Camden Council's Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee convened on 1 December 2025, to discuss the implementation of the NHS's 10-Year Plan within the borough.
The NHS '10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future', published on 3 July 2025, aims to modernise the health service, focusing on prevention, community-based care, and digital solutions. The plan intends to shift from:
- Hospital to community-based care
- Analogue to digital-first services
- Treatment of illness to prevention and population health
This shift is part of the 'Model ICB' guidance, which also includes the Integrated Care Board's (ICB) shift to becoming a Strategic Commissioner. The guidance asks ICBs to transfer 18 separate functions over time including SEND, Safeguarding, NHS Continuing Healthcare and Estates Strategy.
The plan outlines a major shift in how services will be designed and delivered, moving towards more integrated, personalised support that recognises the impact of social, economic and environmental factors on people's health.
The committee reviewed a report summarising engagement in the development of the NHS 10 Year Plan, the plan itself; and how system transformation work across Camden coheres to the ambitions of the plan.
According to the report, the East Camden Integrated Neighbourhood Team is named as an example of best practice in the Secretary of State's speech and in the Plan's afterword. The team brings together GPs, community health teams, mental health, social work and care, wider statutory services, and the voluntary sector in one place, providing more coordinated and proactive care for local people.
An iterative evaluation framework has been developed through the Stakeholder Evaluation Group to assess the team's success. Strengths highlighted so far include the way teams have embraced holistic care and innovative, preventative approaches, underpinned by stronger relationships and collaborative design. Limitations highlighted include the fact that progress is still emerging and there are challenges around gaps in leadership, resources, and infrastructure that constrain integrated working. Recommendations from the evaluation speak to the need for a clear vision, strong leadership, and aligned resources, so as to enable partners to embed change and sustain long-term impact.
The report also noted the ICB's change programme to date, until 1 April 2026, including the merger with North West London Integrated Care Board and the ICB's shift to becoming a Strategic Commissioner.
The North West London and North Central London ICBs will merge to create a single organisation serving 13 boroughs and approximately 4.5 million residents, becoming the largest in England. This merger is expected to be legally established in April 2026. The merger follows government direction for all ICBs in England to cut operating costs by 50 per cent. The new West and North London ICB will be legally established in April 2026, and the leadership team has now been announced.
According to the System Transformation: NHS 10 Year Plan Cover Report, the benefits of the merger include:
- Achieving 50% reduction as two independent organisations would make continuing to deliver across neighbourhoods, large acute Trusts and all our population requirements within the cost envelope very challenging
- By bringing together the best of both organisations, the increased scale gives us the best chance for excellence as strategic commissioners
- It will create a resilient and ambitious ICB that can continue to focus on improving access to health, reducing inequalities, moving services closer to the community through neighbourhood delivery, and ensuring the health system works better than it does today
Decisions about the strategic direction on integration and neighbourhood working at Camden will be made at CICE which the Council (Jess McGregor, Executive Director for Adults and Health) will continue to chair.
The committee was asked to note the contents of the report and slides, and the national commitments outlined in the NHS 10 Year Plan.