Community transport operators can access ICB funding (NHS Integrated Care Board) funding by aligning their service with local health priorities, particularly the shift towards neighbourhood health and prevention, demonstrating measurable impact on access to care, and building partnerships with NHS and social care providers.
Since 2025, ICBs have been reset as “strategic commissioners” with leaner teams and tighter budgets, so a sharp, evidence-led proposal matters more than ever. This guide explains how ICBs work today, where community transport fits, and how to build a funding case that stands up.
Key Takeaways
- ICBs are now strategic commissioners – they plan and pay for most local NHS services using multi-year budgets, with a clear remit to improve population health and reduce inequalities.
- Running costs have been cut by around 50%, so ICBs have fewer staff and tighter budgets. Proposals need to be concise, costed and clearly tied to their priorities.
- The neighbourhood health agenda – moving care out of hospital and into communities – is the strongest hook for community transport.
- Tighter NEPTS eligibility (from April 2025) means more patients are being signposted to community and voluntary transport, creating clear demand your service can meet.
- Evidence wins funding: missed-appointment data, cost savings, patient stories and reliable reporting make the difference.
As demand for community transport grows, sustainable funding is essential for operators serving vulnerable and isolated people. One important stream runs through NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which plan and fund local health services and increasingly look to community-based solutions to keep people well and out of hospital.
The funding landscape has changed significantly since these boards were created. If your last approach to an ICB was a year or two ago, it is worth understanding what is different – and why community transport may now be a better fit than ever.
Here is a practical guide to navigating the process and making a compelling case for ICB funding as a community transport operator.
1) Understand How ICBs Work Now
ICBs are the statutory NHS bodies that plan, commission and pay for most health services across England. Since 2025 their role has been deliberately narrowed: the government’s 10 Year Health Plan reset them as “strategic commissioners”, responsible for allocating funding to improve their population’s health, reduce health inequalities and improve access to services.
Two practical changes matter for anyone seeking funding. First, ICBs have been asked to cut their running costs by around half, spending no more than roughly £18.76 per head of population, with leaner teams as a result (King’s Fund). That means fewer people to talk to and less appetite for anything that looks like added cost or complexity – your proposal needs to be concise, costed and obviously aligned with their priorities.
Second, the map itself is changing. The number of ICBs is falling through clustering and mergers, with new, larger ICBs taking effect from April 2026 and further changes expected in 2027 (NHS England). NHS England is also being folded back into the Department of Health and Social Care. Before you approach anyone, check which ICB now covers your area and who leads on commissioning, prevention or transport.
The good news is that community transport aligns naturally with what ICBs are trying to achieve: getting people to appointments, reducing missed care, and supporting those with mobility challenges or living in rural and remote areas.
2) Connect Your Service to Neighbourhood Health and Prevention
The clearest opening for community transport is the move from hospital-based care towards “neighbourhood health”. The 10 Year Health Plan and the subsequent Neighbourhood Health Framework set out a shift towards care closer to home, delivered by integrated neighbourhood teams and supported by voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. ICBs and local authorities are expected to plan and commission these services together over the next few years.
Transport is the thread running through all of it. People cannot benefit from a neighbourhood health centre, a diagnostic clinic or a prevention programme if they cannot get there. Framing your service as part of the neighbourhood health offer – rather than a standalone transport request – speaks directly to where ICB attention and funding are heading.
Be aware of one caveat: commentators have noted that the plan tends to treat the VCSE sector as delivery partners rather than strategic ones, and local commissioning routes are still settling. That makes strong local relationships and clear evidence all the more important.
3) Identify Funding Opportunities Through Your Local ICB
Funding availability varies between ICBs, depending on local priorities and health challenges. Research your ICB’s joint forward plan, population health strategy and published board papers to see where community transport could fit. Funding has typically supported:
- Transport linked to non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS) and onward journeys.
- Initiatives to reduce health inequalities by improving access for rural or remote areas.
- Prevention, early intervention and projects that reduce hospital admissions.
