Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many walk-in centres will close as a consequence of the decision to introduce front-door clinical streaming.

NHS England’s Five Year Forward View clearly sets out the intention for “roll out of standardised new urgent treatment centres”, which will build on the current range of service such as walk in centres and urgent care centres. As such, this form of care remains a central part of how urgent care is provided in England.

Local commissioners are responsible for commissioning urgent care services. These commissioners have a responsibility to consider the needs of the population they serve as a whole and commission services accordingly, but we have no information that suggests that any urgent treatment centres have closed as a result of the £100 million of capital the Government has put in place to support the delivery of primary care streaming.