Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of emergency healthcare in (a) rural and (b) urban areas in the North East.

Integrated care board are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local communities, including in the North East, as they are best placed to take those decisions.

However, more broadly, the Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance is not at the high standard that patients should expect. We are committed to returning to the safe operational waiting time standards set out in the NHS Constitution.

We have set out plans on the action to be taken to improve services this year and will shortly publish a 10-Year Health Plan, which will set out the radical reforms needed to make the National Health Service fit for the future.