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 reducing the workforce of integrated care boards by 50 per cent on the level of patient care and NHS system performance.

NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and reduce duplication of responsibilities within their structure with the expectation of achieving a reduction in their running cost allowance.

As such, NHS England has asked ICBs to reduce their running cost allowance to a cap of £19 per head of weighted population and enable savings to be reinvested in frontline services. ICBs have been supported in developing local plans for their future structures and remain accountable for delivering their statutory functions.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, ICBs’ role as strategic commissioners will be to improve their population’s health, reduce health inequalities, and improve access to consistently high-quality services.