Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce pressures on (a) community health and (b) primary care settings within the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board.

Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service. The Department and NHS England are committed to reducing pressures on community health services, which includes reducing long waits and improving timely access to these services.

NHS Greater Manchester has invested £2 million to support Primary Care Winter Schemes for Greater Manchester, and this funding is delivering additional general practice (GP) appointments, meaning that primary care services have the capacity to be able to respond to surges in demand for primary care access.