Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that engagement and consultation with key stakeholders, communities and local voluntary sector organisations is undertaken within each Sustainability and Transformation plan footprint prior to finalisation of those plans.
George Freeman
As set out in the NHS Shared Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, the success of Sustainability and Transformation Plans will depend on having an open, engaging, and iterative process that involves patients, carers, citizens, clinicians, local community partners including the independent and voluntary sectors, and local government through health and wellbeing boards. The arm’s length bodies responsible for the NHS Five Year Forward View – NHS England, NHS Improvement, the Care Quality Commission, Public Health England, Health Education England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – have asked for local engagement plans as part of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan process, building where appropriate on existing engagement through health and wellbeing boards and other local arrangements. Where plans propose service changes, formal consultation will follow in due course in line with good practice and legislative requirements. The arm’s length bodies will be holding conversations with each area to assess their plans for local engagement.
