Briefing / A summary of the NHS recommendations for an NHS Integrated Care Bill

Ahead of the Queen’s speech, NHS England and NHS Improvement published recommendations to Government and Parliament for an NHS Integrated Care Bill. The recommendations aim to help implement the NHS long term plan (the Plan) by making it easier to integrate care and for NHS organisations to work together in the interests of patients.

The recommendations are based on responses to NHS England and NHS Improvement’s consultation on Proposals for possible changes to legislation and the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s Legislative proposals inquiry.

Building on the published HFMA responses to the consultations this briefing summarises and reflects on the 23 recommendations made, across eight key themes, for an NHS Integrated Care Bill.

The HFMA welcomes the use of legislative change to overcome some of the current barriers to transformation and allow for changes set out in the Plan to be delivered.

While welcome, these proposals for legislative change do not address critical issues relating to primary care, value added tax and collaboration with local authorities. Some of the issues facing the NHS are not going to be resolved by legislation, such as workforce, culture, leadership and the quality of local relationships.