Senior NHS managers in England could be banned from NHS jobs for serious misconduct under details of new barring scheme unveiled by ministers last month.

In its official response to the public consultation on regulating NHS managers, which closed in February, the government confirmed that the barring scheme will apply only to board-level managers and staff who report directly to them. This is likely to include all very senior managers (VSMs) working for trusts and ICBs in England. Executive managers working for NHS England will not be covered due to its abolition and the transfer of its functions to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The government said it would consider extending the disbarring scheme to some Agenda for Change grades, specifically Band 9, but only after a “thorough review of the regulatory system once embedded”.

The scheme will be run by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which will be given new powers under legislation, expected to be introduced during this parliament. The government said it would set out further details on the regulatory process before legislation is introduced, with a further public consultation expected on the draft bill.

“We’re pleased that the government has listened to our views on management regulation,” said MiP chief executive Jon Restell. “It is sensible to limit regulation to the most senior posts, at least to begin with. And we argued strongly for an independent regulator.”

But he warned “there is lot of work to do” before the scheme can begin. “The government will need to clearly define standards, design a fair regulatory process and answer several technical questions such as what happens to managers already covered by a regulator,” he said. “MiP is ready to work with the government on these issues.”

Statutory regulation is “a small piece of jigsaw”, he added. The “culture change, greater accountability and higher professional standards,” MiP members wanted to see “requires a much bigger effort”.

“This means trusting managers to get on with the job, freeing them up and letting go of micro-regulation from Whitehall,” he said. “And it also means having enough managers working in stable organisations. The hard truth for patients and staff is that the government’s swingeing job cuts and risky system upheaval are the biggest threats to good management in the NHS.”