Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to use criteria relating to (a) clinical area, (b) geographical region, (c) population size or (d) other metrics to determine the allocation of the £1bn for tackling the elective surgery backlog.
We are working up detailed plans for making best use of the £1 billion funding to tackle the elective backlog and would expect to communicate the implications for National Health Service providers through NHS operational planning guidance in the usual way.