CCGs in England have been allocated £570bn over the next five years, which they will use to fund NHS services and implement the recently published long term plan, NHS England has said.
CCGs will see a cash increase of at least 4.4% next year, rising to a minimum of 17% by 2023/24.
Areas with the highest rates of premature deaths or unmet health needs will receive £1bn a year, money that will come from the £570bn pot.
The allocations, published yesterday, are subject to final approval by the NHS England board on 31 January 2019.
The money will be allocated through a fairer funding formula, NHS England said. This means that Blackpool and Bradford City – which have the worst rates for premature deaths – will receive funding increases of 11% and 13% next year alone. This adds up to an extra £40m and £26m respectively to invest.
NHS England also said there will be further investment for areas with higher needs for community and mental health services from April, after it stated in the long term plan that it will introduce improved assessments of need for community and mental health services.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: ‘This funding backs delivery of the NHS long term plan in every part of England for the next five years.
‘It will fund cutting edge treatments such as genome tests for every child with cancer, build up community services to provide more joined up care while taking pressure off hospitals and address the unmet need for mental health services.
‘Tackling health inequalities in our society is not just about fairness but is a matter of hard-headed economics which will not only save lives but also save taxpayers’ money and NHS staff time.’
NHS England estimates that health inequalities cost the health service at least £20bn a year.
NHS Clinical Commissioners co-chair Dr Graham Jackson said: ‘The increased funding is welcome, and we appreciate the hard work that has gone into changing the allocation formula.
‘However, there are still considerable challenges ahead as much of this has already been committed on specific programmes, so may not provide the financial headroom required.
‘Over the five years of the increased funding, CCGs will need to find a balance between using this investment for new developments whilst making sure that the NHS remains sustainable for the future.’
