NHS Thames Valley ICB: update on changes to Integrated Care Board across the South East region
The NHS is going through significant changes to make care more joined-up, fairer for everyone and more sustainable for the future.
As part of the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, the role of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) is evolving, alongside wider reforms across the NHS and public services.
Key changes include:
- A new focus for ICBs as strategic commissioners to improve population health, reduce inequalities and ensure access to high-quality care.
- A shift in how ICBs operate, with some responsibilities moving to partners such as hospital trusts and local authorities, alongside a reduction in the level of direct funding for ICBs.
What this means:
- Reduced budgets: ICBs have been asked to cut their running costs by around half, spending no more than £19 per person based on population numbers.
- More regional collaboration: ICBs are being encouraged to work together across larger areas to deliver some of their functions more efficiently. In the South East, the six current ICBs have already started working in this way and are continuing to build on it.
- Changes in local government: Plans for reform and devolution mean new strategic authorities will be created. District, borough and county councils are considering how best to come together into larger unitary authorities, with a push for health and local government boundaries to align more closely.
Thames Valley ICB – progress update
From 1 October 2025, NHS Frimley ICB and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB have entered into a new ‘clustering’ arrangement under a joint Chair, Dr Priya Singh, and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nick Broughton.
This marks an important step towards the creation of the new NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board, which will be formally established on 1 April 2026. The new ICB will serve around 2.5 million people across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, commissioning health and care services and working to:
- strengthen partnership working across health and social care,
- tackle health inequalities,
- make the best use of financial resources and workforce, and
- ensure services are shaped around the needs of diverse communities.
The new configuration requires a three-way adjustment to the current NHS Frimley footprint:
- East Berkshire has now joined BOB ICB as part of the journey towards the new Thames Valley ICB;
- Surrey Heath, Ash and Farnham are aligning to Surrey and Sussex ICB*,
- North East Hampshire is aligning to Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB*.
*Alignment of Surrey Heath, Ash, Farnham and North East Hampshire will be achieved by 1 April, 2026, until this time these footprints will remain part of the NHS Frimley ICB and BOB ICB cluster.
Over the coming months, work will continue with staff and partners to design the new organisation. A formal staff consultation will follow once the proposed structure has been developed and approved. Unfortunately, there will be staff redundancies and both ICBs are supporting colleagues during this difficult period.
At the same time, ICBs across the South East are continuing to collaborate to explore how services can be delivered at scale to reduce duplication, enhance quality, and make the best use of collective resources. This approach builds on a strong foundation of regional cooperation and shared learning, ensuring every pound spent delivers maximum benefit for patients.
BOB ICB and Frimley ICB remain separate data controllers until 31st March 2026, information on how each organisation processes personal data, please review the applicable organisations privacy notice.
To support the "Clustering arrangement" (1st October 2025 - 31st March 2026) a formal information sharing agreement has been signed to support the sharing of data between the organisations in the transition and creation of the new Thames Valley ICB.