Corporate report

Functional conflicts and balancing competing regulatory interests policy

This policy explains how we recognise and resolve potential conflict.

Applies to England

Documents

Functional conflicts and balancing competing regulatory interests policy

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@dhsc.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

As the health sector regulator we perform a range of functions and this has the potential to generate conflict between the decisions made by colleagues within a directorate or between different directorates.

Two types of conflict are recognised:

  • functional conflicts (eg between our competition or pricing functions and those relating to imposing additional licence conditions)
  • those where competing regulatory interests need to be balanced (eg when deciding what solution to a foundation trust in serious difficulties is in the best interests of patients)

To maintain our regulatory integrity and impartiality, we must be transparent in recognising conflict of both types, both real and perceived, and how we resolve it, as described in this policy.

Published 2 July 2015