The Department of Health has told NHS commissioners that they must not prefer providers from any one sector, and should instead be non-discriminatory and seek to remove barriers to third sector participation.

The Department has published three pieces of guidance on the issue this week: the revised Principles and Rules for Cooperation and Competition, the revised PCT Procurement Guide, and Commercial Skills for the NHS.

The guidance counters health secretary Andy Burnham, who said last year that the NHS should be the "preferred provider" of NHS services.

Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, said: "This guidance is the final nail in the coffin for the 'preferred provider' policy, which has been well and truly neutered. The Department of Health has today explicitly told NHS commissioners that they must not prefer providers from any one sector The third sector has a huge amount to offer NHS patients, and we want to work in partnership with the NHS deliver better services. Now we can get back to working with the NHS to do just that."
 
In January, Acevo and the NHS Partners Network successfully lobbied for an inquiry into a Primary Care Trust’s decision to only accept tenders for running its community services from NHS organisations.