Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

What plans he has to meet with the leadership of the Lobular Moon Shot Project to discuss funding.

The Department invests £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24 reflecting its high priority.There are no current plans to meet with the leadership of the Lobular Moon Shot Project to discuss funding. Officials meet regularly with partners to discuss research investments and priorities. We are proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. Wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer. NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including into lobular breast cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

If he will take steps to expand the reach of Start for Life services to (a) Poole and (b) other local authorities.

The Prime Minister’s Plan for Change outlined that there will be investment to continue to build up the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. In 2025/26, this investment will fund the 75 local authorities in England with high levels of deprivation that are part of the existing programme.We will continue to evaluate the programme and assess evidence to support wider rollout in future financial years.

What steps he is taking to increase (a) the level of funding for and (b) access to Children's and Young People's Gender Services.

As my rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, set out during his oral statement to Parliament on 11 December 2024, the Government and NHS England are committed to implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review.NHS England has opened three new services in the North West, London, and Bristol that offer a fundamentally different clinical model, embedding multi-disciplinary teams in specialist children’s hospitals. A fourth service in the East of England will open in spring of next year. NHS England is making progress towards its commitment for there to be a specialist children’s gender service in every region by 2026, which will increase capacity and reduce the waiting list.Investment in children and young people’s gender services in 2024/25 has more than doubled compared to 2023/24 and this will increase further as new services are established.

With reference to the oral statement entitled Puberty-suppressing Hormones of 11 December 2024, Official Report, column 914, what groups representing trans youth he consulted with before making his decision to extend the ban on puberty blockers.

A full list of groups which represent trans youth and that were consulted as part of the Government’s targeted consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-availability-of-puberty-blockers-for-under-18s/outcome/9702c8a7-3299-4a01-94dc-a63861786dd9

What recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the future of the mental health investment standard.

Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with NHS England on a range of issues. My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will set out expectations for mental health funding, including the share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022. NHS England is also expected to issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/25 shortly.

If he will take steps to (a) reschedule Psilocybin to allow it to be prescribed and (b) retain its status as a class A substance for other purposes.

There are no current plans to reschedule psilocybin under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, also known as the Act.There is an established process for the development of medicines, overseen by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This enables medicines, including those containing Schedule 1 controlled drugs under the Act, such as psilocybin, to be developed, evaluated in clinical trials, and licensed, based on an assessment of their safety, quality, and efficacy, before being made available to patients in the United Kingdom. Should an application be submitted for a marketing authorisation, for a product licence, it will ultimately be a decision for the MHRA whether to license psilocybin as a therapy. There are no psilocybin-based medicines with a marketing authorisation in the UK.If a manufacturer is successful in being granted a marketing authorisation by the MHRA for a medicine containing psilocybin, the Home Office is committed to reviewing its scheduling under the Act, subject to advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the appropriate scheduling and safeguards for the medicine.The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is supporting psilocybin research via the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility, the NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility, and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, where researchers are developing and evaluating the efficacy and safety of psilocybin therapies.

What assessment he has made of the potential risks associated with aggregating NHS performance data; and what steps he is taking to provide transparent data on an individual hospital level for emergency departments.

NHS England is publishing more data about patient care in hospital emergency departments than ever before. Performance data is published at an organisational level, so that it is appropriately aligned with accountability.The Government will continue to consider how to increase the transparency of National Health Service data as part of future reforms.

Whether the Children's Hospital Grant will be (a) centrally distributed, (b) ringfenced and (c) take account of the recent proposed increase in employers National Insurance contributions.

2023/24 was the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant. In 2024/25, however, NHS England provided £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of funding from 2023/24.For the first time, however, this funding was transacted by integrated care boards (ICBs), on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before. I am aware that the shift to dissemination via ICBs for 2024/25 has not been as smooth a transition as I would have hoped, and the Department and NHS England are learning the lessons from that experience.We do understand that, financially, times are difficult for many voluntary and charitable organisations, including children’s hospices, due to a range of concurrent cost pressures.I met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting. We are working very closely with NHS England to get the funding arrangements for 2025/26 confirmed as a matter of urgency.On the increase in employer National Insurance contributions, we have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, 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 employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025. We will set out further plans in due course, including through NHS Planning Guidance.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Child health GP hubs on access to specialists in local GP settings.

We will trial neighbourhood health centres to bring together a range of services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home and patients receive the care they deserve. This is part of our broader ambition to move towards a neighbourhood health service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier. They will bring together existing services such as family doctors, district nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, palliative care, and mental health specialists.We have also made changes to the Medical Performers List to remove barriers preventing secondary care doctors working in primary care, which would allow paediatricians to deliver care in general practice settings as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of fireworks on veterans (a) with PTSD and (b) experiencing other war-related mental health trauma.

