Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that private providers of physiotherapy services to the NHS (a) provide value for money and (b) do not operate with excessive profit margins.

Throughout its history, the National Health Service has always worked with non-NHS healthcare providers to deliver essential services to patients, especially at times of operational pressures. The overall proportion of health spending on independent sector providers has not increased significantly over recent years. In 2013/14, 6.1% of total health spending, or £6.5 billion, was spent on purchase of healthcare from independent sector providers. In 2023/24, this was 6.8% or £12.4 billion.

The Provider Selection Regime is a set of rules for procuring health care services in England, giving decision-makers the flexibility they need to arrange services that best promote the interests of patients, the taxpayer, and the population. As part of the Provider Selection Regime, commissioners need to be transparent in their decision making to ensure that there is proper scrutiny and accountability of decisions made about NHS services.

Rates of payment for physiotherapy services are set at a local level. Pursuant to the Government’s public interest test, NHS bodies are not obliged to accept any bids submitted by external suppliers unless they clearly demonstrate value for money and deliver against the aims and objectives of a business cases. It is expected that any outsourced services are delivered in a way that improves quality, ensures greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce, and delivers better value for money as part of broader commitments on procurement.