Written questions by Turner.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on the 2025-26 NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

Ministers will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by James Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down.

If he will make an estimate of the number of NHS (a) operations, (b) appointments and (c) tests that took place in Birmingham between July-November (i) 2024 and (ii) 2023.

The scope of this data is limited to elective services consistent with consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times. It excludes emergency care, maternity, and mental health services. Birmingham has four trusts excluding these services, data for which has been aggregated into the table below. The following table shows the number of elective operations, outpatient appointments, and diagnostic tests, and the total of all three combined, delivered from July to November 2024 and from July to November 2023:Time periodElective operationsOutpatient appointmentsDiagnostic testsTotalJuly to November 2024105,253708,569260,1431,073,965July to November 202399,795683,685248,6831,032,163 In addition, the following table shows the number elective operations, outpatient appointments, and diagnostic tests, and the total of all three combined, delivered from July to November 2023, adjusted for working days, and the number of addition appointments delivered in 2024: Elective operationsOutpatient appointmentsDiagnostic testsTotalJuly to November 2023 adjusted for working days100,719690,015250,9861,041,720Additional appointments4,53418,5549,15732,245Note: the data excludes the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

How many cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome there were in each of the last 10 years.

The following table shows the number of cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) since 2014: YearToken Person ID20141,28720151,27920161,19820171,18420181,19520191,08320201,05820211,16320221,09520231,05620241,107 (provisional)Source: NHS England Notes:Token Person ID - for this analysis, each patient has been counted once against each year in which they were recorded as having a hospital episode with a valid diagnosis. A patient is only counted once in a given year, regardless of the number of episodes they may have had.NAS is typically identified at or shortly after birth, but there are also cases where the condition is not immediately apparent. Therefore, the data includes any patients aged less than one year old where the diagnosis was recorded to ensure that all relevant data are presented.

What contracts (a) BFS Group Limited and (b) subsidiary companies of BFS Group Limited hold with (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department.

Neither the Department or its executive agencies, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the UK Health Security Agency, hold any contracts with BFS Group Limited or any of its subsidiary companies.

With reference to the CQC's publication of 27 November 2024 entitled CQC finds improvement in CAMHS wards at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, when the CQC plans to publish the full report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an assessment of Child and Adolescent Mental Health wards at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in September 2024. The report of that assessment was published on the CQC’s website on 28 November 2024, and is available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RQ3/reports/AP2111/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-wards

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the Office for Statistics Regulation's publication entitled OSR’s statement on the Labour Force Survey-der

The Department uses the data and outputs from both the Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey to feed into some of our own statistical products. We recognise the importance of these surveys, and whilst it is disappointing that the accredited off...

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 12696 on Primodos: Research, whether the meeting of the Commission on Human Medicines has taken place.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), together with wider Government, have committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence which comes to light.The new publication by Danielsson et al has been reviewed by the MHRA and advice h...

What recent progress he has made on establishing the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body.

On 10 October 2024, the Government introduced the Employment Rights Bill in Parliament. Among other powers, and as currently drafted, the bill confers powers on my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to establish a body to ne...

What the average time was between referral and first contact for mental health services for people aged 17 years and under in Birmingham in each of the last five years.

Tables showing the average time between referral and first contact for mental health services for people aged 17 years old and under in Birmingham in each of the last five years are attached. There are a number of caveats that should be taken into account...

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 11046 on General Practitioners: Finance, when he plans to determine the overall GP contract investment in the 2025-26 financial year.

The Department will confirm funding for general practices (GPs) for 2025/26 as part of the usual GP contract process later in the year, including through consultation with the sector.

If he will (a) make an assessment of the adequacy of access to mental health support provisions for abattoir workers and (b) take steps to ensure that workers in this industry have access to such s

There are no plans to make such an assessment. Access to mental health services in the National Health Service is based on clinical need, including for abattoir workers.Too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they nee...

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2024 to Question 3680 on Mental Health Services: Lincolnshire, if he will provide this information for each constituency in Birmingham.

The following table shows the number of Mental Health Support Teams across the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB), broken down by the year in which they became operational, or are planned to become operational: Number of teamsTotal opera...

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October to Question 9121, on Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination, when he expects to receive further advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisatio

In the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) statement summarising the advice for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme, the committee stated that an extension to the initial programme would be considered when there is more ce...

