Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the adequate running cost of integrated care boards per head of population.

Sir Jim Mackey wrote to the National Health Service on 1 April 2025 setting out that in the future, integrated care boards (ICBs) should reduce their running costs by 50%.

Analysis undertaken by NHS England shows the variation in the costs of commissioning in ICBs ranges from £51 to £26 per head of population. It is that variation that is being targeted, alongside the move to ICBs acting as strategic commissioners.

A national target per head of weighted population of £18.76 has been set. There will be some flexibility to vary this for individual ICBs to reflect local circumstances, and NHS England will be providing further information on expectations of how the reduction should be delivered.