Evidence that the government is serious about introducing more competition into the supply of NHS services came on Thursday with the appointment of a heavyweight figure to oversee the process.

Lord Carter, who founded Westminster Health Care, is to chair the NHS’s co-operation and competition panel to which private, voluntary and NHS bodies will be able to appeal if they feel primary care trusts are not tendering services fairly. The peer has previously run a string of reviews for the government into areas such as pathology services and prisons, and is a former chairman of Sport England.