Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle inequalities in NHS (a) care and (b) funding for patients living near county borders.

Since June 2022, 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) across England have been responsible for arranging National Health Service healthcare services to meet the needs of their respective populations, reflecting the diversity of the needs within these populations. The local ICB is therefore responsible for ensuring that NHS services are accessible in their area.

NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to ICBs. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA).

The ACRA endorsed the introduction of a new community services formula, that they believe will better recognise needs for much older populations with higher needs for certain community services, which on average tend to be in some rural, coastal, and remote areas.

Work is also underway across the Department and with NHS England and the regional Directors of Public Health to develop approaches to address regional health inequalities. In line with the Government’s Health Mission, the Department’s goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind.