Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will now establish a Royal Commission on the NHS to examine its existing organisation and purpose and whether there are other models available to provide an improved national health system.

The National Health Service and wider health system has already examined what needs to be done to ensure the sustainability of the health and care system. This produced the NHS Five Year Forward View.

The Government is backing this plan and has committed to increasing funding for the NHS by £10 billion in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15, enabling the NHS to deliver high quality care seven days a week.

The Government believes that the answer to the challenges faced by the NHS lies in delivering more integrated services and keeping people well and independent for longer not in altering the fundamental principles than underpin the NHS.