Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 22633 on NHS: Weather, on what date in early December he first chaired a winter preparedness weekly meeting.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care first held discussions on winter planning with the Department ahead of the general election. The first briefing my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care received on winter preparations was on his first day in office, on 5 July 2024.

On 4 September my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chaired a preliminary winter preparations meeting. The Minister of State for Health chaired fortnightly meetings on winter preparedness from 26 September 2024 until 2 December 2024 at which point, as planned, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, began chairing a weekly meeting.