Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his Department's policy to require NHS England to take account of geographic isolation and travelling times when developing sustainability and transformation plans.

There are 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) covering the whole of England. STPs are being developed within their local area, with support from NHS England. The Department expects individual STPs to take account of challenges specific to their area including a rural population.

Proposals are at a draft stage but we expect all local leaders to be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly – it is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services.