Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they will use to determine whether neighbourhood health services have improved patient outcomes; and whether those criteria will be published before implementation begins.

The Neighbourhood Health Framework, published in March 2026, sets out a range of national goals and metrics that will be used to assess progress in improving outcomes and experience for people using neighbourhood health services. These include measures relating to prevention, the quality and coordination of care for people with complex needs, reductions in avoidable hospital use, patient-reported outcome measures, patient-reported experience measures, and wider improvements in population health.

The Framework also makes clear that integrated care boards and local authorities, working through health and wellbeing boards, should develop local metrics that reflect the needs and priorities of their communities, alongside delivery of these national minimum goals.

The criteria and metrics set out in the published Neighbourhood Health Framework are already publicly available. The Government will continue to refine its approach to outcomes measurement as neighbourhood health develops and will publish further information as appropriate.