Department of Health and Social Care Accounts inquiry

The Public Accounts Committee will examine Department of Health and Social Care Accounts on Wednesday 17th October 2018. The financial sustainability of health and social care is a serious and ongoing concern of the Public Accounts Committee. The most recent Annual Report and Accounts show that although the Department of Health and Social Care remain within the spending limits voted by Parliament, the margins were narrow. The Committee will challenge the Department on how well it has managed its finances and examine the Department's progress in putting the NHS in England to a more financially sustainable footing. The accounts also reveal a large degree of uncertainty around clinical negligence costs and the Department's legal responsibility, with possible total expenditure estimated at £46bn compared to 35bn in 2016-17. Following the Committee's report into clinical negligence last year, the session will explore the impact of rising costs and how the Department plans to manage them. Members may also question officials about frontline challenges facing the Department, for example its preparedness for winter pressures on NHS services.