One change is worth understanding in detail. From April 2025, NHS England introduced tighter national eligibility criteria for NEPTS. NHS-funded transport is now reserved for people whose medical condition means they could not safely travel independently; most people are expected to make their own way, and routine GP and primary care journeys generally fall outside NEPTS (NHS England NEPTS eligibility criteria). Crucially, the criteria explicitly point patients who do not qualify towards community and voluntary transport.
For operators, that is a clear opening. As NEPTS narrows, more patients need an affordable, reliable alternative – exactly what community transport provides. A funding case that helps the ICB meet its access and equality duties for people no longer eligible for NEPTS is timely and persuasive.
It is worth speaking directly to your ICB’s NEPTS or commissioning lead to understand local priorities, especially around preventive care and the wider factors that affect health.
4) Build Partnerships With Local Health and Social Care Providers
Collaboration strengthens any funding case. Build relationships with GP practices, hospital trusts, social care teams and other community organisations that already work with the ICB. A joint proposal – showing how integrated services reduce missed appointments, support hospital discharge and ease pressure on urgent care – is far stronger than a transport request on its own.
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ICBs increasingly favour multi-stakeholder approaches, where transport operators work alongside health and social care partners to meet patients’ broader needs. Positioning yourself within an integrated neighbourhood team, where one exists, is a good place to start.
5) Demonstrate the Impact of Your Service on Health Outcomes
To make a compelling case, show how your service affects health outcomes. Useful metrics include:
- Reduction in missed appointments: data showing how reliable transport improves attendance and continuity of care.
- Patient experience: testimonials and feedback from people who use your service to reach healthcare. Patient stories bring the real-world impact to life.
- Cost savings: evidence that your service eases pressure on ambulances and NEPTS, supports timely discharge, or helps people attend earlier, cheaper care.
Good record-keeping is what turns these claims into evidence. Reporting tools such as patient transport software make it straightforward to capture journeys, attendance and outcomes – the kind of data commissioners expect to see when they invest.
6) Write an ICB Funding Proposal That Lands
A clear, well-structured proposal is essential – and with leaner ICB teams, brevity counts. Outline your objectives, the population served and the direct benefits of your service on access to care. Key sections to include:
- Executive summary: the purpose of your proposal and how it aligns with the ICB’s priorities.
- Service description: what you do and how it meets local healthcare needs.
- Who you serve: the specific groups (older people, disabled people, rural communities) and their needs.
- Budget and financial breakdown: a transparent budget covering vehicles, staffing, fuel and running costs. Multi-year figures help, as ICBs now plan with multi-year budgets.
- Monitoring and evaluation: how you will measure success – attendance rates, patient surveys, and feedback from clinical partners.
7) Lead With Social Value and Long-Term Sustainability
Many ICBs look for benefits beyond immediate clinical outcomes. Community transport is often a lifeline for isolated individuals, supporting social connection and mental wellbeing – squarely within the prevention agenda. The impact of community transport on loneliness and independence is a powerful part of any case.
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Set out the social value of your service and a credible plan for sustainability beyond the initial funding period. A phased or blended model – combining ICB funding with local authority support, the Better Care Fund or other grants – reassures commissioners that you are not dependent on a single source.
8) Stay Close to Funding Cycles and Policy Changes
ICB priorities and budgets shift, so keep up with board papers, annual reports and funding announcements. With reorganisation ongoing, timing matters: align proposals with new budget cycles, emerging neighbourhood health plans and current focus areas.
Most ICB board meetings are held in public. Attending them, along with local health and wellbeing forums, helps you build relationships with decision-makers and spot opportunities early.
Final Thoughts
Securing funding from NHS Integrated Care Boards can be transformative for community transport operators, helping them reach more people who would otherwise go without. The system is leaner and more focused than it was, but the direction of travel – towards prevention, neighbourhood health and care closer to home – plays to community transport’s strengths.
Align your service with ICB priorities, evidence your impact, and build solid local partnerships, and you will improve your chances of securing this essential funding. Community transport plays an essential role in creating accessible, equitable healthcare – and with the right approach, ICB funding can help you deliver more of it.
