Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of the change from primary care trusts to clinical commissioning groups for the NHS.

On 1 April 2013, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) replaced primary care trusts (PCTs) as the primary commissioner of National Health Service services in England.

Unlike PCTs, CCGs are clinically led, and so are better able to use clinical expertise to assess and prioritise those treatments that provide the safest and most effective outcomes for their population. The evidence suggests that general practitioner-led CCGs have allowed the redesign of patient pathways and local services based on clinical evidence, and a more effective dialogue and partnership with other parts of the health system.