Written questions by Barclay.

How many (a) filled and (b) unfilled full-time equivalent roles there were in each of the NHS regional teams in (i) 2023-24, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) 2025-26.

The following table sets out the full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in NHS England’s regional teams as of 30 March 2025:Directorates / RegionsBudgeted FTEStaff List FTEVacant FTEVacancy RateRegion - East of England804.1650.2153.919.10%Region - London1,032.50916.7115.811.20%Region - Midlands1,085.70929.7156.114.40%Region - North East & Yorkshire844.7759.385.410.10%Region - North West756.6684.771.99.50%Region - South East949.2783.6165.517.40%Region - South West710.3621.588.812.50%Total6,183.005,345.70837.313.50%Source: NHS EnglandNotes:Workforce data is collected at a single point as a ‘snapshot’, so we are unable to provide it for a whole financial year.We are unable to provide data at the equivalent time point within 2023/24 as data has not been validated, and the equivalent time point within 2025/26 has not happened yet.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to discontinue the electronic Bed and Capacity Management Systems initiative on (a) A&E waits and (b) patient transfers.

The decision not to proceed with stand-alone investment into electronic bed management systems was based on value for money with other investments offering greater benefits for patients.The Government is committed to returning accident and emergency services to the standards patients rightly expect. Our new urgent and emergency care plan, published on 6 June 2025, sets out a fundamental shift in the approach to urgent and emergency care. It will drive collaboration across the system to deliver improvements for patients this year, backed by nearly £450 million of capital investment.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline for for the proposed Fens Reservoir is for the (a) submission of a development consent order application to the Planning Inspectorate, (b) final decision on the development consent order application, (c) construction work to start on site, (d) construction work to finish on site, and (e) for the reservoir to be operational.

Anglian Water is responsible for the development of the Fens reservoir. Proposals will be consulted on and will follow the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure. A traffic and transport assessment is currently underway and further information will be shared with communities as part of the next phase of consultation this Autumn. Anglian Water will submit the application for a Development Consent Order in 2027. The determination of the application by the Secretary of State is expected in 2028/29 and should Development Consent be granted, construction of the reservoir will start in 2029/30.

What steps he is taking to improve access to new innovations for people living with inherited cardiac conditions in East England.

Inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) are a group of largely monogenic disorders affecting the heart, its conducting system and vasculature. Waiting times data for ICCs is not available nationally in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLDMS). Diagnosis codes, which could be used to identify patients with ICCs, are not collected in the WLMDS. While treatment codes are collected, there are no individual treatment codes for ICCs that could alternatively be used to identify patients waiting for treatment for an ICC. We are therefore unable to separate patients with an ICC from wider cardiac patients in England at a national or regional level. The NHS England East of England Cardiac Network team for 2025/26 focuses on improving referral to treatment times across cardiology, improving access to cardiac diagnostics and ensuring patients access the specialists service that is required such as the ICC services across Royal Papworth Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. We are taking steps to improve access to diagnostic equipment and other services for ICC in East England, including new innovations wherever possible. For example, James Paget University Hospital has piloted a scheme that focuses echocardiograms in heart failure referral pathways. This streamlines echocardiogram waits across all conditions. The scheme is now being planned in Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and being considered in Milton Keynes University Hospital as well as in Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board. NHS England is also piloting the ‘Beat to Treat’ programme at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, which uses handheld, AI assisted echocardiograms in clinic and point of care testing for blood tests that are used to assess for heart failure. This will enable results to be received on the day and will allow for treatment to start at the first clinic appointment. This scheme will improve the accuracy of referrals for echocardiogram, refining the waiting list for this scan across all conditions, including ICC. There are plans to introduce a single point of access for all referrals to the ICC service in Cambridgeshire, namely Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. Referrals will be triaged by both teams, to either the Royal Papworth Hospital or Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust element of the service and that there would be a clear standard operating procedure for how this would work and be managed, moving therefore to both sites operating as a joint service for these conditions. A multi-disciplinary team is already in place to support this, as well as access to newer therapies.

How many people in East England are currently awaiting treatment for inherited cardiac conditions; and if he will make a comparative estimate of the length of waiting times with the rest of the UK.

Inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) are a group of largely monogenic disorders affecting the heart, its conducting system and vasculature. Waiting times data for ICCs is not available nationally in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLDMS). Diagnosis codes, which could be used to identify patients with ICCs, are not collected in the WLMDS. While treatment codes are collected, there are no individual treatment codes for ICCs that could alternatively be used to identify patients waiting for treatment for an ICC. We are therefore unable to separate patients with an ICC from wider cardiac patients in England at a national or regional level. The NHS England East of England Cardiac Network team for 2025/26 focuses on improving referral to treatment times across cardiology, improving access to cardiac diagnostics and ensuring patients access the specialists service that is required such as the ICC services across Royal Papworth Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. We are taking steps to improve access to diagnostic equipment and other services for ICC in East England, including new innovations wherever possible. For example, James Paget University Hospital has piloted a scheme that focuses echocardiograms in heart failure referral pathways. This streamlines echocardiogram waits across all conditions. The scheme is now being planned in Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and being considered in Milton Keynes University Hospital as well as in Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board. NHS England is also piloting the ‘Beat to Treat’ programme at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, which uses handheld, AI assisted echocardiograms in clinic and point of care testing for blood tests that are used to assess for heart failure. This will enable results to be received on the day and will allow for treatment to start at the first clinic appointment. This scheme will improve the accuracy of referrals for echocardiogram, refining the waiting list for this scan across all conditions, including ICC. There are plans to introduce a single point of access for all referrals to the ICC service in Cambridgeshire, namely Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. Referrals will be triaged by both teams, to either the Royal Papworth Hospital or Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust element of the service and that there would be a clear standard operating procedure for how this would work and be managed, moving therefore to both sites operating as a joint service for these conditions. A multi-disciplinary team is already in place to support this, as well as access to newer therapies.

