Applications for Secretary of State for Health support are first considered by the Department of Health’s Applications Committee which then makes recommendations to the Secretary of State as to which trusts should be supported to proceed to Monitor for assessment (phase three). The final decision is made by the Secretary of State for Health.
The Applications Committee is a body of senior level Department of Health officials that meets monthly. Its role is to advise the Secretary of State on the merits of each NHS foundation trust application, based upon the SHA support documentation submitted in phase one.
The SHA will be invited to show that the applicant trust is:
Typically, the SHA will make a short presentation, followed by some discussion of the key points with the Applications Committee.
In the event that the Applications Committee recommends that the Secretary of State does not support an NHS foundation trust application, the SHA will explain the reasons for this to the trust. After discussion with the applicant, the SHA will advise the Department of Health Foundation Trust Team of the trust’s new application trajectory, which is the timescale over which the trust should work towards for reconsideration by the Committee.
The Secretary of State’s support will be dependent upon evidence of firm support from the SHA, as demonstrated by the assurance process, for the application being submitted. It is expected that, if the SHA assurance processes are sufficiently robust, then the likelihood of applicants not being recommended to the Secretary of State for support will be minimal.
The Department of Health informs Monitor of trusts which have received Secretary of State support and are ready to begin phase three. The final decision on whether a trust can be authorised as an NHS foundation trust rests with Monitor.