Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Service Reform

Thursday 24 April 2025 · 7 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 5 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Sarah Coombes inquired about further measures to leverage technology like ambient AI to improve NHS productivity and reduce waiting times.
  • Jess Asato questioned the Minister about the shift from hospital to community services for cryotherapy, aligning with the NHS plan to move healthcare into communities.
  • Oliver Ryan asked how civil servants can work better with frontline staff using a test-and-learn approach to improve public service delivery.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sarah Coombes Lab West Bromwich
NHS Science & Technology
Context

Labour has been focusing on NHS reforms, including reducing waiting lists and introducing modern technology. Sarah Coombes references specific improvements at Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals.

Question

I am concerned about the steps being taken to ensure that the NHS adopts all available technology and reform measures to expedite patient care. Given the reduction in waiting times by 10% since the election, what further measures are being planned to leverage technology such as ambient AI to automate doctors’ notes?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is huge potential to increase NHS productivity through the adoption of new technology and AI. We have delivered 2 million extra NHS appointments in England in the first year seven months early, but we want to go further with adopting technologies like ambient AI to automate doctors’ notes, ensuring maximum productivity and better outcomes for patients.

Answered
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Q2 Jess Asato Lab Lowestoft
NHS
Context

A constituent's elderly father requires cryotherapy, a service that was previously available at the local GP but is now only offered at the hospital. Jess Asato raises concerns about accessibility and the need for more community-based health services.

Question

I have been contacted by a constituent who has an elderly father needing cryotherapy, which used to be provided locally at his GP surgery but is now available only at the local hospital. Given our focus on moving healthcare into communities as part of public service reforms, will my right hon. Friend agree that such services should shift back to being offered locally?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)

The Health Secretary has talked about three big shifts that are part of the 10-year NHS plan, including a shift from hospital to community services. We have agreed a new GP contract with a large boost in funding and reforms to improve digital access. This will help ensure more services are available locally.

Answered
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Q3 Oliver Ryan Labour (Co-op) Burnley
Parliamentary Procedure
Context

Oliver Ryan discusses the need for a more collaborative policy-making process that involves frontline workers and local services, drawing on experiences from the pandemic's test-and-trace system.

Question

I want to know how we can ensure civil servants work better with frontline staff to deliver national priorities effectively. Given my experience as a councillor, I see value in adopting a more collaborative approach like test-and-learn during the pandemic. How can this be implemented to improve public service delivery?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)

The hon. Member makes a very good point about listening more to the frontline and adopting a test-and-learn approach, as mentioned by the Minister for the Cabinet Office in previous discussions. This can drive better outcomes for public services.

Answered
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Q4 Matthew Patrick Lab Wirral West
Science & Technology Standards & Ethics
Context

Matthew Patrick argues that under the previous Government, despite having high numbers of civil servants, outcomes for constituents were poor. He seeks clarity on how a smaller, more modern state can deliver better services.

Question

Under the last Government, we saw an increase in bureaucracy without commensurate improvements in public service delivery. What steps are being taken to create a smaller, more efficient state that focuses on delivering world-class services?

Answer from The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)

To deliver our plan for change, we need to reform the state to be more efficient and effective. We are starting with stronger performance management, accelerating AI adoption, focusing on frontline services, and reforming recruitment rules. These reforms will help empower civil servants to work better and reduce bureaucracy.

Answered
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Q5 Will Forster Lib Dem Woking
Employment
Context

The Cabinet Office is set to reduce its headcount by 2,100 jobs by 2028. Mr Forster seeks clarity on the impact of these cuts and any potential transfer of responsibilities.

Question

With 2,100 jobs set to go at the Cabinet Office by 2028, please can the Minister confirm what impact those cuts will have on his Department? What responsibilities might be transferred out of it?

Answer from Pat McFadden (The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster)

The Cabinet Office has tripled in size in the past decade or so. I think it is right, after growth like that, that we look at productivity and how to get the best outcomes for the public. We have introduced a mutually agreed exit scheme. Some of the headcount reduction will be by transferring functions to other places, but I believe that the Cabinet Office can absorb a headcount reduction after, as I said, tripling in size over the past decade or so.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The exact impact of the cuts and specific responsibilities being transferred out were not fully detailed.

How: Hedging Language

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Q6 Ashley Fox Con Bridgwater
Local Government
Context

The changes to employer national insurance contributions, ending of the rural support grant, removal of the services grant, and reduction of the pension grant will cost Devon and Somerset Fire Authority nearly £2 million a year.

Question

Can the Minister outline Government plans to reform the funding of fire authorities? That is especially important in Somerset, where changes to employer national insurance contributions, the ending of the rural support grant, the removal of the services grant and the reduction of the pension grant will cost Devon and Somerset Fire Authority nearly £2 million a year, at a time of rising costs.

Answer from Pat McFadden (The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster)

I do not want to interrupt the collegiate mood we have had this morning by pointing out that we had to take those decisions after the inheritance we received. I cannot speak for every local authority settlement around the country, but the local authority settlements announced after the Budget were on the whole better than they have been for many years. They will not make up for the past 14 years, but they are better settlements than many local authorities have seen for some time.

Not addressed: The questioner asked about fire authority funding reform specifically; the answer addressed local authority settlements generally without addressing the specific issue of fire authority funding.

How: Changing Subject

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Q7 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Northern Ireland Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The reform of public services is important, and Jim Shannon welcomes the ideas put forward by the minister.

Question

I thank the Minister very much for his answers to those questions. The reform of public services is important, and I welcome the ideas he has put forward. I know he has a deep interest in Northern Ireland. Is it possible on his journeys to Northern Ireland—I understand that he goes regularly —for him to discuss the reform of public services with the Northern Ireland Assembly and the relevant Minister to ensure that we can have the same benefits that come from what he is putting forward today, thereby improving services and saving money at the same time?

Answer from Pat McFadden (The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster)

It is important that we have good dialogue between all the devolved Governments and the UK Government. I believe that we do have that good dialogue in place at the moment. There are always different political parties represented around the table, and people will come at things from a particular angle, but when it comes to this kind of agenda, the questions are: how do we get the best value for money for people, how do we get waiting lists down, and how do we make sure that the taxes that people pay get the best possible public sector productivity? There is a common agenda there, and I see no reason why we cannot keep working productively together on that.

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