Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to prevent people with links to private health companies from sitting on NHS decision-making bodies.

The Health and Care Bill makes provision to establish statutory integrated care systems, consisting of an integrated care board (ICB) and an integrated care partnership (ICP), together referred to as the ICS.

ICBs will be National Health Service bodies and will not and cannot be controlled by private providers. We have amended the Bill to make it clear that no one who could undermine the independence of the NHS due to their involvement in the private healthcare sector should sit on an ICB. We are allowing ICPs to determine their own membership, to allow local flexibility.