Health Secretary sets out objectives for NHS Commissioning Board Authority
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has set out the Government’s strategic objectives for the NHS Commissioning Board Authority.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has set out the Government’s strategic objectives for the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and the basis against which the Authority will be held to account.
The Department of Health will hold the Authority to account for its performance against four strategic objectives, relating to:
- transferring power to local organisations
- establishing the commissioning landscape
- developing specific commissioning and financial management capabilities
- developing excellent relationships.
These objectives flow from the Authority’s role to prepare for the establishment and operation of the NHS Commissioning Board.
The objectives will need to be delivered in the context of the Board’s responsibility to contribute to the achievement of:
- improvements in health for the whole population
- better quality of care and outcomes for all patients
- increased value for the taxpayer through robust financial management and improved efficiency and productivity.
**The objectives are relevant to the period when the Authority is operating (until October 2012), and also to the full NHS Commissioning Board when it is established, in its preparatory phase from October 2012 until March 2013.
From April 2013, when the Board takes on its full statutory powers, Ministers will set their objectives, on behalf of the Government as a whole, through the mandate.
Proposals for the mandate are currently being developed with the aim of consulting on them this summer.