Research, Innovation and Growth (RIG) Board – Wednesday 13 May 2026

NHS England Quality Committee

Terms of Reference (ToR)

1. The Committee agreed its primary function is to ensure NHS England meets its statutory obligations in relation to quality, including oversight, assurance, and evidence of mandated decision-making responsibilities. Members noted the importance of maintaining a formal NHS England Quality Committee structure for governance purposes while operational alignment with the NQB reduces duplication and strengthens coherence.

NQB Core Metric Set: Data Compendium and Quality Insights Pack

2. The Committee received an update on the NQB Core Metric Set and data compendium as part of the presentation at the NQB meeting, acknowledging the significant progress made.

3. Key discussion points included the Committee’s primary focus to be on:

• Identifying adverse national quality trends
• Highlighting unwarranted variation and outliers
• Ensuring appropriate and timely interventions are in place

Assurance regarding the use of off-label medicines across NHS England Prescribed Specialist Services

4. The Committee noted that off-label prescribing is a routine and essential part of clinical practice, particularly in specialised services, but is currently managed through a mix of national and local decision-making, leading to variation in access and patient experience. Concerns were raised around inequity, financial risks, and lack of transparency, particularly for patients navigating access routes. The Committee agreed there is merit in exploring a more consistent national framework to improve equity, governance, and patient understanding.

Quality Risk Register

5. The Committee noted that the strategic quality risk remains high at 16 due to ongoing organisational transition, despite mitigating actions such as strengthened governance and improved data monitoring. Key concerns included workforce capacity, delays to key policy publications, and limitations in oversight metrics, with further work planned to strengthen quality monitoring and define appropriate tolerance thresholds.

National Quality Board

Safe and Effective Staffing Programme annual update

6. The Board received an update on the Safe and Effective Staffing Programme and supported plans to refresh workforce safeguards guidance, noting the need for clearer governance alongside greater flexibility for local decision-making. Members emphasised a multi-professional approach, avoidance of prescriptive staffing ratios, and the importance of aligning staffing decisions with healthcare value, sustainability, and varying levels of digital maturity. The Board agreed to proceed with updating the guidance and to bring proposals back for further review.

NQB Core Metric Set: Data Compendium and Quality Insights Pack

7. The Board received an overview of the proposed core metrics framework and insights pack, designed to support delivery of the Quality Strategy through a 3-tier structure and to remain largely stable over the next year. Members welcomed the approach but requested further refinement to better capture variation, inequalities and key metrics, while emphasising the importance of transparency and system-wide usability.

Modern Service Frameworks (MSFs)

8. The Board received an update on the development of MSFs, noting progress in strengthening consistency across methods, engagement and governance while maintaining clinical flexibility. Members emphasised the need for broader system alignment beyond clinical settings, with clearer governance, stakeholder engagement and links to wider priorities. Further refinements to process, oversight and communication will be taken forward, with final frameworks circulated for approval ahead of publication.

Learning from deaths

9. The Board considered proposals to revise the Learning from Deaths guidance so that it better aligns with current patient safety policy and practice, including the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework and the statutory Medical Examiner system. Members also discussed the fragmented nature of current data sources and the opportunity to improve national approaches to data capture, linkage and use.

Recommendations Hub

10. The Board noted progress on the Recommendations Hub, including development of a prioritisation framework and supporting analysis, with further detail to follow from the mental health pilot.