Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding was allocated at the start of this financial year for NHS diagnostic centres; and how much of this funding has since been diverted to other NHS services.

The Spending Review in 2021 provided £2.3 billion in capital funding for diagnostic services over the next three years. The majority of this funding will be allocated increase the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) to 160 by March 2025 and to expand planned elective diagnostic services. In 2022/23, £900 million has been allocated to the CDC programme and to increase capacity for imaging, endoscopy, lung and mammography screening and improving digital diagnostics. The capital allocation has not been diverted to other services. Revenue funding may be lower than originally envisaged in order to meet the cost of the 2022/23 National Health Service pay settlement.