Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what accountability mechanisms are in place to ensure that Integrated Care Boards meet national service specifications for neurological conditions; and what steps he is taking where ICBs do not meet service specifications.

NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme, which ended in March 2026, was a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions. A toolkit was developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which includes components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services.

ICBs are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local population, including for patients with neurological conditions. NHS England continues to set national standards, service specifications, and clinical access policies, which ICBs are expected to apply. Additionally, ICBs are also expected to take National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance into account when considering appropriate care, including for patients with neurological conditions, although these guidelines are not mandatory.

Decisions about how services are prioritised and funded remain a matter for local discretion, and there is no mechanism for the Department to mandate or require specific provision.