Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2020 to Question 175901, on Health Services and Social Services: Standards, whether private companies will be permitted to undertake roles on Integrated Care System NHS Boards.

The proposed legislation will set out minimum membership of the integrated care board (ICB) and will need to include representatives from National Health Service trusts, primary medical care and local authorities. Local areas can, by local agreement, go beyond the legislative minimum requirements in order to address their specific needs and detail further board members in their constitutions. Private providers of NHS services are not excluded from the ICB, but we expect this to be agreed in the constitution. This would be subject to local agreement and would need to be approved by NHS England. In every case, ICBs will be required to have clear and robust arrangements to declare and manage potential conflicts of interest.