Recommendation 11

NHS Supply Chain recognises it needs to provide a better service to trusts, and increase trusts’ use of NHS Supply Chain, and has a programme of planned improvements that aim to transform and modernise the business.17 However, NHS Supply Chain considers that it needs NHSE’s support for this to be successful. NHS Supply Chain requested a £252 million revenue budget for 2023–24 to operate the organisation and implement its transformation projects for the year. NHSE did not approve the full amount requested but instead provided £240 million. We asked NHSE why it did not give NHS Supply Chain the full amount of funding requested. NHSE initially acknowledged that this shortfall would delay a new IT system but explained that there are a lot of calls on NHS funding and it has sought to get the balance right between other competing priorities and giving sufficient resource to NHS Supply Chain. It told us that, working with NHS Supply Chain it considers it has found a way to still target the original savings target of £500 million by 2026–27.18 NHSE’s role in challenging trusts use of NHS Supply Chain