Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS Improvement, Performance of the NHS provider sector for the quarter ended 30 June 2018, what the underlying gross deficit was reported by trusts for the provider sector; and if he will make a statement.

The view of NHS Improvement, as stated in their quarterly performance report, is that the underlying deficit at the end of 2017-18 is £4.3 billion. As NHS Improvement has acknowledged, the £4.3 billion figure doesn’t include the Provider Sustainability Fund which is a recurrent part of National Health Service funding, and which is £2.45 billion for this financial year. NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently working to maximise the impact of this funding and support providers to improve their financial positions, in addition to our investment which will see the NHS receive £20.5 billion more than it already does by 2023-24.