Tackling this issue requires a multi-agency response and co-ordination across a range of policies and operational partners including the health care sector, local authorities and the police.

The provision of specific dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Many police forces are now participating in the Herbert Protocol, with partner agencies, to assist in locating missing vulnerable people living with dementia. The Herbert Protocol is a national scheme by police forces in partnership with other agencies which encourages carers to compile useful information which could be used in the event of a vulnerable person, living with dementia, going missing. Carers, family members and friends can complete in advance, a form recording vital details, such as medication required, mobile numbers, places previously located, a photograph etc. In the event of a person going missing this information can then easily be provided to the police to assist them in searching for the person, saving valuable time.

The Government is harnessing digital technology to transform adult social care, helping people to stay independent in their homes, joining up services and improving the quality of care provided.

In January, ministers announced immediate steps the Department is taking to improve adult social care. These reforms build upon progress over the last four years to drive adoption of digital social care records by registered care providers to 80%, from a start point of 41% in December 2021, and to test, scale and evaluate innovative care technologies.

In the next year, the Government will set new national standards for care technologies and produce trusted guidance, so that people can confidently buy and use technology which supports them or the people they care for.

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. This work was published on the Frontier Economics website on 28 March 2025.

The findings of this analysis were considered as part of the consultation with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) on the changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2025/26. Following this most recent consultation, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion for 2025/26. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

As is custom and practice, the Department will consult CPE on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in due course. Indicators of financial viability are regularly reviewed by the Department ahead of any such consultation, in addition to the representations of CPE.

We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.

Appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most. Data on delivery of urgent dental care, including additional delivery, will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of NHS dental care.

There are beneficial effects of accredited qualifications and structured learning on the recruitment and retention of care workers. Skills for Care data shows that turnover rates are approximately 10% lower for staff who hold a relevant qualification compared to those without. Additionally, staff who received more than 30 instances of training evidenced a turnover rate 3.4% lower than those who recorded only one to five instances, with further information available in Skills for Care’s the ‘State of’ report at the following link:

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Adult-Social-Care-Workforce-Data/workforceintelligence/Reports-and-visualisations/National-information/The-State-of-report.aspx

The Department introduced the Care Workforce Pathway, the first universal career structure for adult social care, which sets out clear skills, and progression routes to help retain staff and attract newcomers by recognising care workers as professionals and promoting development opportunities.

Additionally, we launched the Learning and Development Support Scheme, which provides funding support for training, including recognised qualifications like the Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate, which provides a portable, recognised foundation of skills and knowledge, aiming to reduce duplication of training and increase retention. Furthermore, the Quality Assured Care Learning Service ensures training is high-quality, meets sector needs, and supports career growth.

Charitable hospices are independent, autonomous organisations that provide a wide range of services, many of which go beyond what statutory services are legally required to be delivered. Therefore, the Government does not collect or assess data on these services.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services, delivered both in inpatient units and in people’s homes, available within the ICB catchment.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

When assessing National Living Wage (NLW) increases, we assume that individuals earning at or near the NLW will receive a pay increase equivalent to the full NLW uplift, whilst pay growth for higher earning workers will increase in line with forecasts for average earnings. This assumption is based on robust external evidence on the impact of increases in the NLW on pay in the United Kingdom labour market. However, employers are ultimately responsible for the implementation of NLW increases and impacts may therefore vary locally.

The Government is committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce. This represents the most significant investment in improving pay and conditions for adult social care staff to date.

At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years and new-build sites opening in the medium term. The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030, delivered through public private partnerships and 50 refurbishments through public capital.

Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. Both ICBs and local health systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for NHCs.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns or deprived inner cities.

The Independent Commission into Adult Social Care (the Commission), chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, formally began in April 2025. The Commission is in two phases: phase one will report in 2026, focusing on medium-term improvements using existing resources; and phase two will conclude by 2028, when the Commission publishes their report setting out long-term recommendations for transforming the system.

