Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the proposed merger of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust.
There are currently no plans to formally merge North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust with South Tees NHS Foundation Trust. However, we are aware of proposals to increase working relationships between the Trusts. There have been no specific discussions on a proposed merger.