Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms are in place to assess the performance of care providers which have been commissioned by the Integrated Care Board.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assuring the quality, effectiveness, and value of the services they commission for their populations.

ICBs assess provider performance through a range of mechanisms, including contract management arrangements, quality and safety indicators, operational performance measures, patient outcomes and experience data, financial oversight, and information from regulators such as the Care Quality Commission.

To support the continued strengthening of commissioning capability, NHS England published the Strategic Commissioning Framework in November 2025, setting out the core functions and capabilities required of effective strategic commissioners. The Strategic Commissioning Framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-strategic-commissioning-framework/

NHS England oversees the performance of ICBs and National Health Service trusts through the NHS Oversight Framework. Further information on the current framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-oversight-framework/