Written questions by Argar.

What information his Department holds on the number of patients who (a) were medically fit to be discharged and (b) were not discharged from hospital on 1 December 2024.

The number of patients who were medically fit to be discharged, those who no longer met the criteria to reside, in England on 1 December 2024 was 17,646, compared to 25,896 in December 2023. The number of patients who no longer met the criteria to reside but who were not discharged from hospitals in England on 1 December 2024, was 12,086, compared to 12,989 in December 2023.

What percentage of (a) ordinary and (b) named day written questions received a holding response from his Department in the first instance between 5 July 2024 and 22 November 2024.

The Department had a total of 2,270 written questions from the House of Commons due for answer between 5 July and 22 November 2024, the most received by any Government department in that period. These consisted of 1,761 ordinary written questions and 509 named day written questions. In the same period, the Department answered 60.0% of those named day written questions and 74.5% of those ordinary written questions within the required timescales.It is Departmental procedure that holding answers are submitted for any named day written questions that are not answered within the required timescales; however, this is not done for ordinary written questions. In the period between 5 July and 22 November, 236 holding answers were submitted.Named day performance has improved month-on-month since the summer recess, however we are determined to make the further improvements necessary to reach the standards expected by the Procedure Committee.

How many additional inpatient beds in acute settings he has funded NHS England to commission for (a) November 2024, (b) December 2024, (c) January 2025 and (d) February 2025 above the total number available in October 2024.

NHS England’s 2024/25 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance set out that, with the additional funding in 2023/24 made recurrent in 2024/25, systems should maintain General and Acute beds at the level funded and agreed through the operating plans in 2023/24 as a minimum.The latest published data is for October 2024, and shows that there was an average of 101,325 General and Acute beds available in England. This compares to 99,067 in October 2023.

What percentage of (a) ordinary and (b) named day written questions were responded to by his Department within required timescales between 5 July and 22 November 2024.

The Department had a total of 2,270 written questions from the House of Commons due for answer between 5 July and 22 November 2024, the most received by any Government department in that period. These consisted of 1,761 ordinary written questions and 509 named day written questions. In the same period, the Department answered 60.0% of those named day written questions and 74.5% of those ordinary written questions within the required timescales.It is Departmental procedure that holding answers are submitted for any named day written questions that are not answered within the required timescales; however, this is not done for ordinary written questions. In the period between 5 July and 22 November, 236 holding answers were submitted.Named day performance has improved month-on-month since the summer recess, however we are determined to make the further improvements necessary to reach the standards expected by the Procedure Committee.