Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the reasons are for the determination of integrated care system population sizes; and what correlation there is between population size for those systems and improved (a) healthcare delivery and local (b) accountability and transparency.

Due to the variety in system complexity, particularly between rural and urban areas as well as population density, local authority boundaries and acute patient flows, the population size and footprint of integrated care systems (ICSs) vary across the country. System leaders will therefore engage and support partnership working across all boundaries to best meet the needs of their populations. All ICSs will be locally accountable and transparent regardless of size.