Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) hon. Members, (b) members of the local authority and (c) the public are consulted about the sustainability and transformation plans for West Sussex and its surrounding area.

The NHS Shared Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, asked every health and care system in England to come together to create its own local plan for implementing the Five Year Forward View (5YFV). Following this, neighbouring National Health Service providers, commissioners, local authorities, and other health and care services have formed 44 ‘footprints’: geographic areas in which people and organisations are collaborating to develop plans to improve the way that health and care is planned and delivered in a more person-centred and coordinated way for local people, and to narrow the three gaps (health and wellbeing, care and quality and financial sustainability) outlined in the 5YFV.

As set out in the NHS Shared Planning Guidance, the success of Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) will depend on having an open, engaging, and iterative process that harnesses the energies of clinicians, patients, carers, citizens, hon. Members and local community partners including the independent and voluntary sectors and local government through, for example, health and wellbeing boards. The national bodies responsible for the development of the programme have continued to ask for robust local plans for genuine engagement as part of the STP process.

STP proposals are currently at a draft stage, but it is expected that all local leaders will be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly as it is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services. All local STP areas should therefore now be having conversations with local people and stakeholders – understanding what matters to them, and explaining how services might be improved. No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement, and if plans propose service changes that are agreed, then formal consultation will be followed in due course in line with good practice and legislative requirements. All footprints will submit an updated plan in October, with further formal public engagement and consultation taking place from this point, as appropriate. Many footprints are already publishing patient-facing summaries as part of their engagement programme.