Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken in the last two months to reduce instances of delayed discharge at NHS healthcare providers in England.

The Government has provided a record £700 million to support the health and care system through this winter, and all areas should have local plans in place that include processes to minimise delayed discharges.

From April this year, £5.3 billion worth of pooled budgets in the Better Care Fund will support areas to join up health and social care to reduce emergency admissions to hospital and get people out of hospital more quickly.