Competition in the NHS is viewed as if it must either be for everything the NHS provides to patients or for nothing. Neither extreme is likely to produce the most socially beneficial outcome. To examine the appropriate role of competition in the NHS, the OHE has established an expert Commission on Competition, expected to produce a report by year’s end.

The debate about the role of competition in the NHS is polarised. Competition is treated as if it must either be for everything the NHS provides to patients or for nothing. But such extreme positions are unlikely to represent the most socially beneficial outcome. The OHE therefore has established an expert Commission on Competition in the NHS.

The purpose of the Commission is to investigate for which health care services and in which circumstances competition or contest is likely to be beneficial overall and for which it is likely to be harmful.

The Commission will collect evidence, consider and make recommendations to policy makers and implementers in the UK on the following.

• The characteristics of publicly funded health care services that determine whether competition or contest is likely to be beneficial
• Non-price and price competition
• How competition and contest, where potentially beneficial, might be enabled, promoted and regulated

The Chair of the Commission is James Malcomson, Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College. The members collectively provide expertise and experience in key areas: competition and/or regulation economics, NHS economics, health policy, NHS management and health care provision.

Commission members

James Malcomson (Chair), Professor of Economics, University of Oxford and Fellow of All Souls College

Mike Bailey, Medical Director and Deputy Chief Executive, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust

Anita Charlesworth, Chief Economist, The Nuffield Trust

Nigel Edwards, Acting Chief Executive, NHS Confederation

Julian Le Grand, Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy, London School of Economics

Carol Propper, Professor of Economics, Imperial College and Bristol University

Bob Ricketts, Director, Provider Policy, Department of Health

Jon Sussex, Deputy Director, Office of Health Economics

Adrian Towse, Director, Office of Health Economics

The Commission expects to complete its work during 2011 and will publish its report before the end of the year, summarising the evidence and making recommendations for policy and implementation.

The Commission would be pleased to receive evidence of direct relevance to its considerations. Those who wish to contribute evidence should initially send a short note (maximum one page), setting out the nature of the evidence they wish to submit, to the Secretariat of the OHE Commissionat OHE.  The Commission will invite more detailed submissions where it believes these will help its deliberations.