Stephen Kinnock
MP for Aberafan Maesteg · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank the shadow Secretary of State for her kind words and look forward to our exchanges across the Dispatch Box. I am ready to engage with her on getting the maximum benefits for the people of Wales.”
“I thank the right hon. Lady and look forward to working with her. My understanding is that there were challenges around the helicopter capability. Decisions were taken by Natural Resources Wales some time ago to change the way that the tendering for helicopter capability works. We certainly need to look at that.”
“I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. Like him, I pay tribute to all those involved in the collective and heroic response to the wildfires.”
“I thank the right hon. Lady for her question. Many of the ideas coming forward for devolving power right across our United Kingdom, beyond Cardiff Bay and Holyrood, are very exciting, and I look forward to exploring them with her.”
“Just to be clear, this is not about staying out of the issue; it is about respecting the devolution settlement, but being prepared to work constructively where we can in partnership with the Welsh Government. The hon.”
“I know about and welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s strong connections to Wales. I recognise the connectivity benefits that WSMR’s proposal could deliver, particularly for passengers in Wales and the west midlands.”
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“I understand that every person with dementia, alongside their friends, families and carers, has their own unique and important story of living with dementia. I know that I am not alone in this fight. I want to pay tribute to the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK and Alzheimer’s Research UK for all their vital work. Together, we will build a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality care from diagnosis through to the end of life. I once again thank the hon. Member for South Devon for raising this vital topic.”
“I am pleased to confirm that we have backed the scheme with a £12 million investment. Pay and conditions are also vital elements of our workforce strategy, so I am sure Members across the House will welcome our groundbreaking fair pay agreement legislation in the Employment Rights Bill for adult social care workers, which is hugely significant in this context. On the question of our care workforce, a number of Members have highlighted the vital role that unpaid carers play. To support them, on 7 April the Government increased the carer’s allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196 a week, which is the equivalent of 16 hours at the national living wage—the largest increase in the earnings limit since the carer’s allowance was introduced in 1976. We are very proud of that change.”
“We are incredibly proud of everyone who works in the care sector, and they deserve the training that many Members have mentioned. The care workforce pathway provides guidance for progression and development for professionals across adult social care with the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours that our carers need. It links learning outcomes to existing frameworks, including the dementia training standards framework. Some of those learning outcomes can be achieved through the training and qualifications eligible for funding under the learning and development support scheme. That scheme, launched in September last year, supports adult social care employers to invest in their workforce through funded training opportunities, including a range of dementia-related qualifications.”
“The quality and availability of care services is variable, as Members have pointed out. We are empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need. We are supporting integrated care boards. I am pleased to say that we recently published the Dementia 100 pathway assessment tool, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated training tool. That launched last month, and there has been huge interest and support from the sector, with 1,000 people registering to attend the launch webinar. We have the dementia care pathway full implementation guidance, and we are supporting the implementation of that guidance through a dashboard, to enable targeted support where it is needed. All those who have dementia deserve to receive high-quality care. We must have a workforce that is equipped with the skills that are needed.”
“It is about providing support and agreeing on outcomes, but leaving those who are best placed at the coalface to decide how best to meet the unmet needs of their communities. That is a very clear dividing line between us. On research, it is worth pointing out that we have done studies with UK Research and Innovation, the Alzheimer’s Society and the People’s Postcode Lottery. We have found that through our investment, ADAPT and READ-OUT are working to produce clinical and economic data that could bring blood tests to the NHS within five years to support the diagnosis of dementia. All of this means that the rate of diagnosis is improving. The latest data from April shows that the diagnosis rate has inched up to 65.5%, up 0.3% since July 2024, and it is worth noting that the 66.7% ambition has not been met since 2020.”
“We are absolutely on the record with the 66.7% target. I want to take this opportunity to set out what appears to be a philosophical difference between this Government’s approach to our health and care system and that of many Opposition Members. We believe in devolution, we believe in decentralisation, and we believe in empowering those who are closest to the citizen to make the decisions that need to be made. If others have a more centralising and deeply anachronistic approach to managing our health and care system, which I heard from Liberal Democrat and Conservative Members, that is up to them, but we believe in modernising our system, not micromanaging or having shopping lists of targets.”
“They will apply across the UK, and the timescale allows time for secondary legislation to be amended, as appropriate, across the four nations. It also gives the pharmacy sector time to explore the relevance of the new hub and spoke arrangement. I hope I have explained the rationale behind amending the 2012 regulations and the 1968 Act to enable hub and spoke dispensing arrangements across different legal entities. I commend the regulations to the Committee, and I hope hon. Members will join me in supporting them.”
