Resources for Commissioners

Commissioners across the Norfolk & Waveney Integrated Care System play a pivotal role in reducing avoidable, unfair and systematic health inequalities. This section brings together essential guidance, best-practice approaches, toolkits, and statutory duties to support evidence-based strategic commissioning.

It is supported by the rest of the Resource Hub, explaining key health inequalities concepts and approaches. Don’t forget to have a read of the Essential Explainers here amongst other helpful resources.

Good Practice Frameworks

Document	Key element relating to health inequalities
NHS Health Inequalities Duty (NHS Act 2006)	ICBs must: · Consider how to reduce inequalities in access, experience and outcomes · Use population data to identify disparities · Demonstrate how commissioning decisions address inequalities.
Equality Act 2010- Public Sector Equality Duty	Commissioners must have due regard to: · Eliminating discrimination · Advancing equality of opportunity · Fostering good relations
National Public Health Commissioning Requirements (Section 7A)	Commissioners must meet the standards and service requirements set out in the annual Section 7A agreement, including its focus on reducing inequalities.
Statutory Statement on Information on Health Inequalities	ICBs must take account of this statement, ensuring improved mapping, quality and use of equality/inequalities data across commissioning.
ICS Core Purposes (Health and Care Act 2022)	One of the four statutory purposes of an ICS is explicitly to tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access.
Health inequalities and equality legal duties: A reference document for NHS commissioners and providers	Informs ICBs and NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts about the health inequalities legal duties they must meet following changes introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022.
The NHS Constitution for England	The principles and values of the NHS in England, and information on how to make a complaint about NHS services.

Key Guidance

Document	Key element relating to health inequalities
NHS England Guidance	NHS Long Term Plan · Provides a 10-year direction emphasising stronger action on prevention and health inequalities, focusing on smoking, obesity, alcohol, air pollution and antimicrobial resistance.Core20PLUS5 Framework · The Core20PLUS5 framework is central to NHS England’s approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement.
Strategic commissioning framework	NHS England sets out expectations for ICBs to deliver long-term, evidence-based, population-focused commissioning with clear methodologies for priority-setting, resource allocation, and addressing various in access, experience, and outcomes.
Ethnicity Recording Improvement Plan	This plan sets out targeted actions to strengthen the quality, consistency and completeness of ethnicity data recording. It supports NHS organisations to identify and act on issues that affect their ability to record and analyse ethnic health inequalities data.
The Standards, The Faculty of Homeless and Inclusion Health	The Homeless and Inclusion Health Service Standards for Commissioners and Service Providers (i.e. The Standards’) draw upon evidence of best practice and provide quality assurance for supporting vulnerable and excluded patients with multiple and complex needs, commonly referred to as inclusion health patients.

Toolkits

Document	Key element relating to health inequalities
Norfolk & Waveney Health Inequalities Toolkit	An overview of the tools and templates for local partnerships to use when identifying inequalities needs and what to do about them.
NICE Implementation Support Toolkit	Offers practical support for reducing inequalities in: · Antenatal care · Smoking cessation · Ethnic health disparities
NHS Confederation Inequalities Toolkit- Embedding Action on Health Inequalities	Designed to guide leaders through: · Understanding local needs · Prioritising investment · Evaluating success · Applying quality-improvement approaches across four stages.
Fairer Practice Toolkit	This toolkit provides a structured framework to help GP practices and system partners take practical, evidence-informed action to reduce health inequalities. It supports teams who may be committed to health equity but unsure which steps will have the most impact amid competing priorities and limited resources.
Health Equity Assessment Tool	A tool consisting of a series of questions and prompts, which are designed to help significantly assess health inequalities related to work programmes and identify what can be done to help reduce inequalities.

Good Practice Frameworks

Document	Key element relating to health inequalities
A national framework for NHS- action on inclusion health	Use this framework to plan, develop and improve health services to meet the needs of people in inclusion health groups.
Inclusive digital healthcare: a framework for NHS action on digital inclusion	This document builds on previous NHS Digital guidance on digital inclusion for health and social care. Use it to design and implement inclusive digital approaches and technologies, which are complementary to non-digital services and support.
Improvement framework: community language translation and interpreting services	This framework is designed to support the provision of consistent, high quality community language translation and interpreting services by the NHS to people with limited English proficiency.
Patient safety healthcare inequalities reduction framework	This framework sets out 5 key principles to reduce patient safety healthcare inequalities across the NHS. It outlines opportunities that local teams and ICBs can implement, as well as the work NHS England is taking nationally to support and enable this.
Health Inequality Assurance Framework: a self-assessment improvement tool for integrated care boards	Supporting ICBs to assess progress on tackling health inequalities against strategic objectives and commissioning plans.
Norfolk & Waveney Health Inequalities Strategic Framework for Action	The Health Inequalities Strategic Framework for Actions sets out the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System’s shared 10-year plan to reduce avoidable and unjust differences in health outcomes across the population. It provides a common vision, purpose, and plan for partners.
Tackling health inequalities: seven priorities for the NHS	A set of priority actions emphasising: · Addressing wider determinants such as income, housing and discrimination · Improving access for population groups facing barriers Strengthening trust, communication, and culturally responsive care.