Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to the development of a national stroke plan.

Improving care for people who suffer stroke, and preventing strokes, are priorities for the National Health Service as set out in the recently published NHS Long Term Plan. Building on the learning and success of the previous National Stroke strategy, NHS England will work with partners across the system to lead a programme which will drive the next step change in the care stroke patients receive. As well as significant investment in early cardiovascular disease detection and prevention, this will include funding major increases in the number of patients benefitting from potentially life-changing treatment to dissolve or remove blood clots. Further investment in higher intensity models for stroke rehabilitation will ensure patients have the best chance of returning to employment or independence, experiencing reduced disability and improved support for cognitive and psychological need.

Further information on funding will be set out in the implementation framework for the Long Term Plan, due to be published in the spring.