Governance Handbook

Table of Contents

1. NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Intergrated Care Board (ICB) Governance Handbook Introduction

This handbook is designed to give easy access to key governance information to support the executive team, senior managers, and all staff to apply the ICB governance arrangements in practice and to give insight to patients and the public on our arrangements. This handbook will provide detail on committee governance, standing orders and financial policies, standards of business conduct, as well as other areas of corporate governance.

2. Constitution

Integrated Care Systems are partnerships of health and care organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up services and to improve the health of people who live and work in their area. They exist to achieve four aims:

  • Improve outcomes in population health and healthcare
  • Tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience and access
  • Enhance productivity and value for money
  • Help the NHS support broader social and economic development

Integrated Care Boards (ICB) were created by the Health and Care Act (2022). Each ICB is required to have a constitution. The act sets out the required contents and terms to be used in the constitution.

The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Constitution

The Standing Orders, which set out the arrangements and procedures to be followed for meetings are included in the constitution.

3. Organisations Eligible to Jointly Nominate ICB Board Partner Members

NHS Trust and Foundation Trust organisations:

Local Authorities:

4. List of Primary Medical Services Providers Eligible to Jointly Nominate Partner Member ICB Board Primary Care Medical Services Member

Download list

5. Process for the Joint Nomination, Assessment, Selection and Appointment of ICB Board Partner Members

For NHS Trust and Foundation Trust, and Local Authority Partner Members, the appointment process will be as follows:

  • a) Joint Nomination:
    • When a vacancy arises, each eligible organisation described in the constitution (3.6.1) and listed in the Governance Handbook will be invited to make 1 nomination.
    • Eligible organisations may nominate individuals from their own organisation or another organisation
    • All eligible organisations will be requested to confirm whether they jointly agree to nominate the whole list of nominated individuals, with a failure to confirm within 5 working days being deemed to constitute agreement. If they do agree, the list will be put forward to step b) below. If they don’t, the nomination process will be re-run until majority acceptance is reached on the nominations put forward.
  • b) Assessment, selection, and appointment subject to approval of the Chair under c)
    • The full list of nominees will be considered by a panel convened by the Chief Executive
    • The panel will assess the suitability of the nominees against the requirements of the role (published before the nomination process is initiated) and will confirm that nominees meet the requirements set out in the constitution (3.6.3 and 3.6.4)
    • In the event that there is more than one suitable nominee, the panel will select the most suitable for the appointment.
  • c) Chair’s approval
    • The Chair will determine whether to approve the appointment of the most suitable nominee as identified under b).

For Primary Care representative Partner Members, the process will be as follows:

  • a) Joint Nomination:
    • When a vacancy arises, each eligible organisation described in the constitution (3.6.1) and listed in the Governance Handbook will be invited to make 1 nomination.
    • The nomination of an individual must be seconded by 10 other eligible organisations.
    • Eligible organisations may nominate individuals from their own organisation or another organisation
    • All eligible organisations will be requested to confirm whether they jointly agree to nominate the whole list of nominated individuals, with a failure to confirm within 5 working days being deemed to constitute agreement. If they do agree, the list will be put forward to step b) below. If they don’t, the nomination process will be re-run until majority acceptance is reached on the nominations put forward.
  • b) Assessment, selection, and appointment subject to approval of the Chair under c)
    • The full list of nominees will be considered by a panel convened by the Chief Executive
    • The panel will assess the suitability of the nominees against the requirements of the role (published before the nomination process is initiated) and will confirm that nominees meet the requirements set out in the constitution (3.6.3 and 3.6.4)
    • In the event that there is more than one suitable nominee, the panel will select the most suitable for the appointment.
  • c) Chair’s approval
    • The Chair will determine whether to approve the appointment of the most suitable nominee as identified under b).

6. Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB Governance Handbook

6.1 Governance Handbook introduction

This Handbook is a series of weblinks that will take you to documents that describe NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB’s core governance arrangements.

7. Scheme of Reservation and Delegation (SoRD)

Download SoRD

8. Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs)

Read Document

9. Functions and Decisions Map

View the map

10. Committee Terms of Reference

11. Key Policies

11.1 Standards of Business Conduct (Conflicts of Interest and Gifts and hospitality)

Conflicts of interest:

Gifts and hospitality:

11.2 Risk Management

11.3 Information Governance

11.4 Working with People and Communities Strategy

12. ICB Role Descriptions

13. Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB is committed to meeting the statutory requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and as such has adopted the Information Commissioners Office’s (ICO) Publication Scheme.

Our Freedom of Information Publication Scheme