Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with Healthwatch Leeds on the potential merits of implementing their policy on communication, coordination and compassion in other parts of the country.

While there are no current plans for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to meet with Healthwatch Leeds, he does meet with stakeholders regularly about a range of issues.

NHS England has carefully considered the points raised in Healthwatch Leeds’ paper, in particular its recommendations for how providers and commissioners should communicate change to people and their communities. In 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance on working with people and communities, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/working-in-partnership-with-people-and-communities-statutory-guidance/

This guidance supports integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers to meet their legal duties to involve the public in changes to services, and highlights the importance of communicating effectively with communities. NHS England carries out an annual assessment of ICBs, which includes how they meet their public involvement legal duty.