NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group has denied claims by an MP that it is set to merge with its Halton counterparts.

Derek Twigg has expressed fears that the two CCGs could merge under NHS sustainability and transformation plans, which will cut close to £1bn from the health budget in Cheshire and Merseyside by 2020.

The Halton MP's concerns were sparked by increased collaboration between the neighbouring CCGs, while health secretary Jeremy Hunt has refused to rule out a merger.

Warrington North MP Helen Jones also took to Twitter to express her concerns on the matter.

Mr Twigg said: "In meetings with Halton CCG they have told me how they are moving towards greater collaboration with Warrington but not other neighbouring CCGs.

"I am concerned that this is part of a plan to merge the two CCGs.

"The secretary of state did not rule this out.

"With the STPs there is pressure to reorganise service which could, in my view, include mergers of CCGs.

"My instinct is that something will be be on the cards at some point.

"I have lived through a number of reorganisations and know you have to keep a close eye on these things."

Andrew Davies and Simon Banks, chief officers at Warrington and Halton CCGs respectively, released a joint statement denying Mr Twigg's claims.

The statement said: "Nationally, the NHS is facing significant pressures and to elevate these pressure and future-proof the NHS we know and value, we must adopt a common sense approach to do more with the same and collaborate, where appropriate, for the best outcomes.

"As NHS leaders, we have a responsibility to create a sustainable future for our organisations, our staff and the people.

"Warrington and Halton CCGs have a long established working relationship and already have some informal and formal sharing agreements.

"We can confirm that at this point in time there are no plans to merge the two CCGs.

"That said, there may be more opportunities to work together more closely, share our expertise, make the best use of the resources we have and, where possible, do things once.

"Working together is completely different to a merger - both organisations will retain their sovereignty as individual, seperate organisations."