To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Health Services: Costs
Monday 13th May 2024

Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the cost to (a) integrated care boards and (b) NHS England of commissioning specialised services in the (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24 financial years.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The total spend on commissioning specialised services was £22.7 billion in 2022/23 and £25 billion in 2023/24. As formal delegation of specialised services to integrated care boards (ICBs) begins from 1 April 2024, all spend on commissioning these services in previous years has been the responsibility of NHS England, and not the ICBs. For 2024/25, NHS England is delegating £5.3 billion of commissioning resource to ICBs in the three regions, where delegation will begin from April 2024. This figure excludes high-cost drugs and devices spend.

The nine joint committee arrangements arose from a robust process, which included a readiness assessment, the Pre-Delegation Assessment Framework, made between the ICBs and NHS England regional teams, followed by a National Moderation Panel, and final decision taken by the NHS England Board. The NHS England Board papers for February 2023, December 2023, and March 2024 are available, respectively, at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/board-2-feb-23-item-7-delegation-of-spec-comm.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-2024-25-next-steps-with-delegation-to-integrated-care-boards/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-update-on-specialised-services-for-delegation/

The process concluded that a transitional year of joint commissioning would offer the most secure and stable transition towards delegation. There is a comprehensive programme structure in place to support the ICBs in the four regions that are working towards delegation in April 2025, to support them in being ready to take on the responsibilities. NHS England is continuing to work alongside ICBs to ensure that delegation agreements are in place, including ensuring appropriate collaborative arrangements are developed to support ICB commissioning of specialised services. These arrangements will be monitored by NHS England through its assurance processes for specialised services.

A webinar series for commissioning staff, including colleagues in ICBs, was delivered in 2023 across different aspects of specialised services, and there are additional webinars planned in 2024. There has been, and will continue to be, local engagement between regional commissioning teams and ICB teams, as the future operating model is co-developed. A suite of support materials has been shared with teams and continues to be updated. As examples, these include: Commissioning Change Management Business Rules; Finance and Accounting Standard Operating Procedure; and the Contracting Standard Operating Procedure.

NHS England develops services specification and clinical policies through its Clinical Reference Groups. There are 250 published service specifications which include clinical pathway, quality, and other relevant standards, which are specific to the clinical service. Regional commissioning teams, overseen by the statutory joint committees, are responsible for implementing the specifications in their commissioning of services, along with assessing compliance against national standards. NHS England has developed Specialised Services Quality Dashboards alongside service specifications, which provide additional data to monitor the quality of services.


Written Question
Health Services
Monday 13th May 2024

Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the nine statutory joint committees formed between integrated care boards and NHS England regions on specialised commissioning.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The total spend on commissioning specialised services was £22.7 billion in 2022/23 and £25 billion in 2023/24. As formal delegation of specialised services to integrated care boards (ICBs) begins from 1 April 2024, all spend on commissioning these services in previous years has been the responsibility of NHS England, and not the ICBs. For 2024/25, NHS England is delegating £5.3 billion of commissioning resource to ICBs in the three regions, where delegation will begin from April 2024. This figure excludes high-cost drugs and devices spend.

The nine joint committee arrangements arose from a robust process, which included a readiness assessment, the Pre-Delegation Assessment Framework, made between the ICBs and NHS England regional teams, followed by a National Moderation Panel, and final decision taken by the NHS England Board. The NHS England Board papers for February 2023, December 2023, and March 2024 are available, respectively, at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/board-2-feb-23-item-7-delegation-of-spec-comm.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-2024-25-next-steps-with-delegation-to-integrated-care-boards/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-update-on-specialised-services-for-delegation/

The process concluded that a transitional year of joint commissioning would offer the most secure and stable transition towards delegation. There is a comprehensive programme structure in place to support the ICBs in the four regions that are working towards delegation in April 2025, to support them in being ready to take on the responsibilities. NHS England is continuing to work alongside ICBs to ensure that delegation agreements are in place, including ensuring appropriate collaborative arrangements are developed to support ICB commissioning of specialised services. These arrangements will be monitored by NHS England through its assurance processes for specialised services.

A webinar series for commissioning staff, including colleagues in ICBs, was delivered in 2023 across different aspects of specialised services, and there are additional webinars planned in 2024. There has been, and will continue to be, local engagement between regional commissioning teams and ICB teams, as the future operating model is co-developed. A suite of support materials has been shared with teams and continues to be updated. As examples, these include: Commissioning Change Management Business Rules; Finance and Accounting Standard Operating Procedure; and the Contracting Standard Operating Procedure.

NHS England develops services specification and clinical policies through its Clinical Reference Groups. There are 250 published service specifications which include clinical pathway, quality, and other relevant standards, which are specific to the clinical service. Regional commissioning teams, overseen by the statutory joint committees, are responsible for implementing the specifications in their commissioning of services, along with assessing compliance against national standards. NHS England has developed Specialised Services Quality Dashboards alongside service specifications, which provide additional data to monitor the quality of services.


