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<p>The National Health Service Mandate, which is published annually, sets the Government’s
objectives for NHS England which NHS England must seek to deliver, and its business
plan sets out how it will do so. Following this, NHS Planning Guidance sets out expectations
on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for their role in delivering the mandate,
which CCGs are then expected to reflect in their plans. As such, the mandate provides
a basis for holding NHS England and, through them, CCGs, to account.</p><p> </p><p>The
Department holds the NHS formally to account for its progress on achieving the objectives
in the mandate through bi-monthly Secretary of State accountability meetings, of which
the minutes are published. In July, the first Annual Assessment of NHS England was
laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State, which covers the extent to which
NHS England met its mandate in 2013-14.</p><p> </p><p>As the Annual Assessment acknowledged,
NHS England and the wider system have recently undergone a complex transition process.
This means it is difficult at this time to assess the effectiveness of the Mandate
as an accountability mechanism. Nevertheless, we will keep this under review.</p>
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