Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to ensure cancelled elective surgeries are rescheduled.

With evidence suggesting that we are through the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, and with the National Health Service well-placed to provide world-leading care for those who do still have the virus, we are bringing back routine services that had been temporarily paused. Where additional capacity is available, this includes routine electives, with a focus on prioritising long waiters. Recommended actions include making full use of all contracted independent sector hospital and diagnostic capacity to support with this.

The approach will be flexed at local level according to capacity and demand in different parts of the country, and will be gradual, over weeks. It will also be dependent on the type of services and different demographics affected.