“Evidence shows that, where businesses have implemented hub and spoke systems with tracking technology, automated systems in the hub have had a dispensing error rate six times lower than manual processes. During the consultation on the proposals in 2022, respondents shared evidence suggesting that the working environment in both the hub and the spoke can be calmer and more focused, reducing some of the stresses on our valued pharmacy workforce. Providing space and time at the spoke gives staff more time to deal with complex issues and carry out patient-facing work, including explaining to patients how to get the best outcomes from their prescribed medicines. All the amendments will come into force in October 2025.”
“There must be written arrangements between any hub and spoke that must include a comprehensive statement about their responsibilities to ensure that each party is clear about the process and activities for which they are responsible. The medicine label must include the name and address only of the spoke so that patients know where to address any questions about their medicines. The spoke must conspicuously display a notice on its premises and its online presence about hub and spoke dispensing arrangements, where they are in use. The changes also establish an information gateway that includes conditions for lawful sharing of relevant patient data between the different legal entities that operate hub and spoke arrangements. There is potential for this model to increase patient safety.”
“We propose to amend the 1968 Act to remove the restriction that prevents a medicine from being sold or supplied from a different pharmacy from the one at which it was dispensed, unless those pharmacies belong to the same legal entity, and to remove section 131 of the Act, which covers the definitions of wholesale dealing, retail sale and related expressions. The definitions of those terms will now be those found in the 2012 regulations to ensure clarity across the legislation. The proposed changes to the 2012 regulations create a new model of hub and spoke dispensing. They establish a framework for the sharing of patient information between the hub and the spokes and set the following criteria for the newly permitted arrangements. Both a hub and a spoke must be pharmacies registered with the pharmacy regulator.”
“The proposed changes to the 1968 Act and the 2012 regulations will remove that legal restriction and allow all pharmacies, including small independents and dispensing doctors, to utilise the arrangement as and when best suits them, levelling the playing field and cutting red tape. We propose to amend the 2012 regulations and the 1968 Act using the powers in the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021. The amendments go beyond simply removing the barrier that currently limits hub and spoke dispensing to pharmacies within the same legal entity, and they include additional elements to ensure the policy’s safe and effective implementation by putting in place provisions to ensure accountability, governance and transparency for patients.”
“Existing hubs often make use of automated processes to realise economies of scale and increased efficiencies. Not all pharmacy businesses are able to invest in their own hub, and businesses are currently not able to engage a hub that they do not own. The Government propose changes that would level the playing field in community pharmacy by enabling all pharmacies and dispensing doctors to use hub and spoke dispensing, if they choose. Hub and spoke arrangements already exist in the UK, but the 1968 Act restricts their use to community pharmacies that are part of the same legal entity. That has limited the use of hub and spoke arrangements to the larger pharmacy chains.”
“It is complex and important work. As the number of prescriptions rises, we need to support our pharmacists to focus on the provision of advice and support to patients in order to optimise their use of the medicines on which the NHS spends nearly £10 billion in primary care each and every year. That is why the Government have introduced these regulations to allow all pharmacies, should they choose, to make use of hub and spoke dispensing. In hub and spoke dispensing, the routine elements of dispensing—such as sourcing products, the preparation and assembly of medicines, and labelling—take place on a large scale in a hub pharmacy, separate from the pharmacy at which the prescription was handed in, which is the spoke. There are typically many spokes to one hub.”
“That is why we have increased the core contract for community pharmacy funding to £3.073 billion, with the deal representing the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS in 2025-26—over 19% across 2024-25 and 2025-26. Community pharmacies work hard for the NHS and the patients they serve. In England alone they dispense around 1.1 billion NHS medicines every year, and that number grows year on year. Dispensing of a medicine is not just handing out a package, but covers a number of processes: the receipt of a prescription; clinical and accuracy checks to ensure the prescribed medicine regime is suitable and safe for the patient; sourcing and buying the medicines on behalf of the NHS; the preparation, assembly and supply of medicines; and advising patients to ensure they know how and when to take the medicine.”
“I beg to move, That this Committee has considered the draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. These regulations amend the Medicines Act 1968 and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable hub and spoke dispensing for pharmacies and dispensing doctors that are not within the same legal entity. Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system, ensuring that patients have access to medicines and acting as an easily accessible front door to our NHS. This Government recognise the importance of community pharmacies and are committed to supporting the sector.”
“On VAT status, however, I will dodge the question, because of course decisions on VAT are the responsibility of His Majesty’s Treasury. I strongly encourage him to ask his question of my ministerial colleagues in the Treasury. Finally, I thank the hon. Member for South Antrim for his engagement. We have had excellent engagement with his colleagues in the Northern Irish Government. He has my absolute, 100% assurance that we will continue that engagement and, given the time available, which I set out in my speech, we will ensure that all nations are able to take this legislation on board and make the necessary changes in a way that works for devolution and for the entire system across the UK. Question put and agreed to.”
“On the incentives, we are clear that this is a flexible business arrangement. All we have said is that we need to see set out in writing how the relationship between the hub and the spoke will work. That is in the draft regulations. Letting that business relationship work with the greatest possible flexibility—rather than trying to micromanage it too much with incentives set from the centre—is the best way for it to work. As I say, however, every time we will want the assurance of a clear written relationship between the two. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset for his kind words. I have absolutely welcomed his relentless lobbying during various Divisions over the past few months—I promise him that is the truth and nothing but the truth.”
“We certainly keep things under review, and we want to see how model 1 goes. If there is a feeling that it needs to be reviewed, we would be happy to do so. However, as things stand, we do not have any plans to do anything other than go with model 1, for the reason that I set out. The hon. Member also asked about further funding. We have set out a pretty substantial uplift— £3.073 billion—for the pharmacy sector. We are hopeful that that will go some way to easing the tremendous pressures that the sector is facing. We also feel that the hub and spoke model will drive productivity, which we hope will enable pharmacies to do more with less. That will be a good way to address some of the funding challenges. On recording data and where the data will be held, I will write to the hon. Member. I do not have that technical information to hand.”
“I will endeavour to answer all the questions that have been asked, but there may well be some that I am not able to. I will be more than happy to write to hon. Members accordingly. Let me say a word on the rationale for choosing model 1. The main driver was the view that the most important aspect is the interface between the pharmacist and the patient. We felt that the spoke-to-hub-to-spoke-to-patient model best ensured the connection, at high street level, between the pharmacist and the patient, whereas the spoke-to-hub-to-hub-to-patient model would somewhat cut the high street pharmacist out of the loop. That was a balanced judgment—it was not a slam dunk. That leads on to one of the questions asked by the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth, which was about whether the Government are still open to looking at model 2.”
“They connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Looking forward, we have committed to publishing a 10-year plan for health to shift the focus of our NHS from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from treatment to prevention. In the meantime, we have taken steps towards those shifts through the home-based care pathway, which is providing comprehensive support and care for people with Parkinson’s in their own home, and through the NIHR project to test a non-invasive vibrational cueing system, helping people with Parkinson’s to maintain their walking as they go about their everyday lives.”
“It has been shown to improve motor function and has proved its worth by significantly improving the quality of life for people with advanced Parkinson’s. At the debate on 1 May, many Members emphasised the importance of staying active. Indeed, there is strong scientific evidence that being physically active can help people to lead a healthier and happier life. For example, exercise can reduce the risk of major illnesses and lowers the risk of early death by up to a third. Our social prescribing programme is a key component of the NHS’s universal personalised care and a way for GPs or local agencies to refer people to a social prescribing link worker. Those workers give people time, focusing on what matters to them and taking a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing.”
“For example, the UK Dementia Research Institute, sponsored by this Government, is partnering with Parkinson’s UK to establish a new £10 million research centre. The NIHR is supporting research that has discovered that eye scans can detect Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms appear, which helps people to receive treatment earlier and prepare themselves as best they can. Research also underpins the entire drug discovery and development process. Produodopa is a groundbreaking new treatment for Parkinson’s disease, particularly for patients with advanced disease and severe motor fluctuations. It is revolutionary because it provides a continuous 24-hour infusion of medication via a small pump, allowing more consistent symptom control. The NHS rolled it out in February last year.”
“Members spoke about personal independence payment as an important way of helping people to cope with the extra living costs of a disability or health condition. I am sure all Members would agree that those who can work should work. However, I am happy to reassure colleagues that our “Pathways to Work” Green Paper will make sure that people with the most severe lifelong health conditions who cannot work will see their incomes protected. We are consulting on the Green Paper to hear how best we can support those impacted by our reforms. We continue to encourage research, which is advancing our understanding of Parkinson’s at breakneck speed, through targeted funding, infrastructure support and collaboration.”
“I say to them: we are throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at waiting lists, and we will not stop until you see and feel the results. The NHS has begun some important initiatives to improve its neurology services, including the neuroscience transformation programme, the Getting it Right First Time initiative, a strengthened clinical reference group and the appointment of a national clinical director for neurology. The NHS is focusing on improving patient experiences, addressing the disparities in care and ensuring that patients are given their medicines on time. The neuroscience transformation programme is focusing on faster diagnoses, better co-ordinated care and improved access to specialist services. At the at the recent Backbench Business debate—and, of course, in this debate—a number of hon.”
“and learned Friend the Prime Minister announced our elective reform plan, which sets out our approach to hitting that target by the end of this Parliament. We have already surpassed our manifesto pledge to deliver an extra 2 million elective appointments, seven months ahead of the deadline; we are now on 3 million appointments and counting. Many of those were appointments for treating Parkinson’s. I know that there may be some people with Parkinson’s watching the debate at home and shouting at their telly, “Well, I am still waiting for treatment.” Although waiting lists are coming down, and recently fell for six months in a row, they are still high. I completely understand why people who are still waiting feel frustrated.”
“Parkinson’s nurses and neurologists are worth their weight in gold, and they are key to meeting patient demand. This summer, we will publish a refreshed long-term workforce plan, as a first step towards rebuilding our workforce over the next decade and treating patients on time again. We will ensure that the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills, to deliver the care that patients need when they need it. We will set out in black and white the numbers of doctors, nurses and other professionals who will be needed in five, 10 and 15 years’ time. Turning to waiting lists, the NHS constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. At the start of the year, my right hon.”
“Together, neurological conditions cause around 140,000 deaths every year in the UK—one fifth of all deaths—and they are the leading cause of disability. In 2019, the NHS spent just under £4.5 billion on neurological conditions and they cost the UK economy £96 billion, so tackling them presents a real opportunity not just for the Government’s health mission but for our growth mission. We must face the fact that patients are facing significant challenges, including not enough people in the places we need them, and delays to treatment and care, with long waiting times. We also listen to patients who tell us that they have experienced a lack of information and support. We are acting to address those challenges, starting with our workforce.”
“We look forward to working with them to fix the foundations of the NHS and to make it work for people with Parkinson’s in Colne Valley, throughout Yorkshire and across the country. Parkinson’s disease can severely impact every aspect of a person’s daily life, as well as the lives of their family and unpaid carers. It can put people under immense strain, and they deserve additional support to help them live with the condition. Around 153,000 people live with Parkinson’s in the UK, and it is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. About 16.5 million people in the UK, or one in six of the population, have a neurological condition, and 600,000 people are diagnosed with one each year.”
“Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie). I thank the Members who have spoken in both debates. I pay tribute to the invaluable work of NHS clinicians, charities and care workers who spend every single day improving the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease. I am particularly encouraged by the Parky charter, which is raising public and professional awareness about the needs of the Parkinson’s community and the importance of timely diagnosis, comprehensive care and dignity for all people with Parkinson’s. Organisations that fight for patients, such as Parkinson’s UK, are at the heart of our policies for the NHS, which is broken but not beaten.”
“It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for securing this important debate. He spoke with real passion and conviction, as did hon. Members from across the Chamber. I do not know whether we have a full house from Dorset, but we have the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello), my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) and the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade); it was great to hear their thoughts. We also heard from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who spoke, as always, with great passion and conviction. This debate follows closely on the heels of the Backbench Business debate on Parkinson’s Awareness Month, which was led by my hon.”
“His words will resonate with anyone who has a long-term condition. Stories like his should remind us why we need a health service that sees the whole person, not just the condition, to give patients the dignity, care and respect that they deserve. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley again for securing this important debate, and I pay tribute to all Members for making it constructive and powerful. I look forward to working with Members on this matter.”
“Friend is absolutely right to pay tribute to them; they are the lifeblood of our care system. The consultation on our 10-year plan received over 190,000 responses, giving people with Parkinson’s and other conditions a voice in the future of healthcare. I want to conclude this debate by quoting just one of those voices—that of Winston, a former St John Ambulance worker from Lewisham. He said: “People don’t always see what’s happening to me, or what Parkinson’s looks like on me. They don’t see me early in the morning. They see me looking nice and managing the condition as best I can. But I have to deal with my own bubble sometimes, and it gets burst, and things go all over the place.” I am pleased that Winston is doing fantastically well and now sharing tips with people on how to improve their public speaking abilities.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right; our system could not survive without the amazing and heroic work of our unpaid carers. One of our Government’s actions that I am most proud of is the change to the carer’s allowance. We increased the number of hours for which a carer can work and still keep their carer’s allowance by raising the threshold from £151 to £196. I hope that is giving carers the flexibility that they need. Many carers want to work but it is immensely stressful for them to balance their working and caring responsibilities. I was very pleased that we could announce that change back in January, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right that there is a lot more that we can do. I am working with colleagues in DWP and the Department for Business and Trade to look at how we can do more as a Government for unpaid carers. My hon.”
“However, some specific issues and queries were raised in the course of the debate that need addressing. Many hon. Members asked about our implementation plans, rightly stating that legislation is only as good as its application. Indeed, we know that community service provision is very far from where it needs to be—an issue that we intend to address alongside the implementation of the Bill. Our first priority after Royal Assent will therefore be to draft and consult on the code of practice. It is essential that we listen both to practitioners and to those with experience of the Act when we draw up the statutory guidance.”
“As the Bill started in the other place, it has already been through extensive detailed scrutiny under the eyes of peers, many of whom were there when the Act was last revisited in 2007—I am sure they will enjoy me reminding them of that. It is testament to the cross-party consensus that has so far underpinned the Bill that the debates were constructive and largely led to the betterment of the Bill. I trust that this collegiate spirit will now continue in this House, and I thank the Opposition and the Liberal Democrats for the constructive spirit in their approach to this debate. Every speech we heard sought to improve processes and outcomes for patients and their loved ones, and there is broad cross-party support for the overall ambitions of the Bill.”
“It was truly a privilege to be in the Chamber this evening to hear so many moving, powerful and thoughtful contributions. It really was Parliament at its best, and it is an honour for me to close the debate. The Bill has been a long time coming. Patients, practitioners, campaigners and charities have all long awaited the introduction of this legislation and have played a hugely important role in getting the Bill to this point. I would like to put on record my thanks on behalf of the Government and pay testament to their commitment to change. I thank Members in both this House and the other place, including our brilliant and esteemed colleague Baroness Merron, for all their work.”
“Members will have ample opportunity to hold us to account for progress made and milestones achieved. We have covered a wide range of topics and questions this evening, and I will not be able to cover all of them in the time allocated to me. I will therefore limit my comments to two areas that have come up repeatedly, namely the implementation plan and the treatment of people with autism and learning disabilities.”
“We will therefore engage with people with lived experience, their families and carers, staff and professional groups, commissioners, providers and others to do this. The code will be laid before Parliament before final publication. Alongside the code, we will develop secondary legislation that will be laid before Parliament, subject to the parliamentary process as set out in the legislation. We have already published policy papers that set out more information on some of the delegated powers in the Bill and provide an early indication of what we intend to set out in regulations. We recognise the appetite to deliver after years of delay and the importance of parliamentary scrutiny and accountability in this crucial work. We have therefore committed to laying an annual written ministerial statement on progress, so that hon.”
“We are already working to reduce inequalities under the Mental Health Act. The patient and carer race equality framework is now a contractual requirement for all providers of NHS-commissioned care. It will support trusts to improve their interaction with racialised and culturally diverse communities and improve governance, accountability and leadership on improving experience of care for those communities and drive concrete actions to reduce racial inequalities within mental health services. Given that our first priority after Royal Assent will be to draft and consult on the code of practice, it is essential that we listen both to practitioners and to those with experience of the Act when drawing up the statutory guidance that supports the Act’s application.”
“83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading. Other proceedings (7) Any other proceedings on the Bill may be programmed.— (Anna Turley.) Question agreed to. Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Money) King’s recommendation signified. Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 52(1)(a)), That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Mental Health Bill [ Lords ], it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of any increase attributable to the Act in the sums payable under or by virtue of any other Act out of money so provided.— (Anna Turley.) Question agreed to.”
“83A(7)), That the following provisions shall apply to the Mental Health Bill [ Lords ]: Committal (1) The Bill shall be committed to a Public Bill Committee. Proceedings in Public Bill Committee (2) Proceedings in the Public Bill Committee shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion on Thursday 26 June 2025. (3)The Public Bill Committee shall have leave to sit twice on the first day on which it meets. Consideration and Third Reading (4) Proceedings on Consideration shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour before the moment of interruption on the day on which those proceedings are commenced. (5) Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the moment of interruption on that day. (6) Standing Order No.”
