NHS Foundation Trusts: Governing Bodies
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the removal of the requirement for foundation trusts to have governors.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Council of Governors at National Health Service foundation trusts have a range of statutory roles and powers including representing the views of local populations, staff, and other stakeholders to the foundation trusts’ board.
The removal of the Council of Governors forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure that hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model of drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.
The removal of the Council of Governors will require primary legislation which the Government will bring forward when Parliamentary time allows.
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