Written question asked by Lord Warner (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Earl Howe (Conservative) on Wednesday, 9 November 2011.

National Commissioning Board

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (a) which Department of Health arm's-length bodies would be abolished under the Health and Social Care Bill; (b) which, if any, functions of those bodies will be transferred to the National Commissioning Board; and (c) what was the cost of providing those functions in the last financial year for which information is available.

Answer: An update on changes to the department's arm's-length bodies was published on 18 October 2011 and is available at: www.dh.gov.uk/health/2011/10/review-of-arms-length-bodies-update/. This gives information on timings and transfers of functions to existing and/or new organisations. In summary and subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill and related secondary legislation, the organisations that will be abolished are: Alcohol Education and Research Council; General Social Care Council; National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA); Appointments Commission; NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (NHS III); the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence; the Health Protection Agency; and National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill and related secondary legislation, the NHS Commission Board will assume responsibility for: patient safety functions currently carried out by the NPSA; and leading quality improvement functions currently undertaken by the NHS III. With regard to these functions: In 2010-11, the cost of the NPSA patient safety division was £8,166,000; and The NHSIII's annual accounts for 2010-11 showed total programme costs were £70,015,000, with a net operating cost of £60,239,000.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 13082; 732 c58WA
Session: 2010-12
Subjects: Closures Expenditure Functions Department of Health NHS Commissioning Board Arms length bodies
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk