Interim guidance on our approach to assessing integrated care systems

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will set objectives and priorities for our assessments, which we will then publish.

These priorities are likely to change and evolve over time. They will be addressed as part of a wider assessment of the quality statements in the assessment framework.

As part of the assessments of the quality statements for integrated care systems, we will consider and report on the effectiveness of:

• arrangements for place-level working within the system
• variations in service quality
• people’s experiences
• health inequalities and population health outcomes, and wider determinants of health across the system.

As required by the Health and Care Act, our assessments of integrated care systems will cover:

• the quality and integration of health care and adult social care within each integrated care system
• how partners in each integrated care system (the integrated care board, local authorities and registered service providers) are meeting their own responsibilities within the system
• the functioning of the integrated care system, especially how well system partners are working together to deliver good care and meet the needs of their populations, including through the work of Integrated Care Partnerships.

We will also cover the core purpose of integrated care systems:

• improve outcomes in population health and health care
• tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience and access
• enhance productivity and value for money
• help the NHS support broader social and economic development.