Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to make the Tyne and Wear Sustainability and Transformation Plan process more accountable and open to the public.

It is important that the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) process is accountable and open to the public. It is for local areas to determine how best to do this.

Throughout its development, the Tyne and Wear STP has made efforts to ensure it is accountable and open to the public. For example, between October 2016 and January 2017, the NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group published an STP summary document and presentation slide pack to raise awareness of the proposals, and to listen to any ideas or concerns about the detail of the draft plan.

A dashboard and assessment of STP performance will be published shortly. Local communities can use this as a mechanism for holding the local National Health Service to account.