Tag: Department of Health and Social Care

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 11 February 2025.

Over 20,000 self-testing and self-sampling kits will be made available to help end HIV transmissions by the end of the decade.

• Public health campaign to end HIV transmissions in England by 2030 given £1.5 million fund from government
• Funding will increase testing, reduce stigma, tackle health disparities and raise awareness
• The Prime Minister became the first serving G7 leader to have an HIV test on camera

Over 20,000 self-testing and self-sampling kits will be made available to help end HIV transmissions by the end of the decade.

The packs are part of a public health campaign to end the virus transmissions in England by 2030 and has been backed by £1.5 million in government funding.

To mark National HIV Testing Week, the government has also announced it will extend the national HIV prevention programme – HIV Prevention England – by a year.

The campaign, delivered by Terrence Higgins Trust and local partners, carries out vital work to increase testing for groups disproportionally affected by HIV and reduce stigma, as well as raise awareness of ways to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

The Prime Minister has given his backing by becoming the first ever serving leader of a G7 nation to take a self-testing HIV test on camera, demonstrating that getting a test is quick, easy, free and confidential.

After undertaking a test, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:

It is really important to do it, and I am pleased to have taken part too. It’s easy, it is quick, and during National HIV Testing Week you can get a test free – so it is a great time to also take part.

If people test, they will know their status. It is better that people know and that is a good thing because you can then get treatment to help meet our target to end new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

Getting tested for HIV is quick, free and confidential and I would like to pay tribute to the leadership of my Rt Hon friend the Prime Minister for becoming the first in history to take a HIV test, the first leader in the history of the G7 to take a HIV test.

As a former member of the independent HIV commission, I’m determined that this government will deliver our commitment to end new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030 and we’ll set this out shortly in our new action plan.

It comes as polling by YouGov, on behalf of HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, has found that more than 80% of adults in England are unaware it is possible to test for HIV at home. However, when prompted as an option, at-home testing was the most popular way to know your HIV status, with 44% of people saying it would be their preference.

Since the introduction of self-testing kits, home testing has increased in popularity, especially among women and some ethnic minorities who are less likely to test through their local sexual health services.

The funding follows on from £27 million announced by the Prime Minister to extend the NHS England innovative opt-out HIV testing in emergency departments, announced ahead of World Aids Day.

The move supports the government’s Plan for Change by ensuring people can get timely access to diagnostics and care if they need it, while supporting the shift from sickness to prevention. It precedes the new HIV action plan, which is expected later this year.

Speaking at the House of Commons today (11 February 2025), Public Health and Prevention Minister, Ashley Dalton, said:

Increasing HIV testing is a vital step towards meeting our goal and will be a core element of our new HIV action plan published later this year.

That’s why we are investing over £4.5 million to deliver a national prevention programme.

And that’s why today, I can announce that we will extend the programme for a further year to March 2026, backed by an extra £1.5 million.

Richard Angell OBE, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said:

National HIV Testing Week is an award-winning campaign and we are so pleased that it will be back next year. The continued success of this partnership between Terrence Higgins Trust and the Department of Health and Social Care delivers 25,000 HIV at-home tests across England and is crucial in our joint mission to end new HIV cases by 2030.

England can be the first country in the world to end the epidemic, but we are not yet on track to do so. A new HIV action plan for England will turbo-charge those efforts. We are delighted that Sir Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting are leading from the front in this mission.

Testing can also take place in community settings, not just at home or at sexual health services.

The UK Health Security Agency has published its community testing survey results today, which show that in 2023, testing in community settings – such as nightclubs, festivals and voluntary sector premises – increased by 7% compared to 2022.

The report also found nearly a quarter of all tests were reported among individuals being tested for HIV for the first time. It also highlights the impact of National HIV Testing Week, noting that there was a 22% increase in the number of tests carried out in this time compared to 2022.

Dr Tamara Ðuretić, Head of HIV section at the UK Health Security Agency, said:

HIV can affect anyone, no matter your gender or sexual orientation. It’s good to see National HIV Testing Week once again highlighting the hugely important role regular testing plays in helping to prevent new infections, alongside condom use.

Testing allows people to have access to free prevention interventions such as PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) and, should you test positive, ensures timely access to treatment that saves lives and prevents the virus being passed on.

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said:

Increasing the early detection and diagnoses of HIV enables the NHS to provide people with better access to the latest and most effective life-saving medication, which can prevent long-term health issues and reduces the chance of unknown transmissions to others.

Boosting opportunities to test for HIV, including through home testing and the highly successful NHS emergency department testing programme, is crucial. We would encourage anyone who could be living with HIV to order a test and get checked.

Background information

During National HIV Testing Week (10 to 16 February 2025), anyone in England can order a free HIV test from Free Testing HIV to do at home.

Alongside free postal test kits being available during National HIV Testing Week, there are also testing events and drop-ins happening across England. A variety of online, postal and face-to-face testing is also available year-round through local authority commissioned sexual and reproductive health services.

The government is also supporting the international effort to ending HIV and AIDS. A further £37 million, announced in November 2024, will go towards increasing access to vital sexual and reproductive health services and support for vulnerable and marginalised people across the globe. This is in addition to the government’s ongoing contribution to international efforts to tackle HIV and AIDS, totalling at least £497 million in 2023, which works to tackle stigma and improve testing, enable greater access to HIV prevention pill PrEP and better post-diagnosis support.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,071 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 29 and 30 January 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Great Britain adults (aged 18 and over).

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 February 2025.

Local communities to receive funding for family and school nurses, sexual health clinics and other public health services.

• Funds will drive key health services, from smoking cessation to addiction recovery and children’s health
• Public health grant, which funds health services and other interventions via local authorities, expands to £3.858 billion, an uplift of 5.4%
• Part of the government’s Plan for Change to help build an NHS fit for the future.

