Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using Nightingale hospitals in the winter in the event that further hospital capacity is needed.

Nightingale hospitals have helped the National Health Service to rise to an unprecedented challenge by providing extra capacity to manage surges in demand due to COVID-19.

We continue to work closely with the NHS and partners, and guidance has already been issued on restoring urgent non-COVID-19 services safely, whilst ensuring surge capacity can be stood up again if needed, including through the use of Nightingale hospitals.