Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether plans to promote innovation within Integrated care systems will include the development of an innovation strategy within every ICS.

The Health and Care Act 2022 places a legal duty on integrated care boards (ICBs) to promote innovation and set out how this will be achieved in forward planning and annual reports. In addition, ICB chief executives and chairs are accountable for fostering a culture of innovation.

Innovation has been embedded in the National Health Service’s implementation guidance for the development of integrated care systems (ICSs). The Department is currently exploring how innovation can be included in statutory guidance, including for integrated care strategies. The Department is also working with the NHS, the Accelerated Access Collaborative and Academic Health Science Networks to ensure that priorities for innovation over one to three years are agreed with ICSs.