Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the report from the King's Fund entitled NHS hospital bed numbers: past, present, future, published in September 2017.

There has been a long-term reduction in the number of general and acute beds open overnight as hospitals are dealing with patients more efficiently. The National Health Service now performs more day cases, length of stay is decreasing and more people are treated in community settings.

NHS England statistics show that the bed occupancy rate has remained between 84% and 89% (all beds) since 2000. Bed availability does fluctuate, but the NHS has practice and experience in managing capacity to cope with both routine and emergency care.