Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Sarah Owen (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Karin Smyth (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

NHS Foundation Trusts

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take where an NHS foundation trust is found to have ineffective arrangements in place for local engagement.

Answer

Until such time as the Health Bill receives Royal Assent, the statutory requirements for councils of governors (CoGs) remain. All National Health Service foundation trusts (FTs) will be expected to have put in place effective arrangements for community engagement by the time the bill provisions to remove CoGs have commenced.

To ensure the effectiveness of these arrangements, they will be tested as part of ongoing assurance processes, including provider capability assessments, Care Quality Commission well-led assessments, and the assessment process for advanced foundation trust status.

If arrangements are found to be ineffective, there are a range of escalation approaches available. The appropriate intervention would depend on the circumstances and whether there were wider failures at the FT, but it could involve finding the trust in breach of the conditions of its provider licence and requiring the FT to develop and deliver a plan to address the issue.

The Department has published impact assessments for the Health Bill, which include an assessment of reform to the foundation trust model. This is available at the following link:

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-02/0009/ia_Structural_measures_to_ICBs.pdf

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16548
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
NHS foundation trusts Standards
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk