Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps is he taking to ensure that NHS Trusts provide value for money.

One of the seven key principles in the NHS Constitution is the commitment to providing the most effective, fair and sustainable use of finite resources. NHS Improvement’s Single Oversight Framework (SOF) sets out how NHS Improvement oversee National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts. The framework helps determine where providers may benefit from, or require, improvement support if they are to meet the standards expected of them in a safe and sustainable way. Under the SOF, NHS Improvement oversee and support providers in improving financial sustainability, efficiency and value for money. NHS Improvement also consider how efficiently a provider uses its resources more broadly, and how financially sustainable it is over the longer term.