ICBs in the South West are ‘exploring clustering’ as part of efforts to reduce their running costs.
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly ICB and Devon ICB are considering merging, while Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, Somerset ICB and Dorset ICB are also considering the move. This would make three ‘clusters’ in the South West of England.
Last week, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire ICBs also announced they were considering the move.
Cornwall ICB said this was ‘very much a proposal’ that would ‘need to be worked through in more detail with Devon ICB’, and that ‘no decisions have been made’.
A spokesperson for Cornwall, Isles of Scilly and Devon ICBs said: ‘All ICBs in England are being asked to significantly reduce running costs and shift to a more strategic role with different responsibilities for us and other parts of our health and care system. This is part of the wider nationally-driven NHS reform programme to reduce management costs and focus more money on the front line.
‘Both Cornwall, Isles of Scilly and Devon ICBs are exploring plans to cluster together. This proposal is still at an early stage and no decisions have been made.’
A spokesperson from Bath and North East Somerset ICB said: ‘BSW, Somerset and Dorset ICBs are exploring plans to cluster together. This proposal is still at an early stage and no decisions have been made.’
This means that five of the ten smallest ICBs have now declared plans to merge, with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Bath and North East Somerset, Dorset, Somerset and Gloucestershire all serving less than 1 million people.
The other ICBs serving less than 1 million people are Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB with a population of 519,648, Lincolnshire ICB with 806,128 people, Northamptonshire ICB with 813,203, Frimley ICB with a population of 812,459, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB with 816,242.
ICBs were told in March they must cut their running costs by around 50% by October 2025 and to focus on reducing duplication when making cuts.
Earlier this month it was revealed that the ICB running cost envelope will be reduced to £18.76 per head, and that this target must be reached by the end of Q3 in 2025/26.
The chief executive of NHS England, Sir James Mackey, revealed last month that the variation in spend per ICB per head currently ranges from £49 to just less than £21 per head.
The West Country has been the most forthcoming with their plans to meet cut budgets, as last week Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB and Gloucestershire ICB also revealed a ‘provisional’ plan to ‘cluster’ with each other.
The ICB said there had been a transition group established with other ICBs in the south west of England, supported by the regional team at NHS England, and that BNSSG’s executive team had also established a transition group that meets weekly.
It said discussions on these groups had ‘progressed’ on the potential for joint working through ICB ‘cluster arrangements’.
Other ICBs have told Healthcare Leader that plans are being worked on, but that nothing is confirmed yet.
However, South Yorkshire ICB did confirm that they are not considering merging in a recent board meeting, but that they would consider ‘sharing’ some functions with others.
In the meeting, a member of the board said: ‘There are no plans for a merger between NHS South Yorkshire ICB and any other ICB. However, we are working with partners to explore whether sharing some functions might help us to deliver this challenge.’
