2025/26 NHS Revenue finance and contracting guidance: Key updates

2025/26 NHS Revenue finance and contracting guidance: Key updates

By CF|2025-03-31T18:12:33+01:0026 March 2025|Featured, Insights, Snapshots|

The NHS financial and revenue framework, released alongside the 2025/26 operational planning guidance, sets out how Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and providers should manage financial planning, contracting, and resource allocation to achieve financial sustainability.

Key highlights:

  • ICSs must achieve financial balance within NHS England’s resource limits, with deductions applied for failures to submit and deliver breakeven plans.
  • Base growth is set at 4.4%, with a 2.0% efficiency requirement and 4.15% cost uplift factor, including 2.8% pay growth.
  • The NHS Payment Scheme introduces payment limits for elective services, price uplifts to encourage activity, and pilots for new payment models.
  • Service Development Fund (SDF) ringfences are largely removed, with more funding integrated into ICB core allocations, although with an overall reduction to support financial balance.
  • Mental health and specialised service commissioning is delegated to ICBs, with funding aligned to meet growth and investment standards.

Read the full snapshot below:

Click to enlarge.

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