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Change of Control Approval for GP Surgeries Lawful

Mrs Justice Hill has handed down judgment in Khurana v North Central London CCG and NHS England [2022] EWHC 384, in which she rejected the claim that the CCG had acted unlawfully when it approved a change of control request from a provider of primary care services. The claim was the first to consider the nature of the considerations a CCG should take into account when considering requests for approval of change of control. The Claimant challenged the CCG's approach to the request for approval and the scope of the due diligence undertaken and alleged that the CCG had not fulfilled its duties to consult and engage when it approved a change of control request which had the effect of transferring control of a number of GP surgeries to a health care services group which was ultimately owned by an American company. Mrs Justice Hill found that the CCG's approach to the question of the change of control was appropriate, and lawful, given the narrow question with which it was faced. She also accepted that the CCG complied with any duty it owed to secure engagement or involvement.

Fenella Morris QC and Jennifer Thelen, 39 Essex Chambers, and Richard Parker, Hill Dickinson, acted for the North Central London CCG and NHS England.