Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) Monitor, (b) the Care Quality Commission and (c) NHS England on hospitals in Essex which have not met the Government's A&E waiting time target; and if he will make a statement.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets NHS England on a weekly basis and discusses a wide range of topics, including accident and emergency (A&E) performance. Monitor, the Care Quality Commission, and the NHS Trust Development Authority also have oversight of trust A&E performance, and are involved in these meetings.

The Department has not had any discussions with local authorities in Essex on increased attendances in A&E departments and delayed discharges. It is for local authorities to decide how best to commission and deliver care services in their area.

However, the Department recently held discussions with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to agree how best to allocate additional funding to the worst affected local authorities in England to help address delayed discharges from hospitals to the social care system.

As a result Essex County Council has received a one-off grant of £230,000 and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council a one-off grant of £75,000 in 2014/15 to be spent for these purposes.