Systems (covering populations of around 500,000 to 3 million people): where health and care partners come together at scale to set overall system strategy, manage resources and performance, plan specialist services, and drive strategic improvements in areas such as workforce planning, digital infrastructure and estates. This aligns to the Integrated Care Board.
Neighbourhood health plans are local strategic frameworks developed by local government, the NHS, and community partners to integrate health, social care, and public health services around local populations. Working through Health and Wellbeing Boards, the ICB and local authorities are jointly responsible for producing a statutory Neighbourhood Health Plan for the local authority area and have a statutory duty to have regard to the Plan in exercising their functions.
During 2026/27 Health and Wellbeing Boards must complete foundational preparations to transition into full implementation of locally owned Neighbourhood Health Plans for the 2027/28 commissioning cycle under the national Neighbourhood Health Framework. Specifically the requirements are to:
Agree neighbourhood footprints and governance arrangements for neighbourhood health, including reviewing board membership and reporting processes to align to new neighbourhood health duties, and establishing governance arrangements which facilitate coordination across the Integrated Care System and engagement with locality partners
Establish outcomes measures (focusing on local monitoring of core national outcome measures during 2026/27 before defining local outcome measures and objectives during 2027/28) and agree operational delivery targets as required
Alignment with the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment so neighbourhood health priorities respond to local needs and health inequalities
Confirmation of how pooled funding arrangements such as the Better Care Fund will be used to align care delivery at a neighbourhood level.
During 2027/28, each Health and Wellbeing Board will develop a locally owned neighbourhood health plan. This will:
Describe how the three national ‘strategic shifts’ (hospital to community, treatment to prevention and analogue to digital) will be delivered locally
Explain how neighbourhood health will support wider local goals, including reducing health inequalities and contributing to broader public service reform
Show how local objectives are informed by the JSNA and other relevant assessments
Confirm final neighbourhood geographies for delivery
Set out organisational responsibilities, including who delivers what
Define governance and operational partnership arrangements
Show how neighbourhood health aligns with other local initiatives (e.g. Best Start Family Hubs, mental health hubs, housing, Pride in Place, employment support).