Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how long NHS Improvement should allow for the due diligence regime once a contract is provided to a new supplier; whether due diligence is completed to a specific deadline; and if he will make a statement.

NHS Improvement is resourced to undertake a number of functions, which include working with National Health Service providers to ensure that due diligence processes are completed in a timely and effective manner. In the case of the Liverpool Community Health contract, the publication of the Care Quality Commission report into Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust led to a pause in the transaction.