Written questions by Argar.

Which of NHS England's current responsibilities will be outsourced to private sector consultancies or external firms when it is abolished.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in organisational design will be.

Which of NHS England's responsibility will not be brought into the Department of Health and Social Care, following NHS England's abolition.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in organisational design will be.

What estimate he has made of the proportion of NHS England's staff who will be retained in a new roles within government or other public services when NHS England is abolished.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.

What new roles at director level or above he plans to create in his Department following the closure of NHS England.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.

What the projected net change in (a) civil service and (b) public sector employees is as a result of abolishing NHS England.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. The transition team will work across NHS England and the Department, bringing together the expertise and experience of both organisations.As part of these changes, we intend to reduce the headcount across the Department and NHS England by 50%, which will deliver hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. At this stage, while we are scoping the programme, it is too early to say what the precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be.

Whether NHS England executives that receive redundancy packages will be eligible to be rehired into civil service roles and retain those redundancy payments.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the structure and requirements of the team required to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.The Department and NHS England will communicate information about these reforms to staff at the earliest opportunity and are committed to a culture of transparency.

What steps he is taking to (a) improve access to and (b) reduce waiting lists for the UK's 9 independent NHS pelvic mesh centres.

There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. NHS England publishes data on referral to treatment waiting times. This is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/The Department does not have information on the average waiting times specifically for mesh centres.Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission, and we are taking steps to return to the 18-week standard. The Elective Reform Plan sets out how the National Health Service will reform elective care services and meet the 18-week referral to treatment standard by March 2029.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the proposals of the East Midlands fertility policy review on the number of IVF cycles set out in that review.

No assessment has been made of the East Midlands fertility policy review, at a national level. It is for local integrated care boards to decide on local health policies for their population, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations in respect of pelvic mesh made by the (a) Cumberlege report of 2020 and (b) Hughes report of 2024.

Seven of the nine recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review were previously accepted in full, in part, or in principle. Four of these have been successfully implemented, including:- issuing an unreserved apology on behalf of the healthcare system;- appointing the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner in England in respect of medicines and medical devices;- establishing nine specialist mesh centres, which are in operation across England; and- establishing and working with a Patient Reference Group to help develop the response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review.Work is ongoing in respect of the remaining recommendations, including working across Government to carefully consider the recommendations in the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report and the Hughes Report, which looked into and provided advice on options for redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.The Government will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report at the earliest opportunity.

With refence to his oral statement of 20 January 2025 on New Hospital Programme Review, Official Report columns 748-750s, what the (a) pre-construction works, (b) full construction start and (c) completion date in his re-phasing of the new hospital programme is of (i) Leicester general hospital and Leicester royal infirmary, (ii) Watford general hospital, (iii) Specialist and emergency care hospital in Sutton, (iv) Kettering general hospital, (v) Leeds general infirmary, (vi) Musgrove Park hospital, (vii) Princess Alexandra hospital, (viii) Torbay hospital, (ix) Whipps Cross hospital, (x) St Mary’s hospital in London, (xi) Charing Cross hospital, (xii) Hammersmith hospital, (xiii) North Devon district hospital, (xiv) Eastbourne district general hospital, (xv) Conquest hospital and Bexhill hospital, (xvi) Hampshire hospitals, (xvii) Royal Berkshire hospital, (xviii) Royal Preston hospital, (xix) the Royal Lancaster infirmary and (xx) Queen’s medical centre and Nottingham city hospital.

The following table shows the start dates for the pre-construction work, which involves business case development and critical enabling works, and the main construction work, for the schemes requested:SchemePre-construction works startMain construction works startLeicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield HospitalFrom 20282032 to 2034Watford General HospitalFrom 20282032 to 2034Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, SuttonFrom 20292032 to 2034Kettering General HospitalFrom 20282032 to 2034Leeds General InfirmaryFrom 20302032 to 2034Musgrove Park HospitalFrom 20312032 to 2034Princess Alexandra Hospital, HarlowFrom 20302032 to 2034Torbay HospitalFrom 20302032 to 2034Whipps Cross Hospital, north-east LondonFrom 20292032 to 2034St Mary’s Hospital, north-west LondonFrom 20302035 to 2038Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, LondonFrom 20302035 to 2038North Devon District Hospital, BarnstapleFrom 20302035 to 2038Eastbourne District General, Conquest Hospital and Bexhill Community HospitalFrom 20302037 to 2039Hampshire HospitalsFrom 20302037 to 2039Royal Berkshire Hospital, ReadingFrom 20302037 to 2039Royal Preston HospitalFrom 20302037 to 2039Royal Lancaster InfirmaryFrom 20302035 to 2038Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City HospitalFrom 20302037 to 2039Note: the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital are counted as one scheme under the New Hospital Programme, as are Eastbourne District General Hospital, Conquest Hospital, and Bexhill Hospital The expected completion dates for the schemes in the New Hospital Programme will be confirmed following the approval of a Full Business Case, as set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book, and as is usual for large infrastructure projects, and they are therefore not included.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NHS England 987 inclusion health scheme on access to A&E services outside of the scope of that scheme.

