Primary care funding disparities by deprivation
Unfair primary care funding mechanisms that fail to account for deprivation, exacerbating pressures in deprived areas.
Source spread
Where this theme appears
This theme appears across 12 independent accountability sources, so the source mix matters as much as the headline total.
1 inquiry rec
6 PFD reports
142 committee recs
1 HSSIB rec
1 CQC action
10 NAO recs
3 DHR recs
1 PHSO decision
12 LGO/SPSO decisions
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Prevention of Future Deaths reports(6)
George Thompson
Concerns: The coroner noted concerns regarding insufficient doctor staffing, as only one doctor was on duty for multiple responsibilities, and the practice lacked resources to undertake a home visit even if indicated.
Response (H.T Practice): • The practice reviewed its home visit protocols and stated they are robust for the current team. • The practice committed to arranging telephone and systems training for the doctor … (AI summary)
Responded
Dean George
Concerns: The report identifies a lack of an Integrated Treatment System in Wales. The coroner raised concerns about the inequality in healthcare provision, as Welsh prisons do not automatically offer opiate substitution therapy to new opiate-addicted arrivals, unlike English prisons.
Response (Welsh Government): • Opiate substitution therapy is now offered routinely in HMP Swansea the day following admission, where appropriate. • An Early Days Opiate Treatment Pilot was launched in HMP Swansea in … (AI summary)
Overdue
Freda Lennox
Concerns: A requested echocardiogram was not performed prior to surgery, and the patient was not recently reviewed by the orthopaedic surgeon. There was a lack of funding and resources for a dedicated high-risk consultant-led anaesthetic pre-operative assessment clinic.
Response (St Peters Hospital): • The Trust appointed an anaesthetic lead for high-risk anaesthetic patient pathways. • The Trust established four dedicated high-risk anaesthetic pre-assessment clinics per week, led by consultant anaesthetists. • The … (AI summary)
Responded
Kathleen Booth
Concerns: The coroner noted a four-day delay in surgery due to NHS-wide understaffing and underfunding, with wards combining elective and emergency work. Patients injured on a Friday faced disadvantages due to limited weekend staffing and experience.
Response (NHS England): • NHS England published the 7-Day Hospital Services Programme in 2013, which introduced clinical standards for acute medical care. • NHS England published the Delivery plan for recovering urgent and … (AI summary)
Response (University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust): • The Trauma Directorate introduced a dedicated fragility fracture theatre list five days per week on 6 November 2023. • The division is preparing a business case to assess if … (AI summary)
Responded
Barry Myers
Concerns: Insufficient funding at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust limits the availability of urgent mechanical thrombectomy services between 4 pm and 8 am.
Response (NHS England): • University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSx) has commenced recruitment for interventional radiology nursing posts to expand service operating hours. • NHS England has funded the purchase of a … (AI summary)
Response (University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust): • The Trust has established 24/7 mutual aid pathways with University College London Hospital and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust for out-of-hours mechanical thrombectomy services. • A business case … (AI summary)
Responded
Samuel Brown
Concerns: The prescribing regime in primary care did not identify potential addiction and drug-seeking behaviour or adequately review medications to check their continued necessity.
Response (NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board): • The NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) convenes and leads a multidisciplinary Opioid Safety Group (OSG) to address opioid prescribing. • The ICB has commissioned prescribing incentive schemes … (AI summary)
Responded
Select committee recommendations(142)— showing 50 strongest matches
#37 —
Recommendation: The disparity in providing additional support between those areas impacted by nutrient and water neutrality is both unfair and illogical. Given the proliferation of new advice, ensuring early understanding and solutions are available could have wide reaching benefits.
Response attribution not verified
#17 —
Recommendation: NHSE told us that it is looking at interventions that could be done by other health care professionals in primary care. For example, enhancing the clinical service community pharmacists provide to include undertaking medication reviews for people with frailty.36 However, …
Response attribution not verified
#17 — NHS funding mechanisms create perverse incentives, disadvantaging deprived areas for childhood vaccinations.
