Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated total deficit level of NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts.

The National Health Service leadership bodies have set out their own plan for delivering financial sustainability for the NHS, in the Five Year Forward View (October 2014) and Strengthening Financial Performance and Accountability document (July 2016), in which NHS Improvement confirm their expectation is that providers will deliver a net deficit of £580 million in this financial year. A copy of this document is attached.

NHS Improvement reports progress against this plan for NHS providers on a quarterly basis. The Quarterly performance of the provider sector as at 30 September 2016 report was published in November 2016 and is attached.

This confirms that the net deficit across all NHS providers was £648 million at the end of quarter two. Progress by the end of this quarter is encouraging, with 26% fewer NHS providers forecast to end the year in deficit than in the prior year and with the overwhelming majority of providers on track to hit the financial plans they have set out for the current year.

There is no room for complacency. That is why the NHS needs to stick to its strong financial plan, supported by our £10 billion investment and series of measures to help hospitals become more efficient and reduce the use of expensive agency staff.