Submission to Monitor: 'Section 75' Guidance

On behalf of the above members of the recently established NHS Voluntary Sector Providers Forum (VSPF), I am pleased to be able to respond to Monitor’sConsultation on the Substantive guidance on the Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition Regulations.

Our response focuses on a number of key points:

1. The need for greater recognition of the current and potential role of the voluntary and community sector in the NHS
2. The need to remove any remaining ambiguity about the intent of the regulations
3. Concerns regarding the potential unnecessary use of competitive tendering and bundling and their potential impact on voluntary sector providers
4. Apparent differences between the content and intent of the guidance and other relevant guidance.