Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the response to consultations undertaken with staff of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on that Trust’s decision to set up a wholly owned subsidiary company.

An NHS Improvement panel reviews each business case and underlying financial projections to consider the level of inherent risks associated with the proposals to set up a subsidiary. The review considers the specific aims of the business case alongside the overarching governance, financial, quality and operational impacts of the proposals on the trust, the wider health system and its patients.

The guidance states that the trust board should certify that it is satisfied that it has “engaged staff in decisions that affect them and the services they provide as pledged in the NHS Constitution, and has plans to comply with any consultation requirements, including staff consultations.”