To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase access to defibrillators in rural communities.

The treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is a priority for the Government. We want people to have the best chance of survival from cardiac arrest, and rapid intervention is central to improving outcomes. This is why the Government wants to increase the number of publicly accessible automated external defibrillators. The Government has therefore announced the Community Automated External Defibrillators (AED) Fund, with a £1 million investment that will increase the number of AEDs within England. We want to ensure AEDs are located where they are needed most. Applications that are submitted for funding are assessed to ensure that each AED is installed in areas where there is a clear need for the device, such as high footfall areas or rural locations with extended ambulance response times. Priority will also be given to applications that are considered a cardiac health hotspot, with high levels of deprivation and low numbers of AEDs within the local area.