Arm’s Length Bodies (Triennial Reviews)

Jane Ellison Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2015 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison)]

I am today announcing the start of the triennial reviews of the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Human Tissue Authority, and NHS Blood and Transplant.

The triennial review programme ensures that all Government Departments review their non-departmental public bodies on a regular basis. In order to ensure that the Department of Health is operating as an effective system steward and can be assured of all the bodies it is responsible for, it has extended the programme of reviews over the period 2014-17 to include all of its arm’s length bodies.

The reviews are conducted in two stages. The first stage will examine the continuing need for the function and whether the organisation’s form, including operating at arm’s length from Government, remains appropriate. If the outcome of this stage is that delivery should continue, the second stage of the review will assess whether the bodies are operating efficiently and in line with the recognised principles of good corporate governance.

[HCWS57]