Scottish Government Publication (FOI/EIR release)

Nov. 23 2023

Source Page: Remits and memberships of groups designing the National Care Service: FOI release
Document: Remits and memberships of groups designing the National Care Service: FOI release (webpage)

Found: Council [Redacted] - NHS Scotland [Redacted] - NHS Scotland [Redacted] - NHS Scotland [Redacted] - NHS


Written Question
Integrated Care Boards
Monday 13th May 2024

Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of the progress towards full delegated commissioning for Integrated Care Boards by April 2025 in (a) the South West, (b) the South East, (c) London and (d) the North East.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The total spend on commissioning specialised services was £22.7 billion in 2022/23 and £25 billion in 2023/24. As formal delegation of specialised services to integrated care boards (ICBs) begins from 1 April 2024, all spend on commissioning these services in previous years has been the responsibility of NHS England, and not the ICBs. For 2024/25, NHS England is delegating £5.3 billion of commissioning resource to ICBs in the three regions, where delegation will begin from April 2024. This figure excludes high-cost drugs and devices spend.

The nine joint committee arrangements arose from a robust process, which included a readiness assessment, the Pre-Delegation Assessment Framework, made between the ICBs and NHS England regional teams, followed by a National Moderation Panel, and final decision taken by the NHS England Board. The NHS England Board papers for February 2023, December 2023, and March 2024 are available, respectively, at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/board-2-feb-23-item-7-delegation-of-spec-comm.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-2024-25-next-steps-with-delegation-to-integrated-care-boards/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-update-on-specialised-services-for-delegation/

The process concluded that a transitional year of joint commissioning would offer the most secure and stable transition towards delegation. There is a comprehensive programme structure in place to support the ICBs in the four regions that are working towards delegation in April 2025, to support them in being ready to take on the responsibilities. NHS England is continuing to work alongside ICBs to ensure that delegation agreements are in place, including ensuring appropriate collaborative arrangements are developed to support ICB commissioning of specialised services. These arrangements will be monitored by NHS England through its assurance processes for specialised services.

A webinar series for commissioning staff, including colleagues in ICBs, was delivered in 2023 across different aspects of specialised services, and there are additional webinars planned in 2024. There has been, and will continue to be, local engagement between regional commissioning teams and ICB teams, as the future operating model is co-developed. A suite of support materials has been shared with teams and continues to be updated. As examples, these include: Commissioning Change Management Business Rules; Finance and Accounting Standard Operating Procedure; and the Contracting Standard Operating Procedure.

NHS England develops services specification and clinical policies through its Clinical Reference Groups. There are 250 published service specifications which include clinical pathway, quality, and other relevant standards, which are specific to the clinical service. Regional commissioning teams, overseen by the statutory joint committees, are responsible for implementing the specifications in their commissioning of services, along with assessing compliance against national standards. NHS England has developed Specialised Services Quality Dashboards alongside service specifications, which provide additional data to monitor the quality of services.


Written Question
Integrated Care Boards: Training
Monday 13th May 2024

Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) training and (b) support on specialised services is provided for staff working in integrated care boards in the (i) East of England, (ii) Midlands and (iii) North West following full delegation of commissioning in 2024-25.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The total spend on commissioning specialised services was £22.7 billion in 2022/23 and £25 billion in 2023/24. As formal delegation of specialised services to integrated care boards (ICBs) begins from 1 April 2024, all spend on commissioning these services in previous years has been the responsibility of NHS England, and not the ICBs. For 2024/25, NHS England is delegating £5.3 billion of commissioning resource to ICBs in the three regions, where delegation will begin from April 2024. This figure excludes high-cost drugs and devices spend.

The nine joint committee arrangements arose from a robust process, which included a readiness assessment, the Pre-Delegation Assessment Framework, made between the ICBs and NHS England regional teams, followed by a National Moderation Panel, and final decision taken by the NHS England Board. The NHS England Board papers for February 2023, December 2023, and March 2024 are available, respectively, at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/board-2-feb-23-item-7-delegation-of-spec-comm.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-2024-25-next-steps-with-delegation-to-integrated-care-boards/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-update-on-specialised-services-for-delegation/

The process concluded that a transitional year of joint commissioning would offer the most secure and stable transition towards delegation. There is a comprehensive programme structure in place to support the ICBs in the four regions that are working towards delegation in April 2025, to support them in being ready to take on the responsibilities. NHS England is continuing to work alongside ICBs to ensure that delegation agreements are in place, including ensuring appropriate collaborative arrangements are developed to support ICB commissioning of specialised services. These arrangements will be monitored by NHS England through its assurance processes for specialised services.

A webinar series for commissioning staff, including colleagues in ICBs, was delivered in 2023 across different aspects of specialised services, and there are additional webinars planned in 2024. There has been, and will continue to be, local engagement between regional commissioning teams and ICB teams, as the future operating model is co-developed. A suite of support materials has been shared with teams and continues to be updated. As examples, these include: Commissioning Change Management Business Rules; Finance and Accounting Standard Operating Procedure; and the Contracting Standard Operating Procedure.

NHS England develops services specification and clinical policies through its Clinical Reference Groups. There are 250 published service specifications which include clinical pathway, quality, and other relevant standards, which are specific to the clinical service. Regional commissioning teams, overseen by the statutory joint committees, are responsible for implementing the specifications in their commissioning of services, along with assessing compliance against national standards. NHS England has developed Specialised Services Quality Dashboards alongside service specifications, which provide additional data to monitor the quality of services.


Written Question
Health Services: Standards
Monday 13th May 2024

Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the proportion of specialised services that met national standards in the (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24 financial years.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The total spend on commissioning specialised services was £22.7 billion in 2022/23 and £25 billion in 2023/24. As formal delegation of specialised services to integrated care boards (ICBs) begins from 1 April 2024, all spend on commissioning these services in previous years has been the responsibility of NHS England, and not the ICBs. For 2024/25, NHS England is delegating £5.3 billion of commissioning resource to ICBs in the three regions, where delegation will begin from April 2024. This figure excludes high-cost drugs and devices spend.

The nine joint committee arrangements arose from a robust process, which included a readiness assessment, the Pre-Delegation Assessment Framework, made between the ICBs and NHS England regional teams, followed by a National Moderation Panel, and final decision taken by the NHS England Board. The NHS England Board papers for February 2023, December 2023, and March 2024 are available, respectively, at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/board-2-feb-23-item-7-delegation-of-spec-comm.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-2024-25-next-steps-with-delegation-to-integrated-care-boards/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/specialised-commissioning-update-on-specialised-services-for-delegation/

The process concluded that a transitional year of joint commissioning would offer the most secure and stable transition towards delegation. There is a comprehensive programme structure in place to support the ICBs in the four regions that are working towards delegation in April 2025, to support them in being ready to take on the responsibilities. NHS England is continuing to work alongside ICBs to ensure that delegation agreements are in place, including ensuring appropriate collaborative arrangements are developed to support ICB commissioning of specialised services. These arrangements will be monitored by NHS England through its assurance processes for specialised services.

A webinar series for commissioning staff, including colleagues in ICBs, was delivered in 2023 across different aspects of specialised services, and there are additional webinars planned in 2024. There has been, and will continue to be, local engagement between regional commissioning teams and ICB teams, as the future operating model is co-developed. A suite of support materials has been shared with teams and continues to be updated. As examples, these include: Commissioning Change Management Business Rules; Finance and Accounting Standard Operating Procedure; and the Contracting Standard Operating Procedure.

NHS England develops services specification and clinical policies through its Clinical Reference Groups. There are 250 published service specifications which include clinical pathway, quality, and other relevant standards, which are specific to the clinical service. Regional commissioning teams, overseen by the statutory joint committees, are responsible for implementing the specifications in their commissioning of services, along with assessing compliance against national standards. NHS England has developed Specialised Services Quality Dashboards alongside service specifications, which provide additional data to monitor the quality of services.


Scheduled Event - 13 Mar 2024, 1 p.m.
View Source
Commons - Public Accounts Committee - Oral evidence - Select & Joint Committees
DHSC Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23
Scottish Government Publication (Factsheet)
People Directorate

Jan. 03 2024

Source Page: Public appointment: Board Member of Western Isles Health Board
Document: Public appointment: Board Member of Western Isles Health Board (webpage)

Found: The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, Michael Matheson MSP today announced


Commons Chamber
Finance (No. 2) Bill
2nd reading - Wed 17 Apr 2024
HM Treasury

Mentions:
1: Nigel Huddleston (Con - Mid Worcestershire) The Finance (No. 2) Bill builds on these improvements by seeking to reward work, boosting the housing - Speech Link
2: James Murray (LAB - Ealing North) They made that very clear in last month’s Budget, from which this Finance Bill arose. - Speech Link
3: Nigel Huddleston (Con - Mid Worcestershire) Total spending on the NHS is over £160 billion, and welfare spending is over £260 billion, massively - Speech Link
4: Richard Fuller (Con - North East Bedfordshire) Did he disagree with the increase in funding for the NHS? - Speech Link
5: Sarah Olney (LD - Richmond Park) For example, they have shown no interest in investing in the NHS. - Speech Link


Deposited Papers

Sep. 13 2010

Source Page: Letter [not dated] from Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, to Strategic Health Authorities regarding interim cancer drugs funding. 4 p.
Document: DEP2010-1703.pdf (PDF)

Found: Letter [not dated] from Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, to Strategic Health Authorities regarding