Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) the Department for Health and Social Care and (b) other government departments in tackling backlogs resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has put the recovery of public services at the heart of its building back better and levelling up agenda. In doing so, we have already laid the foundations for a strong recovery.

To support the Department of Health and Social Care, the Government has committed £5.9 billion of capital for elective recovery, diagnostics, and technology over the next three years. In addition, the Government has also committed almost £500 million to target the backlog in the criminal justice system.

This work continues at pace across Government. The Cabinet Office continues to work closely with departments to support the world class public services that the UK provides.