Local communities up and down the country will receive funding for family and school nurses, sexual health clinics and other public health services in their areas, thanks to a nearly £200 million boost in funding announced today (7 February 2025).

As part of government plans to improve health outcomes across the country and build healthier communities, local public health services will be given more money to deliver prevention programmes, tailored to their residents.

This investment is a key part of the government’s Plan for Change, shifting the focus from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention to build a more sustainable, fit for future NHS.

The funding for public health will power essential services such as smoking cessation programmes, addiction recovery, family and school nurses, sexual health clinics, local health protection services and public health support for local NHS services.

The boost represents a significant turning point for local health services, marking the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending between 2016 and 2024.

Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne, said:

Lord Darzi’s investigation into the NHS found that children are sicker today than a decade ago, and adults are falling into ill health earlier in life.

Prevention is better than cure. If we can reach people earlier and help them stay healthy, this extra investment will pay for itself several times over in reduced demand on the NHS and by keeping people in work.

Whether it’s supporting people to quit smoking, giving children a healthy start to life or providing addiction recovery services, this investment as part of the government’s Plan for Change will make a real difference in communities across the country.

After a decade of cuts to public health, this government is committed to shifting the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention, and we’re putting our money where our mouth is.

Funding for public health grants will be increased to £3.858 billion – a 5.4% cash uplift (3.0% in real terms) on last year’s funding. This investment will tackle the root causes of ill health and build stronger, healthier communities nationwide.

Helping people live better for longer will aid in relieving pressure on the NHS and support the Plan for Change in ending hospital backlogs.

See public health grants to local authorities: 2025 to 2026 for more information about the allocations and grant conditions.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 4 February 2025.

Baroness Camilla Cavendish, Naomi Eisenstadt CB and Phil Jordan become non-executive directors on the board of the Department of Health and Social Care.

• Baroness Camilla Cavendish, Naomi Eisenstadt CB and Phil Jordan join the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) board
• They bring cross-party and wide-ranging experience and will provide strategic guidance to support health and care reforms
• The appointments come as part of the government’s call for the country’s best talent to join its mission to fix the NHS

Experts from across the public and private sector have been appointed to the DHSC board to drive forward health and social care reform plans.

Baroness Camilla Cavendish, Naomi Eisenstadt CB and Phil Jordan’s wealth of experience and expertise across the political divide and both the public and private sector will be vital in supporting the government’s key missions to drive down waiting lists and reform the NHS as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, shifting the focus from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention, and from analogue to digital.

Baroness Cavendish is best known for her time as head of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister David Cameron. Ms Eisenstadt was the first Director of Sure Start, widely regarded as one of the most important policy initiatives in recent history, while Mr Jordan has held a long and distinguished career in the private sector, including top roles at Sainsbury’s, Telefónica and Vodafone.

They will join Lead Non-Executive Director Alan Milburn, former Health Secretary under Tony Blair’s government, on the board of DHSC.

It comes as part of the government’s call for the best and brightest to join its mission to fix the broken NHS and reflects DHSC’s commitment to drawing on diverse skills and perspectives to ensure it is fit for the future.

Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:

I am drawing on people of different political persuasions, with public and private sector experience, to help us turn around the NHS, make it fit for the future, and reform social care.

The NHS is one of the biggest organisations in the world, and building a national care service is a generational ambition. We should be competing with global businesses to recruit the best and the brightest to our cause.

I am delighted to welcome Camilla, Naomi and Phil to their new roles. Their combined expertise in social policy and technology, deep understanding of healthcare and commitment to pragmatism over ideology will be invaluable as we fix our broken NHS.

If there are other people out there with the skills, experience and drive to transform the treatment and care of millions of people, then we want your help building our 10 Year Health Plan.

As non-executive directors, Camilla, Naomi and Phil will provide independent oversight, constructive challenge and strategic advice to the department. Their expertise will help shape DHSC’s mission to ensure the best possible health and care outcomes for everyone across England.

The NHS is broken and through the Plan for Change, it is the mission of this government to fix it and make the health service fit for the future. As part of this national mission, experts are being brought in to help develop policy, and NHS staff and patients have been invited to share their experience and ideas to change the NHS on the Change NHS website.

Baroness Camilla Cavendish

Former head of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister David Cameron, Baroness Cavendish brings a wealth of experience across public policy, healthcare and journalism, and will draw on her expertise in social care while working at DHSC.

The vocal advocate for health and social care reform has led significant reviews that have shaped social care policy and practice. Notably, the Cavendish Review (2013) examined the training and development of health and social care support workers.

The review highlighted the need for improved standards of training, greater recognition for care workers and more robust safeguards for those in vulnerable situations. Her recommendations continue to influence workforce development across the sector.

Naomi Eisenstadt CB

Naomi Eisenstadt CB has a distinguished career in public policy and social welfare, including serving as the first director of the Sure Start Unit, where she spearheaded transformative early years programmes aimed at reducing inequality, and will bring her expertise on health inequalities to DHSC.

The scheme is one of the most successful social policy interventions in the past 30 years, demonstrating the importance of early intervention and prevention – one of the 3 big shifts this government is committed to in our 10 Year Plan for Health.

Currently serving as chair of the NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, Naomi’s extensive experience and commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable communities make her an invaluable addition to the department.

Phil Jordan

Phil Jordan will focus on data and digital capability at DHSC, drawing on his impressive background having led major initiatives across both the public and private sector.

With a proven track record in strategic leadership, including as Chief Information Officer at Sainsbury’s, Telefónica, and Vodafone UK and Ireland, Phil has been instrumental in driving innovation and efficiency in complex organisations.

