Dawn Bowden, Minister for Children and Social Care
I am pleased to share the updated position statement, highlighting the significant progress we have made together in transforming health and social care in Wales. Our collective efforts are driving a whole-system approach to investment and reform, with a clear ambition to deliver an Integrated Community Care System (ICCS) that puts people and communities at the heart of care.
Over the past year, more than £300 million of strategic investment has strengthened alignment across health and social care helping people live well at home, easing hospital pressures, and supporting families to stay together. Through the Regional Integration Fund, 750,000 people have benefited, and to date, more than 100 capital schemes under Housing with Care and the Integrated Rebalancing Care Fund are creating the capital infrastructure for sustainable, community-based support.
Programmes such as Building Capacity through Community Care - Further Faster and the Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care are accelerating change, improving emergency care, and building resilience over the winter period. At the same time, investment in over 100 new Allied Health Professional roles and a strengthened Strategic Programme for Primary Care is delivering faster rehabilitation, falls prevention, and better access to advice, reducing avoidable admissions and tackling health inequalities.
These achievements represent more than numbers - they reflect lives improved through timely, joined-up care. The independent National Evaluation of the Regional Integration Fund (RIF) is providing clear evidence of success, and a thematic analysis of case studies is capturing citizen stories, demonstrating how integrated care helps people live well in their communities. These voices are shaping future delivery, while strong engagement and co-production with partners are accelerating learning and spreading good practice at pace.
‘A Healthier Wales’ sets out our national vision for transformation, and the development of an ICCS for Wales is uniting health and social care programmes creating synergy, breaking down silos, and transforming services to deliver a whole-system response that delivers better outcomes for all. Seven major programmes now work in unison under the single vision of the ICCS, reshaping services to be person-centred, preventative, and rooted in communities. Alongside these, initiatives such as the National Framework for Social Prescribing and the £30 million Pathways of Care Transformation Grant are building community capacity and preventing escalation of need.
The duty to co‑operate and deliver early intervention and prevention support applies equally to local authorities and health boards. In recognition of this, Regional Partnership Boards remain central to delivering our vision, not simply as funding vehicles, but as the driving force for collaboration and integration. It is essential that all partners engage meaningfully with their RPBs, recognising their strategic role in shaping the future of care in Wales. I have recently met with each of the seven RPB Chairs and the named accountable officers in each region and have been greatly encouraged by the growing level of maturity in our partnership arrangements, and some of the excellent progress being made through collaborative and partnership working.
The impact is clear: avoidable hospital admissions, stronger communities, and thousands of people living well at home. By strengthening partnerships, accelerating innovation, and embedding prevention, we are delivering a system that works for everyone and shaping a healthier, fairer Wales for the future.