Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to investigate potential conflicts of interest when Clinical Commissioning Groups enter into contracts with companies in which one or more of their board members has a financial interest.

NHS England is responsible for ensuring that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are effective and well led, including ensuring that conflicts of interest are properly managed in such a way as to ensure they do not undermine the integrity of commissioning decisions.

To do this, NHS England has developed an assurance framework for CCGs. CCGs are now required to complete a quarterly self-certification, which askswhether:

- Any potential conflicts of interest have arisen during the last quarter;

- The public register has been updated; and

- There is a record in each case of how the conflict of interest has or is planned to be managed.

This certification then forms the basis of an assurance conversation between the CCG and NHS England.

Work is currently underway to develop the 2016/17 CCG assessment framework and this will maintain the focus on conflicts of interest.