Department of Health and Social Care written statement – made at on 23 February 2024.
Andrew Stephenson
Assistant Whip, Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I wish to draw the attention of the House to data errors in the Government’s responses to two Parliamentary Questions (numbers 332 and 12694) tabled by the Honourable Member for Ilford North. The questions enquired as to the costs paid by the National Health Service for the outsourcing of teleradiology in the last five years.
The data provided by NHS England to the Department for Health and Social Care was incorrect. Therefore, the PQ response underreported the number of scans provided in the requested timeframe.
NHS England has been asked by My Right Honourable Friend, the Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle, to urgently conduct a full audit of the quality of the data. Once NHSE has completed the audit, and I am satisfied that the data is sufficiently robust, the house will be updated.
A Member of Parliament (MP) is elected by a particular area or constituency in Britain to represent them in the House of Commons. MPs divide their time between their constituency and the Houses of Parliament in London. Once elected it is an MP's job to represent all the people in his or her constituency. An MP can ask Government Ministers questions, speak about issues in the House of Commons and consider and propose new laws.
When speaking in the House of Commons, an MP will refer to another MP of the same party who is a member of the Privy Council as "my Right Honourable Friend"
