Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee

Conclusion 27

Seventh Report - Integrated Care Systems: autonomy and accountability Published 30 Mar 2023 Paragraph 83 Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Conclusion (the committee's words)
DHSC should therefore review the funding and commissioning arrangements for Healthwatch, with a view to ensuring they are fit for purpose within the context of new ICSs, and support Healthwatch to have a clear voice. The outcome of this review should be reported to the House.

From: Health and Social Care Committee, Seventh Report - Integrated Care Systems: autonomy and accountability (HC 587), paragraph 83, 30 March 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 14 June 2023 (deadline 30 May 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the committee's report and states that it "remains committed to the development of ICSs", responding to the committee's and the linked Hewitt Review recommendations together, with some accepted, some supported in principle or kept under consideration, and some not agreed.

  • On leadership, it states: "We accept the value of having a national leadership programme across health, care and wider sectors."
  • On a national prevention spending shift, it says: "we do not agree with imposing a national expectation of an essentially arbitrary shift in spending."
  • On centrally gathering ICB membership data, it says this "will be duplicating efforts as all the information is publicly available".
  • On CQC ratings, DHSC "will consider the best approach regarding ICS ratings" and states that CQC "will start to test the ratings" in 2024 to 2025.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error