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 under the Elective Recovery Plan to ensure that new funding for tackling the backlog will reduce waiting times for hip and knee replacement operations.

The Department has provided £2 billion to the National Health Service to tackle the backlog, in addition to £8 billion over the next three years to increase activity and transform elective services. Trusts are encouraged to find innovative ways to deliver elective services, including high volume, low complexity approaches including surgical hubs for hip and knee replacements. The Department is also providing a £700 million Targeted Investment Fund to enable cutting edge technologies and to increase operating theatre capacity, thereby improving productivity in hospitals.