Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the evidence on which they based their decision to legislate for the abolition of the council of governors of NHS Foundation Trusts.

The Department has published impact assessments for the Health Bill, which include an assessment of reform to the foundation trust (FT) model including abolition of the council of governors. This is available on the GOV.UK website in an online-only format.

It will remain mandatory for FTs to have effective mechanisms for engagement. However, by removing the statutory member-governor model, we are giving these organisations the freedom to design approaches reflecting their local context. These arrangements will be subject to scrutiny as part of the Department’s oversight role.

The information requested on how many people are currently members of FTs in England is not held centrally. Each FT manages their own membership and there is no standard number of members per FT. Many FTs make this information publicly available through annual reports or their website.