Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 September to Question 97626 on Hospital Beds: Private Sector, and with reference to the report entitled Investigation into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, published by the National Audit Office on 18 November, when the 26 contracts for the use of private sector beds will be published.

A Contract Award Notice in respect of each of the 26 individual contracts entered into by NHS England with independent sector hospital providers was published on 16 October 2020 by the Official Journal of the European Union.

The Contract Award Notice is an estimate of the payments to each provider until their termination from the national contract or until the contract ends on 31 December 2020. These payments are estimates based on agreed criteria as they are subject to final additional review and validation. These do not take place until after the contracts are terminated.