Access to National Health Service care at accident and emergency departments, and the waiting times at the point of delivery for those services, will always be based on clinical priority.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 22633 on NHS: Weather, on what date in early December he first chaired a winter preparedness weekly meeting.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care first held discussions on winter planning with the Department ahead of the general election. The first briefing my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care received on winter preparations was on his first day in office, on 5 July 2024. On 4 September my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chaired a preliminary winter preparations meeting. The Minister of State for Health chaired fortnightly meetings on winter preparedness from 26 September 2024 until 2 December 2024 at which point, as planned, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, began chairing a weekly meeting.

With reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Secondary Care of 18 December 2024, Official Report, column 345, when he chaired the first of the weekly winter preparedness meetings.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care first held discussions on winter planning with the Department ahead of the general election. The first briefing the Secretary of State received on winter preparations was on his first day in office, on 5 July 2024. Since then, heading into winter, ministers speak regularly with staff in the department, NHS England and social care leaders to make sure we were as well prepared for this winter as we could be. In addition, I chaired fortnightly meetings on winter preparedness from 26 September 2024 until early December 2024 at which point, as planned, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, began chairing a weekly meeting.

Which NHS Trusts have declared a critical incident since 1 December 2024.

There is no official National Health Service data collected and validated for publication on the number of ‘critical incidents’ as these are declared locally by NHS organisations and can be stood-up and stood-down quickly.NHS management information as of 8 January 2025 reports that that there are 18 active critical incidents. Critical incidents can be declared in response to operational pressures and for other reasons including power outages, or IT or estates issues.

What estimate he has made of the total cost to the hospice sector of the increase in employers National Insurance contributions.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.The employer National Insurance contributions (ENICs) rise will be implemented in April 2025. The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, like hospices, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with ENICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim ENICs reliefs, including those for under 21 and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.Our approach to ENIC exemptions has been consistent with the approach taken by previous governments. This does not include an exemption for independent contractors, including charities like hospices.On 19 December, the Government announced the biggest investment in a generation for hospices in England, supporting the sector with a £100 million boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices. We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination in the coming weeks.

When he has met NHS England's (a) National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care and (b) Deputy Chief Operating Officer on NHS winter preparedness.

Ministers in the Department engage with NHS England regularly on a variety of issues, including, but not limited to, winter preparedness.

What funding was allocated to promote the update of the influenza vaccine in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.

The annual winter vaccination communications campaign supports the uptake of seasonal vaccinations for influenza and COVID-19 amongst eligible cohorts. This is an integrated campaign, so spend cannot be separated out by vaccine. The budget for the marketing campaign covers the Department, the National Health Service, and the UK Health Security Agency. The following table shows the allocations for winter vaccines promotion, for each of the last three years: YearBudget allocation for winter vaccines promotion2022£3,020,0002023£4,400,0002024£6,000,000 Each year, the campaign combines paid-for marketing and partnerships with earned national media, and social and stakeholder engagement, to raise awareness of the potential benefits of winter vaccinations and how they can be accessed by the public.

How many ambulances were in use in the NHS in (a) September, (b) October and (c) November 2024.

This information requested is not held centrally by the Department.

How many NHS (a) 111 and (b) 999 call handlers there were on (i) 1 September, (ii) 1 October, (iii) 1 November and (iv) 1 December 2024.

This information is not available. While NHS England collects information on the number of call handlers working in NHS 111 and 999 services, this information has not been centrally validated.

What percentage of patients waited longer than four hours in A&E in (a) September, (b) October and (c) November 2024.

The following table shows the percentage of patients in England who waited longer than four hours in accident and emergency, in September, October, and November of 2023 and 2024:Month and yearPercentage of patients who waited longer than four hoursSeptember 202425.8%October 202427.0%November 202427.9%September 202328.3%October 202329.7%November 202330.2%Source: NHS England, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/