Clinical commissioning group authorisation: Draft guide for applicants has been published following its formal ratification at the Board meeting of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority (NHS CBA) on 13 April 2012.

The guide is still formally a ‘draft’ because the authorisation regulations have yet to be passed by Parliament. As such, the final version is scheduled to be published in October 2012 once the NHS Commissioning Board is established. However, emerging CCGs should use this document as the basis for their authorisation applications.

SHA clusters are working with their CCGs to agree which application wave each CCG will go into by 30 April 2012 and when all emerging CCG intentions are known the NHS CBA will assess the national picture to ensure that the overall ‘authorisation pipeline’ is deliverable. If there is any need to adjust numbers between waves, this will be done in discussion with SHA clusters. There is no advantage in being part of any particular wave as all CCGs will take on their new commissioning duties, if authorised, on 1 April 2013, regardless of when they were authorised.

Work is also underway to develop and finalise the assessment process: the NHS CBA has been testing the 360-degree stakeholder survey, working with six emerging CCGs to test the questionnaire and develop an information pack; assessors are being appointed and an assessors’ guide developed. An Authorisation Stakeholder Group has also been set up involving nine GP clinical leads from across the country who will feed in their views on the design of the process and its implementation as the work develops.

Authorisation surgeries will be run in each region to support emerging CCGs in putting their applications together – more details on these will be available soon.

View all clinical commissioning group authorisation resources.

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