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of fireworks on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or any other mental health condition.Recognising the particular challenges that veterans face, NHS England has commissioned several services for veterans, including Op COURAGE, the bespoke integrated veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. The services provide a fully integrated mental health care pathway, including personalised care plans, to ensure veterans can access support and treatment both in and out of hours.Op COURAGE is available across England. Individuals can contact the service to make an appointment or ask someone to do this on their behalf. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/armed-forces-community/mental-health/veterans-reservists/

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of school nurses.

Too many children are not receiving the start in life they deserve, and the Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children in our history by shifting the focus from treatment to prevention. School nurses have an important role to play, leading the delivery of the 5-19 components of the Healthy Child Programme.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is aware that school nurse numbers have decreased, with 27% fewer now than in October 2015. In June 2024 there were 1,985 school nurses of all grades employed within the National Health Service. The Chief Public Health Nurse Office has established a programme of work which aims to improve the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, which includes school nursing.

Whether his Department plans to increase investment in the children’s mental health system to (a) reduce waiting times and (b) ensure that more (i) children and (ii) young people can access support.

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult and children and young people’s mental health services. We are discussing our future investment in children and young people’s mental health services.The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to consider how to deliver our manifesto commitment of accessing a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.Alongside this we are working toward rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the 21st century. The Bill will amend the Act, which applies to England and Wales, and give patients detained under the Act greater choice, autonomy, rights, and support.

Whether his Department has funded awareness campaigns to encourage the use of sunscreen to prevent melanoma in the last three years.

The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of melanoma. This advice is available publicly on the NHS website, via the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/The Department is not taking any additional steps, currently or within the last three years, to specifically fund awareness campaigns to encourage the use of sunscreen to prevent melanoma.

Whether officials in his Department have had discussions with their counterparts in the Treasury on the potential merits of funding measures to improve access to sunscreen.

The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of melanoma. This advice is available publicly on the NHS website, via the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/The Department is not taking any additional steps, currently or within the last three years, to specifically fund awareness campaigns to encourage the use of sunscreen to prevent melanoma.

Whether his Department has plans to fund awareness campaigns to encourage the use of sunscreen to prevent melanoma.

The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of melanoma. This advice is available publicly on the NHS website, via the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/The Department is not taking any additional steps, currently or within the last three years, to specifically fund awareness campaigns to encourage the use of sunscreen to prevent melanoma.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing annual health check-ups for young carers under 18.

The Department recognises the importance of all young carers having their support needs identified, assessed, and met in a timely manner. Local authorities have a statutory duty to identify when a young carer may need support, and to what extent. The local authority needs assessment provides a holistic approach to understanding the young person’s caring responsibilities and the impact it may have on their education, well-being, and development.NHS England is working to increase identification and support for young carers. This includes working in partnership with key stakeholders and sharing data and insights on young carers with colleagues in education, to improve the support we provide.

What steps he plans to take to create a National Care Service; and what his planned timetable is for this.

The Government is committed to building a National Care Service based on clear, consistent national standards, that will improve the quality of care. On 10 October 2024, recognising the central role of our amazing care workforce, we took a critical step, introducing the legislation that will establish the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals. We will set out the next steps in due course for a process that engages with adult social care stakeholders, including cross-party members and a diverse range of people with lived experience of care, to build consensus towards a National Care Service.

Whether his Department has made an estimate of the additional resources needed by general practice to meet patient demand in 2024-2025.

We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP), and we are committed to fixing the crisis in GPs. Our plan to restore GPs will require both investment and reform, and our 10-Year Health Plan will outline steps to shift care from hospitals back to the community, as well as the move to Neighbourhood Health Services which will bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.Additionally, we will increase the proportion of funding for GPs and are already investing £82 million to recruit 1,000 newly qualified GPs in 2024/25. We will also train more doctors which will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs, as well as take pressure off those currently working in the system.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the condition of the general practice estate; and what additional investment his Department intends to make in the general practice estate.

NHS England has undertaken an exercise to gather information on the primary care estate which provides a thorough understanding of the age, condition, quality, utilisation, and ownership of the estate, allowing us to estimate and calculate the requirement for investment.NHS England remains committed to continuing to invest in capital estates both nationally and locally through integrated care boards, to improve capacity and environments for general practitioners and their patients.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of the level of Statutory Sick Pay on public health outcomes.

The pandemic exposed just how precarious work and life is for those on acute low incomes. No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship. Through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced last week, we are strengthening Statutory Sick Pay so it provides a safety net for those who need it most.We will ensure all employees receive SSP from their first day of sickness absence. These changes will help to keep people in work, grow the economy and protect public health.