Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted
NHS England unable to explain preservation of institutional memory amid leadership changes and merger.
Recommendation
It had previously been announced that NHS England’s Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, National Medical Director and Chief Delivery Officer and National Director for Vaccination and Screening would step down from their roles.13 During our evidence session, the Prime Minister announced that the Department and NHS England would merge. In the context of these changes, we asked how the institutional memory of NHS England would be preserved. NHS England could not explain specifically how this would be retained. It stated that those remaining at NHS England had a significant amount of experience, and that these people would give continuity of knowledge.14
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's recommendation, outlining a process for the Department and NHS England merger that includes assessing functions, agreeing senior structures, and planning staff transfers. This structured approach aims to preserve institutional memory, with further details expected by Autumn 2025.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: August 2025 1.2 The Department of Health and Social Care (the department) is carefully considering lessons learnt from previous organisational changes as it takes forward the programme to create a single new organisation. 1.3 The reforms are designed to address the failures of the 2012 NHS restructuring, reducing bureaucracy and duplication to improve care delivery. Equally, the government is also building a new organisation that can deliver on the Health Mission and 10 Year Plan, through enabling and supporting the health and care system and those who lead it locally. 1.4 The department has assessed the current functions across both organisations, agreed a senior structure for the future department, and is developing its plans for the transfer of staff from NHS England to the department. The department is committed to transparency throughout this process and, in keeping with this, has shared this information with staff across both organisations. The department has also written to the Committee Chair on the 7 July 2025 to describe these plans in more detail. 1.5 Information relating to the size of resource functions is likely to be confirmed in Autumn 2025.