§ Lord Clement-Jonesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Who will determine whether existing commissioning consortia are working well or whether there are good reasons for change;[HL3115]
On what criteria they will assess whether commissioning consortia are working well; [HL3116]
Given that primary care trusts and commissioning consortia members have the discretion to decide their own remit and terms of reference, what power 74WA strategic health authorities and the Commission for Health Improvement have to override that discretion where the arrangements are deemed not to be working well.[HL3118]
§ Baroness AndrewsStrategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for the oversight and performance management of collaborative commissioning groups for specialised services and their service-specific consortia and they will assess, in the light of guidance and taking into account local circumstances, whether commissioning arrangements are working well.
The powers of SHAs in relation to primary care trusts are found in The National Health Service (Functions of Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts and Administration Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2002 (SI no 2002/2375) Regulation (3) (5).
Where there are concerns following a clinical governance review (CGR) report by the Commission for Health Improvement, the SHA will work with the NHS organisation to address the concerns identified and will be responsible for monitoring the CGR action plan as part of its performance management role.