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To ask His Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to the abolition of Healthwatch.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to the abolition of Healthwatch.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of the proposals to abolish Healthwatch, how he will ensure that people who are less likely to engage with health services directly, including those experiencing health inequalities, have their concerns identified and addressed.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of the proposals to abolish Healthwatch, how he will ensure that people who are less likely to engage with health services directly, including those experiencing health inequalities, have their concerns identified and addressed.
The Patient Experience Directorate in the Department of Health and Social Care will focus on groups less likely to engage with health and care services. Statutory guidance published by the Department will make it clear that integrated care boards and local authorities should ensure that the steps they take to involve local people include those experiencing health inequalities, those who do not have access to digital platforms, those who are less proficient with technology, and people for whom English is a second language. This will ensure that services provided will benefit all people covered by the integrated care board and local authority area.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining Healthwatch alongside increased levels of lived experience inclusion in commissioning processes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining Healthwatch alongside increased levels of lived experience inclusion in commissioning processes.
The Government recognises the valuable role Healthwatch has played in supporting patient and public involvement. However, Dr Penny Dash’s independent review of the patient safety landscape found the current system is too fragmented and does not always turn feedback into action. The Government has accepted Dr Dash's recommendation to bring together the work of Local Healthwatch with those who commission services. Through the Health Bill we are placing responsibility for obtaining and actioning the views of local people on health services with integrated care boards, and on care services with local authorities. Our intention is to bring patient voice closer to decision-makers, rather than maintaining a separate Healthwatch structure alongside new arrangements.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ICB clustering on patient voice and the efficacy of Local Healthwatch.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ICB clustering on patient voice and the efficacy of Local Healthwatch.
The Health Bill, currently before Parliament, proposes abolition of Healthwatch arrangements nationally and locally. This follows the publication of the report by Penny Dash published in July 2025, which concluded that even though there are multiple organisations representing the voice of the user, including Local Healthwatch, patient experience has not been given the attention that it deserves.
We will make sure patients, service users and local people can influence the strategic planning of services, by placing responsibility for obtaining and actioning the views of all local people on health services with integrated care boards, including those that are clustering.
Programme motion agreed to. Written evidence motion agreed to. Motion that the Committee sit in private until witnesses called, agreed to. Declarations of interest made from the Committee. Examination of witnesses.
Programme motion agreed to. Written evidence motion agreed to. Motion that the Committee sit in private until witnesses called, agreed to. Declarations of interest made from the Committee. Examination of witnesses.
Examination of witnesses. Committee adjourned till 18 June. Written evidence reported to the House.
Examination of witnesses. Committee adjourned till 18 June. Written evidence reported to the House.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of abolishing Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of abolishing Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch.
The potential savings from abolishing Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch are dependent future policy decisions regarding the approach taken to collecting user experiences post-abolition. Our intention is to place responsibility for listening to patients and the public with the organisations that plan and deliver services. These are local authorities for social care, and integrated care boards for healthcare. At the national level, we are also bringing patient voice into the Department of Health and Social Care, through a new Patient Experience Directorate where it can drive real change.
As the detail of the future approaches are still in development phase, it is not possible to fully quantify cost benefits at this stage. The impact assessment published alongside the Health Bill provides quantification of any illustrative benefits where possible noting the assumptions made and is available at the following link:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-02/0009/ia_Patient_safety_measures.pdf
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department provided to (a) Healthwatch England and (b) Local Healthwatch in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department provided to (a) Healthwatch England and (b) Local Healthwatch in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.
The following table shows the funding provided for Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch. The funding shown for Local Healthwatch is only one element of the non-ringfenced funding provided to local authorities for Local Healthwatch, with the larger proportion having been rolled into the local government finance settlement in 2011 to 2012.
Organisation | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
Healthwatch England | £3,208,000 | £3,299,760 | £3,343,688 | £3,349,630 |
Local Healthwatch | £14,150,000 | £14,150,000 | £14,150,000 | £14,150,000 |
Notes:
- funding for Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch is paid in respect of financial years, rather than calendar years;
- as Healthwatch England sit within the Care Quality Commission (CQC), funding is paid as part of the grant-in-aid budget the Department provides to the CQC each year; and
- funding for Local Healthwatch is paid to local authorities, who have a legal duty to commission a Local Healthwatch in their area.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure future systems replacing Healthwatch be required to show how public feedback has influenced decisions.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure future systems replacing Healthwatch be required to show how public feedback has influenced decisions.
The Health Bill places responsibility for listening to patients and the public with the organisations that plan and deliver services, namely integrated care boards (ICBs) for healthcare and local authorities for social care.
ICBs will be required to publish an annual statement on how they have gathered feedback and what actions they have taken as a result of that feedback. We anticipate this will be included in ICBs’ annual reports.
Unlike ICBs, local authorities are not required to produce an annual report. In order not to place additional burdens on local authorities, the requirement will be for local authorities to provide information on how they have engaged with local people if requested by my Rt. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. As part of their regulatory function, the Care Quality Commission will assess whether local authorities are meeting this duty, as part of their wider assessments of local authorities’ delivery of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014.
At the national level, we are also bringing patient voice into the Department through a new Patient Experience Directorate, where it can drive real change and directly inform national policymaking.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transferring the functions of Healthwatch into Government or NHS bodies on patient representation; and what safeguards he will put in place to ensure (a) the independence of the patient...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transferring the functions of Healthwatch into Government or NHS bodies on patient representation; and what safeguards he will put in place to ensure (a) the independence of the patient...
An impact assessment has been undertaken and published alongside the introduction of the Health Bill 2026. It outlines the non-monetised benefits, including the streamlining of the landscape and legislation, avoiding duplication of activity, and increased accountability for listening to the patient and user voice in the commissioning and delivery of services.
Integrated care boards will have a statutory obligation to obtain the views of people who use health services, and their carers and representatives. Local authorities will have the same responsibility in respect of care services and their public health services. If an organisation is failing to carry out their statutory functions, there will be a power for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to issue directions.
Patients will still be able to raise issues through patient participation groups where they exist, as well as through National Health Service and local authority complaints processes, the NHS Friends and Family Test, and national surveys.
The existing complaints regulations allow people to make a formal complaint to a provider or commissioner of services, and, ultimately, the appropriate ombudsman. Healthwatch had no legal responsibility for complaints and, therefore, the abolition of Healthwatch services will not affect the complaints process.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of abolishing local Healthwatch on public trust in providing feedback on health and care services.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of abolishing local Healthwatch on public trust in providing feedback on health and care services.
An impact assessment has been undertaken and published alongside the introduction of the Health Bill 2026. It outlines the non-monetised benefits, including the streamlining of the landscape and legislation, avoiding duplication of activity, and increased accountability for listening to the patient and user voice in the commissioning and delivery of services.
Integrated care boards will have a statutory obligation to obtain the views of people who use health services, and their carers and representatives. Local authorities will have the same responsibility in respect of care services and their public health services. If an organisation is failing to carry out their statutory functions, there will be a power for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to issue directions.
Patients will still be able to raise issues through patient participation groups where they exist, as well as through National Health Service and local authority complaints processes, the NHS Friends and Family Test, and national surveys.
The existing complaints regulations allow people to make a formal complaint to a provider or commissioner of services, and, ultimately, the appropriate ombudsman. Healthwatch had no legal responsibility for complaints and, therefore, the abolition of Healthwatch services will not affect the complaints process.
We inherited a decades-old system whereby patient voice was divorced from decision makers, with more than 20 organisations offering a place for patients and users to share feedback. The Health Bill will put the views of patients and users at the heart of decision making, ensuring that that directly informs those responsible for commissioning locally, and we will create a new patient experience directorate in the Department to ensure that patient and user insight directly shapes national policymaking.
We inherited a decades-old system whereby patient voice was divorced from decision makers, with more than 20 organisations offering a place for patients and users to share feedback. The Health Bill will put the views of patients and users at the heart of decision making, ensuring that that directly informs those responsible for commissioning locally, and we will create a new patient experience directorate in the Department to ensure that patient and user insight directly shapes national policymaking.
If he will make it his policy to retain Healthwatch.
If he will make it his policy to retain Healthwatch.
If he will make it his policy to retain Healthwatch.
We inherited a decades-old system whereby patient voice was divorced from decision makers, with more than 20 organisations offering a place for patients and users to share feedback. The Health Bill will put the views of patients and users at the heart of decision making, ensuring that that directly informs those responsible for commissioning locally, and we will create a new patient experience directorate in the Department to ensure that patient and user insight directly shapes national policymaking.
The abolition of Healthwatch will see the NHS and the Government effectively marking their own homework. Can the Minister please give some assurances about how the Government will ensure that the voice of those with learning disabilities, complex needs and dementia is heard?
The abolition of Healthwatch will see the NHS and the Government effectively marking their own homework. Can the Minister please give some assurances about how the Government will ensure that the voice of those with learning disabilities, complex needs and dementia is heard?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the variety of needs that local commissioners need to take account of. That is exactly what the Health Bill will try to do, not by outsourcing that role to an outside body but by putting those views at the heart of what all commissioners do, which includes making sure that under-represented or often unheard voices do have a voice.
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the variety of needs that local commissioners need to take account of. That is exactly what the Health Bill will try to do, not by outsourcing that role to an outside body but by putting those views at the heart of what all commissioners do, which includes making sure that under-represented or often unheard voices do have a voice.
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the variety of needs that local commissioners need to take account of. That is exactly what the Health Bill will try to do, not by outsourcing that role to an outside body but by putting those views at the heart of what all commissioners do, which includes making sure that under-represented or often unheard voices do have a voice.
The abolition of Healthwatch will see the NHS and the Government effectively marking their own homework. Can the Minister please give some assurances about how the Government will ensure that the voice of those with learning disabilities, complex needs and dementia is heard?
