NHS England delays transfer of vaccination commissioning to ICBs
NHS England has delayed its plans to transfer responsibility for commissioning vaccination services to ICBs until next year.
The commissioner said that ‘subject to parliamentary approval’ commissioning functions for vaccinations, child health information services (CHIS) and almost all components of screening services will transfer to ICBs from April 2027, instead of next month.
However, it said that it expects ICBs to have the ‘full leadership role’ for commissioning these services through 2026/27 in preparation for the transfer.
Last year NHS England had approved a plan for ICBs to become responsible for commissioning all vaccination services, and most screening services, from April this year, saying this would ‘support’ ICBs’ role in population health and prevention.
Primary care services were already delegated to ICBs in July 2022 and April 2023 and ‘accountability’ will transfer from NHS England to ICBs subject to legislation from April next year, a letter from NHS England to ICBs confirmed this week.
NHS England said: ‘In preparation for this, from April 2026 we expect all ICBs to be fully engaged with and leading the commissioning of these services, supported by NHS England’s regional commissioning teams.’
Pulse has asked NHS England why the transfer has been delayed.
NHSE had previously said that giving ICBs responsibility for commissioning more of the care provided to their population is ‘a key enabler’ for integrating care and improving population health, giving them the flexibility to join up more pathways of care and better align incentives.
The letter added that when NHS England is abolished, DHSC will take over responsibility for commissioning:
- all highly specialised services; high secure mental health services; a small number of other specialised services ‘not currently suitable for ICB commissioning’; and the continued national reimbursement of high-cost tariff excluded drugs and devices
- all services for the armed forces community currently commissioned nationally by NHS England
- certain components of screening services that are already commissioned on a national scale
DHSC will maintain a national framework of standards, service specifications and clinical commissioning policies to support those services that are set to transfer to ICBs.
It will also maintain the management of national primary care functions including the Performers List for England and national contracts.
It comes after ICBs were urged last year to take a ‘bold’ approach to planning services, including decommissioning services from GP practices and looking ‘beyond traditional healthcare providers’.
Commissioning functions to be transferred
Vaccinations, screening and child health information services (CHIS)
As public health functions of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, commissioning responsibility for the services listed below will be directly delegated to ICBs (in the same way they are currently delegated to NHS England):
- Section 7A vaccination services
- abdominal aortic aneurysm screening service
- breast screening services
- diabetic eye screening services
- bowel cancer screening hubs
- bowel cancer screening centres
- cervical screening HPV cytology laboratory services
- newborn bloodspot screening laboratory services
- CHIS
Local co-ordination of vaccine response to outbreaks is already the responsibility of ICBs and will remain so.
Source: NHS England
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