Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of defibrillators in public spaces in England; and whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the number of defibrillators in public spaces across the UK.

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. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.

The Department selected a joint bid from Smarter Society as its independent partners to manage grant applications. Smarter Society has reviewed funding applications, against requirements specified by the Department. The requirements are to ensure that resources are allocated to where there is the greatest need, for instance in remote communities with extended ambulance response times, and places with high footfall and high population.

There have been no recent discussions with my counterparts in the devolved administrations on the number of defibrillators in public spaces. As of 1 March 2024, there were 86,337 defibrillators in the United Kingdom, with 68,509 in England, registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator map operated independently by the British Heart Foundation.