Annual Fit and Proper Persons’ Declaration 2025-26

Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting

Date: 7 May 2025

Report Title: Annual Fit and Proper Persons’ Declaration 2025-26

Agenda Item: PUB25/05/6.2

Author: Stanley Mukwenya, Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs

Lead Director: Simon Chase, Chief Paramedic and Director of Quality

Purpose: Decision/approval

Assurance: Limited

Link to CQC domain: Caring, Responsive, Effective, Well-led, and Safe

Link to Strategic Objective:

• Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn.
• Provide outstanding quality of care and performance.
• Be excellent collaborators and innovators as system partners.
• Be an environmentally and financially sustainable organisation.

Link to Strategic Risk:

• SR1a: If we do not ensure our people are safe and their wellbeing prioritised, there is a risk that we will be unable to attract, retain and keep all our people safe and well.
• SR1b: If we do not ensure our leaders are developed and equipped, there is a risk that we will not be able to change our culture, and value, support, develop and grow our people.
• SR2: Failure to achieve continuous quality improvements and high-quality care delivery.
• SR3: If we do not ensure we have the ability to plan, influence and deliver across our systems to secure change, we will not be able to meet the needs of our public and communities.
• SR4: Failure to deliver an efficient, effective and economic service.
• SR5: If we do not clearly define our strategic plans, we will not have the agility to deliver the suite of improvements needed.
• SR6: Ability to ensure sufficient capacity and capability to ensure sustainable change.

Equality Impact Assessment: No negative impact identified.

Purpose: To provide assurance that all Board Directors meet the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 for 2025-26 year.

Recommendation: To receive and note that the annual Fit and Proper Persons’ Test (FPPT) has been conducted for the period 2025-26 and that all Board members satisfy the FPPT requirements.

Executive summary:

The paper sets out the requirement of the annual FPPT checks and confirms that the checks have been completed for each Board member, with the outcome recorded on ESR and placed on personal files. The scope of checks included all Executive and Non-Executive Directors irrespective of their voting rights (including interim Board level roles).

**Background ** The FPPT Framework was implemented in response to Tom Kark KC 2019 review in alignment with the Care Quality Commission’s requirements regarding directors being required to be fit and proper, strengthening patient safety and good leadership in health care organisations.

To comply with regulatory standards in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, the Trust is required to ensure that all its Board members meet the FPPT requirements.

FPPT Framework Board members are required to complete an annual self-attestation along with a social media check and a three yearly cycle of DBS checks. All aspects of the checks are also recorded on ESR in line with the criteria set out in the Framework.

Trust compliance has been informed by the application of the Board approved procedure on FPPT including:

• Pre-employment checks for all new appointments undertaken in line with NHS Employment Standards.
• Standard employment checks as per the Trust’s recruitment and selection process.
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
• Search of insolvency and bankruptcy register.
• Search of Companies House register to ensure that no Board member is disqualified as a director.
• Search of the Charity Commission’s Register of Removed Trustees.
• Social media checks.
• Satisfactory completion of the self-declaration.
• All new appointments for Non-Executive Director positions are undertaken in conjunction with NHS England.
• Annual and on-going Declarations of Interest for all Board members.
• An internal audit of Fit and Proper Persons procedures and records was undertaken in 2024 and received an opinion of Reasonable Assurance.
• There have not been any individual concerns raised regarding directors during the previous year providing continuing assurance that directors remain ‘Fit and Proper’.
• The retention of checks data on personal files.
• Outcome of the 2025 annual self-attestation declaration and FPPT checks.
• In April 2025, all Board members competed the FPPT self-attestation declaration.
• The outcome of the FPPT’s have been saved to each Director’s personal file and uploaded onto ESR.
• Between checks, each Director is responsible for identifying any issues which may affect their ability to meet the statutory requirements and informing the Trust Chair.

FPPT requirements play a significant role in strengthening accountability of directors of NHS bodies. Regulation 5 stipulates that Directors cannot have been responsible for, been privy to, contributed to or facilitated any serious misconduct or mismanagement (whether unlawful or not) while carrying on a regulated activity, however, Chairs retain flexibility to approve individual Directors who may not have met requirements in exceptional circumstances after an assessment and with controls put in place. A summary of the annual checks’ outcomes is passed to the NHS England Regional Directors for review. The Trust’s return will be submitted ahead of the 30 June 2025 deadline.