Motor Neurone Disease: Health Services

Following the announcement by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 5 August, the Department is working at pace with local authorities, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and people with lived experience to develop a prototype fast-track pathway for people with motor neurone disease (MND). Over the coming months, we will engage with local authorities, integrated care boards, and other partners to test the deliverability of the proposed pathway, assess system readiness, and refine the model. The announcement is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/patients-with-motor-neurone-disease-set-for-fast-tracked-care

Unpaid carers will be closely involved in this work. By reducing delays in accessing support, improving coordination between health, social care, and housing services, and easing the burden of navigating those services, we expect the new pathway to benefit both people with MND and those who care for them.

To support carers more broadly, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to undertake carer’s assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from them. To help local authorities fulfil their duties, including to unpaid carers, the Government is making over £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. The Department also published The Unpaid Carers Action Plan in July, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unpaid-carers-action-plan-recognise-refer-reach