Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2021 to Question 29801 on GP Surgeries: Ventilation, what budget has been made available for enforcement activities in respect of ventilation in GP surgeries in each of the last ten years; what enforcement action has been taken in respect of ventilation in each of the last ten years; and when he or other Ministers in his Department last met representatives of (a) general practitioners and (b) trades unions recognised within the NHS to discuss the ventilation of GP surgeries.

Answered by Nadine Dorries

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) enforcement activity is funded by Grant-in-Aid from the Department. However, the CQC has advised that information on the budget specifically for enforcement activities is not held in the format requested.

The CQC can consider ventilation as part of an inspection of a hospital or general practitioner practice and has a range of tools it can use on a proportionate basis, in line with its enforcement policy. However, the CQC do not record centrally the specific reason for taking regulatory action and to obtain information relating to enforcement on ventilation issues could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. There have been no specific meetings to discuss ventilation.