Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on legal advice by North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group in each of the last three years.

NHS England advises that NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCGs) spending on legal advice since 2014/15 is as follows:

2014/15 £9,826

2015/16 £49,064

2016/17 £40,837

2017/18 £40,692 (year-to-date, up to end of October 2017, month seven)

Please note that legal costs listed include all costs incurred as a result of direct patient care, and do not just relate to advice in respect of organisations or contracts.

The year-to-date figure for 2017/18 includes £17,281 in respect of the CCG’s response to the legal challenge to the urgent care procurement process earlier this year, and £1,281 in relation to the new urgent care work which is currently underway. There are no further costs associated with the urgent care procurement process, as this work is carried out by officers of the CCG and North of England Commissioning Support as part of their normal work.