Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to monitor the implementation of clinical commissioning groups' legal duty to promote innovation, adoption and diffusion of new techniques.

My Rt hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, is under a legal obligation to keep NHS England's performance in achieving its objectives, as set out in the Mandate, under review. As part of this, he considers NHS England's compliance with its legal duties.

NHS England has a statutory duty to promote innovation and clinical commissioning groups have a duty to promote innovation in the provision of health services in the exercise of their functions.

The National Health Service's obligation to promote innovation is principally delivered through NHS England'sInnovation, Health and Wealth programme.

NHS England has advised that monthly reports on the Innovation, Health and Wealth programme are made to the Department, the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and the Innovation, Health and Wealth board.