Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2026 to Question 1816 on Government Departments: Bureaucracy, how his Department has changed how it produces its Annual Report.

The Department has not changed how it produces its own annual report and accounts. The consultation referred to in the answer of 20 May 2026 was the Department’s annual consultation on the draft Group Accounting Manual. This manual provides technical guidance for group bodies to support the preparation of annual reports and accounts across the group. The consultation gives group bodies and auditors the opportunity to comment on proposed changes to the guidance, identify where further clarification is needed, and suggest practical improvements. It is not a consultation on changes to the way the Department prepares its own annual report and accounts.