Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they are making towards the implementation of Surgical Hubs in England; and how are they administering the programme.

Following successful pilots in London, the National Health Service is now developing surgical hubs across the country. There are currently 44 stand-alone surgical hubs operational in England.

The additional £1.5 billion provided for the recovery of elective services includes funding for developing further surgical hubs. The Getting It Right First Time programme, in collaboration with NHS England and NHS Improvement, is providing guidance to systems and regions on how to use hubs effectively, standardise pathways and adopt best surgical practice. Systems and regions will submit bids to NHS England and NHS Improvement and this process will determine where hubs will be based.