Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to decrease reliance on private emergency ambulance service companies.

The information requested is not held. Decisions on the use of private ambulance companies to increase capacity are taken at a local level by the relevant ambulance trust.

At a national level, the Government and NHS England are committed to improving ambulance services. The National Health Service’s 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance set national priorities, which include improving accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times compared to 2024/25.