Further consultation on provider selection regime

The proposed regime aims to allow commissioners in health and local government, including integrated care boards, NHS providers and NHS England, to move away from the expectation that there should be competition in all circumstances. This will give them greater flexibility when appointing a provider, though competition will remain an option.

The consultation said the new regime should be applied during the commissioning process where healthcare services contracts are coming to an end, changing considerably, or being awarded for the first time.

The Department believes the proposals will remove some of the bureaucracy and cost that relate to the current rules. A questionnaire that accompanies the consultation includes question on short-term and ongoing operational costs and savings.

Three scenarios are discussed in the consultation document – continuation of the status quo; identifying the most suitable provider where the service is changing, or the commissioner wants to use a new provider; and where competitive procurement is required

Existing services could continue where they are working well and there is no value for patients, taxpayers, and local people in seeking an alternative provider.

Competition could be used where changes in service provision are being considered, for example where a commissioner cannot identify a suitable provider or wishes to test the market. The Department said the new selection regime ‘will provide a sensible, transparent, and proportionate process for decision-making that includes the option of competitive tendering as a tool decision-makers can use in appropriate circumstances’.

The new consultation follows engagement on the proposals for a new provider selection regime that started three years ago. 

The new regime is due to be implemented soon after integrated care boards are formally established – currently July. The procurement of goods and pharmaceuticals are excluded from the provider selection regime.

Health minister Edward Argar (pictured) said that, in the wake of government guidance on living with Covid, it was important for the NHS to focus on tackling the backlogs that have built up during the pandemic.

‘Through our Health and Care Bill we will free the health service from unnecessary bureaucracy, which has held it back and make life easier for staff and trusts in years to come,’ he said.

‘We are taking a step closer to achieving this by consulting on a new regime for arranging healthcare services to ensure that procurement processes support the best interests of communities, so staff can focus on patients, not paperwork, while maintaining transparency.’

The consultation closes on 28 March.