Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to open additional mortuary facilities.

As part of the Government's contingency planning and preparation for the reasonable worst-case scenario this winter, the Department for Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure resilience in the capacity of the system. The Cabinet Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have built significant additional capacity through the provision of temporary body storage units. There are units at local resilience forums across England. Throughout the pandemic, this additional capacity has been available for NHS England to use in the unlikely event that they should require it. Communications to local resilience forums have also emphasised that these are available to the private funeral sector should their own resources be put under pressure.