Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what cognisance NHS Improvement took of the oral contribution of the Minister for Health of 27 June 2018, Official Report, column 1002, on irregularities of process that had taken place including at NHS Improvement in respect of the appointment process for the Chair of the Blackpool Trust, Pearse Butler, when NHS Improvement provided advice to that Trust on the permanent appointment of Kevin McGee as the Chief Executive of that Trust and to operate as Chief Executive of both the Blackpool Trust and the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust between June 2019 and September 2019.

There were a number of issues raised around the appointment process for the Chair of the Blackpool Trust on 27 June 2018. National Health Service foundation trusts operate within a clear accountability framework. It is for the governors of a foundation trust to appoint the chair. NHS Improvement is not involved in the recruitment of chairs of foundation trusts unless there is a breach of the licence. In the appointment of the Chair of Blackpool Trust the Chief Executive voluntarily stood down from all of the interview process prior to the appointment.

The appointment of a Chief Executive in an NHS foundation trust is the responsibility of the trust’s non-executive directors, including the chair, with approval from the Trust’s council of governors

Where trusts are facing challenges, it is right that NHS Improvement provides support and this can sometimes come in the form of shared leadership with nearby organisations.

The arrangement that has been put in place for Blackpool is designed to deliver a number of benefits including:

- enhanced quality of care;

- financial sustainability; and

- improved performance.

The Chief Executive of Blackpool NHS Trust and East Lancashire NHS Trust, Mr McGee will be paid a single salary. The process for agreeing the remuneration of the chief executive involves the agreement by the remuneration committees of each trust, in line with the organisational corporate governance procedures. The remuneration is in line with the NHS Improvement regulatory guidance on Very Senior Manager pay and was also approved by the Department in June 2019.