Preferred choice for NHS Commissioning Board chair named

Health secretary Andrew Lansley has named Professor Malcolm Grant as the preferred option to chair the NHS Commissioning Board.

The qualified barrister and academic lawyer, who has extensive experience in the public sector, is to be assessed by the Health Select Committee in a scrutiny hearing this week, ahead of his planned appointment.

In leading the board, he would be tasked with providing leadership and vision for NHS commissioning, pursuing reform agendas while reducing inequality and improving choice in healthcare.

Mr Lansley said: "I look forward to him bringing his characteristics of leadership, independence and strategic direction to the role of chair of the commissioning board."

The board will be an independent body, free to choose its own working methods while remaining accountable to the health secretary, who retains ultimate responsibility for service provision.

Last week, the House of Lords voted against measures that could have delayed or derailed the government's NHS reform proposals, as outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill.