Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of how new technologies may be able to increase efficiency in the NHS for the purposes of tackling the elective backlog.

No formal assessment has been made. However, the Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to support the National Health Service to reduce waiting lists, using innovative technologies where possible.

We have made £2 billion available to NHS providers through the Elective Recovery Fund and from 2022 to 2025, £8 billion has been committed to increase elective activity in England. A further £5.9 billion of capital funding will support elective recovery, diagnostics and technology.