His expertise will support the department’s ongoing efforts to modernise healthcare delivery and enhance digital infrastructure, as part of the vital shift from analogue to digital, equipping the health service with the cutting-edge technology it needs to tackle waiting lists, improve patient experience and speed up diagnosis.

Background information

These appointments are made in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Governance for Public Appointments. The regulation of public appointments against the requirements of this code is carried out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

In line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, political activity is not a bar to appointment but political activity during the last 5 years should be declared. Camilla Cavendish and Phil Jordan have not declared any political activity. Naomi Eisenstadt is a member of the Labour Party.

Government non-executives provide advice and bring an external perspective to the business of government departments by sitting on departmental boards. They do not have decision-making powers.

See DHSC public appointments: 2024 to 2025 for further information.

NHS England is currently advertising non-executive vacancies. See: non-executive opportunities in the NHS: public appointments for further information.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 4 February 2025.

Tom Kibasi has over 20 years of experience working in the healthcare sector and will provide expert advice to government on how to fix the broken NHS.

• Tom has accepted a direct ministerial appointment to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
• Tom will work closely with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, to draft the government’s 10 Year Health Plan

Tom Kibasi brings over 2 decades of healthcare sector experience into his new role, where he will provide expert advice and support to the Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting’s reform agenda, including drafting the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.

He has accepted a direct ministerial appointment to DHSC where he will support the department to turn the ideas for a better health service, coming from tens of thousands of patients and frontline staff, into successful delivery in the landmark 10 Year Health Plan. The plan will set out how the government’s 3 big shifts – from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, from sickness to prevention – are to be delivered.

Tom is joint chair of 3 mental health and community NHS trusts, leading the charge to improve their quality of care and to help keep patients well in the community, having joined the board of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust in 2016. This includes ensuring that trusts share best practice through a new board-in-common and a common framework for quality of care, access to services, finance and productivity. This expertise will help the government deliver the shift in healthcare from hospital to the community.

Tom led the drafting and directed the analysis for Lord Ara Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS, which reported in September 2024. The investigation found that the service is in a ‘critical condition’ amid surging waiting lists and a deterioration in the nation’s underlying health. Early in his career, Tom worked at the Department of Health as a senior policy adviser to Lord Darzi for his landmark 2008 review of the NHS: High Quality Care for All.

Tom Kibasi said:

The independent investigation was a devastating diagnosis of the problems that patients, the public and hard-working NHS staff experience every day.

Since then, there has been a remarkable process of public, staff and expert engagement on the 10 Year Health Plan. There is now huge energy and expectation about the vision that it will set for both the service and for the health of the nation.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 30 January 2025.

Minister of State for Women’s Health, Baroness Merron, spoke at the Responsible AI: Women and Healthcare Conference 2025, in London.

I am absolutely delighted to be able to join you today, and I know I am amongst a very wide range of diverse voices and contributors here.

I want to say thank you for making the time to be here today and to take part, and for sharing your insight on an issue which has the potential to hugely impact for good. I might add, hugely impact our health system for many decades to come. Let me tell you, I’ve just come from speaking in the Chamber about osteoporosis, and I was asked a question by a Peer about the role of AI so I was very glad to be able to say I’m actually on my way to a conference to address this very point.

So, I say that because I want you to know how relevant this is in Parliament, and there is rightly a push for progress in the way that we are all committed to.

Since coming into government, we haven’t, and I haven’t, shied away from recognising the huge challenges that we’ve got to address in our health system, and I’m firmly of the view that our health service can only address the challenges of the future and indeed, the challenges of today, if we use the technologies of tomorrow.

It’s no good looking to the technologies of the past, and we are absolutely committed to delivering the digital transformation that potentially brings these benefits to life.

We know about the important point about health inequalities, that there are those for whom the NHS hasn’t been there when they need it, even though it should have been. So, as we look to build an NHS that’s fit for the future, it has to be about improvement for everybody, not just a select group.

It should not matter about what is your age, your ethnicity, your wealth, your religion, your sex or where you live. We have to work together to create a Britain, I believe, where everybody can live a healthier life for longer.

A key part of this has to be and must be women’s health to ensure that women are not sidelined in any way and, because that simply creates a negative effect on millions of lives, both directly but indirectly as well.

We know that women live a greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability, and 60% of women in this country feel their health issues are not taken seriously. I know that women’s voices are often not heard, and I believe that’s to the detriment not just of the care that’s given, but also to our healthcare system.

So, for many, when this is combined with other factors like their ethnicity, or the area that they live in, it leads to even worse outcomes. Now that is a challenge to take on and to take it on fully, and we will do that. So, as we speak today, we know we’re on the brink of a technological revolution in healthcare and in many other areas.

AI will drive incredible amounts of change in our country, and we do have the opportunity to harness it, to turbocharge growth and to boost the quality of lives for all, including women.

So, we as a government are throwing our full support behind this because AI, as I referred to earlier, is the technology of today. It’s already being deployed in our economy. It’s already revolutionising the delivery of services, including public services, and very much changing how we deliver healthcare.

So, I don’t need to explain to all of you, because you will explain it better to me about how AI can make a transformational difference to the health of our country.

However, we have to bear in mind the experience of the past. We do know of instances in the past where not enough care has been taken with new technologies, and we’ve seen the damage that can do. So AI, without doubt opens doors to exciting and very real new possibilities, but we do need to build public confidence and trust that AI is being used responsibly, it’s being used safely and effectively for everyone, and I do think there is a job of work to be done there.

Without enough care, AI could potentially, in a not good way, incorporate all the same biases that have plagued our healthcare system for too long. There is already evidence of AI healthcare technologies working more effectively for men than for women.

So, for conditions such as liver disease and kidney disease, algorithms have been hailed as the best without accounting for this absolutely crucial point, and not enough of the patient data used to train these models has been from women. So that means that the AI models have translated the biases from our existing clinical methods into their own approaches.

So there needs to be much greater attention to developing technologies responsibly, and inclusively, that don’t leave women or indeed any other part of our population behind. By perpetuating these biases that may in part be a product of who is in the room developing these new technologies, possibly. Women are significantly underrepresented in the AI sector, as is commonly the case in other technology sectors.

One study suggested, I noted, that only a quarter of the AI workforce is female, and I have no doubt that having more women in the room, as we have today, would do a huge amount to help. Although, I do have to say it is not all the responsibility of women to ensure the woman’s perspective. Not at all.

So, as we look to AI, we need to ensure that 51% of our population must be worked with and for. This is not a minority group. We are a majority group and with particular healthcare needs. So, by taking steps to eliminate bias in healthcare AI, we will build trust, and I do think trust is so important, to build trust in this next wave of healthcare technologies and ensure that digital solutions can work for everyone.

We are, in government, committed to providing that support and enabling your efforts to come to fruition. We have supported the delivery of the Standing Together recommendations, which is a crucial piece of work developing standards for AI data sets, ensuring that they do reflect the diversity of the patient population and mean that we can see products that work for everybody.

With the National Institute for Health and Care Research, we are making sure that the UK research community incorporates sex and gender into its research, supporting the crucial work in the research inclusion strategy and finalising a sex and gender policy framework for funders through the Medical Science, Sex and Gender Equity project. But there is, of course, so much more to do and so much further that we can go to help you achieve the goal of making AI in healthcare work for everyone.

We will stand by your side in this crucial endeavour, and we are committed to enabling your efforts and finding ways to do that, because I believe it’s only with your expertise and your insight that the potential for digital transformation can be fully realised because what we want to see is faster diagnosis. We want to see better treatment. We want more efficient care to every person across the country.

It is thanks to your advocacy and to your knowledge and your initiative that we will ensure that we learn the lessons from the past, and we will make sure that nobody is left out as we look to the future.

So, let me thank you again for attending the conference today. I know that together we have the ability to achieve great things and making sure that the digital health revolution is one that’s embraced, that is safe and is fair for everyone, and will unlock the benefits of AI to improve the health of the nation.

I am looking forward to that. So, thank you very much.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 16 January 2025.

Fresh guidance will give businesses the green light to sell certain pioneering hearing aids.

• Tens of thousands of people with hearing loss to benefit from government action as it delivers Plan for Change to drive growth and improve living standards
• Green light for companies to sell innovative devices, like earphones with hearing aid functionality
• Pro-business move supports UK’s ambitions to be tech superpower and shift healthcare from analogue to digital

Tens of thousands of people with hearing loss will have access to groundbreaking new hearing aid devices, thanks to government action.

Fresh guidance has been published today (16 January 2025), giving businesses around the world the green light to sell certain pioneering hearing aids here in the UK.

This includes earphones with both hearing test and hearing aid software functionalities. Such revolutionary products allow someone to take a hearing test at home using their earphones and an app on their phone. If the test indicates mild to moderate hearing loss, the person can then switch on the hearing aid function on the same earphones.

This will make it easier and more convenient for patients to manage their own health. Combating hearing loss can also reduce associated risks like social isolation.

The government’s Plan for Change has a laser focus on securing the UK’s position as a global tech powerhouse which fosters innovation to transform the lives of working people, with the Prime Minister this week setting out a blueprint to unleash artificial intelligence (AI) across the UK – including in healthcare – and deliver a decade of national renewal.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

Britain can be a powerhouse for medical technology, but only if we rip out pointless regulation that suffocates innovation.

Groundbreaking new hearing aid devices have the potential to help tens of thousands of people with hearing loss, helping them to live their life to the full. The action we’re taking will give businesses the green light to start selling these products to patients across the UK.

This is part of the work this government is undertaking in partnership with leading technology companies, to harness the revolution in medical technology, bring our analogue healthcare into the digital age and make life more convenient for patients.

One in 3 adults in the UK are deaf or experience hearing loss or tinnitus – which rises to more than 50% of over 55s.

Of these, approximately 53% use hearing aids. Currently, there is uncertainty about whether patients are able to buy hearing aids directly, including as part of testing their hearing at home. Today’s guidance will put an end to this confusion – speeding up patient access to the devices while making the UK an attractive place to manufacture innovative and wearable medical technology.

The move delivers on the Prime Minister’s commitment at the International Investment Summit to tackle bureaucracy blocking investment and remove unnecessary regulatory burdens that have previously stifled growth.

There are lots of possible causes of hearing loss. It may be caused by something treatable or it may be permanent. The NHS advises that if patients have not already undergone a clinical assessment, they should see a GP if:

• they think their hearing is getting gradually worse
• they’ve had treatment for an ear infection or earwax build-up but their hearing has not come back
• they have sudden hearing loss in one or both ears
• their hearing has been getting worse over the last few days or weeks
• they have hearing loss along with other symptoms, such as earache or discharge coming out of the ear

Patients can also have hearing tests at some pharmacists and opticians too.

Patient safety will be paramount, and the government will ensure that all manufacturers comply with the relevant legislation. People will also still be encouraged to seek clinical advice through their GP if they are having problems with their hearing.

This will help fulfil 2 of the 10 Year Health Plan’s key goals – moving care from hospital to the community and shifting the health service from analogue to digital.

The move will help establish the UK as a global leader for innovative treatments and technologies, supporting sustained economic growth, good jobs and increased productivity across the country, while ensuring patients have greater control of their own healthcare.

