Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospital trusts have proposals to set up wholly-owned subsidiary companies under active consideration.

Ministers do not have a role in approving wholly-owned subsidiary companies created by National Health Service foundation trusts, with this role delegated by powers to NHS Improvement. In November 2018, NHS Improvement published revised guidance to make all such subsidiaries subject to an approval process.

In contrast, the Secretary of State has the function of consenting to an NHS trust’s proposal to establish an income generating subsidiary company. The Department is not aware of any NHS trust which has asked for approval to set up such schemes in the last three years.

Due to commercial sensitivities, NHS Improvement does not provide information of which hospital trusts have proposals under active consideration to set up wholly-owned subsidiary companies. The Department has no NHS Trust Income Generation Schemes currently under consideration.