We are an arm’s length body of the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), which operates within a Framework Agreement with DHSC and the Care Act 2014 which governs its functions. The HRA has adopted Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions for the regulation of its proceedings, business and responsibilities of individuals.
In making decisions and undertaking actions, we take account of the NHS Constitution, a statute which brings together in one place the rights and responsibilities of staff and patients when using NHS services and the values and principles which underpin the NHS.
We lay our Annual Report and accounts before Parliament, and robust public and parliamentary accountability arrangements are in place between the DHSC and the HRA to ensure good communication and effective collaborative working between the two organisations. Quarterly accountability meetings are held which provide a mechanism for the DHSC to assure itself of the HRA’s delivery of its objectives.
We are governed by a Board that functions as a corporate decision-making body. The Board is composed of four non-executive directors (including the Chair) and three executive directors. We are committed to openness and transparency with Board meetings held in public and Board papers and minutes published on our website.
We are responsible for a budget of approximately £13m and we currently have approx.1,000 committee members who voluntarily serve on the our Research Ethics Service Committees (RECs), a National Research Ethics Advisors’ Panel (NREAP) and a Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG). Staff are based in London, at the HRA head office at 2 Redman Place, and four offices in Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester and Nottingham along with a number of home based staff.