HFMA response / HFMA response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into integrated care systems: autonomy and accountability

The HFMA’s evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into integrated care systems: autonomy and accountability has been published.

The Committee launched its inquiry this summer to consider how integrated care systems will deliver joined up health and care services to meet the needs of local populations. Areas to be considered included how integrated care systems will be able to operate with the flexibility and autonomy required to tackle inequalities in the populations they serve and whether the pursuit of central targets can be consistent with local autonomy.

This is a challenging time for the NHS and the people who work in it. Recovering from the pandemic, maximising elective recovery, structural changes to the NHS, workforce shortages and a tight financial position are just a few of the current issues. Governance arrangements must be an enabler rather than a barrier to addressing these pressures.

As the professional body for NHS finance staff, the submission is based on the views of our members and draws on HFMA committees and research.