Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 9 February (HL13391), whether they were consulted before the announcement by South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board on 3 September 2025 of the chief executive's retirement; and what assessment they have made of the public transparency of announcements of retirement when the retiring individual is receiving a redundancy payment.

The Department is not required to be consulted on and does not have responsibility for local announcements made by the integrated care boards (ICBs) about individual employment matters, including retirements. ICBs are independent statutory employers and are responsible for managing their own workforce and communications. They are expected to act in accordance with employment law, contractual obligations, and to communicate appropriately and transparently within those frameworks.

In the case of the South Yorkshire ICB, the redundancy payment referenced was contractual and arose from the removal of the role resultant from ICB reforms. It was not linked to the timing or manner of any subsequent announcement regarding the Chief Executive’s retirement.