Are local authorities equal partners in statutory integrated care systems?

Are local authorities equal partners in statutory integrated care systems? Partnership working between local government and the NHS has come a long way in recent years. Back in 2016, when some of my colleagues first began delving into the inner workings of sustainability and transformation partnerships – the precursors to today’s integrated care systems (ICSs) – the picture was not always pretty. Many local government leaders told us that they felt little ownership over the system plans to which, at least nominally, they were partners. One said that ‘the majority of chief execs in [our area] just think it’s a joke’. The King's Fund