When Boots decided to close two pharmacies in Hampton, leaving a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents without local pharmacy provision, Healthwatch Richmond played a crucial role in ensuring that we got a new community pharmacy in the area. That locally led patient voice cannot be replaced by officials in Whitehall or our local ICB, which is about to suffer cuts of over 50% in its operating budget. If the Minister is really serious about championing patients, will she think again?
When Boots decided to close two pharmacies in Hampton, leaving a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents without local pharmacy provision, Healthwatch Richmond played a crucial role in ensuring that we got a new community pharmacy in the area. That locally led patient voice cannot be replaced by officials in Whitehall or our local ICB, which is about to suffer cuts of over 50% in its operating budget. If the Minister is really serious about championing patients, will she think again?
The hon. Lady raises an interesting example of somewhere where local commissioners have failed to provide a service or recognise when a service disappears. They can do that by using very different voices, rather than outsourcing that responsibility. Through the Health Bill, we have to make sure that commissioners do their job properly, which includes taking account of patient voice at a very local level.
The hon. Lady raises an interesting example of somewhere where local commissioners have failed to provide a service or recognise when a service disappears. They can do that by using very different voices, rather than outsourcing that responsibility. Through the Health Bill, we have to make sure that commissioners do their job properly, which includes taking account of patient voice at a very local level.
The hon. Lady raises an interesting example of somewhere where local commissioners have failed to provide a service or recognise when a service disappears. They can do that by using very different voices, rather than outsourcing that responsibility. Through the Health Bill, we have to make sure that commissioners do their job properly, which includes taking account of patient voice at a very local level.
When Boots decided to close two pharmacies in Hampton, leaving a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents without local pharmacy provision, Healthwatch Richmond played a crucial role in ensuring that we got a new community pharmacy in the area. That locally led patient voice cannot be replaced by officials in Whitehall or our local ICB, which is about to suffer cuts of over 50% in its operating budget. If the Minister is really serious about championing patients, will she think again?
Replacing Healthwatch will mean that, ultimately, patients will not have confidence in the commissioners. We have just heard one example, and I can offer many examples from York. Healthwatch York, which is phenomenal and is led by Siân Balsom, has produced reports that have brought about change. I plead with the Government to review clauses 64 and 65 of the Health Bill to maintain Healthwatch. It should not be an either/or. We need commissioners to engage with the patient voice, but we also need Healthwatch to have the independence to advocate for patients.
Replacing Healthwatch will mean that, ultimately, patients will not have confidence in the commissioners. We have just heard one example, and I can offer many examples from York. Healthwatch York, which is phenomenal and is led by Siân Balsom, has produced reports that have brought about change. I plead with the Government to review clauses 64 and 65 of the Health Bill to maintain Healthwatch. It should not be an either/or. We need commissioners to engage with the patient voice, but we also need Healthwatch to have the independence to advocate for patients.
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments about her local healthwatch. There are certainly examples of where this approach works well in local communities, and we need to understand those. However, it does not work well everywhere, and it means that local commissioners are not empowered and are not held accountable for their job of making sure that the patient voice and experience is held locally. There is also nothing to stop ICBs undertaking that role as they see fit in their local communities in the future, rather than our dictating how they should do it through one particular body.
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments about her local healthwatch. There are certainly examples of where this approach works well in local communities, and we need to understand those. However, it does not work well everywhere, and it means that local commissioners are not empowered and are not held accountable for their job of making sure that the patient voice and experience is held locally. There is also nothing to stop ICBs undertaking that role as they see fit in their local communities in the future, rather than our dictating how they should do it through one particular body.
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments about her local healthwatch. There are certainly examples of where this approach works well in local communities, and we need to understand those. However, it does not work well everywhere, and it means that local commissioners are not empowered and are not held accountable for their job of making sure that the patient voice and experience is held locally. There is also nothing to stop ICBs undertaking that role as they see fit in their local communities in the future, rather than our dictating how they should do it through one particular body.
Replacing Healthwatch will mean that, ultimately, patients will not have confidence in the commissioners. We have just heard one example, and I can offer many examples from York. Healthwatch York, which is phenomenal and is led by Siân Balsom, has produced reports that have brought about change. I plead with the Government to review clauses 64 and 65 of the Health Bill to maintain Healthwatch. It should not be an either/or. We need commissioners to engage with the patient voice, but we also need Healthwatch to have the independence to advocate for patients.
While I support the Government’s desire to drive out bureaucracy from the NHS and simplify systems for patients, Healthwatch Hartlepool has done an outstanding job in ensuring that patients’ voices are heard as systems and services are improved. What can the Minister do to ensure that local expertise is retained in any new system?
While I support the Government’s desire to drive out bureaucracy from the NHS and simplify systems for patients, Healthwatch Hartlepool has done an outstanding job in ensuring that patients’ voices are heard as systems and services are improved. What can the Minister do to ensure that local expertise is retained in any new system?
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. If that works well for his local system, there is nothing to stop it. How the ICB undertakes its role has to be determined locally to make it most effective for local circumstances, and it can undertake that role as it sees fit.