Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of defibrillator (a) access and (b) use.

To increase access to defibrillators, the Government announced funding of £1 million that expands the number and accessibility of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities.

NHS England have partnered with St John Ambulance to co-ordinate skills development to significantly increase the use of AEDs by individuals in community settings. This includes a national network of Community Advocates to champion the importance of first aid, training 60,000 people that will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028.

During the summer, the Government announced that state-funded schools across England will receive at least one AED on site, with more devices delivered to larger schools, boosting their numbers in communities across the country.

In addition, at the grassroots sport level, all capital funding awards for sports venues made by Sport England, the Government’s arm’s length body for community sport, must include AED provision if it is not already available.