Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Disabled Children’s Partnership report, Then There Was Silence, published 10 September 2021, what fiscal steps he is taking to tackle the backlog in disabled children’s health and care assessments.

On 6 September 2021 we announced an additional £5.4 billion to support the COVID-19 response over the next six months, bringing the total Government support for health services in response to over £34 billion in 2021/22. This includes £2 billion to tackle the elective backlog to reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children.

This year councils have access to £51.3 billion to deliver their core services, including a £1.7 billion grant for social care. The Government has given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including for children’s services.