Working in partnership with the ICB - Three year's on.....
Date posted: 29th October 2026By Tracy Hopkins, Chair LSC VCFSE Alliance, Partner Member LSC ICB, CEO Citizens Advice Blackpool and Non-Executive Director Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
When I first joined the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board as a VCFSE representative three years ago, I knew there was a genuine ambition to work more closely with the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. Signing the partnership agreement between the VCFSE Alliance and the ICB felt like a step in the right direction, but if I'm honest, the relationship between the VCFSE and the NHS still felt like a work in progress. There was goodwill, but we were some way from being seen consistently as equal partners in shaping health and care.
Three years later, the landscape feels very different.
The ICB itself has been through significant change and continues to evolve. We've seen changes in leadership, structures, priorities and ways of working. At times, trying to transform services whilst simultaneously reorganising the system has felt like a challenge. Yet what has struck me most throughout this period is the growing recognition that communities matter, relationships matter and that the VCFSE has a vital role to play in improving health outcomes and tackling inequalities.
This year has been particularly significant for me personally, having become a Partner Member on the ICB Board. It has given me the opportunity to see first-hand the commitment, enthusiasm and optimism that exists across the organisation for working differently with communities and with the VCFSE sector.
What has impressed me most is not simply the willingness to involve the sector in conversations, but the growing commitment to genuine partnership. Increasingly, we are moving towards co-design, co-production and shared ownership of solutions. That shift matters.
One of the clearest examples of this has been our work together through the Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) programme. What started as an opportunity to demonstrate the value of community-based interventions has developed into something much more substantial. VCFSE organisations across Lancashire and South Cumbria have shown that they can help people access the right support at the right time, reduce pressure on hospitals and other statutory services and improve outcomes for residents through trusted, community-led approaches.
Perhaps the greatest endorsement of that success is that the funding has not simply ended. Through the Capacity Investment Fund (CIF), this work has now become recurrent investment, providing greater stability and creating opportunities to build on what we have learned. That sends a powerful message about the confidence that the system has in the VCFSE sector as a delivery and strategic partner.
The role of Spring North as managing agent has also been transformative. By acting as a bridge between the ICB and diverse VCFSE organisations, Spring North has helped create a more accessible, trusted and effective mechanism for partnership working. It has accelerated relationships, increased engagement and enabled organisations of all sizes to contribute to improving health and wellbeing in their communities.
Importantly, it has demonstrated something many of us have known for years: when resources are invested through trusted community infrastructure, they reach communities faster, more effectively and often in ways that traditional approaches simply cannot.
Of course, there is still much more to do.
Health inequalities across Lancashire and South Cumbria remain stubborn and significant. The pressures facing communities, public services and the VCFSE sector itself are considerable. At the same time, the shift towards neighbourhood health, prevention and community-led support presents a huge opportunity.
If we are serious about helping people live healthier lives, reducing demand on acute services and tackling the wider determinants of health, then the VCFSE sector must continue to be part of the solution, not as an add-on, but as an equal partner.
What gives me confidence is that the foundations are now much stronger than they were three years ago. Relationships have deepened. Trust has grown. We have demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together.
The challenge and opportunity for the next few years is to build on that momentum.
There is enormous potential within our communities, and enormous potential within the partnership between the ICB and the VCFSE sector. Together, we can reach people services often cannot, build resilience within neighbourhoods and create healthier, more connected communities across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Three years ago, I was hopeful about what could be achieved. Today, having seen the progress we've made and the commitment that exists across the system, I'm more optimistic than ever about what comes next.