Over the next few weeks the Bill will be going through a quiet period, so it’s a worthwhile opportunity to take a different look at some of the highly politicised issues that we discussed last week. Today I thought it would be useful to run through a review that was published in July this year by the Cooperation and Competition Panel concerning how patient choice for any willing provider was actually working.

The analysis is important for two reasons. Firstly because it provides an interesting understanding of what is going on and secondly because the panel is suggesting that, unless there are changes to the practices of commissioners, there will be a case against those commissioners – which they will have to answer.