Recommendation: We asked about the equity of NHS funding mechanisms and the risk of perverse incentives, using as an example the distribution of money for childhood inoculations. GP surgeries receive a payment for every child that gets a vaccine.29 In our …
Response attribution not verified
#4 — Review NHSE payment systems and processes to incentivise local systems supporting hard-to-reach patients.
Recommendation: In some cases, NHSE’s payment mechanisms can mean that local systems do not receive financial recognition when they prioritise hard-to-reach patients. GP surgeries receive a payment for every child vaccination. This vaccination funding mechanism favours areas where parents are more …
Response attribution not verified
#75 — Undertake comprehensive review of National Funding Formula to ensure fair, needs-based allocation.
Recommendation: A comprehensive review of the National Funding Formula is urgently needed to ensure funding is allocated fairly and reflects the real level of need across the country. The current formula fails to address historic underfunding, ignores rising inflation, does not …
Response attribution not verified
#20 — Upholding rights and potential of marginalised groups and women should be UK ODA priorities.
Recommendation: Upholding the rights of marginalised groups, as well as realising the potential of women and girls in both achieving societal resilience and poverty reduction, should be strategic priorities for UK ODA. This must be reflected in the spending allocations. (Conclusion, …
Response attribution not verified
#19 — ODA resourcing decisions must prioritise greatest need in fragile and climate-vulnerable states.
Recommendation: In the coming years, the greatest need will be in fragile and conflict- affected states, and states most vulnerable to climate change. Working in partnership to address these needs mutually benefits the affected countries and the UK. The empowerment and …
Response attribution not verified
#11 — Deprived communities and minority groups experience longer elective care waiting times
Recommendation: In July 2025 NHSE started publishing new data alongside the existing monthly Referral to Treatment Waiting Times data that showed that people from deprived communities and minority backgrounds are more likely to be waiting longer than 18 weeks for care …
Response attribution not verified
#20 — Provide free over-the-counter medication for low-income patients through Pharmacy First scheme.
Recommendation: To avoid patients continuing to use GPs for support that could be offered in a community pharmacy setting because of concerns about the affordability of over-the- counter medication, we recommend that such medication is free for people on low incomes, …
Response attribution not verified
#11 — Pharmacy's potential to improve healthcare access requires substantial public funding and support.
Recommendation: We have been encouraged to hear the enthusiasm within the pharmacy profession to deliver more patient facing care. However, the undoubted potential for pharmacy to improve access to health care, crucially including immunisations, and reduce pressure on general practice and …
Response attribution not verified
#2 — Overhaul the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework to address funding gaps and reduce complexity.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) is completely overhauled, in close consultation with the community pharmacy sector. Any new framework must: a) close the gap in funding that community pharmacy has experienced over the course of the …
Response attribution not verified
#18 —
Recommendation: The government’s decision to replace the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme with the Places of Worship Renewal Fund represents a significant shift. While we recognise the rationale for directing limited public funds towards areas of greatest socio-economic need, we …
Response status not verified
#11 —
Recommendation: Place-based approaches offer an effective way of aligning investment with local need, strengthening partnerships and embedding community involvement. However, their impact is uneven. Areas with less capacity, particularly rural and deprived parts of the country, face barriers such as limited …
Response status not verified
#20 —
Recommendation: NHSE informed us that there are also a number of broader developments which may affect service provision for frailty including a forthcoming modern service framework, new funding models for ICBs, a frailty improvement collaborative involving seven sites around the country, …
Response attribution not verified
#16 —
Recommendation: NHSE was clear that the “ position we are in is not acceptable”.34 The Chief Medical Officer also explained that to understand GPs’ capacity, it is important to factor in geographic or demographic pressures. These could include rural or peripheral …
Response attribution not verified
#14 —
Recommendation: As part of its national health and care recovery plan, we recommend that the Government sets out the contribution that public health services will make, and ensures that this contribution is backed with a level of funding that acknowledges their …
Response attribution not verified
#13 — Significant regional disparities observed in energy support voucher redemption rates.
