Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the risk of conflicts of interest arising on Integrated Care Boards.

The Health and Care Bill transfers clinical commissioning groups’ current requirements to manage conflicts of interest to integrated care boards (ICBs), which includes maintaining and publishing a register of members’ interests and arrangements for the management of conflicts or potential conflicts of interest.

The ICB chair can also veto members of the board if they are unsuitable and NHS England can issue guidance to ICBs in relation to appointments. In order to manage conflicts of interest of board membership, we have also brought forward an amendment to the Bill to prevent individuals from the membership of boards where there are significant interests or views that could undermine its independence.