NHS Providers aims to support its members in this difficult financial climate by providing briefings and information on financial policy and funding issues as well as representing provider views to central NHS bodies and Whitehall. To meet this aim, our work focuses on the following areas:

Funding: How much the NHS has to spend, and where it is spent is one of the key issues facing providers in the coming years. We work to represent our members’ views to government to secure a better deal for the funding of health services in England, and keep our members informed of changes in funding policy.

Productivity, efficiency and other income: NHS providers work relentlessly to use public funding in the most efficient and effective way. The productivity challenge facing the sector is now pressing, with the NHS Five year forward view requiring them to deliver a step change in annual efficiency by the end of the decade. Providers also ever increasingly need to look for other income to support their NHS work. We make a range of information available including the most recent reports and thinking in this area, as well as sharing members’ good practice.

The tariff and payment systems: The national tariff is the policy for allocating £75bn worth of NHS funding to NHS foundation trusts and trusts but there are ongoing developments in the way providers are paid. This area is ever evolving: we aim to keep members updated with changes to policy as well as influencing NHS England and Monitor on the future direction of the payment system.

Contracting: Contracts govern the relationships between the commissioners and providers of health services. We help our members navigate through the complexity of NHS services contracting as well as promoting better contracting arrangements and good practice

NHS England specialised commissioning: In August 2016, we worked with NHS Clinical Commissioners to bring together 50 providers and commissioners of specialised services to attend a workshop held by NHS England. This workshop helped inform the development of NHS England's strategic framework for specialised services and its commissioning intentions document for 2017/18, and we are pleased to be able to share the videos from the plenary sessions.