Future Forum was truly independent and not influenced by government, claims chairman
BMJ 2011; 342 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d3833 (Published 20 June 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d3833The panel of experts that led a listening exercise to review the government’s planned health reforms was not influenced by the government, MPs have been told.
Steve Field, chairman of the NHS Future Forum, appearing before the parliamentary health select committee on 16 June, denied that the forum had been somehow pressured and controlled by the Department of Health for England.
The forum, which published its Summary Report on Proposed Changes to the NHS on 13 June, recommended significant changes to the Health and Social Care Bill, almost all of which have been accepted by the government (BMJ 2011;342:d3777, doi:10.1136/bmj.d3777).
Professor Field, giving evidence to the committee as part of its inquiry into the forum’s report, was asked how free he and the other members of the forum were to comment on what the government did with their recommendations.
“I was independent, and I had no political pressure before, and I don’t feel any political pressure now,” said Professor Field. “Just as I felt it was appropriate to do an interview with the Guardian newspaper to raise some of the issues in the middle of the process, I feel free to speak out.
“The reason I did the Guardian interview was because some people were saying that this was nothing but a publicity stunt and wasn’t real. I know it was real, and I wanted to put a marker in the sand so that people understood that we were independent.”
Valerie Vaz, Labour MP for Walsall South, said, “I was very disappointed that you felt you could talk to the Guardian and not to the health select committee about this.”
Professor Field said: “I apologise for that, but I was completely focused on where we were going.”
Asked about how the 45 strong forum panel was selected, he said that many had come from a list of people put forward to him by the health department as potential forum members. He had also sought additional people that he knew.
MPs asked whether he had met and discussed the forum’s work with the prime minister during the process of the listening exercise and whether the government had asked for an interim report.
Professor Field said that he had met formally with the health secretary during the process once and then informally several times on visits and with the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. At these meetings they had discussed specific issues.
“With the prime minister, I had extraordinary access to him and spent a lot of time talking to him before and after the listening events, many of which were without the press present,” he said. “None of them had a formal update about where we were on issues.
“I honestly believe I have not had any political interference at all at any stage.”
MPs asked about the large amount of debate that has focused on Monitor becoming an economic regulator, which, as stated in the bill’s original wording, would have had a duty to promote competition in provision of healthcare services.
Stephen Bubb, the leader for the choice and competition theme within the forum, also giving evidence, said, “I don’t think it was ever about promoting competition.
“It was about a very strong regulator, one that protects the interests of citizens and a regulator that, under our framework, will be promoting integrated arrangements, whether that’s through competition or through collaborative arrangements in consortia.”
Notes
Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d3833
Footnotes
Summary Report on Proposed Changes to the NHS is at www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_127443.
For other articles on the changes to the NHS in England, visit the BMJ’s NHS reform microsite at bmj.com/nhsreforms.
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