The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England have published a neighbourhood health framework policy paper which defines neighbourhood health, identifies the challenges that neighbourhood health and care services must address, and establishes metrics for measuring success. It outlines processes for systems to develop local performance indicators and clarifies the roles of integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities, health and wellbeing boards, and other partners in the development and implementation of neighbourhood health services. The framework applies to England and is intended to guide these entities in creating and delivering effective neighbourhood health services.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published a framework agreement with NHS Resolution, a special health authority which administers indemnity schemes for meeting the liabilities of health service bodies. The agreement sets out the working relationship between the DHSC and NHS Resolution, how NHS Resolution will operate, and how the DHSC and NHS Resolution will together serve patients, the public and the taxpayer. The framework agreement also considers transparency, audits, delegations and financial management, risk management and the relationship with the DHSC’s other bodies.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have published a joint policy paper detailing the nature of their working relationship. The policy paper establishes the roles, responsibilities, governance and accountability arrangements between the two organisations. The framework applies to England and forms part of DHSC’s collection of framework agreements with its arm’s length bodies. To ensure continued alignment, the policy paper mandates a review every three years, with the next update scheduled for 2028. The next update is scheduled for 2028, unless exceptional circumstances are agreed upon with HM Treasury and DHSC’s principal accounting officer. The agreement is part of a broader collection of framework agreements between the DHSC and its arm’s length bodies, and is particularly relevant to blood regulation and safety policies.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England. The plan aims to reinvent the NHS through three shifts: from hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. The plan outlines measures to align Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) with strategic local authorities by 2035, aiming to streamline NHS-local government collaboration. Local authorities will gain increased involvement in preventative healthcare delivery through new partnership arrangements. The plan aims to introduce neighbourhood health centres in every community, to be delivered in partnership with local government. Procurement processes will be streamlined, with a single national formulary for medicines to be implemented within two years. The reforms include potential Public Private Partnership arrangements for neighbourhood health centres, subject to autumn budget approval. ICBs will become strategic commissioners of local healthcare services, with enhanced powers to work alongside local authorities in health service delivery. The Local Government Association says that the ‘crucial role of councils must be recognised’ in delivering the plan, with success depending on full engagement and collaboration with councils nationwide.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced plans for 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres to be delivered through public-private partnerships and public investment, with over 100 centres opening by 2030. The Chancellor will confirm £300m funding for National Health Service (NHS) technology in the upcoming Autumn Budget, alongside the new neighbourhood health programme targeting areas of highest deprivation. The centres will house GPs, nurses, dentists and pharmacists under one roof, with construction involving both repurposed existing estate and new buildings.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced the development of AI system to monitor National Health Service (NHS) patient safety in real time. The system, which forms part of the government's ‘10 Year Health Plan,’ will analyse NHS databases to identify safety concerns and trigger Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections. Initial implementation begins November 2025 with the Maternity Outcomes Signal System, designed to flag higher than expected rates of adverse outcomes. The system will operate through the NHS Federated Data Platform, enabling healthcare staff to access information in a single location. CQC inspection teams will investigate concerns raised by the system and implement necessary interventions.

On its path to becoming operational by December 2026, the recently proposed Health Data Research Service (HDRS) to accelerate medical breakthroughs through improved access to health data for approved researchers has appointed its first CEO, Dr Melanie Ivarsson. Dr Ivarsson follows the appointment of Baroness Blackwood as Chair in November 2025. HDRS is supported by £600 million from the Government and Wellcome. The new service will be housed at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridgeshire, where Wellcome is building a range of new R&D laboratory and office spaces to expand the current campus’s capacity for innovative genomics and biodata companies. The service builds on recent government reforms that have halved the time it takes to approve clinical trials from 91 to 41 days and the 10 Year Health Plan which aims to reduce commercial clinical trial times to 150 days or fewer by March 2026.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that 11 NHS trusts and construction partners have signed agreements establishing long-term partnerships to deliver the next phase of the New Hospital Programme across England. The agreements mark the start of the programme’s delivery phase and will support the rollout of Hospital 2.0, the programme’s standardised approach to designing, building and operating hospitals. The DHSC states that Hospital 2.0 will improve quality, productivity, consistency and value for money through national standards, digital innovation and modern methods of construction. The Hospital 2.0 Alliance will bring together the New Hospital Programme, NHS trusts and construction partners in long-term partnerships to support the delivery of 11 hospital projects across England. The DHSC states that the partnerships are intended to encourage collaboration, enable organisations to share expertise and apply consistent standards across projects, support growth and skills development in the construction industry and improve patient experience, staff wellbeing and healthcare facilities.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a consultation on Liberty Protection Safeguards to be launched in the first half of 2026, jointly run with the Ministry of Justice. The consultation will seek views from families, carers and practitioners including social workers, nurses, psychologists and occupational therapists. Responses will inform a final Mental Capacity Act (2005) Code of Practice to be laid in Parliament. The revised Code of Practice will incorporate changes in case law, legislation, organisational structures, terminology and good practice since 2007, addressing challenges in the existing Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards framework. The announcement comes as the Supreme Court reviews what constitutes deprivation of liberty in a case from Northern Ireland, with the UK government granted permission to intervene. The current system has a backlog of 123,790 individuals and the proposed Liberty Protection Safeguards aim to streamline processes, reduce intrusive assessments and focus on the most vulnerable people. The last consultation on this topic occurred in 2022 without resulting in changes.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the crimes committed by Lucy Letby will become statutory. The Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, has asserted that the inquiry would be shaped by the families of the victims. Thus, following a meeting with the families on 29 August 2023 where they expressed their wishes for a statutory inquiry the DHSC announced on 30 August 2023 that the inquiry will have a legal footing. The statutory nature of this inquiry will enable the compelling of witnesses to give evidence under oath. The inquiry will investigate the wider circumstances, including the handling of concerns, at the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust as well as what actions were taken by regulators and the wider NHS.

The Secretary for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Wes Streeting, has delivered an address outlining NHS reform and the future of the health service. Streeting announced that NHS England will be abolished to pave the way for integrated health organisations, which will manage entire population health budgets and deliver all local health services. This change is designed to shift financial incentives away from treatment toward prevention, ultimately freeing over £1 billion annually for frontline care. The address also highlighted significant improvements to the NHS App, which facilitated 330 million messages from GPs, hospitals and screening services to patients during 2025, twice as many as the previous year. Streeting also emphasised that the integration of artificial intelligence will transform healthcare by enhancing productivity. In addition, NHS Online is set to launch in 2027 with the goal of delivering 8.5 million appointments in its first three years.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have announced the joint rollout of digital remote monitoring technologies across dozens of pilot schemes in England.