Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which organisations and bodies are involved in decisions on whether Sustainability and Transformation Plans are implemented; which of these organisations makes that final decision; and what the Government's policy is on requiring the implementation of such plans in the event that agreement on implementation cannot be reached.

Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are an opportunity for providers and commissioners of health and care services to come together within a local area and ensure they have a plan for how they, as a group, expect to deliver services over the coming years.

Ultimately it is for local organisations to decide how best to implement plans and to ensure that they have the support of NHS bodies, local government and the communities they serve. NHS England and NHS Improvement will continue to have roles in ensuring that commissioners and providers respectively deliver on their plans.

STPs are not new statutory organisations and the STP process does not alter the existing accountabilities of clinical commissioning groups, local authorities or NHS provider organisations.