Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans there are for each Health and Wellbeing Board to agree performance measures for implementing the Better Care Fund; and what progress has been made to date.

Following a review of the first set of local plans for the Better Care Fund (BCF), it has become clear that while the majority of areas have made good progress, there is more we need to do to ensure every area is on track to deliver from next April.

As part of this, Ministers have agreed revised arrangements for the pay for performance scheme to ensure that financial benefits linked to reductions in emergency admissions can be clearly demonstrated and that health services and councils share the financial responsibility if emergency admissions are not reduced.

Key elements of the agreement are:

- BCF performance payments will now be linked to reducing emergency admissions;

- the size of the performance payment will be determined by local decisions on the level of ambition for the reduction in emergency admissions and the amount spent on local NHS services, as set out in the plan agreed by the local Health and Wellbeing Board;

- the remaining money from the performance pot not earned through reducing emergency admissions will be used to support local NHS services, as agreed by Health and Wellbeing Boards; and

- the wider metrics in the initial performance framework will continue to be used to monitor progress, but will not be used in assessments for the pay for performance scheme.

Revised guidance on the new pay for performance scheme and further information required to improve BCF plans will be provided to the sector in coming weeks, alongside details of support available and the timetable for submitting revised plans.