Health Management and Policy Alert

Pioneers of reform: realising a new vision of ICB strategic commissioning

NHS Confederation - 

This report outlines a new vision for strategic commissioning that will enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to be pioneers of reform, and the skills and capabilities needed to fulfil their statutory duties and their wider role in driving and sustaining transformation in health and care. This report also sets out recommendations for a phased implementation process.

• Report
• More detail

Abortion commissioning guidance

NHS England - 

Guidance and accompanying resources to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve abortion services. This includes commissioning guidance and principles; together with the NHS’ objectives and vision for abortion services and key actions for integrated care boards and partners to take forward to improve care and promote sector resilience.

• Guidance
• Accompanying resources

 

Standardising community health services: phase 1 codifying core community health services

NHS England -
Community health services cover a diverse range of health care delivery. This guidance aims to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity. It will also help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community-based settings.

• Guidance
• NHS England - publications

Revenue finance and contracting guidance for 2025/26

NHS England -
This guidance sets out the revenue finance and contracting frameworks for 2025/26 (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) and should be read in conjunction with the 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance and the capital guidance for 2025/26.

• Guidance
• NHS England - publications

Tackling modern slavery in NHS procurement: proposed regulations and guidance

Department of Health and Social Care - 
This consultation invites views on the draft National Health Service (Procurement, Slavery and Human Trafficking) Regulations 2024 and accompanying guidance. It is seeking opinions on: how the regulations will be implemented; the impact of the regulations on tackling modern slavery; how frameworks and dynamic markets should assess and manage modern slavery risks; and how public bodies want to be supported to implement these new duties. The closing date for comments is 13 February 2025.

• Consultation
• Department of Health and Social Care - consultations

Delivering with dignity: a framework for strengthening commissioning and provision of healthcare services for people seeking asylum

British Red Cross -
This report finds that people seeking asylum in England often have complex health needs and yet face barriers to accessing timely, quality, and appropriate health care. It sets out a framework of good practice to remove these barriers and ensure people can access the health care that they are entitled to.

• Report
• British Red Cross - publications

Commissioning to reduce health inequalities: the role of finance

Healthcare Financial Management Association - 

This briefing explores how NHS finance staff can contribute to commissioning approaches which help reduce health inequalities. It sets out the direction of travel, explains the importance of population health management, and looks at the skills and expertise that finance staff can bring to this space.

• Case study
• More detail 

NHS public health functions agreement 2023 to 2024

Department of Health and Social Care -
This guidance contains information about NHS England's objectives and funding arrangements as it commissions public health services. The NHS public health functions agreement sets out the arrangements under which the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care delegates responsibility to NHS England for certain public health services. The services currently commissioned in this way are: national immunisation programmes; national population screening programmes; child health information services; public health services for adults and children in secure and detained settings in England; and sexual assault services.

• Guidance
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

NHS supply chain and efficiencies in procurement

National Audit Office - 
This report examines how the NHS supply chain was set up, whether it has achieved its principal objectives of saving money and increasing its market share, and what more needs to be done to secure greater efficiencies, It concludes that, while Supply Chain has the potential to secure further savings for the NHS, it is not yet fulfilling that potential.

• Report
• National Audit Office - press release

Competition in public procurement

House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts -
The government spent £259bn procuring goods and services in 2021-22, but this report finds that it is unable to demonstrate that it is achieving value for money in public procurement, due to significant issues with the quality and completeness of data on contracts.

• Report
• House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts - news