewer mental health services, including for those in rural communities. People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve or need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also introduce access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission. It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards to commission care to meet the needs of their local population.

What recent progress his Department has made on meeting the Mental Health Investment Standard; and how this is reflected in the funding allocated to mental health services in the NHS.

All integrated care boards met the Mental Health Investment Standard for 2023/24, meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Information for 2024/25 is expected to become available later this year. NHS England publishes new waiting time metrics in line with the clinical review of mental health access standards. These are published monthly via the mental health services data set, which delivers robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent, and comparable person-based information for children, young people, and adults who are in contact with mental health services. This dataset is also used to inform the NHS Mental Health Dashboard and provides transparency in assessing how National Health Service mental health services in England are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 16662 on NHS: Public Consultation, what the total budget is for deliberative engagement in the 2024-25 financial year.

Following an invitation to tender competition process, we appointed Thinks Insight, Kaleidoscope Health and Care, and IPPR to support us to run the 10-Year Health Plan engagement exercise. The awarded value of the contract is up to £2.96 million, and includes running online and in-person engagement activities, the Change NHS online portal, and analysis of the insight received.The current contract start date is 13 September 2024 with an end date of 31 March 2025, with an option to extend by three months. This means that final costs, such as those to undertake analysis, are dependent on the level of engagement that takes place.The details of this award and redacted contract are available at the following link:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/80963989-c4d6-4a16-8e12-c31b43a81ddaWe will be able to provide full costs of the exercise once it is complete.

If he will take steps to ensure that fees paid by commissioners take into account changes in the costs faced by not-for-profit social care providers.

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. This includes negotiating and ensuring fee levels take into account the costs of delivering care, including inflationary and other pressures, to support market sustainability and provider viability.The Government recognises the important role councils have in commissioning and delivering adult and children’s social care services. To support social care authorities to deliver these key services in light of pressures, the Government has this week announced a further £200 million for adult and children’s social care.

What representation not-for-profit social care providers will receive on the proposed Adult Social Care Negotiating Body.

As currently drafted, the Employment Rights Bill requires that membership of the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body must include, “officials of one or more trade unions that represent the interests of social care workers” and “persons representing the interests of employers of social care workers”. Further details on membership of the Negotiating Body, including on employer representation, will be subject to engagement with the sector and then set out through secondary legislation.

Whether the refreshed NHS workforce plan will include policies on the palliative care sector.

The refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan will deliver the transformed health service that we will build over the next decade and will ensure that patients get the treatment they need, when and where they need it, including those at the end of their lives. In the development of the plan, we will engage with a range of stakeholders to ensure their needs are considered.

Whether the 10-year health plan will include policies on palliative care.

We have committed to developing a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders, including those in the hospice sector, as we develop the plan.The engagement process has been launched, and I would encourage the palliative and end of life care sector, including hospice providers, service users, and their families, to engage with that process to allow us to fully understand what is not working as well as it should, and what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/On 19 December the government announced the biggest investment in a generation for hospices to help ensure that hospices can continue to deliver the highest quality end of life care possible for their patients, families, and loved ones. We are supporting the hospice sector with £100 million funding for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. Children and young people’s hospices will also receive a further £26 million revenue funding for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant. We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination in the new year.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the delay to community pharmacy funding negotiations on community pharmacies.

As identified by Lord Darzi’s review, primary care is under pressure and in crisis. The Government inherited a system that has been neglected for too long, and it remains very difficult for pharmacists to deliver for patients at a local level. I am committed to working with the sector to achieve what we all want, a service fit for the future.Now that the Budget for Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding the funding arrangements for community pharmacy.

How much funding (a) his Department and (b) NHS England has provided for the Global Majority Fellowship Programme in the last year for which figures are available.

There is no such thing as the Global Majority Fellowship Programme. The NHS Global Fellowship programme offers volunteer reciprocal leadership development opportunities for clinical and non-clinical staff to experience health systems across the globe.NHS England provided £441,773.27 for the NHS Global Fellowships Programme for the financial year 2023/24.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on community pharmacies.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. Now that the Budget for Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding funding arrangements.

What steps he is taking to support community pharmacies to ensure (a) financial sustainability, (b) consistency in the provision of services, and (c) dispensing of prescriptions.

Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists, as part of the shift from hospital to community, and from treatment to prevention. Now that the budget for Government has been set, we will shortly be resuming our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding the funding arrangements for community pharmacy.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions at the Autumn Budget 2024 on children's hospices.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The rise in employer National Insurance contributions (ENICs) will be implemented in April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, like hospices, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with ENIC liabilities either gain, or see no change next year. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim ENIC reliefs, including those for under 21 and under 25 year old apprentices, where eligible.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16662 on NHS: Public Consultation, what the budget is for deliberative engagement by type of spend in the 2024-25 financial year.

The public and staff must be at the centre of the development of the plan to make the National Health Service fit for the future, so that it makes a positive impact on their day-to-day lives. That is why we are running as series of in-depth deliberative events and have launched an open platform to hear from members of the public, and those who work in health and care.Following an invitation to tender the competition process, we appointed Thinks Insight, Kaleidoscope Health and Care, and the Institute for Public Policy Research to support us to run this engagement exercise. A breakdown by type of spend is not available, for commercial confidentiality reasons.

If he will have discussions with representatives of (a) NHS England and (b) other departmental bodies on the use of the term global majority in departmental (i) publications and (ii) internal documents.

This is not a term the Department, NHS England, or other departmental bodies would use officially.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential risks of omitting people with learning disabilities from the (a) 2025 and (b) spring 2026 covid-19 booster vaccination programme.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme covering vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026The Government is considering this advice carefully and will respond in due course.

If he will publish a learning disability strategy that includes measures on (a) health, (b) housing, (c) social care and (d) employment.

The 10-Year Health Plan will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs, such as people with a learning disability. It will set out how to support and enable health and social care services, and wider services, to work together better to provide joined-up care.Everyone should have the support they need to live an independent, dignified life. We want people with a learning disability to have fair access to locally delivered services, that start at home, to support them to live independently for as long as possible, with the dignity and respect they deserve. Over the next decade, the Government is committed to building consensus on the long-term reform needed to create a National Care Service based on consistent national standards, including engaging cross-party, and with people with lived experience of care and unpaid carers.