In February 2025 the General Practitioners Committee England agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all general practices (GPs) to offer access to online services throughout core hours, from 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. There is a broad support offer available from NHS England and integrated care boards where practices are struggling to meet this requirement.

The GP Contract requires that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, so those without digital access are not disadvantaged.

We are clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP.

In February 2025 the General Practitioners Committee England agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all general practices (GPs) to offer access to online services throughout core hours, from 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. There is a broad support offer available from NHS England and integrated care boards where practices are struggling to meet this requirement.

The GP Contract requires that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, so those without digital access are not disadvantaged.

We are clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey, of September 2025, show that patient satisfaction is on the rise for the first time in a decade. 73% found it easy to contact their general practice (GP), up from 60% last year

The latest GP Patient Survey data was published in July 2025, before the implementation of the contract changes to online access in October 2025. The Health Insight Survey, which also gathers information on patient satisfaction, does not report at the individual practice level. As a result, current patient satisfaction figures do not yet reflect the impact of increased online access.

This information is not held centrally.

We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%. The DDR for patients aged 65 years old and over at the end of October 2025 was 66.5%. The rate is an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to 66.3% in September 2025. This is an overall increase from March 2020 due to sustained recovery efforts.

To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data and enable targeted support where needed.

To reduce variation in diagnosis rates, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network has developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.

This information is not held centrally.

We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%. The DDR for patients aged 65 years old and over at the end of October 2025 was 66.5%. The rate is an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to 66.3% in September 2025. This is an overall increase from March 2020 due to sustained recovery efforts.

To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data and enable targeted support where needed.

To reduce variation in diagnosis rates, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Dementia Intelligence Network has developed a tool for local systems, which includes an assessment of population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. This enables systems to investigate local variation in diagnosis and take informed action to enhance their diagnosis rates. The tool has been released and is available via the NHS Futures Collaboration platform.

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

This data is not held centrally. While counts of patients who have received a dementia assessment and subsequently been referred to a memory clinic have been collected since the 2016/17 reporting year, the figures are not provided at an integrated care board level and are also not aggregated by local authority. This data captures the number of patients who have received such a referral, and does not capture the following:

• the total number of referrals, as one patient may have more than one referral to a memory clinic, but they will only be included in the count once;
• referrals made to memory clinics where the referral is not made following a dementia assessment recorded by the general practice; and
• referrals made to specialists where they are not via a memory clinic.
• Data from 2016 to 2022 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/recorded-dementia-diagnoses

In addition, data from 2022 to 2025 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication: Primary care dementia data publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/primary-care-dementia-data

The counts available in the March publication of each year will provide the number of referrals made within that reporting year.

This data is not held centrally. While counts of patients who have received a dementia assessment and subsequently been referred to a memory clinic have been collected since the 2016/17 reporting year, the figures are not provided at an integrated care board level and are also not aggregated by local authority. This data captures the number of patients who have received such a referral, and does not capture the following:

• the total number of referrals, as one patient may have more than one referral to a memory clinic, but they will only be included in the count once;
• referrals made to memory clinics where the referral is not made following a dementia assessment recorded by the general practice; and
• referrals made to specialists where they are not via a memory clinic.
• Data from 2016 to 2022 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/recorded-dementia-diagnoses

In addition, data from 2022 to 2025 can be found in the recorded dementia diagnoses publication: Primary care dementia data publication, at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/primary-care-dementia-data

The counts available in the March publication of each year will provide the number of referrals made within that reporting year.

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

We do not hold this information centrally. Dementia care involves multiple specialties. We hold data by profession rather than by specific skills or areas of knowledge.

English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs, and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.

However, the Government recognises the scale of the reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and to improve the recruitment of the domestic workforce.

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 won’t just improve pay for some of the lowest paid workers in our economy but will also drive critical improvements in recruitment and retention in the sector.

Ensuring staff have the skills and training needed to work in social care is also essential, both to attract people to join and remain in the workforce, and for the provision of high-quality care and support. That is why we have developed the Care Workforce Pathway, the first national career framework for adult social care, and we are investing £12 million in learning and development through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, to enable eligible staff to complete eligible courses and qualifications.

We have also launched the 2025/26 adult social care recruitment campaign, which is running throughout October and January with advertising appearing on television, social media, radio, and online, showcasing authentic moments in care careers and driving people with the right skills and values to apply for paid vacancies in the sector.

No such assessment has been made. Planning for power outages is a core function of business continuity arrangements for all National Health Service organisations, including mental health providers.

NHS England monitors such incidents to identify root causes, solutions, and learning to share across the system.

Part of the allocation from the Department to NHS England includes funding for National Health Service bespoke commissioned services for veterans such as Op COURAGE. Whilst there has been no assessment of the funding provided for Op COURAGE services across England, the funding received by Op COURAGE in the East of England is based on historic demand for veterans’ mental health services in that region.

The Head Start Psychotherapy service is not funded by the Department, as it is part of a formal sub-contractual arrangement between Op COURAGE in the East of England and Walking with the Wounded. As such, any referral cap would be agreed between Op COURAGE and Walking with the Wounded.

NHS England meets with the regional providers of Op COURAGE on a regular basis to review the service, including reviewing the time waited for treatment. NHS England discusses the overall performance of Op COURAGE with providers to ensure that the service, including those elements delivered by partners such as Walking with the Wounded, is meeting the needs of veterans.

Part of the allocation from the Department to NHS England includes funding for National Health Service bespoke commissioned services for veterans such as Op COURAGE. Whilst there has been no assessment of the funding provided for Op COURAGE services across England, the funding received by Op COURAGE in the East of England is based on historic demand for veterans’ mental health services in that region.

The Head Start Psychotherapy service is not funded by the Department, as it is part of a formal sub-contractual arrangement between Op COURAGE in the East of England and Walking with the Wounded. As such, any referral cap would be agreed between Op COURAGE and Walking with the Wounded.

NHS England meets with the regional providers of Op COURAGE on a regular basis to review the service, including reviewing the time waited for treatment. NHS England discusses the overall performance of Op COURAGE with providers to ensure that the service, including those elements delivered by partners such as Walking with the Wounded, is meeting the needs of veterans.

Part of the allocation from the Department to NHS England includes funding for National Health Service bespoke commissioned services for veterans such as Op COURAGE. Whilst there has been no assessment of the funding provided for Op COURAGE services across England, the funding received by Op COURAGE in the East of England is based on historic demand for veterans’ mental health services in that region.

The Head Start Psychotherapy service is not funded by the Department, as it is part of a formal sub-contractual arrangement between Op COURAGE in the East of England and Walking with the Wounded. As such, any referral cap would be agreed between Op COURAGE and Walking with the Wounded.

NHS England meets with the regional providers of Op COURAGE on a regular basis to review the service, including reviewing the time waited for treatment. NHS England discusses the overall performance of Op COURAGE with providers to ensure that the service, including those elements delivered by partners such as Walking with the Wounded, is meeting the needs of veterans.

Tackling the geographical disparities in access to National Health Service dentistry is vital. As part of the hospital to community shift that will be set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will see people get better access to dentists. We will be working with NHS England as part of the NHS Workforce Plan to assess the need for more dental trainees across the country.

The 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs, including people living with dementia. We are carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with dementia, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, as we develop the plan.