Recommendation 19

We asked NHSE about its programme management of the recovery and its strategic approach to tackling variation in performance between NHS areas. The National Audit Office found that, whilst recovery funding was allocated in September 2021 and the recovery plan published in February 2022, NHSE had only filled seven out of 21 posts in its central programme management office by the end of May 2022. It also reported that NHSE still did not have the capability to report fully on performance, according to the measures it had itself identified, in August 2022.39