Recommendation: We asked witnesses about the take-up rates for the vouchers. The Department told us that 76% of vouchers had so far been redeemed across Great Britain. It accepted that take- up was lower in metropolitan areas, and that the take-up …
Response attribution not verified
#5 — Publish analysis of actual NHS dental care costs, reflecting treatment complexity and community deprivation impacts.
Recommendation: DHSC and NHSE have not undertaken the analysis needed to understand the actual cost of delivering NHS dental care, without which any efforts at reform will fail to address fundamental issues around the affordability of NHS work. The discrepancy between …
Response attribution not verified
#74 — Ensure National Funding Formula provides fair, sufficient SEND funding reflecting regional need.
Recommendation: The National Funding Formula must ensure that funding for SEND is both fair and sufficient to meet the needs of children and young people across the country. While some geographical variation is to be expected, this should reflect the prevalence …
Response attribution not verified
#43 — Insufficient funding and support hinder educational outcomes for disadvantaged post-16 students.
Recommendation: On average, economically disadvantaged students aged 16–19 do not perform as well as their peers or achieve the same educational outcomes. Per-pupil funding drops sharply after the age of 16, creating a cliff edge that limits support for disadvantaged students. …
Response attribution not verified
#29 — Outdated police funding formula creates structural gaps for forces amid demographic changes since 2015.
Recommendation: In its 2015 report on the financial sustainability of police forces, our predecessor Committee recommended that a new police funding formula be introduced in 2016–17.80 In our evidence session, we asked whether changing demographics meant the out-of-date formula had led …
Response attribution not verified
#38 — Revise Carr-Hill formula and PCN funding to better account for deprivation and high need.
Recommendation: NHS England should revise the Carr-Hill formula to ensure that core funding given to GP practices is better weighted for deprivation. NHS England must also review new PCN funding mechanisms to ensure that they do not inadvertently restrict funding for …
Gov response: Partially Accept. The Department partially accepts this recommendation. GP practices receive funding from a range of sources, including those distributed according to the Carr-Hill Formula and funding delivered to Primary Care Networks. NHS England keeps …
Accepted in Part
#37 — Unfair primary care funding mechanisms exacerbate pressures in deprived areas and entrench regional variation.
Recommendation: It is unacceptable that areas already under significant pressure due to high levels of deprivation, ill health and under-doctoring have these pressures compounded by unfair funding mechanisms which fail to take account of deprivation. It is particularly concerning that new …
Response attribution not verified
#52 —
Recommendation: The British Business Bank needs to make every UK business aware of how it can support them. To do so, it should take three steps: a. Opening physical branch offices in a core city in each of the nine Mayoral …
Response status not verified
#43 —
Recommendation: In order to encourage the UK’s banks to engage effectively in resolving the challenge of banks not meeting the finance needs of local communities, we recommend that the Government issues proposals for consultation on introducing an equivalent to the US …
Response status not verified
#42 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government commission from Post Office Ltd a review of the criteria used for hubs and a plan to increase the number of the Post Office’s 11,500 branches that can provide banking services, to maximise 124 access …
Response status not verified
#41 —
Recommendation: It is right that the Government uses every lever it can to increase regional access to finance. With 11,500 branches across the country, Post Office Ltd is well placed to deliver shared business banking and financial advice services to SMEs. …
Response status not verified
#36 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government review the impact of the place‑ based funding model annually, publishing metrics to ensure that ‘doubly‑ disadvantaged’ neighbourhoods are being fully included in the process. (Recommendation, Paragraph 117)
Response attribution not verified
#10 —
Recommendation: The Committee heard evidence that investment in major cities, including London, has more immediate economic benefit than investing in areas where there is currently slower economic growth.
Response attribution not verified
#33 —
Recommendation: The Department must also acknowledge that due to funding pressures 34% of headteachers are using the premium to plug financial gaps in other parts of their operation. We note the Department’s recent changes to the conditions of the pupil premium …
Response attribution not verified
#32 —
Recommendation: The Department must do more to target funding to address attainment gaps, such as that which persistently affects disadvantaged White pupils. This should begin with reform to the pupil premium, which should be weighted to account for persistent disadvantage, including …
Response attribution not verified
#31 —
Recommendation: Additional funding for disadvantaged students, including disadvantaged White students, is welcome, but is insufficient and insufficiently targeted and does not always reflect true level of need. This seems to have extended to the Government’s “catch-up” funding, with insufficiently targeted formulas …
Response attribution not verified
#30 —
Recommendation: School funding has failed to keep pace with where deprivation is in the country, and as a result schools serving disadvantaged communities, including disadvantaged White communities, have suffered financially. The National Funding Formula promises to correct this, but the formula’s …
Response attribution not verified
#11 —
Recommendation: The Department also highlighted the impact of the new minimum per-pupil funding levels on the distribution of funding. The effect of these had been to shift funding in the direction of schools that had very low levels of deprivation.12 The …
Response attribution not verified
#10 —
Recommendation: The Department told us that funding allocations were now catching up with changing levels of deprivation—some areas remained very deprived but were not as deprived as they had been in the early 2000s, while other areas remained less deprived but …
Response attribution not verified
#7 —
Recommendation: There has also been a relative re-distribution of funding from more deprived schools (those with a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals) to less deprived schools. Between 2017–18 and 2020–21, average per-pupil funding for the most deprived …
Response attribution not verified
#3 —
Recommendation: It is not possible to tell whether individual academy schools are receiving the government’s guaranteed minimum per-pupil funding levels. In 2018–19, the Department introduced minimum levels of schools block per-pupil funding for all schools in England. In January 2020, the …
Response attribution not verified
#2 —
Recommendation: Under the national funding formula, schools that are more deprived have fared worse than those that are less deprived. In 2018–19, the Department introduced a national funding formula with the aim of allocating school funding more transparently, consistently and fairly …
Response attribution not verified
#25 —
Recommendation: We recommend that NHS England, together with ICBs and the new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), work together to deliver regional and national coordination as the system tackles the backlog in elective care. If the independent sector is …
Response attribution not verified
#13 —
Recommendation: The pandemic has had a negative impact on health inequalities and highlighted the crucial importance of effective public health services in supporting local populations. Public health services are therefore vital allies in tackling the backlog, and we are surprised at …
Response attribution not verified
#17 —
Recommendation: The geographical inequity of relying on council tax to provide the majority of funding for adult social care is compounded by an out-of-date adult social care relative needs formula. The Government must update the adult social care relative needs formula …
Response attribution not verified
#15 —
Recommendation: Sport England’s 2016–2021 strategy, Towards an Active Nation, aimed to understand and address the barriers to activity for the least active by working with a broader range of partners and encouraging local collaboration. Sport England pledged £250 million, or 25% …
Response attribution not verified
#20 — Provide detailed statement on NHS funding allocation formula for rural mental health needs.
Recommendation: We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide more funding for mental health and to ensure local mental health spending increases by the same proportion as overall increases in local health funding. Despite this, we are concerned by the possibility that …
Response attribution not verified
#11 — Ensure administrative barriers do not hinder timely energy support for prepayment meter customers.
Recommendation: Prepayment meter customers pay for their energy in advance by topping up a meter with a smart card, ‘key’ or cash token. Those on prepayment meters are typically on more expensive energy tariffs due to the cost of the systems …
Response attribution not verified
#2 — Publish analysis of unredeemed energy vouchers and actions to increase household redemption rates.
Recommendation: The Department is still not doing enough to ensure that support reaches the two million consumers on prepayment meters. Those on prepayment meters are typically on more expensive energy tariffs due to the cost of the systems used to run …
Response attribution not verified
#13 — Inadequate CEIAG funding causing significant disparities and gaps in provision for schools.
