Integrated Care Boards and NHS England
(asked on 18th June 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department's risk assessments of (a) the abolition of NHS England and (b) the 50% cost reductions required by Integrated Care Boards.
It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. These assessments will inform our programme as appropriate. Furthermore, the Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes and impact of both the abolition of NHS England and the reduction in workforce.
NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure, with the expectation of achieving a reduction in their running cost allowance.
NHS England has shared a draft of the Model ICB Blueprint to help ICBs shape future plans. An update on the development of the Model ICB Blueprint, and the draft Model ICB Blueprint are available, respectively, at the following two links:
The blueprint confirms their critical role as strategic commissioner, with their core functions centred in population health management, including understanding local context, developing a long-term strategy, allocating resources, and evaluating impact.
Ministers and the Department will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to ensure ICBs continue to fulfil their future functions effectively within the running costs cap and unlock the benefit of working at scale to deliver better care for patients.