Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in funding for Integrated Care Boards on their ability to provide oversight of contracted services.

We are looking to reduce the cost of running integrated care boards (ICBs) to free up resources for frontline services. To support this, we have refocused their role on strategic commissioning and reduced their involvement in functions such as performance management and assurance. We have developed a model ICB Blueprint and published a Strategic Commissioning Framework, which are clear that contract management is a key enabler of successful strategic commissioning.

This is now being reflected in medium term plans following publication of the Medium Term Planning Framework for 2026/27 to 2028/29.