Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) increase NHS winter capacity in Chichester constituency for the 2025-26 winter period and (b) enhance public awareness of winter illness prevention.

The National Health Service is already preparing for winter this year with the development and better testing of winter plans. This includes the surge capacity and escalation plans in place across all NHS and urgent care services including Chichester.

The UK Health Security Agency publishes the Adverse Weather and Health Plan for England, which sets out a framework for action to protect the population from harm to their health from adverse weather including excess cold.

On 20 October 2025, the Department will launch a multimedia campaign encouraging flu vaccination among people with long-term health conditions. This follows September 2025 campaigns promoting vaccination for pregnant women and children of pre-school and school age.