Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of medical procedures that are being provided in France due to limited hospital capacity in the UK.

This information is not collected centrally.

NHS England provides guidance to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) which are primarily responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their population. CCGs base their commissioning decisions on demand for NHS services, cost effectiveness, patient needs and clinical evidence.

CCGs can commission any service provider that meets National Health Service standards and costs. However, they must be assured of the quality of services they commission, taking into account both National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and the Care Quality Commission's data about service providers.