Commissioning committee
Terms of Reference
Approved by Trust Board 28 April 2026.
All Trust Board Committees are responsible for the scrutiny, monitoring and provision of assurance to Trust Board on key issues set out in their terms of reference and/or allocated to them by the Board. Agendas are set to enable Trust Board to receive assurance that scrutiny and monitoring processes are in place to allow the Trust’s strategic objectives to be met and to address and mitigate risk.
The Collaborative Committee was established by Trust Board in May 2022 (name changed to Commissioning Committee in October 2024). The Terms of Reference of the Committee are reviewed annually and, if appropriate, amended to reflect any changes to the Committee’s remit and role, any changes to other committees and revised membership. Following review by the Committee, the Terms of Reference are submitted to Trust Board for approval.
The Committee is subject to an effectiveness review every 12 months. This is a self-assessment and any changes/actions are held by the committee. The outcome of the effectiveness review is reported into the Trust’s Audit Committee.
The Commissioning Committee is a non-executive committee of the Board and has no executive powers other than those specifically delegated in these terms of reference and, as appropriate, by Trust Board. Committees are expected to conduct their business in accordance with the 7 principles of public life (Nolan principles): selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
Purpose
The purpose of the Committee is to seek assurance on behalf of Trust Board as to the fulfilment of the Trust’s lead role in certain (1) specialised (regional) and (2) Place-based provider collaboratives.
Specialised Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism (MHLDA) Provider Collaboratives
The Committee’s purpose in respect of MHLDA Provider Collaboratives is to seek assurance on behalf of Trust Board that:
- the Trust’s responsibilities as Co-ordinating Provider of the West Yorkshire Adult Secure Provider Collaborative and the South Yorkshire Adult Secure Provider Collaborative (and any other specialised mental health provider collaboratives as may be established with the Trust as Co-ordinating Provider from time to time) in respect of commissioning activities (finance, contracting, planning and quality assurance) are being fulfilled. The Committee will ensure that information reported to Trust Board in this respect of sound, valid and complete; and
- there is an appropriate level of delineation between the Trust’s obligations to provide the relevant services, and its commissioning responsibilities (finance, contracting, planning and quality assurance) in accordance with the Trust’s obligations under its commissioning contracts with NHS England (as responsible commissioner);
- risks related to the Trust’s role as Co-ordinating Provider and the undertaking of commissioning activities in that role are identified and managed appropriately. The Committee will provide additional scrutiny of behalf of Trust Board of any such risks which are outside the Trust’s Risk Appetite.
The Committee’s purpose and remit will not include oversight of the day-to-day provision of patient care by the Trust. This will continue to be the responsibility of the Trust’s operations team and the other providers within the relevant collaborative.
Membership
The membership of the Committee comprises three Non-Executive Directors of the Trust, one of whom shall be Chair.
Membership of the Committee at 1 April 2026:
Chair – Non-Executive Director – Martin Neeson
Non-Executive Director- Margaret Kitching
Non-Executive Director- Gary Ellis
Attendance
Representatives invited and expected to attend each meeting of the Committee are as follows.
- Executive Lead Director for Commissioning (Director of Finance, Estates and Resources)
- Chief Medical Officer
For Specialised, Mental Health Learning Disability and Autism Lead Provider Collaboratives
- Head of Commissioning (West Yorkshire Specialised Provider Collaborative Commissioning Hub)
- Provider Collaboratives Director (SYB Mental Health Provider Collaborative Commissioning Hub)
- Clinical Lead (West Yorkshire Adult Secure Provider Collaborative)
- Clinical Director (SYB Mental Health Provider Collaborative Commissioning Hub)
- Quality and Governance Leads (West Yorkshire Commissioning Hub)
The Committee may invite such other attendees to meetings of the Committee as it deems appropriate.
Administrative support is provided by Corporate Governance admin support team
Quorum
The quorum will be two Non-Executive Director members. Members are expected to attend all meetings. In the unusual event that the Chair is absent from the meeting, the Committee will agree another Non-Executive Director to take the chair. Meetings may be held virtually and those attending virtually may count towards quorum.
Frequency of meetings
The Committee will meet a minimum of bi-monthly. The Chair of the Committee may request an additional meeting if they consider one is necessary.
It is the responsibility of the Lead Director (Director of finance, estates and resources) to ensure items are identified for the Committee’s agenda in line with the Committee’s terms of reference. The Committee work programme and the commissioning risks facing the organisation will be agreed at the beginning of each year by the Chair of the Committee.
Authority
The Committee is authorised by Trust Board to investigate any activity within its terms of reference. It is authorised to seek any information it requires from any employee and all employees are directed by Trust Board to co-operate with any request made by the Committee. The Committee is also authorised by Trust Board to obtain external legal or other independent professional advice and to secure the attendance of external bodies or individuals with relevant experience and expertise if it considers this necessary.
The chair of the committee shall draw to the attention of the board any issues that require disclosure to the full board or require executive action.
Sub-committees
To fulfil its duties and to ensure the Trust complies with its statutory responsibilities and duties, the Committee will receive reports from identified partnership meetings for each collaborative.