Background information

The government has already set out a series of steps to ensure this kind of innovation is nurtured in the UK.

In October, a new group was set up to ensure new technologies – like AI for better treatments in our NHS and drones delivering emergency supplies to all corners of the UK, could reach the public faster.

The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) will reduce the burden for businesses hoping to bring new products and services to the market, including AI training software for surgeons to deliver more accurate surgical treatments for patients.

It will speed up approvals and ensure different regulatory bodies work together smoothly.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 15 January 2025.

£5.5 million to go towards vital research projects to tackle ongoing mpox outbreaks in DRC and neighbouring countries.

• Ministers announce funding for research to tackle ongoing mpox outbreaks in Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries
• Research projects will focus on transmission, improved surveillance of outbreaks, and new vaccines and treatments for the virus, particularly for mothers and newborns
• Investment will help tackle mpox at source to protect the UK public

The UK government has announced £5.5 million for research into transmission, new vaccines and treatments to tackle the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries.

The significant investment is part of the UK’s international response to mpox: providing critical support to countries at the centre of the outbreak and strengthening global health security, while ensuring the UK is protected.

The funding will go towards research projects focused on:

• studying the genetics and transmission patterns of clade 1b mpox and strengthening public health responses in affected regions
• developing vaccines, with particular attention to protecting vulnerable groups
• supporting clinical trials involving mothers and newborn children – including improving the efficacy of vaccines and antiviral treatments

Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron said:

We are proud to be at the forefront of the international response to mpox.

This crucial funding will develop our understanding of the disease, and hopefully develop new ways of protecting people at risk of this terrible disease – particularly mothers and their babies who are particularly vulnerable.

It will also help protect the UK and improve our resilience to future outbreaks.

Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds said:

Working together as genuine partners to tackle infectious diseases helps us all.

Since August, the UK has been working with others including UNICEF and the WHO to bolster the international response to mpox and prevent its spread across borders.

By investing in expertise, we will better equip the international community to tackle this disease and protect communities both in central Africa and at home in the UK.

This funding has been given through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget and will support 9 major research projects in partnership with the Global Health European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 (Global Health EDCTP3).

In August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) due to the newly identified clade 1b outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This outbreak has expanded to neighbouring countries, and a small number of cases have been detected in other countries including Thailand, Sweden and the USA.

Five cases of clade 1b mpox were confirmed in England last year. The risk of clade 1b mpox to the UK population remains low, and the government is closely monitoring the disease.

In September 2024, the UK government secured more than 150,000 doses of mpox vaccines to help boost resilience against clade 1 mpox and protect the UK population.

Protecting the UK’s health from current and future threats, and strengthening our collaboration with global partners to better prevent outbreaks worldwide, is part of the government’s Plan for Change.

Building scientific expertise through international research – by better understanding diseases and developing vaccines – will be crucial to achieving the core shift from sickness to prevention, an important part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of NIHR, said:

Scientific research can improve lives, and this vital funding will strengthen our international response to mpox. By building on our scientific expertise and collaborating with global partners, we can better prevent and control future outbreaks worldwide.

This research will look into ways to protect vulnerable people, especially women and newborn children, who have been disproportionately affected by the mpox outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa. This work is crucial for advancing health equity and building more resilient communities.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said:

Research funding for mpox focused in the areas most affected in Africa is critical to the scientific understanding of this disease. This collaborative funding, alongside ongoing international efforts, will provide a much needed injection of support to reduce the spread of mpox across the globe.

There has been extensive planning by the government and UKHSA to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to and contact trace any further cases.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 10 January 2025.

Thousands of parents and children across England will be able to give their child the best start in life thanks to a £126 million government funding boost.

• £126 million boost for families to give every child the best start of life and deliver on Plan for Change.
• Funding will go to areas with high levels of deprivation to provide a range of support to parents, including on mental health and infant feeding.

Thousands of families and children across England will be able to access pregnancy support, infant feeding advice, parenting classes and other support to give their child the best start in life, following a £126 million government funding boost – delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.

Around £57 million will be made available to 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation in 2025-26. This will provide a raft of support through Start for Life services to families with babies, from pregnancy up to the age of two. The £57 million for Start for Life services will be given to local authorities and consists of:

• £36.5 million to improve mental health support for families and promote positive early relationships between babies and caregivers;
• £18.5 million to improve infant feeding services and provide support with breastfeeding;
• £2 million to ensure families can access and understand their local Start for Life services and support parents and carers to bring their valuable insight into service design.

It comes on top of the £69 million announced in the Budget for a network of family hubs, which act as a one-stop-shop for families to get help with infant feeding advice, parenting classes and perinatal mental health support, among other areas.

Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. Antenatal classes, health visitors, parenting support, baby and toddler groups and access to affordable, high-quality early education and childcare – all are vital to guiding parents and supporting child development. Yet over 80% of parents have said they struggled to access services.

This lack of support in early years can act as a barrier to development and contributes to too many children not being ready to start school, with over a third of children unable to dress independently and 90% of reception teachers saying they have at least one child in the class not toilet trained.

That’s why, as part of our Plan for Change, we’re committed to strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood and improve long term outcomes for children – including through today’s investment in family hubs and the Start for Life programme.

By delivering accessible, integrated maternity, baby and family support services, and high-quality early education and childcare, today’s announcement delivers on the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and set every child up for the best start in life.

To achieve the government’s overall mission objective of closing the opportunity gap, the government has set a milestone as part of the Plan for Change of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. Progress will be measured through 75% of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage assessment by 2028 – and today’s announcement marks a first step to delivering this milestone.

It also delivers on our mission to build an NHS fit for the future by shifting from hospital to community and bringing care closer to where people live. By offering parents extra support, including access to midwifery and health visitor services closer to their home, it will help tackle wider social causes of ill-health, address inequalities and ultimately help ease pressure on hospitals and waiting lists.

