Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the mobilisation of the National Health Service in the event of UK involvement in an armed conflict.

The Cabinet Office leads the Government's Home Defence Programme, in which Defence plays an integral role. The programme is enhancing the UK’s national security and resilience through bolstering civilian-military coordination and planning and enhancing public and private preparedness.

In a new era of threat, the defence and security of the UK requires a whole-of-society approach: the NHS and private healthcare is no exception.

A series of joint exercises involving the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE), the Devolved Administrations, Voluntary Aid Societies and allies (USA and Canada) have explored the UK’s ability to deal with casualties across a range of scenarios up to and including warfighting.

NHS(E) will lead a further exercise in February 2026 to consider where pressure would be felt most acutely in the NHS system from an increased number of MOD patients.