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 (a) monitor and (b) assess provision gaps for open access defibrillators.

The Government is committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. The Department appointed Smarter Society to oversee the administration of a £1 million grant, and receives regular reports about the implementation of the grant process, including the distribution of AEDs.

We have made a further £500,000 available to fulfil existing applications to the Department’s Community AED Fund, launched in September 2023. The criteria specified for the original grant continue to apply and will go to applications for AEDs in areas where there is the greatest need. This funding will go to those applications for AEDs which are in areas of high footfall, hot spots for cardiac arrest, and in areas that already have low access to AEDs.