Andrew Gwynne, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, said:

This crucial investment provides a strong foundation to deliver our commitment to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, by giving parents the support they need to ensure their baby has the best start in life.

The first two years of a child’s life lay the building blocks for their physical and emotional wellbeing into adulthood. That’s why we are investing in early years, as part of our Plan for Change, to improve access to services in deprived areas to ensure no-one is left behind.

Minister for Children and Families, Janet Daby said:

Investment in these crucial services will break down barriers to opportunity, support families and get a record proportion of children ready for school.

Through our Plan for Change, we’ll ensure tens of thousands more children are hitting key early learning goals on personal, social and physical development as well as communication, literacy and maths. That’s because children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life – nothing less.

The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme is jointly run by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education. There are over 400 family hubs in England, covering half of all upper-tier councils. The hubs offer a range of services tailored to the local community, including midwifery and health visiting.

The Department for Education also funds parenting and Home Learning Environment programmes. These services support parents to form strong bonds with their babies and develop better home environments which boost children’s social, emotional and cognitive development.

Staff at family hubs can connect families to a range of health and education services. This includes helping families access information and advice around debt and welfare, housing, domestic abuse, nutrition, and oral health. They have a universal offer while targeting disadvantaged families or those who would benefit most.

People can get support from a family hub if they are an expectant parent or carer, a parent or carer of a child aged 0 to 19 – or 25 with special educational needs or a disability – or a young person up to the age of 19, or up to 25 with special educational needs or a disability.

Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

We are pleased government has continued investment in Family Hubs and Start for Life services, which play a crucial role in supporting families and giving children the best start in life.

Long-term, sustainable funding is essential to ensuring all councils can meet local needs effectively and invest in vital staff such as health visitors.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Government to deliver on its ambition to create the healthiest generation of children.

Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said:

The National Children’s Bureau supports the government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, and its mission to increase the number of 5-year-olds reaching a good level of development by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, before the next General Election.

That is why we warmly welcome today’s announcement that funding for the Start for Life programme will be extended until March 2026. This compliments commitments in October’s Budget to fund Family Hubs, improve the quality of early education and childcare, and provide £250 million for local authorities to develop a new Family Help offer for those struggling with the greatest adversity.

The funding announced today is a much needed down-payment that must pave the way for greater investment in the multi-year Spending Review, so that Start for Life can reach all parts of the country.

Estimates indicate £45.5 billion could be generated for the national economy by investing in early childhood. Creating the healthiest generation of children ever will increase the number of years individuals spend in good health as adults, generating significant improvements to population health.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The 75 local authorities receiving family hubs and Start for Life programme funding are as follows, categorised by region:

• East of England: Bedford; Luton; Norfolk; Peterborough; Thurrock
• London: Barking and Dagenham; Brent; Camden; Croydon; Enfield; Greenwich; Hackney; Haringey; Hounsow; Islington; Lambeth; Lewisham; Newham; Southwark; Tower Hamlets; Waltham Forest
• South East: East Sussex; Isle of Wight; Kent; Medway; Portsmouth; Southampton
• North East: County Duram; Gateshead; Hartlepool; Middlesborough; Newcastle upon Tyne; Northumberland; Redcar and Cleveland; South Tyneside; Sunderland
• North West: Blackburn with Darwen; Blackpool; Bolton; Halton; Knowsley; Liverpool; Manchester; Oldham; Rochdale; Salford; St. Helens; Tameside
• Yorkshire and The Humber: Barnsley; Bradford; Calderdale; Doncaster; Kingston upon Hull, City of; North East Lincolnshire; North Lincolnshire; Rotherham; Sheffield; Wakefield
• East Midlands: Derby; Leicester; Lincolnshire; North Northamptonshire; Nottingham
• West Midlands: Birmingham; Coventry; Dudley; Sandwell; Stoke-on-Trent; Telford and Wrekin; Walsall; Wolverhampton
• South West: Bristol, City of; Cornwall; Plymouth; Torbay

The Autumn Budget announced £69 million from the Department for Education for a network of family hubs. Of this, the department will provide approximately £53 million in grant payments to the 75 local authorities on the family hubs and Start for Life programme, consisting of:

• £22.4m for Family Hubs programme and capital funding to consolidate and enhance family hubs and services;
• £20m for parenting support services to enhance support for expectant parents and those with babies aged 0-2, focusing on promoting bonding and attachment;
• £10.7m for Home Learning Environment (HLE) services to train practitioners in evidence-based interventions, helping parents create rich home learning environments to support early child development;
• The remaining approximately £16 million will be used to support the delivery of a network of family hubs.
• The Start for Life programme has embedded this multicomponent approach to improve infant feeding services. Local authorities are using programme investment to strengthen existing support and introduce new offers to help parents access face-to-face and virtual infant feeding support whenever they need it and in a location that suits them.
• This includes one-to-one support in hospital wards; proactive offer of support in the immediate post-natal period; peer support in the community and virtually; and training staff to identify complex issues like tongue-tie early.

The figures below are provisional funding allocations that the 75 programme local authorities will be eligible to receive for the financial year 2025-26. Final figures will be confirmed in due course.

