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Community Care: Rural Areas

Asked by Blake StephensonConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 23 January 2026UIN 101967

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2025 to Written Question 73770, how many neighbourhoods he expects each ICB to designate.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock

Neighbourhoods are natural communities that are recognisable by local residents. Typically, neighbourhoods will have populations of approximately 50,000 people, but coherent geography is more important for defining neighbourhoods than the population size. The numbers of neighbourhoods designated in each integrated care board (ICB) geography will be defined locally by ICBs and their system partners. We will share further guidance to provide greater clarity and consistency for systems in developing and scaling neighbourhood health.

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