NHS England [On-going] Consultation on management of conflicts of interest

Following the National Audit Office (NAO) 2015 Report on Managing conflicts of interest in NHS clinical commissioning groups, which led to a revision of NHS England's Statutory guidance on managing conflicts of interest for clinical commissioning groups in June 2016, it is interesting to note that the on-going [closes on 31 October] public consultation on the broader issue of Managing conflicts of interest in the NHS includes a section on conflicts of interest in procurement.

The management of conflicts of interest in procurement is an interesting area of growing practical relevance, but also one where the law applicable to the activities of NHS England is increasingly complex and in need of consolidation (see the main findings of a recent research project I carried out at the University of Bristol Law School here). In that context, the adoption of additional guidance seems appropriate, although it should be carefully designed to ensure that it does not conflict with mandatory legal requirements.

The Managing conflicts of interest in the NHS consultation document is interesting in many aspects and puts forward a rather specific and quite polished view of the need to increase the transparency of both the rules and the decisions concerning the management of conflicts of interest across the activities of the public health system in England. However, it also contains some principles and rules which, in my view, could be improved and I hope that they will be revised as a result of the public consultation. With that aim, I have submitted a response to the consultation, which I am happy to share with anyone interested via email (a.sanchez-graells@bristol.ac.uk). I would also encourage anyone with a couple of hours to spare to contribute to the public consultation before it closes on Monday.

I will write again about this once the final recommendations of the Task and Finish Group of experts are published.

Announcing event on public procurement, competition, conflicts of interest and NHS commissioning (Bristol, 23.06.16)

 (c) Dominic Lipinski/PA, via Guardian.
I am organising the event "Taking stock of NHS governance after the 2013 reforms: Public procurement, competition and conflicts of interest in NHS commissioning". It will be held by the University of Bristol Law School on 23 June 2016 in the interesting premises of OpenSpace, with the generous sponsorship of PolicyBristol and Bevan Brittan. Registration is now open here.

This event has two main objectives. First, it intends to bring together Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), NHS Trusts, legal practitioners and academics, so that we can collectively take stock of this aspect of the new NHS governance framework almost 3 years after its adoption. Secondly, and more specifically, it aims to explore issues of interaction between public procurement and competition rules in relation to potential conflicts of interest in NHS commissioning. This exploration should allow for the emergence of some initial lessons-learned, as well as help shape research agendas in this area of public governance, which will undoubtedly gain relevance over the coming years.

The panel of academic and practitioner experts that will participate in the event include:
Through interaction of experts and participants, in particular, the event aims to:
  1. Assess how the sectoral rules created by the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and. Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013 compare with general regimes applicable to conflicts of interest under public procurement and competition law.
  2. Explore the implications for CCGs and NHS Trusts of any potential discrepancies between the sectoral regime and general public procurement and competition rules, with a particular focus on the remedies that can be enforced against them, which in turn determine their operational risks and potential liabilities.
  3. Assess the need for any further reforms of the system once the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 become applicable to health care sector in April 2016.
Thus, this event aims to clarify the current and future public procurement and competition law constraints on NHS commissioning activities, as well as to facilitate knowledge exchange between CCGs, NHS Trusts, academics and legal practitioners in this field of economic law of increasing relevance.

The event is divided in two parts. The morning sessions, consisting presentations be leading academics and solicitors, are open to all, and in particular to academics, PhD students and legal practitioners. The afternoon sessions are reserved for a workshop on practical issues and future challenges is reserved to CCG and NHS Trust members only. This workshop follows up on the discussions held in the morning sessions. It is intended to provide a time for CCG and NHS Trust practitioners to brainstorm and exchange ideas on the main practical issues and future challenges for NHS Commissioning under the combined application of2013 Regulations 2013 and the PCR 2015 to the tendering of NHS contracts.

Overall, then, this event aims to facilitate knowledge exchange between CCGs, NHS Trusts, academics and legal practitioners in this field of economic law of increasing relevance. If you are interested, please register here. For further details, please contact me: a.sanchez-graells@bristol.ac.uk.