Integrated Care Boards

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

As the noble Baroness will be aware, a lot of the work at the local level will be done by the ICBs, in partnership with others, under the ICS system. On the Government’s role on workforce, the department commissioned Health Education England to produce a report to look at the long-term strategic drivers to support long-term workforce planning. This work is nearing its final stages. We have also commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a long-term workforce plan for the next 15 years. In addition, as the noble Baroness will know, Section 41 of the Health and Care Act 2022 gives the Secretary of State a duty to publish a report at least every five years.

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister say whether the importance of civil society to these care boards is realised? It is often local charities that really know what is going on in a community, and it is really important that they are involved going forward.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My noble friend makes a really important point on this: if you look at the structure at the local level, you will see the ICBs, but they are in partnership with civil society organisations and others to form the ICP. The integrated care boards and integrated care partnerships together comprise the integrated care system locally. When looking at local health needs and the health of populations, particularly in deprived areas, it is really important that we work with local charities and civil society organisations; they are quite often trusted more by local people than professionals.