Recommendation: The Department’s expenditure on CEIAG provision is around £5,000 per school— falling far short of the estimated £38,000 to £76,000 needed to achieve the Gatsby benchmarks. The expectation on schools and colleges to pay for CEIAG out of their already …
Response attribution not verified
#46 — Develop funding and training strategy to address insufficient LARC provision in general practice.
Recommendation: The Government should develop a funding and training strategy to address the lack of LARC provision in general practice, particularly in those areas not covered by a women’s health hub. This should include an assessment of whether the current fee …
Response attribution not verified
#20 — Ringfencing of Homelessness Prevention Grant funding may detrimentally impact some local authorities.
Recommendation: We welcome the Government’s decision to increase homelessness funding for 2025/26, including the £192.9 million uplift to the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG). However, the decision to ringfence 49% of HPG funding for activities to prevent and relieve homelessness may be …
Response attribution not verified
#31 — NHS dental workforce maldistribution creates shocking regional inequalities in access to care.
Recommendation: It is also clearly the case that NHS dental workforce issues are much more pronounced in some parts of England than others and that this is leading to some shocking regional inequalities in access to dental care.92 At the lowest …
Response attribution not verified
#8 — Concerns raised over NHS dental contract's UDA rates, incentives, and uncompetitive funding.
Recommendation: In the written evidence submitted to our inquiry, concerns included that: • UDA rates are linked to the figures used in 2006 which no longer reflect current need.13 Rates vary from practice to practice so dentists in the same location …
Response attribution not verified
NAO audit recommendations(10)
Introducing Integrated Care Systems: joining up local services to improve health outcomes
c) by April 2023, NHSE should set out plans to identify unavoidable cost differences in the provision of healthcare by different trusts and take account of them in the formula for allocating funding to ICBs. This should include a timetable …
Accepted
School funding in England
We recommend that the Department should take the following actions: a) Evaluate the impact of the national funding formula and minimum funding levels over time and use that information to inform whether further action is needed to meet its objectives. …
Accepted
Childhood obesity
In line with the timing of the proposed spending review, the government should target support and funding to local authorities and population groups who have the greater obesity problems.
Accepted
Supporting disadvantaged families through free early education and childcare entitlements in England
The Department should identify how it can best incentivise the provision of sufficient high-quality entitlement places in deprived areas. This should include reviewing the effectiveness of the existing supplement arrangements and establishing why local authorities are making only limited use …
Partially accepted
Supporting disadvantaged families through free early education and childcare entitlements in England
The Department should work with local authorities to develop a better understanding of the approaches that work best in increasing take-up of the entitlements by disadvantaged families. This work should include collaborating with local authorities to evaluate the impact of …
Accepted
Condition of school buildings
f) formally assess the appropriateness of the threshold which determines whether responsible bodies receive maintenance and repair funding directly or through applying for specific projects;
Accepted
Condition of school buildings
e) use new data, including the results of its second data collection programme when available, to assess whether its current formula for allocating funding for maintenance and repair is sufficiently aligned with need;
Accepted
Support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in England
The Department should more robustly investigate the reasons for local variations, drawing on the data available and supported by its specialist advisers and NHS England, and establish the extent to which the variations can reasonably be explained. It should challenge …
Partially accepted
Progress in preventing cardiovascular disease
DHSC should incentivise delivery of Health Checks towards the groups in the population that are at highest risk of CVD to help mitigate health inequalities and reduce potential longer-term costs falling on the NHS in the future.
Partially accepted
Progress in preventing cardiovascular disease
DHSC should review the relative value of commissioning Health Checks through local authorities against alternative commissioning routes, such as NHSE, which could include incentives for delivering Health Checks in the Quality and Outcomes Framework for primary care practitioners.
