Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for the future of the NHS England Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel; when that panel last made a decision; what the average length of its (a) decision making and (b) appeals process is; what criteria it uses to make decisions; and whether that panel will consider public procurement rules when reviewing cases.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Patient Choice and Procurement Panel is set up by NHS England to review complaints related to patient choice and representation in relation to the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) for the foreseeable future. The Panel last published a decision on 28 May 2025. Since its inception on 1 January 2024, the Panel has reviewed and published advice on 11 procurement processes. The Panel aims to publish its advice within six weeks though it can take more time to process complex cases
Providers seeking a review by the panel must ensure that they submit any such requests through the appropriate channels, either for patient choice or for PSR, which are available at the following link:
The Panel has been set up to give advice under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The Panel has terms of reference which task it with offering expert advice about whether commissioners have acted consistently with the PSR regulations and published Statutory Guidance.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the NHS England Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel to make a decision on GP out of hours services in the Shrewsbury and Telford and Wrekin ICB.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has communicated that the decision on general practice (GP) out-of-hours service in the Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin ICB will be published on 26 June 2025.
GPs are independent businesses who are contracted by National Health Service commissioners to perform medical services. The GP contract ensures that a consistent provision of healthcare is provided, including out of hours services which should be available to all patients in the Shrewsbury, Telford and Wrekin area. Decisions regarding these services are made locally and independently. Practices have the option to provide out-of-hours services directly, in which case they receive payment for doing so. If a practice chooses not to offer these services, arrangements must be made to ensure that an alternative provider delivers them for that practice’s registered patients. These decisions should not affect patients’ access to care.