Parkinson’s Awareness Month
A debate on Parkinson’s Awareness Month is scheduled to take place in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 1 May 2025. The subject for the debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

This Commons Library briefing page has been prepared in advance of the Opposition Day Debate entitled "NHS Winter Crisis". This debate will take place in the House of Commons Chamber on Wednesday 10th January 2018. This page contains some background information as well as parliamentary material and press articles which Members may find useful in preparation for the debate.
NHS England releases daily situation reports which shed light on pressures in acute hospital trusts. A summary of the data for 2017/18 so far is below. In due course the Library will publish a detailed briefing on winter pressures data.
In the Autumn Budget 2017, the Government announced £335 million of winter funding to be provided to NHS trusts, with the final figure confirmed as £337 million once allocations were announced in December.
This is in addition to £100 million of capital funding announced in the Spring Budget 2017 for A&E departments, to ease pressure on emergency departments and increase GP streaming in time for winter 2017/18.
In previous years, additional winter funding has also been allocated to the NHS:
Year |
Additional Funding |
Date |
2011-12 |
£300 million (winter resilience) |
January 2012 |
2012-13 |
£330 million (winter resilience) |
September 2012 |
2013-14 |
£400 million (winter resilience) |
November 2013 |
2014-15 |
£700 million (winter resilience) |
Start of the financial year |
2015-16 |
£400 million (seasonal resilience) |
Start of the financial year |
2016-17 |
£400 million (seasonal resilience) |
Start of the financial year |
Source: PQ 69388, 5 April 2017 |
In response to an Urgent Question on 8 January 2018, the then Health Minister Philip Dunne cited £1 billion of Government funding for social care, in part to increase the number of care packages for patients discharged from hospital, and an extended flu vaccination programme, as additional action the Government had taken to prepare the NHS for winter pressures.
On 2 January 2018, NHS England’s National Emergency Pressures Panel made a series of recommendations to help hospitals deal with the increased winter demand, including:
Deferred operations will not be picked up in future cancelled operations data, as this source covers last minute cancellations.
PQ HL416 [on NHS: Finance]
PQ 119890 [on Hospital Beds]
PQ 119596 [on Influenza]
PQ 118429 [on Death: Weather]
PQ 118753 [on Accident and Emergency Departments]
PQ 116898 [on NHS: Migrant Workers]
PQ 115919 [on Accident and Emergency Departments: Christmas]
NHS Funding (Autumn Budget) (HC Deb 19 December 2017 c900)
A&E Departments (HC Deb 19 December 2017 c904)
NHS Funding (Autumn Budget) (HC Deb 19 December 2017 c901)
NHS Funding (Autumn Budget) (HC Deb 19 Decmber 2017 c900)
NHS Funding Trends (HC Deb 19 December 2017 c895)
NHS Winter Crisis (HC Deb 8 January 2018 cc25-39)
Sturgeon and Robison apologise to patients over winter NHS delays
BBC News, 8 January 2018
[About the Scottish Government’s response to NHS winter pressures in Scotland]
Mass closure of NHS walk-in centres is fuelling winter crisis, claim campaigners
The Observer, 7 January 2018
May defends handling of NHS amid winter crisis: ‘Nothing is perfect’
Sky News, 7 January 2018
NHS boards reveal winter pressure plans
BBC News, 6 January 2018
[About winter pressures on the NHS in Scotland]
NHS tax call to relieve ‘unprecedented’ winter pressures
BBC News, 5 January 2018
[About NHS winter pressures in Wales]
Why is the NHS under so much pressure this winter?
The Guardian, 5 January 2018
How to save the NHS: experts offer their big ideas
The Guardian, 5 January 2018
Long ambulance waits double in a week as NHS winter crisis bites
The Telegraph, 4 January 2018
NHS delays non-urgent operations after winter pressures
Financial Times, 3 January 2018
[Parliamentary subscription required]
Hunt apologises for ‘unacceptable’ cancellations of operations despite NHS being ‘better prepared’
ITV News, 3 January 2018
PM hails NHS readiness for winter as operations are cancelled
GP Online, 3 January 2018
Hospitals to delay non-urgent operations
BBC News, 3 January 2018
Jeremy Hunt defends decision to postpone non-urgent NHS surgery
The Guardian, 3 January 2018
Winter pressure forces NHS to halt elective care until end of January
GP Online, 2 January 2018
NHS hospitals told to take drastic measures amid winter crisis
The Guardian, 2 January 2018
NHS winter pressure: Hospitals report 99 per cent capacity over festive period as flu season looms
The Independent, 1 January 2018
Trust leaders notified of extra funding allocations with ‘clear expectation’
Health Service Journal, 15 December 2017
[An article about the funding allocations being made to NHS trusts to relieve winter pressures – parliamentary subscription required]
Chancellor’s funding announcement ‘plugs some holes’ in NHS budget
Health Service Journal, 22 November 2017
[About the extra £335 million (or £337 million according to later reports) allocated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Autumn Budget to trusts, designed to relieve NHS winter pressures]
A debate on Parkinson’s Awareness Month is scheduled to take place in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 1 May 2025. The subject for the debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee.
Interactive dashboard showing data on GPs in England, including patient to GP ratios, the number of GPs, and a map of GP practices
A briefing on the licensing, regulation and supply of new weight loss medications in England.