UK Inquiry Tracker

Supporting people with frailty outside hospitals

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry

Opened: 12 Dec 2025 Parliament page

More than one in ten people over the age of 65 and up to half the population aged over 85 live with frailty. NHS England describes a person living with frailty, which has a strong link with ageing, as being at high risk of falls, immobility, delirium, incontinence, side effects … Read more More than one in ten people over the age of 65 and up to half the population aged over 85 live with frailty. NHS England describes a person living with frailty, which has a strong link with ageing, as being at high risk of falls, immobility, delirium, incontinence, side effects of medication, admission to hospital or the need for long-term care. The National Audit Office (NAO) have published a study in December 2025 examining how effectively government is tackling the challenges of growing numbers of people with frailty. In 2019, researchers estimated that frailty cost the UK healthcare system around £5.8 billion per year. NAO analysis from April ’17 to March ’25 shows that in total c.1m people had been diagnosed as living with moderate frailty, and a further 450,000 as living with severe frailty. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has a longstanding interest in health-related policy delivery, finding in November 2025 that billions had been spent to tackle NHS waiting lists while still missing post-COVID service recovery targets. Its May 2025 report on the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 warned that abolishing NHS England (NHSE) with no clear plan for proposed cuts had left an uncertain future for patients and staff. Proceeding from the NAO’s December 2025 report, the PAC will hear from senior officials at the DHSC and NHSE with likely topics including how effectively government, primary care and community services are working to detect people at risk of frailty and delivering support for them. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 15 January 2026. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree.It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues. Show less

5 Recommendations

18 Conclusions

1 Report

Activity timeline 1 event

3 Jun
2026

Report published

79th Report - Supporting people with frailty outside hospitals

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
79th Report - Supporting people with frailty outside hospitals	HC 1706	3 Jun 2026	23	Pending

Recommendations & Conclusions

7 results

2 Recommendation Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

NHS England is not reducing the unacceptable variation in support for people with frailty across...

NHS England is not reducing the unacceptable variation in support for people with frailty across and within Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). There is significant and unexplained regional variation between areas – 32 out of 106 local NHS areas assessed less … Read more

Government Response

The government states it agrees with the recommendation but then provides a response entirely focused on net zero, innovation funding, and a Net Zero Innovation Board, which bears no relevance to the committee's specific recommendation about NHS England and frailty.

HM Treasury

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3 Recommendation Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

NHS England’s existing oversight arrangements are not improving GPs’ assessment and support of people with...

NHS England’s existing oversight arrangements are not improving GPs’ assessment and support of people with frailty. It is not clear exactly who is responsible for improving performance. NHSE considers that ICBs are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs … Read more

Government Response

The government stated it agreed with the recommendation but then discussed initiatives related to green choices, energy efficiency, and zero-emission vehicles, failing to address how new accountability arrangements would improve GP assessment and support for people with frailty.

HM Treasury

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4 Recommendation Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

NHS England has overloaded GPs, who have limited capacity, with new and expanding priorities.

NHS England has overloaded GPs, who have limited capacity, with new and expanding priorities. NHSE has prioritised improving patients’ access and digital access to general practice. It recognises that pushing to improve one aspect of care inevitably causes consequences to … Read more

Government Response

The government stated it agreed with the recommendation but then provided a response detailing cross-government coordination and governance for net zero delivery, failing to address GP capacity, impact assessments for new priorities, or how neighbourhood health teams will share responsibilities for frailty.

HM Treasury

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5 Recommendation Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

The frailty policy landscape is confusing and fragmented.

The frailty policy landscape is confusing and fragmented. NHSE and the Department are planning and developing several frailty specific initiatives, such as a national frailty dashboard, and a Modern Service Framework for frailty and dementia. There are also a number … Read more

Government Response

The government agreed with the recommendation but provided a response focused on the net zero research and innovation portfolio and a list of past Treasury Minutes, offering no specific commitment to provide an update on frailty policy interaction.

HM Treasury

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6 Recommendation Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

We remain deeply concerned that cuts to ICBs are insufficiently thought through and will undermine...

We remain deeply concerned that cuts to ICBs are insufficiently thought through and will undermine their ability and capacity to carry out their functions. It is unclear what oversight roles ICBs will retain under NHSE’s plans to make them into … Read more

Government Response

The government stated it agrees with the recommendation but then provided a response entirely focused on the net zero research and innovation portfolio, failing to address the committee's concerns about ICB cost reductions or provide reassurances from DHSC and NHSE.

HM Treasury

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1 Conclusion Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department) and from NHS England (NHSE).1

Government Response

The government stated it agreed and that the recommendation was implemented, but then provided a response detailing funding for net zero initiatives, which is irrelevant to the committee's statement about taking evidence from DHSC and NHS England.

HM Treasury

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7 Conclusion Not Addressed

79th Report - Supporting people wi…

For all patients diagnosed with severe frailty, the GP contract requires GPs to do a...

For all patients diagnosed with severe frailty, the GP contract requires GPs to do a clinical review. This includes a review of the patient’s medication, a falls risk assessment and a discussion with the patient of the benefits of having … Read more

Government Response

The government stated it agreed with the recommendation but then discussed the 'Framework Delivery Plan' and provided a long list of past Treasury Minutes, failing to address the committee's observations on GP frailty assessments and support.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 7 of 5 classified

Not Addressed 7

Total 5 recs + 18 conclusions