Written questions by Bhatti.

What estimate his Department has made of the increase in the number of people that will need palliative care over the next 10 years.

Currently, approximately 600,000 people die per year in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that up to 90% of deaths could benefit from palliative and end of life care.The Office for National Statistics has projected that, by 2040, approximately 800,000 people a year will die in the UK. Also, current trends point to a growing proportion of people dying from chronic diseases, particularly cancer and dementia. Taking these considerations together, it has been estimated that the number of people needing palliative and end of life care could increase by 42% by 2040.We have committed to developing a 10-Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered, from hospital to community, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.

Whether he plans to include measures on reforming funding allocations for (a) palliative and (b) other end of life care services in the comprehensive spending review.

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 receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift.In February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.

Whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on using the transformation fund announced in the Spring Statement 2025 on support for the palliative and end of life care sector.

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 receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift.In February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.

What steps he is taking to ensure that children are not prescribed cross-sex hormones by private medical providers.

Children’s safety must always come first. That is why the Government and the National Health Service in England are implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review, in full.In her review, Dr Cass recommended “extreme caution” when prescribing cross-sex hormones for individuals aged 16 to 18 years old. We expect all providers to act in line with this recommendation.NHS England has begun the process of forming a new clinical commissioning policy for hormone medications. In NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Services, as an interim measure, a national multi-disciplinary team with an independent chair will review all referrals of young people for cross-sex hormones before they can be initiated.Furthermore, in response to the Commission on Human Medicines’ report on the safety implications of restricting the availability of puberty blockers for under 18 year olds, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a quality standard for specialist gender services. Quality standards provide an evidence-based description of high-quality care, in a defined clinical area, and can be used by private providers.The Secretary of State introduced an indefinite order on the sale and supply of puberty blockers for under 18 year olds. This order continues to prohibit the sale or supply of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues prescribed by private UK-registered prescribers, for gender dysphoria and/or incongruence, to under-18 year olds not already taking them, and on the sale and supply of the drugs against prescriptions from prescribers registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland, for any purposes, to anyone under 18 years old. This came into effect on 1 January 2025 as the previous emergency order expired and will be formally reviewed in 2027. We will not hesitate to take further action should safety concerns arise.

If he will commission research on the outcomes following gender affirming surgery on young adults under the age of 25.

In line with the findings of the recent Cass Review, the Government is committed to supporting the development of research that delivers a robust, evidence-based understanding of gender dysphoria and transgender issues, especially where these issues relate to children and young people. The programme of research includes investments in research capacity, to enable National Health Service clinicians to dedicate time to research and ongoing service evaluation, and a living systematic review that will provide a regularly updated review of the latest international evidence to inform policy and frontline and clinical practice. These may produce new evidence on the outcomes following gender-affirming surgery on young adults, and contribute to ensuring that children and young people who are questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria are well-safeguarded.The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research, welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including the outcomes following gender-affirming surgery on young adults. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by (a) Baroness Cumberlege entitled Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, published 8 Jul

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s overarching conclusion was that the system failed to listen to patients or put patients at the centre of their care. Subsequent work has focussed on improving how the system listens to and resp...

What steps he is taking to ensure alignment of Integrated Care Boards with NICE guideline 28, updated in 2022, related to the fair and equitable adoption of continuous glucose monitoring for eligib

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended that all people living with type 1 diabetes and people living with type 2 diabetes who required insulin therapy should be eligible for real time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The gui...

If he will take steps to ensure that Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board is in alignment with NICE guideline 28, updated in 2022, related to the fair and equitable adoption of continuous

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended that all people living with type 1 diabetes and people living with type 2 diabetes who required insulin therapy should be eligible for real time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The gui...

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10785 on Department of Health and Social Care: Institute for Public Policy Research, whether NHS England has awarded any contracts to the IPPR

NHS England has not awarded any contracts to the Institute for Public Policy Research since 4 July 2024.

What contracts his Department have awarded to the Institute for Public Policy Research since 4 July 2024.

The Department has not awarded any contracts to the Institute for Public Policy Research since 4 July 2024.

Whether his Department is using (a) artificial intelligence and (b) a third-party organisation to assess responses to the consultation entitled Change NHS: A health service fit for the future, publ

The Department has commissioned an external supplier, Thinks Insight and Strategy, to help run the engagement for the 10-Year Health Plan for England. The portal is hosted via the online platform Go Vocal, who are a contracted supplier of Thinks Insight a...

What role (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) Departmental officials had in the awarding of contracts to the organisations running the Change NHS: A health service fit for the future public

The evaluation panel for the tender consisted of four people. Three from within the Department’s policy teams, and one from NHS England. No ministers or special advisers were part of the final award decision.

With reference to the Change NHS online portal, what the total cost to the public purse is of contracts issued to (a) Thinks Insight & Strategy, (b) Kaleidoscope Health and Care and (c) The Institu

The awarded value of this contract was up to £2,961,595.50. The publication of the details of this award and the redacted contract can be found on contracts finder, with the contract number C306779.

What the procurement process was to award contracts for the Change NHS online portal.

A procurement mini competition was launched via the RM6126 CCS Research and Insights framework on 2 August 2024, with bids returned by 19 August 2024.

What the total budget is for the Change NHS: A health service fit for the future public engagement campaign; and what time period this funding will cover.

The awarded value of this contract was up to £2,961,595.50. The publication of the details of this award and the redacted contract can be found on contracts finder, with contract number C306779. The current contract start date is 13 September 2024, with a...

What estimate his Department has made of the cost of opening each trial neighbourhood health centre.

We have committed to trialling Neighbourhood Health Centres, to bring together a range of services under one roof. This is part of our broader ambition to move towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities, to spot ...

Whether he plans to continue the previous Government's commitment to deliver fluoride varnish treatments to more than 165,000 children in under-served areas.

We are currently reviewing the previous Government’s Dental Recovery Plan, Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, including proposals to deliver fluoride varnish treatments to more than 165,000 children in under-served a...

If he will publish a dementia strategy.

Everyone should have access to high quality care that supports choice and control, and enables people to live independent, dignified lives. This includes people living with dementia. We know that the health and social care system faces significant challen...

With reference to the oral answer of 23 July 2024 from the Minister for Secondary Care, Official Report, column 510, whether he plans to announce further steps on the delivery of neighbourhood heal

As my Rt hon. Friend the Minister for Secondary Care sets out, we have committed to trialling Neighbourhood Health Centres to bring together a range of services under one roof. This is part of our broader ambition to move towards a Neighbourhood Health Se...

When he plans to respond to the consultation entitled Proposal for a tie-in to NHS dentistry for graduate dentists which closed on 18 July 2024.

We are considering the responses received to the consultation and our position on this proposal will be set out in due course. The Government is determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry and strengthening the workforce is key to our ambition...