Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral contribution of 28 January 2015, Official Report, column 872, on NHS major incidents, whether any Ministers or officials of his Department knew about changes to local guidance.

The decision to issue this guidance was taken by the local National Health Service. No Ministers or Department officials were involved. Declaration of a major incident is a decision for the local NHS to take, and this remains the case.