Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS Improvement's quarterly performance data, published most recently in September 2016, what steps his Department plans to take to reduce the deficit in the NHS budget.

NHS England and NHS Improvement together set out their plan for balancing the books of the National Health Service in its Strengthening Financial Performance and Accountability document in July 2016. This includes the agreement of control totals, controls on agency spending, and the introduction of a new financial special measures regime. The NHS has worked hard to manage its finances in response to this plan and the latest quarterly performance data shows the majority of hospitals are on track to hit their targets by the end of the year. NHS Improvement will be working closely with those providers that are off plan, to bring them back as close as possible back to plan this year.