The NHS Mandate sets the strategic direction and objectives for the NHS Commissioning Board on behalf of the Secretary of State, maintaining the NHS's democratic accountability while giving it more stability to plan services.
The Mandate was introduced following the 2010 Health and Social Care Act that created the NHS Commissioning Board as an independent organisation to run the NHS. This is the first Mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board and covers the first 2 years of the new NHS system, from April 2013 to March 2015.
The Mandate includes a number of objectives for the NHS Commissioning Board that are important for the health of disabled children and young people. These include:
- A focus on improving partnership across different services for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities. The Board has a responsibility to ensure that they have access to the services identified in their agreed care plan.
- That parents of children who could benefit have the option of a personal budget based on a single assessment across health, social care and education.
- The importance of improving integration across health services, including the transition between children and adults services.
- The role health services must play in working with wider stakeholders, such as schools, to improve health outcomes.
- Placing the same importance mental health as physical health throughout the NHS, with an emphasis on increasing young people's access to mental health services.