Written questions by Burgon.

Whether his Department plans to continue with the Mental Health Investment Standard.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including 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 confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

Whether his Department has had recent meetings with mental health experts on the effectiveness of the Mental Health Investment Standard.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including 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 confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Mental Health Investment Standard (a) on meeting his Department's priorities and (b) in tackling historical disparities between mental and physical healthcare provision.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including 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 confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism in inpatient units; and what progress she has made on implementing (i) community-based support and )ii) housing solutions to (A) prevent unnecessary admissions and (B) facilitate timely discharge in line with the Transforming Care Programme and Building the Right Support plan.

Through our proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act, we want to ensure people with a learning disability and autistic people get the support they need in the community, improve care, and prevent admission to hospitals. We will engage with expert stakeholders to inform implementation planning, including in respect of the development of strong community services.Investment has been provided each year to enable local areas to develop community intensive support teams, community forensic teams, and crisis response 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for people with a learning disability and autistic people.For 2024/25, NHS England has allocated £124 million of transformation funding for learning disability and autism services in local integrated care board areas. This funding includes money for local systems to reduce reliance on mental health inpatient settings.In addition, NHS England has a housing capital programme, with £13 million available in 2025/26, to support areas to develop housing to help reduce the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability in a mental health hospital setting.We are also providing an immediate in-year uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant of £86 million in 2024/25. This increase will fund approximately 7,800 additional home adaptations. This is on top of the £625 million paid to local authorities in May 2024.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes in the number of people working in the social care sector on services for people with disabilities; and what steps

The Department has made no assessment on the potential impact of changes in the number of people working in the social care sector on services for people with disabilities. Although the Department does not collect statistics on the number of people workin...

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of career development and progression opportunities for the social care workforce supporting people with disabilities; and if he will take st

The Department has made no assessment on the potential impact of changes in the number of people working in the social care sector on services for people with disabilities. Although the Department does not collect statistics on the number of people workin...

What plans he has to support people with communication needs access (a) online appointment bookings and (b) other digital healthcare services.

All National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers in England are required to meet the Accessible Information Standard in order to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or senso...

Whether his Department plans to increase funding for children's mental health.

We are discussing our future investment in children and young people’s mental health services. Departmental budgets for 2025/26 will be confirmed at the next Budget on 30 October 2024.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for charitable hospices.

We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families ...

What assessment he has made of trends in the regional variation of funding for charitable hospices.

We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families ...

Whether the Government plans to replace all radiotherapy machines older than ten years.

The Government announced last week that £70million will be spent on new radiotherapy machines, which will help ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to patients who need it.