Board Meetings in Public

Board Meetings in Common

The governing bodies for NHS Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS East & North Herts CCG, and NHS West Essex CCG now meet virtually in Common.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 26 May 2022 from 9.30am.

Meeting in Common means the three CCG Boards will meet in the same place, at the same time, but they will also meet separately as individual CCGs.

Members of the public who want to register to view the meeting or would like to raise any questions for the CCGs collectively or individually can email these to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm on Tuesday 24 May 2022.

Notice

Following publication of the Health and Care Bill 2021, and subject to this Bill receiving Royal Assent – NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups will be dissolved with their duties and functions transferring to Integrated Care Boards on 1 July 2022.

At present the shadow entity for the Integrated Care Board is the Herts and West Essex Integrated Care System. However, the final name for this new entity is to be confirmed once formally assigned.

Background

The Health and Care Bill was introduced to Parliament in early July by Secretary of State for Health and Care, Sajid Javid. The Bill follows on closely from the publication of the Integrated Care System design framework, which reinforced the importance of public and voluntary sector health and care organisations working together to improve health and wellbeing for all. 

The Health and Care Bill builds on the proposals for legislative change set out by NHS England and NHS Improvement in its Long Term Plan, while also incorporating valuable lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bill’s introduction to Parliament follows extensive discussions with NHS England, the Local Government Association and the health and care sector. 

The Bill introduces an Integrated Care Board, as well as a wider Integrated Care Partnership that each Integrated Care Board and its partner local authorities will be required to establish. The Integrated Care Partnerships will bring together local NHS organisations and local government - including social care, mental health services, housing providers and public health expertise - to deliver joined-up care for their local populations. Clinicians, carers and public health experts will be empowered to operate collaboratively across health and care to tackle health inequalities. The Bill also includes measures to tackle obesity and improve oral health. The Bill aims to help reduce unnecessary bureaucracy so that health and care staff can focus more on patients, and ensure the system is able to flex to changing needs in the years to come. 

All Clinical Commissioning Group staff below Board level, and all functions of the CCGs will transfer to the ICS, along with many other duties and accountabilities. There will also be a transfer of several NHS England and NHS Improvement direct commissioning functions, which is currently being explored. Work is taking place across our system to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.