Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication Delivering for rural England: the second report on rural proofing, published 3 September 2022, what specific submissions her Department made to help inform the report; and if she will publish (a) those submissions and (b) the minutes from meetings discussing Departmental contributions to that report.

‘Delivering for rural England’, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, included contributions from the Department of Health and Social Care. The report set out the Department for Health and Social Care’s approach to rural proofing of health policies, in addition to specific measures to address the challenges of delivering health care in a rural setting. We are unable to provide the specific information requested as it relates to the formulation or development of Government policy.