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.
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.
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.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) -
This report details a number of important themes identified by local authorities (LAs) when developing strategic approaches to market sustainability. These include: greater involvement of providers, service users and their friends and family; expanding domiciliary care markets and securing greater supply; and stabilising and adapting care home markets to the changing needs of local populations.
NHS England -
This guidance provides integrated care boards (ICBs) with an outline of the legal requirements of the national dental contractual framework and highlights the key considerations associated with procuring additional and further services, previously termed ‘flexible commissioning’.
Department of Health and Social Care -
This call for evidence views on changes to section 75 of the NHS Act 2006 to increase the use of pooled budgets to support the integration of health and care. It covers topics such as widening the scope to include additional health-related functions of local authorities and NHS bodies, perceived barriers to pooling of budgets, and strengthening and/or simplifying the governance of section 75. The call for evidence closes on 31 October 2023.
Institute of Public Care -
This briefing outlines how good working relationships between commissioning and care provider organisations are crucial and they have become even more so since the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. It offers a perspective on how the current commissioning climate has influenced these relationships and provides a perspective on how the 'right' engagement activities can positively impact on having good working relationships and trust.
NHS England -
This guidance document sets out how integrated care boards can commission local enhanced services through primary medical care contracts.
NHS Employers -
To support the implementation of the new 2021 specialty doctor and specialist contracts and the professional development of specialist, associate specialist and specialty doctors (SAS) doctors, NHS England included the SAS development funding in 2021/22 and 2023/24 within commissioner allocations. This guidance has been published in partnership with the British Medical Association to support employers to allocate SAS development funding.
NHS Confederation -
Delegation of primary pharmacy, ophthalmology and dentistry (POD) from NHS England to integrated care boards (ICBs) on 1 April 2023, provides an opportunity to transform care for patients but will need a realistic timetable and smooth transition if this transformation is to be achieved. This report provides evidence from nine ‘early adopter’ ICBs and argues that closer local collaboration between NHS systems and frontline providers can be the single biggest to driver to address local provision challenges.