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 causes of the rise of excess deaths from non covid-19 illnesses in 2023; and if he will make a statement.

It is likely that a combination of factors has contributed to an increase in the number of deaths at home, including high flu prevalence and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. We are taking steps to help reduce excess deaths.

The National Health Service has published a delivery plan setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. The plan commits the NHS to deliver 9 million additional treatments and diagnostic procedures over the next three years and around 30% more elective activity than it was doing before the pandemic by 2024/25.

We are making progress in restoring NHS Health Check delivery, a core part of our cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention pathway. Delivery is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by June 2023 and we are creating a national digital NHS Health Check so we can go even further. We continue to work closely with partners to consider what more can be done to improve the prevention, detection, diagnosis and management of CVD and we will set out our plan in the Major Conditions Strategy.