Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) were created following the Health and Social Care Act in 2012, and replaced Primary Care Trusts on 1 April 2013.

CCGs are:

• Membership bodies, with local GP practices as the members;
• Led by an elected Governing Body made up of GPs, other clinicians including a nurse and a secondary care consultant, and lay members;
• Responsible for approximately 2/3 of of the total NHS England budget; or £71.9 billion in 2016/17;
• Responsible for healthcare commissioning such as mental health services, urgent and emergency care, elective hospital services, and community care;
• Independent, and accountable to the Secretary of State for Health through NHS England;
• Responsible for the health of populations ranging from under 100,000 to 900,000, although the average population covered by a CCG is about a quarter of a million people.