Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what analysis did her department reach the benchmark figure of £18.76 per capita running costs for ICBs.

Prior to the announcement of the running costs cap, there was significant and unwarranted variation in the running costs of different integrated care boards (ICBs). It is NHS England’s continued assessment that all ICBs can successfully discharge all of their statutory functions within the cap, which represented a reduction in running costs of approximately 25 per cent for the most efficient ICB.

The progress of ICBs in reducing their running costs will vary according to the complexity of the change they have needed to undertake, but all ICBs are required to be operating within the running costs cap from 1 April 2027. Significant redundancies were not made before 31 December 2025 due to the necessity of ensuring that nationally approved redundancy schemes appropriately protected public funds.

Available information on ICB finances will continue to be reported through NHS England's annual accounts, planning guidance, and financial reporting processes.