Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake an audit of the board members of clinical commissioning groups who have a financial interest in healthcare providers for potential conflicts of interest.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are autonomous organisations. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 sets out clear requirements of CCGs to make arrangements in their constitutions for managing conflicts of interest, to ensure the transparency and integrity of their decision-making processes.

Each CCG’s constitution sets out the arrangements made by the CCG to exercise its functions, and must include the arrangements made for discharging its duties with regard to registers of interests and managing conflicts of interest.

NHS England published guidance for CCGs on managing conflicts of interest in March 2013. CCGs must have regard to such guidance.

A copy of NHS England’s guidance to CCGs - Managing conflicts of interests: Guidance for Clinical Commissioning groups is attached.