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 ability of ambulance services in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire to meet their targets for attending emergency calls; and if he will make a statement.

Following a rigorous and independent evaluation of the clinically-led Ambulance Response Programme, in July 2017 the Department agreed NHS England’s recommendations to implement an improved ambulance performance framework. These changes improve responses to patients and the efficiency and resiliency of the ambulance service in the face of rising demand. All mainland National Health Service ambulance trusts are now operating against this new framework, and the ambulance service on the Isle of Wight will do so from April 2018.

We recognise that trusts are not yet meeting all of the required standards, however NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with the service to assist them to effectively perform against these new requirements, and NHS England will undertake a review of the framework in spring 2018.