Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what NHS services he plans to commission through private providers in the next 12 months.

Services are commissioned either by integrated care boards or by NHS England. Commissioners have always worked with private providers to deliver primary and secondary services for the National Health Service, and make decisions based on the specifics of their areas and populations.

This government is committed to driving down waiting times for patients and will use all levers, including spare capacity in the system whether that is in independent or NHS providers, to ensure patients are treated faster. Our first step will be the delivery of 40,000 more appointments per week, and we will support the system to deliver these in the most productive and cost-efficient way.