What steps he is taking to tackle inequalities in (a) waiting times and (b) access to treatment for cardiovascular disease patients in East England.

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need, including patients awaiting cardiology care. The Government has committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT), a standard which has not been met for almost a decade. As a first step, we have set a national target that 65% of patients wait 18 weeks or less by March 2026.The Elective Reform Plan commits to reforming elective care equitably and inclusively for all adults, children, and young people. The plan sets out the expectations for ICBs and providers to set a clear local vision for how health inequalities will be reduced as part of elective care reform, and to ensure interventions are in place to reduce disparities for groups who face additional waiting list challenges. To support this work, we have committed to improving the submission and quality of demographics data to increase understanding and insight into health inequalities.Cardiology is one of five priority specialties identified for significant elective reform in the Elective Reform Plan. Reforms include increasing specialist cardiology input earlier in patient care pathways, and improving access to cardiac diagnostic tests. These improvements to common cardiology pathways help standardise patient care, reduce inequalities, and improve access to care, especially in the early stages of pathways, for patients across England.In the East of England, performance against the 18-week RTT standard for cardiology is 58.1%, compared to 60.9% for cardiology nationally. Regionally, NHS England’s East of England Cardiac Network team is taking focussed action to reduce RTT waiting times, improve access to cardiac diagnostics such as echo and computed tomography coronary angiography, and ensure patients can readily access specialist services as required, such as the Inherited Cardiac Conditions services across the Royal Papworth Hospital and Norfolk, and the Norwich University Hospital.

What steps he is taking to improve access to (a) diagnostic equipment and (b) other services for inherited cardiac conditions in East England.

Inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) are a group of largely monogenic disorders affecting the heart, its conducting system and vasculature. Waiting times data for ICCs is not available nationally in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLDMS). Diagnosis codes, which could be used to identify patients with ICCs, are not collected in the WLMDS. While treatment codes are collected, there are no individual treatment codes for ICCs that could alternatively be used to identify patients waiting for treatment for an ICC. We are therefore unable to separate patients with an ICC from wider cardiac patients in England at a national or regional level. The NHS England East of England Cardiac Network team for 2025/26 focuses on improving referral to treatment times across cardiology, improving access to cardiac diagnostics and ensuring patients access the specialists service that is required such as the ICC services across Royal Papworth Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. We are taking steps to improve access to diagnostic equipment and other services for ICC in East England, including new innovations wherever possible. For example, James Paget University Hospital has piloted a scheme that focuses echocardiograms in heart failure referral pathways. This streamlines echocardiogram waits across all conditions. The scheme is now being planned in Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and being considered in Milton Keynes University Hospital as well as in Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board. NHS England is also piloting the ‘Beat to Treat’ programme at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, which uses handheld, AI assisted echocardiograms in clinic and point of care testing for blood tests that are used to assess for heart failure. This will enable results to be received on the day and will allow for treatment to start at the first clinic appointment. This scheme will improve the accuracy of referrals for echocardiogram, refining the waiting list for this scan across all conditions, including ICC. There are plans to introduce a single point of access for all referrals to the ICC service in Cambridgeshire, namely Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. Referrals will be triaged by both teams, to either the Royal Papworth Hospital or Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust element of the service and that there would be a clear standard operating procedure for how this would work and be managed, moving therefore to both sites operating as a joint service for these conditions. A multi-disciplinary team is already in place to support this, as well as access to newer therapies.

What steps he is taking to ensure there is adequate infrastructure to offer access to treatment for people living with inherited cardiac conditions in the East of England.

NHS England has a published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions. This sets out what guidance should be followed, and the services provided to support diagnosis and treatment of patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease. This also includes support to families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. The specification is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdfThe national service specification also includes a requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases.NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification working with a broad range of stakeholders including NHS clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice and the British Heart Foundation.There are plans for all referrals to the Inherited Cardiac Conditions service in Cambridgeshire to go to Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. This will operate a specialist centre for Cambridgeshire, with a multi-disciplinary team already in place to support this.

What steps his Department plans to take to help improve the career progression of (a) nurses from Agenda for Change Band Five to Band Six and (b) other nurses in the context of plans not to introduce a separate pay spine for nursing.

