Community Health Services: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to integrated care boards on the funding of community services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
There are no specific or ring‑fenced funding instructions for community health services; instead, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning and funding community health services to meet local population needs, within their overall National Health Service allocations and in line with national planning guidance, including the Medium-Term Planning Framework (MTPF). We have set clear ambitions for community health services through the MTPF and for the first time, we have set a target for systems to reduce long waits for community health services. By 2028/29, at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.
In addition, in February 2025, NHS England published Standardising Community Health Services, setting out the core community health services that ICBs should consider when planning and commissioning services for their local populations. Further guidance was published in February 2026, providing more detailed descriptions of the core components of community health services. This will support systems in designing, commissioning and delivering community health services.
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