NHS South West has commissioned an engagement exercise to review the commissioning architecture that has supported the provision of specialist mental health services that are currently sub-contracted by Provider Collaboratives. The aim of this engagement is to produce recommendations on how services should be commissioned from April 2027 onwards.
The commissioning architecture today:
The commissioning of specialist mental health, learning disability and autism services were delegated from 1st April 2025 from NHSE South West Region to South West ICBs for the South West population, under General Condition 12 of the NHS Standard Contract 2025/26.
The Principal ICB (Somerset ICB) acts on behalf of South West ICBs and has in place a direct contract with the Lead Providers who are leading on behalf of their partners within a provider collaborative arrangement. The Principal ICB whilst maintaining the oversight and assurance role has contractually transferred their commissioning responsibilities to Lead Providers who are then required to sub-contract with the relevant NHS and independent sector providers to ensure delivery of services.
Lead Provider contracts with the Principal ICB commenced April 2024 and are due to expire at the end of March 2027.
The purpose of this survey:
The purpose of this survey is to gather written feedback from all the stakeholder organisations involved in the commissioning and provision of specialist mental health services by Provider Collaboratives. We are asking for one response per organisation.
The themes that we will explore in this survey are:
Enabling engagement with service users, carers, and families
Optimising commissioning footprints
Ownership and accountability for service development
Effective quality improvement and assurance
Financial flows
Contract duration from April 2027
Roles of organisations: Region; ICBs; Lead Providers; Sub-Contracted Providers
The survey will start by asking you which organisation you are responding on behalf of, so that we can ensure we have responses from all stakeholders.
Please ensure that your organisation has responded to this survey by 12pm Thursday 22nd January 2026.
NHS South West has commissioned an engagement exercise to review the commissioning architecture that has supported the provision of specialist mental health services that are currently sub-contracted by Provider Collaboratives. The aim of this engagement is to produce recommendations on how services should be commissioned from April 2027 onwards.
The commissioning architecture today:
The commissioning of specialist mental health, learning disability and autism services were delegated from 1st April 2025 from NHSE South West Region to South West ICBs for the South West population, under General Condition 12 of the NHS Standard Contract 2025/26.
The Principal ICB (Somerset ICB) acts on behalf of South West ICBs and has in place a direct contract with the Lead Providers who are leading on behalf of their partners within a provider collaborative arrangement. The Principal ICB whilst maintaining the oversight and assurance role has contractually transferred their commissioning responsibilities to Lead Providers who are then required to sub-contract with the relevant NHS and independent sector providers to ensure delivery of services.
Lead Provider contracts with the Principal ICB commenced April 2024 and are due to expire at the end of March 2027.
The purpose of this survey:
The purpose of this survey is to gather written feedback from all the stakeholder organisations involved in the commissioning and provision of specialist mental health services by Provider Collaboratives. We are asking for one response per organisation.
The themes that we will explore in this survey are:
Enabling engagement with service users, carers, and families
Optimising commissioning footprints
Ownership and accountability for service development
Effective quality improvement and assurance
Financial flows
Contract duration from April 2027
Roles of organisations: Region; ICBs; Lead Providers; Sub-Contracted Providers
The survey will start by asking you which organisation you are responding on behalf of, so that we can ensure we have responses from all stakeholders.
Please ensure that your organisation has responded to this survey by 12pm Thursday 22nd January 2026.
Specialised Mental Health Services is currently at this stage
This consultation is open for contributions.
Survey closes - Thursday 22nd January 2026
this is an upcoming stage for Specialised Mental Health Services
Contributions to this survey are closed for evaluation and review. The project team will report back on key outcomes.
Final report
this is an upcoming stage for Specialised Mental Health Services
The final outcomes of the consultation are documented here. This may include a summary of all contributions collected as well as recommendations for future action.
Custom
If you have any questions or difficulties completing this survey, please contact Eloise Taylor, Senior Project Manager, eloise.taylor@nhs.net
