Written questions by Jarvis.

What steps his Department is taking to support Primary Care Networks to deliver improved access to community-based and preventative care.

Primary care networks (PCNs) build on existing primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated, and more integrated health and social care for our communities. The introduction of PCNs helps to deliver economies of scale, boost capacity, and improve access. The PCN contract, the Network Contract DES, which determines the funding PCNs receive and the services they provide, is discussed with the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) of the British Medical Association as part of annual general practice contract consultation between the Department, NHS England, and the GPC. Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other services. To support the shift to neighbourhood health, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits for community health services. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks. In addition, systems have been asked to increase the capacity of community health service to meet growth in demand and to work to standardise provision of core services.

If he will make an assessment of potential merits of establishing a single National Dementia Care Pathway supported by minimum service standards in the forthcoming Dementia and Frailty Modern Service Framework.

To develop the content for the modern service framework for dementia and frailty, we intend to engage with a range of partners over the coming months to enable us to build a framework which is both ambitious and practical, to ensure we can improve system performance for people with dementia both now and in the future.We have already published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool to help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool is available at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-toolBy helping places and systems identify where improvement needs to be targeted, the tool continues the work of the Dementia Care Pathway, covering all elements of the Well Pathway from Prevention through to Dying Well. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2016/03/dementia-well-pathway.pdf

What steps he is taking to help improve the recruitment and retention of staff in women’s health services in Hampshire.

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff including promoting flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. They will provide a framework for leaders across the NHS to build a supportive culture that embeds retention.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of publishing national dementia outcomes for neighbourhood health services and requiring integrated care boards to demonstrate timely access to specialist, community-based dementia support.

NHS England already collect and publish data about people with dementia at each general practice in England, to enable National Health Service general practitioners (GPs) and commissioners to make informed choices about how to plan their dementia services around patients’ needs.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Dementia Intelligence Network has also developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.This Government is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with dementia. That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool is available at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-toolWe are making progress on building a National Care Service based on higher quality of care, greater choice and control, and joined-up neighbourhood services, with around £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.We are strengthening join-up between health and social care services, so that people experience more integrated and person-centred care, by developing neighbourhood health services and reforming the Better Care Fund. This will be fortified by improved national data and digital infrastructure to ensure health and care staff can access real-time information to improve the safety and quality of care.

If he will take steps to reduce delays in cancer diagnosis, specifically for blood cancers such as leukaemia.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes.To tackle the late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancers earlier and treating them faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years. This will benefit all cancer patients, including leukaemia and myeloma patients.

What assessment his Department has made of the availability and quality of data held by Integrated Care Boards on the prevalence of clinically diagnosed allergic conditions and the specialist allergy workforce in their local areas; and what consideration has he given to the potential merits of establishing a National Allergy Register, embedded within the planned Single Patient Record in improving patient safety and reducing regional inequalities in allergy care.

In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards (ICBs) will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.NHS England is working with the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Register (UKFAR) to develop a mechanism for sharing relevant patient safety anaphylaxis incidents, including the reporting of anaphylaxis in hospitals. The aim will be for the UKFAR to extract and share patient safety incidents reported to the national databases, the National Reporting and Learning System and Learn from Patient Safety Events, relating to severe allergic reactions. Work has been progressing on this.The National Allergy Strategy Group, an external group of stakeholders, is developing a UK National Allergy Strategy 2025-2035. The Department will carefully consider and respond to it when we receive it next year.

Whether the proposed Modern Service Frameworks for palliative and end of life care will mandate Integrated Care Boards to commission hospice services in an equitable way.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to address challenges in access, quality and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan.We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. Equity is at the heart of this government’s approach to strategic commissioning and, by supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.It would not be right to pre-empt exactly what will be in the final MSF at this time, as we develop it with our palliative care and end of life stakeholders.I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

What steps he is taking to monitor the success of the NHS scheme to identify breast cancer risk by testing for the BRCA gene.

The NHS Genomic Medicine Service provides a national genomics unit which is responsible for strategic oversight, direction, commissioning and funding, and performance monitoring of genomics service.The National Health Service is ensuring that people have access to tests that can help them to understand any inherited risks to their health. This includes the offer of ‘catch up’ BRCA testing for people who are eligible, but who have no record of having received a genetic test to date and other initiatives, such as our NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme. This initiative has identified 551 BRCA carriers to date, of which 279 are eligible and have been referred into the Very High-Risk Breast Screening Programme for regular screening, demonstrating the potential for this initiative to identify cancer earlier.

What steps he is taking to increase support for voluntary and charitable organisations providing dementia support services in Hampshire.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), and may include services provided by voluntary or charitable organisations. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

What steps he is taking to ensure ICBs offer routine podiatry surgeries.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local populations, including podiatry and related surgical interventions where clinically appropriate. NHS England has issued guidance to ICBs to ensure equitable access to community and specialist services.We recognise the importance of community health services (CHS) to the health and care system. The Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29, published October 2025, sets clear targets for reducing waiting times for CHS.

What steps he is taking to ensure the forthcoming HIV Action Plan will strengthen awareness of HIV risk among women.

