Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to allocate funding to the roll-out of NHS diagnostic hubs for patients with respiratory symptoms.

For 2021/22, £325 million of capital funding has been allocated for diagnostic services. Discussions on how funding will be allocated are ongoing, including the establishment of community diagnostic hubs (CDHs). Diagnostics for respiratory conditions are part of the proposed ‘core’ services to be provided by CDHs. Pending the funding allocation, plans for mobilisation of CDHs from across England are currently under review and we anticipate some early adopter sites to provide services from summer 2021 with further CDHs opening in autumn.