Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s has plans to remove of hospitals, public governors and staff governors.

The removal of the councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts (FTs) forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. This will require primary legislation, which the Government will bring forward when parliamentary time allows, and the will of Parliament. Until then, FT governors will remain in post with their statutory powers unchanged.

While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some FTs, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight. For example, approaches to engagement that better reflect local demographics and geography rather than a ‘one size fits all’ governor model, as well as supporting an increased focus on the outcomes of the engagement, including the evidence that local people are involved in key decisions about how care is provided and their voices are listened to.