Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he has issued to hospitals on their use of management consultants.
The Department has not issued guidance to trusts on their use of management consultants.
We expect National Health Service organisations to keep a firm grip on their workforce planning and management and keep any use of management consultants, for example supporting short-term strategic reviews or providing interim management solutions, to a minimum. NHS organisations must also follow HM Treasury guidance on the engagement of staff off-payroll, including the requirement to put the most senior staff engaged for more than six months on their permanent staff payroll.