There is limited data available on the number of telecare users in England and/or the United Kingdom. Our best available estimate comes from the TEC Services Association, who estimate that there are upwards of two million telecare users in the UK.

To improve our evidence base, the Department has commissioned an independent technical advisor, FarrPoint, to carry out surveys of telecare services providers and call handling services. This research is currently live and aims to identify the number of analogue and digital telecare devices in use.

The Department also works closely with the Telecare Action Board and Partners in Care and Health to monitor the progress of the digital phone switchover.

General practices (GPs) are run by independent contractors and are commissioned by integrated care boards to provide National Health Services primary medical services. Decisions around energy contracts are devolved to individual practices.

Practices’ arrangements for utilities. such as gas and electricity, vary depending on the basis or terms of each practice’s occupation of its premises. For example, some GPs have flexibility to choose energy contracts, whereas others lease premises inclusive of utilities, or pay a service charge including energy costs, where the landlord or property manager determines the energy suppliers.

Where GPs occupy NHS owned estate, GPs may benefit from any centralised energy purchasing initiatives the Government has put in place, such as Supply of Energy 2.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026. The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

General practice surgeries are independent contractors, and as private businesses it is within their own remit to consider the value for money of management and service charges paid to related parties in England.

The Department does not hold data on the number of recorded incidents in these settings, which are each independent contractors to the National Health Service.

We know how challenging disgraceful incidences of abuse and violence can be for staff. The Government is clear that there is never a justification for this unacceptable behaviour towards healthcare staff, who have the right to work free from fear of abuse or assault.

There is a range of NHS commissioned services available to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff across settings.

Incidents of criminal behaviour should be reported to the police. In May 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service updated guidance to prosecutors which will bring swifter justice against those that assault our frontline workers.

Patient safety data is routinely collected by NHS England, including a breakdown of the proportion of incidents linked to community pharmacy. However, the Department does not hold data on the number of reported patient safety incidents that are a result of prescription medicines being lost in delivery.

Community pharmacies, including online pharmacies, are required to dispense all prescriptions with reasonable promptness as part of their National Health Service terms of service, recognising that it is not feasible for a pharmacy to maintain stock of every medicine. This requirement includes prescription medicines that are delivered to patients’ homes. They are also required to report any patient safety incidents to NHS England.

The Department does not hold data on the cost of installing new telephone systems in general practices, nor on how many systems and handsets were installed.

As part of our ambition to end the 8:00am scramble, we want patients to contact their practice by phone, online, or by walking in, and for people to have an equitable experience across these access modes. Since 1 October 2025, practices are required to keep their online consultation tool open for the duration of core hours for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries, and admin requests.

NHS Business Services Authority publishes quarterly consolidated NHS pharmaceutical lists with all community pharmacies in England. As of the end of September, there were twice as many pharmacies located in the lowest two deprivation deciles than there were in the top two.

The data is available at the following link:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/consolidated-pharmaceutical-list

Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs, as set out in the Care Act 2014. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how local authorities in England are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including how local authorities assess people’s needs. Formal assessments commenced in December 2023 and as of November 2025, the CQC has published over 80 local authority assessments. Reports are available on the CQC’s website at the following link:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports

The Government is supporting the sector to help people live independent and dignified lives. The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements. We are also providing £172 million across this and the last financial year, for approximately 15,000 home adaptations, and are introducing new national standards and trusted guidance for care technologies.

Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. Therefore, data is not available on the number of adults and children not registered with a dentist in Greater Manchester and Oldham.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton constituency, this is the Greater Manchester ICB.

Data on the provision of this equipment is held by local integrated care boards.

NHS England has confirmed that since 1 April 2016, the total number of general practices (GPs) in England has reduced from 7,680 to 6,200, as of 1 November 2025.

At a local level, NHS England holds information dating back to 2013. Across Greater Manchester there have been 31 GP closures since April 2013, of which six GP closures have been in Oldham.