Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has held discussions with NHS England on preventing NHS trusts and foundation trusts from setting up wholly owned subsidiary companies.

Ministers do not have a role in approving Wholly Owned Subsidiary companies created by NHS Foundation Trusts, with this role undertaken through the statutory powers and duties of NHS England. Ministers only have a role in approving subsidiaries created by NHS Trusts for income-generation purposes.

The Department is not currently assessing any plans for new NHS Trust subsidiaries created for income-generation purposes. NHS England published guidance in November 2018 setting out the regulatory review process required before NHS trusts and foundation trusts can implement plans involving subsidiaries. Since the guidance was published, 48 proposals have been reported to NHS England for classification and potential review. A number of these are still ‘live’ cases where a proposal has been reported, but has not yet been reviewed and not all proposals will have been implemented.

No discussions have taken place with NHS England on preventing NHS trusts and foundation trusts from setting up wholly owned subsidiary companies. NHS England are working to publish updated guidance, reflecting lessons learned on trust subsidiary reviews. There are no plans to publish a list of wholly owned subsidiary companies operating within England.