Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for NHS Productivity of 9 July 2015, Official Report, House of Lords, column 286, on proposals for an independent inquiry on the sustainability of the NHS, if he will take steps to ensure that any such inquiry (a) identifies possible consequential effects and (b) does not adversely affect the Scottish block grant.

There is no plan to launch an independent inquiry into the sustainability of the National Health Service and there will therefore be no consequential effects on the devolved administrations or adverse effects to the Scottish block grant.

The Government remains committed to the principles of the NHS, enshrined in the NHS Constitution and in working with the NHS in implementing its own plan for the future of the NHS – the Five Year Forward View. By 2020-21, the Government will increase funding for the NHS by £10 billion a year in real terms compared to 2014-15 to support the transformation of services across the country.