Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to Answer of 8 September to Question 7355, on healthcare: reciprocal arrangements, if he will preserve the S1 and S2 healthcare funding routes and the system provided under the Patients’ Rights Directive for EEA member states after the UK leaves the EU.

The United Kingdom Government appreciates the importance of retaining existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements with the European Union. During the September round of UK-EU negotiations, the UK made clear that it wishes to continue with reciprocal healthcare with the EU after the UK’s Exit. This includes healthcare rights for pensioners, the European Health Insurance Card and planned treatment.

During negotiations with the EU on the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has therefore been seeking to protect the healthcare arrangements currently set out in EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009.