Community Care

(asked on 21st July 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are using to assess whether NHS resource allocations are reflecting their commitment to deliver more care closer to home.


Answered by
Baroness Merron Portrait
Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 25th August 2026

NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards (ICBs). The allocation methodology takes account of population need, including community health needs and health inequalities, to ensure resources are distributed fairly across ICBs. This is being complemented by the development of neighbourhood health services and associated incentives to support the Government's ambition to shift more care from hospitals into community settings.

The Medium Term Planning Framework sets out the priority deliverables and the reform opportunities that ICBs and providers need to deliver for the next three years and the broader strategic aims that will need to be reflected in five-year plans developed by each organisation. This includes expectations on prevention, and on neighbourhood health, including primary and community care. Further guidance on neighbourhood health has also been set out in the subsequent Neighbourhood health framework.

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