Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their report Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts 2020–21, published on 31 January, (1) what outcomes they have identified, and (2) what steps they intend to take in response.

The outcomes identified in the report relate to the ‘Outcomes Frameworks’ discussed in the Secretary of State’s report element of the Annual Report and Accounts. These are the NHS Outcomes Framework, the Public Health Outcomes Framework and the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework.

Given the breadth of these frameworks it is not possible to summarise all the work underway in the Department in relation to them, however, some key steps underway in relation to outcomes include the commitment made in our recent Integration White Paper to work with stakeholders to develop and introduce a framework with a focused set of national priorities, and an approach for prioritising shared outcomes at a local level, focused on individual and population health and wellbeing.

The Department works closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement in monitoring progress in the implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan. The Government intends to publish an update to the plan later this year, taking account of the impacts of the pandemic.

We are bringing forward a Health and Care Bill which will, subject to Parliamentary passage, establish Integrated Care Systems. These will comprise of Integrated Care Boards and Integrated Care Partnerships, which will be responsible for producing plans and strategies for delivering improved health and care outcomes, alongside a wide range of other measures to improve health and social care outcomes.

Ultimately this work is intended to support the Department’s overarching objective to help people live more independent, healthier lives, for longer.