Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to to transfer (a) statutory duties and (b) functions from Integrated Care Boards to other bodies.

NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within the health and care structure.

To deliver on this commitment, NHS England rapidly convened a group of ICB leaders, including clinical representatives, in order to start developing the blueprint. The work was split into three areas: defining a vision and the future functions of ICBs; mapping functions and duties across the system; and managing a safe transition.

We recognise that not all function transferrals can be done this year, particularly those rooted in ICB statutory duties. For the areas which will be reviewed for transfer, we recognise that further work and engagement is required, and we acknowledgment that, even with this flexibility, transferring functions requires careful consideration of interdependencies with other functions and the readiness of partner organisations to receive the function.

The Department is working with NHS England and the ICBs to develop these plans to ensure the timely implementation of the changes, whilst expecting ICBs to continue to deliver on their statutory responsibilities.