The Committee will receive minutes and/or reports from the following groups and any other relevant groups as considered appropriate:
- West Yorkshire Adult Secure Provider Collaborative Board
- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Adult Secure Provider Collaborative Oversight Group
- West Yorkshire Specialised Mental Health Learning Disability and Autism Programme Board
- South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Provider Collaborative Partnership Board
Duties
Financial assurance
The Committee shall receive updates on the financial performance of the Provider Collaboratives and seek assurance that effective financial governance systems and processes are in place. In particular, the Committee will:
- Maintain oversight of the financial position of the Provider Collaboratives, for which SWYPFT is the Co-ordinating Provider.
- Seek assurance from the Provider Collaboratives for which SWYPFT is the Co-ordinating Provider of the robustness of the risk assessments underpinning financial forecasts
- Provide onward assurance to the SWYPFT Board that financial planning is effectively established and managed, and that risks to delivery of plans and any significant service impacts or risks are effectively managed or mitigated.
- Following review and recommendation from the relevant Specialised MHLDA Provider Collaborative Oversight Group (e.g. WY Adult Secure Provider Collaborative Board and SYB Provider Collaborative Oversight Group), review business cases and recommend to Trust Board for approval (for both new service proposal and reduction of service delivery and investments and/or disinvestments).
- Seek assurance of in year performance against commissioned services and financial plans and examine the effectiveness of any remedial action plans.
- Seek assurance on the delivery of agreed improvement programmes to reduce cost and increase efficiency including assurance on benefits realisation and value for money.
The Committee will ensure that the systems for, and content of, financial reporting to Trust Board, are subject to review, so the Committee is assured of the completeness and accuracy of the information provided to Board.
Contracting
The Committee will:
- Seek assurance that for Provider Collaboratives where SWYPFT is Co-ordinating Provider contracts are negotiated in line with standard procedures, and implemented enabling the Provider Collaborative to deliver its aims
- Agree formal Commissioning Intentions
Risk Management
The Committee will:
- Receive Provider Collaborative risk registers, where SWYPFT is Co-ordinating Provider
- Discuss and review any issue likely to require inclusion on, or modification to the risk register
- Escalate risks to Trust Board where they are outside of risk appetite or need to be brought to the Boards attention
Oversight of quality assurance and improvement
The Committee will:
- Seek assurance from the relevant Provider Collaborative oversight group (e.g. WY Adult Secure Provider Collaborative Board and SYB Provider Collaborative Oversight Group) that the Provider Collaboratives have robust processes in place to monitor performance, including out of area placements.
- Seek assurance from the relevant Provider Collaborative oversight group that robust processes are in place to monitor the quality of provision of provider collaborative partners, and provider onward assurance to Trust Board.
- Seek assurance from the relevant Provider Collaborative oversight group that there are governance arrangements in place to manage quality concerns including those identified as a result of case manager reviews, incidents, or external review inspections are addressed and monitored, and appropriate action plans are in place to mitigate these risks, and provide onward assurance to Trust Board.
- To provide assurance to Trust Board that there are robust systems for learning lessons from complaints, adverse events and incidents, and action is being taken to minimise the risk of occurrence of adverse events.
Other Assurance Functions
The Committee shall review the findings of other significant assurance functions, both internal and external to the organisation, and consider the implications for the Provider Collaborative.
These will include any reviews by the Department of Health and Social Care, arms-length bodies, or regulators/inspectors (e.g. Care Quality Commission, NHS England, NHS Resolution, etc) professional bodies with responsibility for the performance of staff or functions (e.g. Royal Colleges, accreditation bodies, etc.).
Monitoring
The Committee will monitor its performance both in terms of providing assurance to Trust Board and in terms of ensuring it meets the remit as set out in its terms of reference through:
- agreement of an annual work plan;
- inclusion in the work plan of any items delegated to the Committee by Trust Board and through the Assurance Framework;
- monitoring implementation of the annual work plan;
- assessment of the Committee’s performance through an annual self-assessment; and
- an evaluation of the Committee’s performance through an annual report to Trust Board.
The Committee will assess, measure and evaluate its impact, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and include the outcome of this in its annual report to Trust Board.
Behaviours and conduct
Trust values
Members will be expected to conduct business in line with the trust values and objectives.
Members of, and those attending, the committee shall behave in accordance with the trust’s constitution, standing orders, and standards of business conduct policy.
Equality and diversity
Members must demonstrably consider the equality and diversity implications of decisions they make.
Reporting to Trust Board
Trust Board will receive the minutes of Committee at the Trust Board meeting following the Committee meeting. Minutes will only be made available to Private Board due to commercial sensitivity. The Committee will also report to the Board annually on its work and include commentary in support of the Annual Governance Statement, the effectiveness of assurance systems, the work of internal and external audit and the annual accounting process.
All Trust Board Committees have a responsibility to ensure they foster and maintain relationships and links between Committees and Trust Board. Each Committee also has a responsibility to ensure action identified and agreed is placed within the organisation either through the Executive Management Team or other internal groups, such as Trust-wide Action Groups.
Next review due: April 2027
Appendix 1: Phase 1 Specialised MHLDA Provider Collaborative Governance
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