Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to develop the NHS budget in the Northern Powerhouse to (a) increase prosperity, (b) tackle mental health challenges and (c) reduce the premature death rate in the North.

The Government has provided a long-term settlement that will rise to £33.9 billion of additional funding by 2023/24 to support the NHS Long Term Plan. This sets out clear actions the National Health Service will take to strengthen its approach on health inequalities. This includes tackling mental health challenges and reducing the premature death rate, consistently across every region, including in the Northern Powerhouse. These actions support the Government's commitment to 'level up' across the country. In addition, under a devolution deal, the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership has increased flexibilities over the £6 billion spent on health and social care in the area.