“We have committed to improve support for young people, with Young Futures hubs, making support workers more accessible to children. We are piloting in England the 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centre model, which builds on learning from international exemplars. It is a privilege to be leading this transformational legislation through the House. I know that, because it matters so much, many people will have views on what is needed to get it right, and I look forward to further debates in that constructive and improving spirit. I commend the Bill to the House. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time. Mental Health Bill [ Lords ] (Programme) Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No.”
“Friend the Health Secretary said in his opening speech, the Government have demonstrated their commitment to funding mental health properly, and that commitment has been translated into real, tangible delivery: the £150 million multi-year capital investment to improve mental health urgent and emergency care pathways; 600 new or expanded crisis alternative services nationally, including crisis cafés, safe havens and crisis houses, providing an alternative to A&E or psychiatric admission; £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis assessment centres, which aim to provide accessible and responsive care for individuals in mental health crisis; and 8,500 more mental health workers. We are also committed to improving early intervention and shifting care to the community to support people to live well and thrive.”
“We should recognise that the Bill is the result of the independent review commissioned by the now Baroness May of Maidenhead during her premiership. Many important contributions have also come from those with lived experience of the Act and their loved ones. It takes real courage to speak openly about those experiences and to channel pain into change. As my right hon.”
“Again, implementation should be well planned to ensure that the proposed legislative changes have the intended effect. The proposed changes to the detention criteria will be commenced only when strong community services are in place so that the alternatives to hospital care are robust. Members will understand that robust implementation plans are dependent on the final legislation that is passed and on future funding, which is subject to future spending reviews. However, local systems do not need to wait for legislative changes to come into force to begin putting in place the necessary community services for people with a learning disability and autistic people. There is renewed funding in 2025-26 within ICB baselines to continue improving community support provision for people with a learning disability and autistic people.”
“Although we will commence some clauses, such as on supervised discharge, two months after Royal Assent, the first major reforms, including clauses concerning grounds for detention—excluding the changes to part 2 for people with learning disability and autistic people—and nominated persons, are expected to follow the training in mid-2027. The timelines for later phases are inevitably less defined, but we will expand the workforce and improve community support with the aim of implementing the reforms increasing the frequency of mental health tribunals from 2030-31. These timelines are indicative, and we will iterate the plans as we get more certainty on future funding and wider workforce plans. The other issue that came up a lot is the treatment of people with autism and learning disabilities.”
“This timeframe necessarily spans multiple spending reviews and multiple Parliaments, so I am limited in the detail I can give today about future spend and timelines. However, we have set out in the impact assessment what we think is required in both time and funding. We expect the process of drafting and consulting on the code of practice to take at least a year. Alongside the code, we will develop secondary legislation, which will be laid before Parliament. We have already published policy papers, which contain more information on some of the delegated powers in the Bill and provide an early indication of what will be set out in regulations. We will then need time to train the existing workforce on the new Act, regulations and code, which will likely be in 2026 and 2027.”
“Of course, we have the Online Safety Act, and there are measures within that legislation that address this issue. However, my hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is time to crack on and deal with this deeply troubling issue. I pay tribute to her excellent work, and I hope she will continue to press Ofcom to do the right thing, and to do it rapidly. We know that implementation will take time, as the pre-legislative scrutiny Committee recognised. We estimate that it will take around 10 years to fully implement all Bill’s measures, due largely to the time needed to train specialised workforce groups, including second opinion appointed doctors and tribunal judges, and the need to ensure that the right community support is available for people with a learning disability and autistic people.”
“New clause 11 and consequential amendments 64 and 65, also tabled by my hon. Friend, provide for the replacement of the co-ordinating or independent doctor where that doctor is unable or unwilling to continue to carry out their functions under the Bill, other than through illness or death. A number of amendments have been tabled in this area by other Members, and I shall briefly set out the Government’s analysis of them.”
“Therefore, the Government are unable to confirm that those amendments are fully workable, effective or enforceable, though I acknowledge the point made by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan). I will begin with obligations, duties and protections for medical practitioners. New clause 10 and amendment 52, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, replace clause 28 and expand the safeguards to ensure that no person is under any duty to participate. The new clause also clarifies several functions where certain professions or persons are under no duty to participate, including social care workers, pharmacists or persons acting as a proxy or witness. Finally, it provides that certain functions cannot be opted out of—for example, the recording of matters in a personal medical record.”