Accepted
Health investigations(4)
Independent investigation: Shamim Akhtar, Birmingham (2000) — Rec 2
The Birmingham Primary Care Trusts should ensure that the Northern Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust (or its successor) is adequately funded to provide a full range of community mental health services, including assertive outreach, home treatment, and early intervention services.
midlands
Independent investigation: Shamim Akhtar, Birmingham (2000) — Rec 1
The Birmingham and The Black Country Health Authority should ensure that the Birmingham Primary Care Trusts are adequately funded to provide mental health services that meet the needs of the local population, and that the PCTs in turn ensure that the Northern Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust (or its successor) …
midlands
Independent investigation: Liaquat Ali, Bury (1999) — Rec 3.ii
A review of funding for the Mental Health Service in Bury is, in our view, necessary so that there can be proper consideration of the years of under-funding that the service has had to endure. We accept that the service in Bury will not be able to catch up in …
north_west
Independent investigation: Liaquat Ali, Bury (1999) — Rec 3.i
Urgent agreement on the allocation of resources from Bury Acute Trust to Pennine Care Trust needs to be reached. It is clear that not all of the funds were fairly distributed between the two Trusts.
north_west
Independent reviews(25)
Carter Legal Aid Review — Rec 4.29
The process of moving to indicative budget allocations by the Legal Services Commission for legal help for social welfare law through deprivation data should be managed carefully to minimise any disruption to services. As part of this process, the funding formula should enable the Legal Services Commission to decide in …
Justice & Legal
Acheson Report — Rec 38.2
We recommend extending the principle of needs-based weighting to non-cash limited General Medical Services (GMS) resources. The size and effectiveness of deprivation payments in meeting the needs and improving the health outcomes amongst the most disadvantaged populations, including ethnic minorities should be assessed.
Health & Social Care
Willis Commission on Nursing 2012 — Rec 29
The four UK governments should include pre-registration nursing programmes in future allocations of the service increment for teaching (SIFT) and its equivalents. This is vital to improve the quality of nursing students' practical learning experiences, especially in community settings where many will work in future.
Health & Social Care
Willis Commission on Nursing 2012 — Rec 27
Pre and post-registration nursing education must have equitable access to resources through introducing a level playing field and fair funding mechanisms to end the wide disparities between the overall funding of different health professions' education. Sustainable funding is essential to ensure effective mentorship and support placements in community settings.
Health & Social Care
Mental Health Taskforce 2016 — Rec 49
ACRA should review NHS funding allocation formulas, including the inequalities adjustment, to ensure it supports parity between physical and mental health in 2016/17. They should also be reviewed to ensure they correctly estimate the prevalence and incidence of conditions across the mental health spectrum. Membership of ACRA should be revisited …
Health & Social Care
Mental Health Taskforce 2016 — Rec 48
NHS England should disaggregate the inequalities adjustment from the baseline funding allocation for CCGs and primary care, making the value of this adjustment more visible and requiring areas to publicly report on how they are addressing unmet mental health need and inequalities in access and outcomes.
Health & Social Care
Carol Black Drugs Review (Part 2) — Rec 4
We recommend that DHSC, DWP and MHCLG make sure that funding for treatment, employment and housing support is distributed fairly on the basis of need.
Health & Social Care
Darzi Review — Rec 13
The NHS budget is not being spent where it should be — too great a share is being spent in hospitals, too little in the community, and productivity is too low. Hospitals are where most waiting list procedures take place. But they present an apparent paradox. Growth in hospital staff …
Health & Social Care
Acheson Report — Rec 38.3
We recommend reviewing the size and effectiveness of the Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) formula and deprivation payments in influencing the health care outcomes of the most disadvantaged populations, and to consider alternative methods of focusing resources for health promotion and public health care to reduce health inequalities.
Health & Social Care
Acheson Report — Rec 38.1
we recommend reviewing the "pace of change" policy to enable health authorities that are furthest from their capitation targets to move more quickly to their actual target.
Health & Social Care
Acheson Report — Rec 38
We RECOMMEND giving priority to the achievement of a more equitable allocation of NHS resources. This will require adjustments to the ways in which resources are allocated and the speed with which resource allocation targets are met. Specifically:
Health & Social Care
Acheson Report — Rec 37.3
We recommend developing the National Service Frameworks to address inequities in access to effective primary care.
