Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in Integrated Care Board funding on their ability to establish and run Women’s Health Hubs.

The 10-Year Health Plan set out the ambition for high autonomy to be the norm across every part of the country. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the healthcare needs of their local population and have the freedom to do so, which includes women's health hubs and delivering the direction of women's health strategy. The Government is backing ICBs to do this through record funding. The Spending Review 2025 prioritised health, with record investment in the health and social care system.

We have heard from integrated care systems the positive impacts that women’s health hubs have on both women's access to care in the community and their experience. Our cost benefit analysis demonstrated £5 benefit for every £1 spent on women’s health hubs.

The Women’s Health Programme Board provides direction and strategic oversight to NHS England’s Women’s Health Programme. It monitors progress and delivery of the programme, and delivers the ambitions of the Women’s Health Strategy, reflecting the vision to improve health outcomes, reduce disparities and amplify women’s voices in healthcare.

The board is also responsible for ensuring alignment with wider interdependencies including the 10-Year Health Plan, and neighbourhood health models, as well as ensuring the delivery, oversight, and performance management of women’s health provision are consistent across the seven regions of England.