Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of patients who (a) were medically fit to be discharged and (b) were not discharged from hospital on 1 December 2024.

The number of patients who were medically fit to be discharged, those who no longer met the criteria to reside, in England on 1 December 2024 was 17,646, compared to 25,896 in December 2023. The number of patients who no longer met the criteria to reside but who were not discharged from hospitals in England on 1 December 2024, was 12,086, compared to 12,989 in December 2023.