Its difficult to define commissioning.  It includes planning services, encouraging providers, specifying outcomes and setting up contracts.  There has been some sort of explicit commissioning since the establishment of the internal market in 1990.  Commissioning in itself does not imply a market. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have systems to perform these functions without any explict market.

• PLANNING IN THE WELSH NHS April 16, 2018
• Sustainability and transformation plans February 22, 2017
• Deemed Consent for Organ Donation – one year on in Wales. December 1, 2016
• Redefining severity: how to reduce NHS costs in the 21st century November 30, 2016
• Tax avoidance and the NHS February 1, 2016
• NHS and social care commission debate January 30, 2016
• Redisorganisation, Hospitals and Trusts December 29, 2015
• Time to End the Stafford Saga December 28, 2015
• Is that it for the NHS? December 4, 2015
• Is the ‘purchaser–provider split’ dead? October 5, 2015
• The contracting NHS April 20, 2015
• Cancer Not For Profit March 18, 2015
• Cost of the Market in our NHS February 23, 2015
• Who should govern the NHS? GPs or community? January 13, 2015
• Keep the Split? January 6, 2015
• Public Procurement December 30, 2014
• The Clive Efford Bill November 23, 2014
• Labour must be convincing about the NHS November 20, 2014
• What Happens When Public Services Markets Fail? October 13, 2014
• National Policy Forum Report July 20, 2014
• Not Open or Transparent: Hiding Information October 27, 2013
• Sir Malcolm Grant at Expo October 12, 2013
• Avoiding privatisation in the NHS – a possible way out July 26, 2013
• Local authorities should run commissioning July 12, 2013
• Submission to Inquiry into the Effectiveness of Health Systems June 27, 2013
• Monitor – Danger! June 17, 2013
• Why the NHS (desperately) needs Local Authorities June 5, 2013
• Clinical Commissioning Board meeting June 4, 2013
• Health and Productivity May 10, 2013
• Influencing Your Clinical Commissioning Group May 2, 2013
• This is not just care, this is NHS ‘Whole Person Care’! April 30, 2013
• Being Paranoid might just be good risk management March 21, 2013
• CCGWatch March 19, 2013
• The Liberal Democrat view of the Competition regulations February 28, 2013
• Myths and Legends about NHS tendering January 11, 2013
• Doing Research on a Budget ? – the Health Voluntary Sector November 27, 2012
• GP Commissioning in Bucks July 4, 2012
• Good and bad in the local NHS June 6, 2012
• Open letter to Lansley from Wycombe Labour Party May 18, 2012

• Can market forces make the NHS more efficient?
• Can markets help the NHS?
• Clinical Commissioning Groups in England
• Contracts, Commissioning and Conflicts
• GP Commissioning in Bucks
• Marketisation and the NHS
• Markets and Competition in the NHS
• Markets In Health A Framework For Discussion
• A national debate on an accountable NHS
• NHS Commissioning: a better way forward James Gubb 2010
• Private business and the NHS
• Seven fallacies of English health policy
• Social Enterprises in Health
• What would make GP commissioning work?