NHS England
| Public body overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | England |
| Headquarters | Leeds, England |
| Employees | 13,500[1] |
| Annual budget | £181.4 billion (2024–25)[2] |
| Minister responsible |
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| Public body executives |
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| Parent department | Department of Health and Social Care |
| Parent public body | NHS |
| Key documents | |
| Website | www |
NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the National Health Service in England as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.[4] It directly commissions NHS general practitioners, dentists, optometrists and some specialist services. The Secretary of State annually publishes the NHS mandate, a document which specifies the objectives which the Board should seek to achieve. National Health Service (Mandate Requirements) Regulations are likewise published each year to give legal force to the mandate.
In 2018 it was announced that the organisation, while maintaining its statutory independence as legislation prevented a formal merger, would be merged with NHS Improvement, and seven "single integrated regional teams" would be jointly established.[5][6]
In March 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that NHS England would be abolished and that the health service will be brought back under the control of ministers.[7] The stated reasoning from the government was that NHS England represented bureaucracy and inefficiency in healthcare. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the 2012 reorganisation "led to the longest waiting times, lowest patient satisfaction, and most expensive NHS in history".[7]
- ^ "Keir Starmer abolishes NHS England to cut 'bureaucracy' with thousands to lose jobs - live updates". BBC News.
- ^ "Autumn Budget 2024 (HTML)". GOV.UK. House of Commons. 30 October 2024. Table 4.1. ISBN 978-1-5286-5212-4. Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025 – via HM Treasury.
- ^ a b "Board members". england.nhs.uk. NHS England. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "About us". commissioningboard.nhs.uk. NHS Commissioning Board. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ West, Dave (27 March 2018). "Seven regions planned in NHS England and NHS Improvement 'integration'". Health Service Journal.
- ^ "Integration of NHS England and NHS Improvement". Policy Navigator. Health Foundation. 27 March 2018.
- ^ a b Mason, Rowena (13 March 2025). "Keir Starmer abolishes health service's executive body NHS England". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.