Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports that the NHS spent £400 million per month on private sector healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, why only one third of private sector capacity was utilised.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement worked with the independent sector to secure appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource across England. Initially, contracts placed with the independent sector took 100% of their capacity, including staff and equipment. The arrangements were later refined to provide guaranteed access to sufficient capacity to carry out the required level of activity.