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 potential impact of the proposed abolition of NHS England on healthcare suppliers; and whether he plans to publish guidance on changes to (a) procurement systems, (b) leadership structures and (c) the NHS supply chain to support business (i) planning and (ii) continuity.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, which includes working with healthcare suppliers and the future organisation and leadership of procurement systems and National Health Service supply chains.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job, and we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.