Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding of the Disabled Children’s Partnership’s report entitled Then There Was Silence, published on 10 September 2021, that nearly three quarters of disabled children had seen their progress managing their condition regress, what fiscal steps he is taking to help disabled children recover from delays to health and therapy services during the covid-19 outbreak.

On 6 September 2021 the Government announced an additional £5.4 billion for the National Health Service to support the COVID-19 response over the next six months, bringing the total Government support for health services to over £34 billion in 2021/22. This includes £2 billion to reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children. The forthcoming Spending Review will set out the Government’s spending plans for health and social care for future years.