Evidence submitted through the separate nurse pay spine call for evidence highlighted that career progression issues relating to the pay system do not uniquely impact nurses.We have therefore accepted several recommendations from workstreams committed to in the 2023 Agenda for Change (AfC) pay deal, which focus on ensuring all AfC staff are in the correct pay band, as well as specific measures to improve career progression for nurses. We have also committed to providing the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to address issues with the pay structure.

If he will make an estimate of the impact of providing a one per cent increase in pay to all NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts in the 2025-26 financial year on (a) total costs, (b) pension contributions, (c) National Insurance contributions and (d) spillover costs.

The following table shows the total cost of uplifting the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scales by one percent in 2025/26, as well as the costs of employer pension contributions (EPC), employer National Insurance contributions (ENIC), and spillover elements from that total:Full cost to the Department, including spilloversEPCENICSpillover costs£950,000,000£110,000,000£80,000,000£240,000,000 These estimates represent the gross cost per one percent uplift payable from National Health Service funding for AfC staff only. The exact cost will vary depending on the workforce size and composition, and these estimates are based on current assumptions. ENIC costs include the cost of the 2025/26 increase in ENIC rates. EPC and ENIC costs relate to the substantive workforce only. Spillover costs allow for full system costs, including EPCs and ENICs, beyond the substantive workforce.

By what date he expects the NHS to have a virtual ward capacity of 40 beds per 100,000 people.

The NHS England 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance asks systems to improve access to urgent care services, including virtual ward, also known as hospital at home, services.No national population target has been set centrally for 2025/26 and it is for local systems to take decision on how best to increase capacity and utilisation as part of the range of urgent care services that can be accessed locally. Progress has continued to be made, with 12,825 virtual ward beds open in March 2025 compared to 11,856 in March 2024.The Government is committed to transforming the National Health Service from analogue to digital, and this shift will be central to our 10-Year Health Plan.

How much funding his Department plans to provide for motor neurone disease research in 2025.

Government responsibility for delivering motor neurone disease research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation. Since the start of 2022/23, the Government has allocated £47.8 million to motor neurone disease research.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including motor neurone disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on motor neurone disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

How many people who do not meet the criteria to reside were inpatients in (a) Hinchingbrooke Hospital, (b) Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn and (c) Peterborough City Hospital on 21 April 2025.

The following table shows the number of patients with no criteria to reside as of 21 April 2025, in Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, and Peterborough City Hospital:HospitalNumbers of patients with no criteria to resideHinchingbrooke Hospital35Peterborough City Hospital47Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn49 No criteria to reside refers to patients who are medically fit for discharge but are still in hospital. These delays can be caused by a range of issues including hospital processes, delays in arranging ongoing support, a lack of care capacity, and wellbeing concerns.

Communities and Local Government, what national formula will be applied in calculating national distribution of the debt from county councils that are disbanded; and by what date that will be published.

On 5 February 2025 I formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. It is the responsibility of councils to manage their budgets, and it is standard for councils to borrow and to hold debt, which they will do in the normal course of business. Local government re-organisation does not change this.As set out in the invitation, the default position is that assets and liabilities remain locally managed by councils. In general, as with previous restructures, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation. For areas where there are exceptional circumstances where there has been failure linked to capital practices, proposals should reflect the extent to which the implications of this can be managed locally, including as part of efficiencies possible through reorganisation.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to explore alternative funding models of Internal Drainage Boards.

I refer to the Answer of 10 April 2025 to Question 43491 on Internal Drainage Boards: Finance.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 5 February 2025, HCWS417 on the Flood Investment Announcement, whether he plans to provide additional support to local authorities impacted by increases to Internal Drainage Board special levies.

The government supports the important work internal drainage boards (IDBs) do in managing water and flood risk, benefiting communities, businesses and the environment. The government announced as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, that it will provide £5 million in funding for the local authorities most impacted by IDB levies. On 31st March 2025 the government also announced an additional £16 million boost to the IDB Fund to support greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities. The Fund has increased from £75 million to £91 million to provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets and this will help reduce future cost increases. Defra has also committed to work with the IDB sector and MHCLG to review IDBs’ current funding and costs.

Pursuant to the Answer of (a) 14 February 2025 to Question 30619 on Deportation and (b) 25 February 2025 to Question 33426, how many appeals against deportation orders have sought to rely on rights under the ECHR in the most recent period for which figures are available for and in which a manual review would not be of disproportionate cost.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

If she will publish her Department's advice issued to Cambridgeshire County Council in relation to plans to expand the number of places at Meadowgate Academy in Wisbech.

In February 2021, the department approved the expansion of Meadowgate Academy by 60 places. The department has not provided advice to Cambridgeshire County Council on plans to expand the number of places.

How many full-time equivalent roles there are in his Department relating to equality, diversity and inclusion; and how many of those roles are unfilled but budgeted for.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 September 2024 to Question 5190 to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe).https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-09-10/5190

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33002 on Asylum: Finance, if she will make an estimate of the number of top-up payments made to Asylum Support Enablement Cards in each week since 4 July 2024.

I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer he received on 3 March 2025 to UIN 33002.