Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has named the first eight NHS Trusts that will be assessed as part of the first wave of the Advanced Foundation Trust Programme next year.
Through these new organisations, the Government aims to reinvigorate the Foundation Trust model, incentivising good performance by giving “well-governed and capable boards” more freedom to respond to the needs of their communities and improve care. Advanced Foundation Trusts will also play a key role in driving the three big shifts: analogue to digital, hospital to community and sickness to prevention.
The Trusts will be assessed against the three priority areas of leadership, quality and financial sustainability. Organisations achieving Advanced Foundation Trust status will have the opportunity to be designated as eligible for an Integrated Health Organisation (IHO) contract to oversee the health budget for a defined local population. This will require an additional assessment of capability and readiness. Two organisations in the first wave of applicants will undergo this assessment. NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts will be able to apply for Advanced Foundation Trust status.
Up for assessment
The first eight Trusts to be assessed are:
• Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust
• Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
• Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
• Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust
• Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
[Norfolk and Cambridgeshire are proposing to merge on April 1, 2026]
NHS England says these organisations have shown they are delivering the public’s priorities and value for money, as measured by the NHS oversight framework, and that they are providing high quality care to patients as measured by Care Quality Commission ratings.
Wes Streeting says: “Under our plans, if Trusts manage their finances well, innovate, and deliver for patients, we will give them the space to lead. “These reforms mark a fundamental shift from command and control to collaboration and confidence.”
