Briefing / Summary of the Health and Care Bill

The bill sets out how integrated care boards (ICBs) will be established, what their functions will be and how they will be governed.  

It also sets out the requirement for ICBs to establish a joint committee with local authority partners – integrated care partnerships (ICPs). ICPs will be required to prepare an integrated care strategy that sets out how the assessed needs of the area are to be met by NHS England, the ICS and local authority. 

The bill will establish NHS England as a single body that fulfils the functions currently being delivered by the NHS Commissioning Board, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority. 

The bill will make some changes to the financial duties and powers of NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts. 

All NHS bodies, including NHS England and ICBs will have to have regard to the wider effect of their decisions on health and wellbeing, quality of services and efficient and sustainable use of resources. 

The bill allows for the replacement of the national tariff by the NHS payment scheme. 

There will also be changes to information governance as a result of the implementation of the bill.