Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high travel costs for parents of babies in neonatal care for extended periods; and whether the existing NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme provides adequate support to such parents.

We have made no specific assessment. Visitors to patients in hospitals cannot claim their travel costs through the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme and there are no plans to review the scheme’s qualifying criteria.