Health Management and Policy Alert

Place-based partnerships: challenges and opportunities

The King's Fund - 

Place-based partnerships in integrated care systems aim to tackle health inequalities and improve care. This report, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, explores the key factors for success, including accountability, collaborative leadership and resources.

• Report
• More detail

Impacts and benefits of provider collaboration at scale

NHS Providers - 

This case study report shares examples of what provider collaboratives, across all sectors, are achieving together.

• Report

Core20PLUS Connectors Programme: sustainability leading to system change

Health Creation Alliance -
This report investigates how systems are finding ways to continue the Core20PLUS Connectors Programme and reshape their approach to health equity, people and communities, health creation and prevention. It contains eight insights into the challenges and how they are being overcome that will help any Integrated Care System on its ‘reform journey’.

• Report
• Health Creation Alliance - publications

Identifying and supporting unpaid carers in England to improve integrated system working

Carers UK -
The purpose of this resource is to support health and care systems in England to improve the inclusion, support, and involvement of unpaid carers. It brings together statutory duties and best practice resources developed by the Carers Partnership (2022–2025), to help health and care professionals reduce the health inequalities carers face, better identify unpaid carers, and drive transformative change.

• Resource
• Carers UK - publications

The framework for integrated care: a catalyst for change

Anna Freud -
This resource aims to promote discussion about how the most impactful effective support for children and young people can be provided and sustained. The framework is a set of evidence-informed guiding principles and practices which could act as a catalyst for cultural and organisational change. They aim to provide a template for integration of services for children and young people in some of the most complex situations, who are at high risk of harm, and who may display high-risk behaviours.

• Framework
• Anna Freud - publications

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

Neighbourhood health guidelines 2025/26

NHS England -
These guidelines aim to help integrated care boards, local authorities and health and care providers continue to progress neighbourhood health in 2025/26 in advance of the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan.

• Guidance
• NHS England - publications

Allocation of resources 2025/26

NHS England -
These documents contain the 2025/26 integrated care board allocations for core services, primary care medical, and running cost allowance.

• NHS England - publications

Better Care Fund policy framework 2025 to 2026

Department of Health and Social Care -
For 2025 to 2026, the objectives of the Better Care Fund (BCF) reflect the government’s commitment to reform via a shift from sickness to prevention and from hospital to home. This policy framework is intended for use by those responsible for delivering the BCF at a local level, such as integrated care boards, local authorities and health and wellbeing boards.

• Policy paper
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

Annual assessment of integrated care boards 2023/24

NHS England - 
This report is a summary of the assessment of each ICB covering how effectively they have led their local NHS system and their contribution to each of the four core purposes of an integrated care system. It summarises an assessment of performance during the 2023/24 financial year and reflects NHS England’s views relating to that period only.

• Report
• NHS England - publications