Local Authority	Total
Hartlepool	£939,800
Middlesbrough	£1,102,500
Redcar and Cleveland	£1,010,100
Halton	£1,007,900
Blackburn with Darwen	£1,131,800
Blackpool	£1,038,900
Kingston upon Hull, City of	£1,375,500
North East Lincolnshire	£1,056,700
North Lincolnshire	£1,071,500
Derby	£1,338,300
Leicester	£1,637,100
Nottingham	£1,460,300
Telford and Wrekin	£1,159,300
Stoke-on-Trent	£1,357,600
Bristol, City of	£1,718,900
Plymouth	£1,251,600
Torbay	£965,700
Peterborough	£1,290,600
Luton	£1,402,900
Thurrock	£1,209,000
Medway	£1,415,000
Portsmouth	£1,177,300
Southampton	£1,280,800
Isle of Wight	£956,600
County Durham	£1,684,300
Cornwall	£1,716,500
Bedford	£1,168,000
Northumberland	£1,281,300
North Northamptonshire	£1,519,400
Bolton	£1,474,000
Manchester	£2,115,300
Oldham	£1,381,400
Rochdale	£1,311,300
Salford	£1,423,900
Tameside	£1,251,800
Knowsley	£1,130,600
Liverpool	£1,769,900
St. Helens	£1,115,800
Barnsley	£1,257,000
Doncaster	£1,419,300
Rotherham	£1,322,100
Sheffield	£1,911,100
Newcastle upon Tyne	£1,376,200
South Tyneside	£1,034,200
Sunderland	£1,294,000
Birmingham	£3,664,300
Coventry	£1,583,700
Dudley	£1,441,000
Sandwell	£1,619,700
Walsall	£1,449,400
Wolverhampton	£1,422,800
Bradford	£2,134,200
Calderdale	£1,166,600
Wakefield	£1,505,200
Gateshead	£1,129,100
Barking and Dagenham	£1,417,600
Brent	£1,576,400
Camden	£1,143,000
Croydon	£1,709,000
Enfield	£1,535,700
Greenwich	£1,472,500
Hackney	£1,385,700
Haringey	£1,330,600
Hounslow	£1,443,400
Islington	£1,177,200
Lambeth	£1,342,400
Lewisham	£1,440,400
Newham	£1,744,100
Southwark	£1,379,100
Tower Hamlets	£1,486,800
Waltham Forest	£1,476,800
East Sussex	£1,686,800
Kent	£4,099,400
Lincolnshire	£2,103,000
Norfolk	£2,343,500

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 6 January 2025.

Patients will be offered a wider choice of providers and the process of booking treatments and appointments will be made as smooth as possible.

• An upgraded NHS App will enable patients to choose providers, book appointments in more settings and receive test results, all in one place
• Proposals are part of the elective reform plan, setting out proposals to cut waiting lists and reduce waiting times to 18 weeks
• Greater choice and control for patients will sit at heart of reforms, as government delivers on its Plan for Change to rebuild NHS
• It will establish minimum standards patients should expect as they wait for care

A revolutionised NHS App is among a raft of proposals aimed at giving patients greater power over how and when they receive elective treatment, as the government sets out its roadmap to cutting waiting times as confirmed in the Plan for Change.

Currently, less than a quarter of patients recall being offered a choice of hospital for their treatment. Patients have a legal right to choose their provider and the government wants to give them more control over their own care.

Under measures in the forthcoming elective reform plan, patients will be offered a wider choice of providers and the process of booking treatments and appointments will be made as smooth, supportive and convenient as possible.

Planned NHS App upgrades will enable patients requiring non-emergency elective treatment to:

• view and manage appointments at a time and place that is convenient to them, reducing missed appointments, which are costly to the NHS – in 2023 to 2024, there were 8 million missed appointments in elective care
• choose from a wide range of providers, including in the independent sector
• book diagnostic tests through the NHS App at convenient locations, such as a community diagnostic centre (CDC) in a local shopping centre
• receive test results quickly through the app before choosing the next step – whether a remote consultation or surgery – at a convenient time and location

As a first step, by March 2025, patients at over 85% of acute trusts will be able to view appointment information via the NHS App.

Patients will also be able to contact their treatment provider at their convenience, and receive clear information and regular updates, including on how long they are likely to wait for their appointment.

Currently, most patients receive test results through a phone call from a clinician, or a letter with either the result or instructions to book an appointment to discuss them further. This can be a significant time after the diagnostics took place. Enabling patients to receive test results quickly through the app will help address these inefficiencies in the process.

The proposals are part of the elective reform plan, set to be announced this week, which sets out how the government and NHS will deliver on its Plan for Change to slash the waiting list and cut waiting times to 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament.

The plan marks the start of a new era for the health service that will put patients in the driving seat and in control of their own care.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

If the wealthy can choose where and when they are treated, then working class patients should be able to as well, and this government will give them that choice.

Our plan will reform the NHS, so patients are fully informed every step of the way through their care, they are given proper choice to go to a different provider for a shorter wait, and put in control of their own healthcare.

This government’s reform agenda will take the NHS from a one size fits all, top down, ‘like it or lump it’ service, to a modern service that puts patients in the driving seat and treats them on time – delivering on our Plan for Change to drive a decade of national renewal.

By bringing our analogue NHS into the digital age, we will cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks and give working class patients the same choice, control and convenience as the wealthy receive.

The NHS currently lags behind in digital communications, with just 8% of bookings after a referral being made via the NHS App or the Manage Your Referral website. The proposals will drive up this figure by making the NHS App and Manage Your Referral site the default route for patients to choose their provider, or decide not to make that choice themselves.

Greater choice will be available so people can take control of their health, with strengthened communications to patients through the app, making them aware of the options available to them.

More widely, the plan establishes minimum standards patients should expect – giving them more power over decision-making and what they can expect to be able to do:

• choose how they receive follow-ups for care, whether this be digitally or in person
• receive a shortlist of providers to choose from, have the option to choose an appointment that suits them, and receive information on how to change their appointment
• decide whether a follow-up appointment is necessary or whether it is more beneficial to continue recovering at home
• have the ability to contact their provider for any necessary follow-up, rather than being called back at intervals that do not suit their circumstances
• get clear communications that meet their needs throughout their time on the waiting list – including to check whether they still want to be on the list

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said:

NHS staff are providing record levels of elective care but with too many patients waiting, we know we need to reform further and faster so we can take our progress on the backlog to the next level.

That is why as part of the elective reform plan we will fully harness the potential of the NHS App, giving patients more information, choice and control over their care while freeing up the time of our staff so they can work more productively too.

Using technology to revolutionise access to NHS care, alongside offering more availability of tests, checks and scans closer to people’s homes will help us tackle waiting times and put patients in the driving seat of elective care.

Measures to improve 2-way communication between patients and clinicians, as well as making better use of AI to predict missed appointments, could also save an additional one million missed appointments.

Missed appointments add significant delay to patients receiving care, increasing pressures on elective services and potentially other areas of the health service. Sending reminders has been shown to reduce missed appointments by up to 80%, and trusts report better results when communication is 2-way with the patient.

Work is underway to pilot AI services that identify patients more likely to miss appointments and provide support, such as free transport to those most in need.

And accessible and alternative language, as well as tailored communications, will be made available, particularly in areas of highest inequalities, to ensure all patients have the information they need to take control of their care.

The plan puts the patient back at the heart, meaning they can receive care that best suits them and their individual needs, by empowering them to take more control over when, where and how they will be treated.

The plan, Reforming elective care for patients, is available on the NHS England website.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 6 January 2025.

New agreement struck between NHS and independent sector to help tackle waiting lists and give patients greater choice.

• Specialist areas of treatment to be targeted, including women on gynaecological waiting lists and record numbers of orthopaedics patients
• Agreement will also benefit patients in deprived areas of the country, enabling a greater choice of providers

A new agreement has been struck with the independent sector as part of plans to end the hospital waiting list backlog set out by the Prime Minister today (6 January 2025).

Hitting the 18-week NHS waiting time standard for operations and other planned procedures is a key part of the government’s Plan for Change.

The new deal will mean the NHS makes better use of the independent sector to tackle waiting lists as well as providing millions more appointments itself.

The NHS and independent sector partnership agreement will help expand capacity and widen patient choice by setting out how more treatments can be delivered through the independent sector, with care remaining free at the point of use.

The independent healthcare sector estimate that they have capacity to provide an additional one million appointments a year for NHS patients.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Mission-led government is about doing things differently. When the waiting lists have ballooned to 7.5 million, we will not let ideology or old ways of doing things stand in the way of getting people’s lives back on track.

As we deliver our Plan for Change to rebuild the NHS, it would be a dereliction of duty not to use every available resource to get patients the care they so desperately need.

That’s why this agreement will make sure working people get greater choice over when and where they receive their treatment, and provide more support to the areas in greatest need.

The new deal will set out how independent sector capacity can be used to tackle some of the longest waits in specialist areas of treatment, such as gynaecology, where there is a backlog of 260,000 women waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment.

Orthopaedics will also be a key focus, where over 40% of patients are waiting longer than the 18-week target.

The agreement will also give patients in more deprived areas, where NHS provision is more limited, a greater choice over where they are treated.

Currently, less than a quarter of patients recall being offered a choice of hospital for their treatment. The government wants all NHS patients to have the opportunity to choose who cares for them, and through the wider elective reform plans set out today will give them more control over their own care.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

Millions of patients are being forced to wait unacceptably long for treatment, failed by 14 years of neglect of the NHS. This government will pull every lever available to get patients treated on time again.

I’m not going to allow working people to wait longer than is necessary, when we can get them treated sooner in a private hospital, paid for by the NHS. If the wealthy can be treated on time, then so should NHS patients.

This new agreement will help to cut waiting time faster in parts of the country where the need is greatest, and in gynaecological care where women are left waiting far too long.

The steps we have already taken in the first 6 months have seen waiting lists begin to fall. The investment and reform we are now making will ensure we deliver on the Plan for Change and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.

The partnership is key to the government’s plans to meet the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients in England will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment. The standard has not been consistently met since 2015.

As part of the new agreement, NHS England and the independent sector will:

• work on aligning NHS and independent sector digital systems around a national set of standards so patients can more easily see appointments and results on the NHS App
• encourage longer-term contractual relationships to be established, enabling further independent sector investment in NHS capacity
• work together to grow and develop the elective workforce, including ensuring training occurs consistently in the independent sector

Delivery of extra elective care by the NHS has already been ramping up as the government aims to provide an extra 2 million appointments, scans and operations in its first year to get patients seen more quickly.

And a renewed relationship with the independent sector will help provide patients with a greater choice of providers for tests or scans, paid for by the NHS, so it remains free at the point of use.

The agreement has been published alongside the government and NHS’s elective reform plan, which sets out a roadmap to meeting the 18-week standard this Parliament.

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said:

The independent sector is playing a vital role in supporting hospitals to get on top of the backlog, delivering more than 100,000 elective appointment and procedures every week for the NHS – up by more than half since 2021.

But we are under no illusions that we must go further and faster if we want to get the waiting list down to levels last seen in 2015.

This new agreement will enable the NHS to make better use of capacity within the private sector where it is needed most, and help us see more patients, free at the point of use.

David Hare, Chief Executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), said:

This new agreement is a clear statement from government, the NHS and independent sector that independent providers are a critical part of the NHS’s long-term recovery and renewal.

Independent providers already treat millions of NHS patients every year, and this agreement builds on these strong foundations by making full use of existing capacity in the sector, ensuring that patients are offered proper choice of provider as well as supporting the sector to invest in, and deliver, an even wider choice of high quality services to NHS patients to bring waiting times down – all delivered free at the point of use and paid for at NHS prices.