Health & Social Care
Acheson Report — Rec 37
We RECOMMEND that providing equitable access to effective care in relation to need should be a governing principle of all policies in the NHS. Priority should be given to the achievement of equity in the planning, implementation and delivery of services at every level of the NHS. Specifically:
Health & Social Care
Willis Commission on Nursing 2012 — Rec 15
Employers and universities must together identify positive practice environments in a wide range of settings. Many more placements must be made available in community settings, including general practice. The absence of funding to HEIs to support nursing students' practical learning experiences must be addressed.
Health & Social Care
Darzi Review — Rec 6
People are struggling to see their GP. GPs are seeing more patients than ever before, but with the number of fully qualified GPs relative to the population falling, waiting times are rising and patient satisfaction is at its lowest ever level. There are huge and unwarranted variations in the number …
Health & Social Care
Hodge Arts Council Review — Rec 13
ACE should launch a new programme to grow culture in under-served areas. ACE would employ two community arts workers in each identified area, to be tasked with identifying local artists, bringing them together with local community organisations and schools to develop a genuine bottom up cultural offer and opportunities.
Other
Hodge Arts Council Review — Rec 10
ACE should introduce a new National Programme for Individuals, using money from existing funding streams. The purpose would be to support emerging and mid-career individuals to ensure a diverse talent pool by providing individuals with funding of around £30,000 per year and mentoring support. The programme should be for individuals …
Other
Acheson Report — Rec 37.4
We recommend that performance management in relation to the national performance management framework is focused on achieving more equitable access, provision and targeting of effective services in relation to need in both primary and hospital sectors.
Health & Social Care
Mental Health Taskforce 2016 — Rec 50
The Department of Health and NHS England should require CCGs to publish data on levels of mental health spend in their Annual Report and Accounts, by condition and per capita, including for children and Adolescent Mental Health Services, from 2017/8 onwards. They should require CCGs to report on investment in …
Health & Social Care
Mental Health Taskforce 2016 — Rec 47
NHS England and NHS Improvement should together lead on costing, developing and introducing a revised payment system by 2017/18 to drive the whole system to improve outcomes that are of value to people with mental health problems and encourage local health economies to take action in line with the aims …
Health & Social Care
Mental Health Taskforce 2016 — Rec 6
The Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions, working with NHS England and PHE, should identify how the £40 million innovation fund announced at the Spending Review and other investment streams should be used to support devolved areas to jointly commission more services that have been proven …
Health & Social Care
Marmot Review — Rec 6
Policy Objective F: Strengthen the role and impact of ill-health prevention Priority objectives: 1. Prioritise prevention and early detection of those conditions most strongly related to health inequalities. 2. Increase availability of long-term and sustainable funding in ill health prevention across the social gradient. Policy recommendations: 1. Prioritise investment in …
Health & Social Care
Carol Black Drugs Review (Part 2) — Rec 12
We recommend that DHSC, NHSE and the Office for Health Promotion review by the end of 2021 to 2022 the commissioning and funding mechanisms for high-cost but low-volume services such as inpatient detoxification and residential rehabilitation. DHSC should introduce a regional or sub-regional approach to commissioning these services to ensure …
Health & Social Care
Sewell Commission — Rec 11
Establish an Office for Health Disparities This Commission recommends that the government establish a new office to properly target health disparities in the UK. This Office would be an independent body which would work alongside the NHS, as part of, or in place of, the redesigned Public Health England, to …
Other
Darzi Review — Rec 15
Austerity. The 2010s were the most austere decade since the NHS was founded, with spending growing at around 1 per cent in real terms. Until 2018, spending grew at around 1 per cent a year in real terms, against a long-term average of 3.4 per cent. Adjusted for population growth …
Health & Social Care
PHSO casework decisions(1)
LGO / SPSO decisions(12)
PSOW-202305989 — Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
An Advocate complained on behalf of Mrs A regarding the care that her daughter, Ms B, received from Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (“the First Health Board”) and another health board (“the Second Health Board”) in 2022. Specifically, Mrs A complained about the manner in which the funding request …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Upheld
Mar 2025
PSOW-202307570 — Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