The new HIV Action Plan, published on World AIDS Day on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing, and treatment, tackle stigma, and reach our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. This includes a focus on women, as we know from the UK Health Security Agency’s latest data that they are not benefitting equally from the progress made on HIV in recent years.Women will benefit from all of the actions in the HIV Action Plan, including improved testing and prevention services, rapid treatment, and support for those living with HIV. We will commission a new national HIV Prevention England programme backed by a total of £4.8 million of funding from April 2026 to March 2029. This programme supports communities disproportionately affected by HIV, including women, in particular black African and heterosexual women. The current programme delivers National HIV Testing Week, aimed at improving testing and increasing awareness of HIV prevention. In Testing Week 2025, heterosexual women accounted for 30% of all testers compared with 25% in 2024. We will also fund formula milk, and related sterilising equipment, for the infants of women living with HIV, thereby removing financial pressures and reducing the risk of transmission to babies.

What steps he is taking to improve access to dental care for people with a cleft.

We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems, including patients with clefts.NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d07-cleft-lip.pdfRegarding access to general primary care National Health Service dentistry, the responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increases in employers' National Insurance contributions on trends in levels of fees for care homes.

The Government took the cost pressures facing adult social care, including changes to employer National Insurance contributions and increases to the National Living Wage, into account as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the 2024 Autumn Budget process.To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government has made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26.In addition, the 2025 Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.We recognise the importance of fee rates, which meet the costs of delivering care and which enable providers to recruit and retain staff, which is why we have also provided the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund to local authorities since 2023/24, with one of the three target areas local authorities can spend their allocations on being to improve fee rates to providers.

What assessment his Department has made of the challenges faced by not-for-profit care homes.

The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in tackling any challenges they face. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have the duty to shape their care market and commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes building close working relationships with care providers to achieve a sustainable balance of quality, effectiveness, and value for money.

What steps his Department is taking to generate public recognition of the (a) contribution and (b) value of workers in the care sector.

Every day our 1.6 million-strong adult social care workforce provides vital care and support to people of all ages. The 2025/26 Adult Social Care recruitment campaign, Make Care Your Career, launched on 6 October 2025, and advertising is appearing on television, social media, radio, and online highlighting the amazing work that staff across the adult social care sector do, helping to ensure that it is regarded by all as a profession, and that the people who work in care are respected as professionals. These adverts will also improve understanding of careers in care, from the variety of roles to the training and progression opportunities available, while shedding light on the everyday empowering moments between real care workers and care users. The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and to improve the retention of the workforce. This is why we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. Backed by £500m funding, which will be given to Local Authorities to support providers to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce, this represents the most significant investment in improving pay and conditions for adult social care staff to date. In addition, promoting opportunities to develop skills and knowledge is essential to raising the status of adult social care as a career. That is why we are implementing the Care Workforce Pathway, the first ever universal career structure for the adult social care workforce which sets out the knowledge, skills, and training needed to develop a career in adult social care. The Government is also committed to funding eligible care staff to complete courses and qualifications, including the new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate through the Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme, with £12 million of funding this financial year.

If he will take legislative steps to remove the consideration of Armed Forces compensation from means testing for the Disabled Facilities Grant.

In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.To ensure the DFG is as effective as possible, we will continue to keep different aspects of the grant, including the means test, under consideration.The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is independently reviewed every five years to ensure it remains fit for purpose, providing appropriate financial support to those members of the Armed Forces who are injured, become ill, or die as a result of service, and identifying opportunities for policy improvement.

What plans his Department has to update the NHS Car Parking Guidance 2022 for NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts.

The Department currently has no plans to review National Health Service car parking guidance. Free hospital car parking is available to the groups that are most in-need, including disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, the parents of sick children staying overnight, and staff working night shifts.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS England’s processes for (a) identifying and (b) responding to concerns about the (i) quality and (ii) accuracy of children’s hearing test services; and what steps his Department is taking to improve the (A) consistency and (B) reliability of children’s hearing tests.

In December 2021, a report was published into service issues in children’s hearing services in NHS Lothian. The report focused on whether children’s hearing tests were being conducted properly and were effectively followed up. Further problems with the diagnosis of hearing issues in newborns and children were identified in other Scottish NHS trusts in 2023.Subsequent assessment of NHS hearing services in children’s departments across England in 2023 and 2024 identified similar problems. In 2023, NHS England established the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme to address the issues and oversee remedial action.In April 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Dr Camilla Kingdon to chair an independent review into children’s hearing services. The review has considered:NHS England’s response to the service failures in children’s hearing services;how the relevant governance arrangements between the Department and NHS England could be improved, and identify lessons learned; andhow NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved, and identify lessons learned.The Department is currently considering next steps and how to ensure lessons learned can be acted upon promptly, including whether steps need to be taken to improve both the consistency and reliability of children’s hearing tests.NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and directing support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of ambulance response times in Eastleigh constituency.

The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance response times have not met the high standards that patients should expect.We are determined to turn things around. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.We have already seen improvements in ambulance response times for the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), which serves Eastleigh. The latest NHS performance figures for SCAS show that Category 2 incidents were responded to in 30 minutes 44 seconds on average, over eight minutes faster than the same period last year.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making all asthma-related medication free on prescription for adults.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential merits of making all asthma-related medication free on prescription for adults.While there are no plans to amend the criteria for eligibility for free prescriptions, approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with asthma may be eligible.Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have another qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the National Health Service Low Income Scheme, which provides help based on a comparison between a person’s income and requirements. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with 3-month and 12-month certificates available. 12-month PPCs can be paid for in ten monthly instalments, allowing the holder to get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.