Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered at on 18 March 2026.
Justin Madders
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department is collecting to monitor progress towards reducing the level of outsourcing in the NHS.
Justin Madders
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information is being provided to his Department by NHS England on the progress on insourcing previously outsourced services within the NHS.
Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not routinely collect data on outsourcing or insourcing arrangements. Outsourcing transactions which involve the creation of new subsidiaries or material changes to existing subsidiaries are reportable to NHS England for review in line with its published subsidiary transaction guidance.
As set out on 26 September 2025, NHS England will shortly consult on updating the subsidiary transaction guidance to confirm that subsidiaries involving the transfer of National Health Service staff will now only be approved in a limited number of circumstances, and only where there is clear local union support and protection of NHS terms and conditions, including pension access.
Subsidiary transaction proposals involving the transfer of NHS staff are paused while NHS England undertakes this consultation, unless they are supported by local unions.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.