Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what objectives his Department has identified for its public engagement roadshow on the future of the NHS; and if he will make an assessment of the value for money provided by the programme.

The promise that the National Health Service will be there for you when you need it has been broken for too many people. That is why we have launched the biggest ever national conversation on the future of the NHS.

Despite consensus from health experts and charities that we need to make three shifts, from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention, to ensure that the NHS is fit for the future, this hasn't happened. We need to do things differently, and that is why instead of writing a plan in London and asking people what they think of it, we're starting by asking the public and staff what is most important to them. We want their fingerprints to be all over the 10-Year Health Plan, as we want them to feel the positive impact in their lives.

To do this, we are running a series of regional deliberative events with the public and staff. Deliberative engagement is a widely respected methodology that involves communities in decision-making, to understand their needs and hopes for the services which affect their lives. The approach ensures we hear from a variety of perspectives and encourages free, fair, and open discussion.

The events are being delivered within the Department's budget as part of its responsibility to promote the health and wellbeing of everyone in England. We are determined to do this in a way that gives everyone the chance to get involved, while also ensuring value for money. At this point in time, we are not able to provide accurate costs for the deliberative events, because they are still ongoing.

Our engagement exercise will help us to develop the 10-Year Health Plan. We will work closely with charities and national organisations, health and care providers, local government, and others to help us do this. All the insight we receive, whether at an organisational or individual level, will be considered alongside a wide range of data points to shape the development of the plan.

To support this work, we have also established 11 policy working groups which will consider the future vision for the NHS, and the areas of the NHS that will need to change to achieve this.