An Advocate complained on behalf of Mrs A regarding the care that her daughter, Ms B, received from another health board (“the First Health Board”) and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (“the Second Health Board”) in 2022. Specifically, Mrs A complained about the Second Health Board’s communication with her …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Not Upheld
Mar 2025
PSOW-202409232 — Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Ms A complained about the response she received from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, to her complaint that delays to her pregnancy dating scan meant she was unable to have further screening tests because the scan took place after week 14 of her pregnancy. The Ombudsman decided that the …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
May 2025
PSOW-202502522 — Hywel Dda University Health Board
Ms A complained that the Health Board had not followed guidelines in relation to procedures for the treatment of overseas nationals. In particular, she said that the Health Board had not properly considered whether the debt she had incurred for treatment should be written off. The assessment found that the …
PSOW (Public Services Om…
Health
Dec 2025
201609108 — A Medical Practice in the Tayside NHS Board …
Mr C complained that his GP practice unreasonably failed to arrange a scan of his shoulder and that they failed to refer him to an external psychology service. Mr C also had concerns that the practice failed to consult with him following a review of his medication, and that they …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Oct 2017
201608586 — A Medical Practice in the Grampian NHS Board …
Mr C complained to us that he, his wife and daughter were removed from the practice's list. National Services Scotland (NSS) wrote to Mr C to say that his GP practice had asked NSS to remove him, his wife and their daughter from their patient list because of a breakdown …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Upheld
Oct 2017
21-012-563 — Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: Mr and Mrs B say the Council failed to provide appropriate advice and support about funding and care options in 2020, failed to carry out a continuing healthcare assessment, failed to review the case, delayed identifying a suitable home when Mrs B was in hospital, delayed responding to the …
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Upheld
Jun 2022
22-001-495 — Worcestershire County Council
Summary: The Council gave wrong advice to Mr X about the debt owed by the late Mrs A for her residential care, and as a result he acted to his detriment in distributing her estate. The Council is now seeking to recover the debt through the Courts and the substantive …
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Upheld
Jul 2022
24-020-538 — Suffolk County Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council was at fault in declining to include the provision of school transport in the complainant’s daughter’s Education Health and Care plan, and in failing to respond reasonably to her complaint about the matter. She used her right to appeal to …
LGO (Local Government & …
Education
Apr 2025
24-017-140 — Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse her application for free home to school transport for her child. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
LGO (Local Government & …
Education
Apr 2025
201508616 — A Medical Practice in the Lanarkshire NHS Board …
Mrs A and her daughters were removed from the GP list following an incident at the practice involving her husband, who was not registered at the practice. Mrs A's father (Mr C) complained that the decision to remove Mrs A and her daughters from the list was unreasonably severe and …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health
Partly Upheld
Nov 2016
201808455 — East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership
Allegations were made against C that they entered into inappropriate financial arrangements with clients to whom they provided homecare services. C complained about the way that the partnership conducted the investigation into those allegations and the impact this had on them and their business. In terms of the Adult Support …
SPSO (Scottish Public Se…
Health and Social Care
Upheld
Jul 2021
Domestic Homicide Reviews(3)
Pembrokeshire — recommendation 22
Welsh Government to mandate the adoption of IRIS within GP settings across Wales and provide sufficient resource to support implementation
Welsh Government
Welsh Government
Solihull — recommendation 2
The Safer Solihull Partnership seeks assurance from the Commissioners of the IRIS project within GP surgeries that funding will be given due consideration beyond the current agreed period and that in order to embed this service, it will be brought into mainstream funding in the future.
Safer Solihull Partnership
Central Bedfordshire — recommendation 12
Within the Better Care Fund Plan for Central Bedfordshire, the Bedfordshire CCG and CBC review funding for local HIDVA services to ensure that there is a consistent and equitable service offer.
Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group | Central …
Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group