With reference to publication entitled Government and Agenda for Change trade unions offer in principle, published by NHS Employers on 16 March 2023, whether it remains his Department's policy to i

The Department is progressing work on all non-pay commitments covered in the 2023/24 Agenda for Change pay deal, including reviewing aspects of the pay setting process. Recommendations from this work will be considered at the earliest opportunity.

If he will make it his policy to (a) reinstate the Children's Hospice Grant for 2025-26 and (b) up-rate that funding in line with inflation.

In 2024/25, NHS England provided £25 million in funding for children and young people’s hospices. This was distributed via integrated care boards, in line with National Health Service devolution. We are currently considering the future of this important funding stream beyond 2024/25.

How many people have been waiting over six months to access CAMHS support in Birmingham.

The following table shows the number of referrals to Birmingham mental health services for those aged 17 years old and under, those referrals who received first contact, and those referrals who received first contact within six months of the referral date, over each of the last five years:YearReferralsReferrals who received first contactReferrals who received first contact within six months of the same year2019/2022,2658,9461,6072020/2119,9367,8801,4442021/2227,43510,5941,6812022/2325,2527,8311,4032023/2434,8797,500385Source: data taken from the Mental Health Services Dataset, published by NHS England.Notes:in some instances, it may not be expected that a first contact would be recorded, for example those received by triage teams may be closed without a contact, with a new referral being opened once triaged instead; anda cyber incident between August 2022 and March 2023 impacted several providers submitting Mental Health Services data, therefore some individual providers may not be able to submit complete data.Finally, as of March 2024 the number of referrals still waiting for first contact, having waited at least six months and regardless of when the referral started, is 15,181.

How many referrals have been accepted by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Birmingham in each of the last five years.

The following table shows the number of referrals to Birmingham mental health services for those aged 17 years old and under, those referrals who received first contact, and those referrals who received first contact within six months of the referral date, over each of the last five years:YearReferralsReferrals who received first contactReferrals who received first contact within six months of the same year2019/2022,2658,9461,6072020/2119,9367,8801,4442021/2227,43510,5941,6812022/2325,2527,8311,4032023/2434,8797,500385Source: data taken from the Mental Health Services Dataset, published by NHS England.Notes:in some instances, it may not be expected that a first contact would be recorded, for example those received by triage teams may be closed without a contact, with a new referral being opened once triaged instead; anda cyber incident between August 2022 and March 2023 impacted several providers submitting Mental Health Services data, therefore some individual providers may not be able to submit complete data.Finally, as of March 2024 the number of referrals still waiting for first contact, having waited at least six months and regardless of when the referral started, is 15,181.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the number of open GP practices (a) on the most recent date for which figures are held and (b) in 2010 in Birmingham Northfield constituency.

Data provided by NHS England Digital shows that in May 2014, the earliest year from which data is available, there were 18 open general practices (GPs) in the Birmingham Northfield constituency, and as of May 2024 there are 15 open GPs in the constituency. The data only includes main practices, and does not include branch practices.GPs close for a variety of reasons, including mergers or retirement, so this does not necessarily indicate a reduction in the quality of care. When a GP does close, patients are informed of the closure and advised to register at another local practice of their choice, within their area.

How many speech and language therapists there were in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

The table below shows the number of full-time equivalent speech and language therapists working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations, in the Birmingham and Solihull integrated care system and the West Midlands as a whole, in March of each of the last six years:YearBirmingham and Solihull Integrated Care SystemWest Midlands201920064220202176662021224699202224373420232467402024284800Source: the Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England, published by NHS England on a monthly basis.These staff provide services in a range of settings, including in education. However, therapists will also be directly employed by other providers, including schools, independent provision, and third sector and charitable organisations, for which data is not held centrally.

How many NHS sites have closed in Birmingham since May 2010; and what the (a) name and (b) postcode was of each site.

The Department does not collect data on the closure of National Health Service sites. The NHS, however, publishes the annual Estates Returns Information Collection, which is a mandatory collection for all NHS trusts and includes detailed information on all operational or temporarily unoccupied sites larger than 500m2 or with 10 or more inpatient beds, including site name and postcode. The collection is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection