What is the strategic partnership landscape for health and care in Wales?
This explainer examines the strategic partnership landscape for the health and care sector in Wales, including existing partnership arrangements, their purpose and what success looks like.
Introduction
NHS organisations in Wales work with a range of partners, including within the public, private and voluntary sectors and community care groups.
Partnership working in the health and care sector is not a 'nice to have’, but fundamental to service delivery. Whether it's keeping people well in their communities, improving health outcomes, managing demand and flow through systems or balancing budgets, working closely with partners is essential.
What are statutory partnerships?
Statutory partnerships are formal arrangements that usually involve local authorities, NHS organisations and other public bodies to collaboratively address and respond to specific functions.
These partnerships usually aim to improve partnership working and information sharing, promote joint working, the sharing of resources and supporting the wellbeing of their population.
To understand more about the NHS structure in Wales see our explainer How is the NHS structured in Wales?
How many partnership arrangements are there in Wales currently?
There are a multitude of agencies and partnership arrangements in the Welsh public sector. There are at least 164 formal partnership groups in areas relating to health and care (excluding subgroups and local arrangements), representing a partnership body for roughly every 20,000 people in Wales.
The graphics below lists specific statutory or formal partnerships in Wales.
The above list notes those partnerships specifically in the health and social care space, however the list grows when also considering wider policy agendas, for example corporate joint committees and city deals.
What are the key partnerships in health and care in Wales?
Adult/children safeguarding partnerships
These partnerships are made up of local authorities, the police, the office of the police and crime commissioner, local health boards (LHBs), Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, probation services, registered social landlords, fire and rescue service, and specialist sector partners and voluntary sector organisations. Their aim is to work together in partnership to ensure the most efficient and effective response to preventing serious harm caused by such types of abuse.
Area Planning Boards (APBs)
APBs were created to address substance misuse issues and ensure that local authorities work collaboratively to improve the wellbeing of their communities. They aim to pool resources, plan treatment services and enhance the effectiveness of interventions.
Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs)
CSPs in Wales are made up of representatives from various sectors, including local government, policing, Welsh Government, fire and rescue services, public health, probation and the voluntary sector. The range of organisations work closely with local Community Safety Partnerships to address crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour effectively.
Corporate Joint Committees (CJCs)
CJCs are statutory regional bodies established by the Welsh Government in April 2021. The four CJCs are responsible for strategic development planning, regional transport planning and promoting the economic wellbeing of their area. They have broadly similar powers and duties to local authorities and incorporate the work of city and regional deals.
Primary Care Clusters (PCCs)
PCCs are groups of GP practices that collaborate to meet local healthcare needs. Rather than being defined by strict geographic boundaries, clusters are mapped using Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) based on where the majority of residents are registered with a GP practice. Clusters allow practices to share resources, coordinate care and implement public health initiatives efficiently. For further information on primary care clusters, see our explainer How is primary care provided in Wales?
Pan Cluster Planning Groups (PCPGs)
PCPGs are designed to enhance collaboration among primary care clusters. They bring together representatives from various health and care services to discuss and plan services that require a broader, county-level approach. PCPGs aim to improve clinical engagement and influence decisions made by health boards and local authorities regarding community services.
Public Service Boards (PSBs)
PSBs were established in 2015 to bring together local public service leaders to assess and address the wellbeing needs of their areas, as part of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. There are 13 PSBs currently covering the whole of Wales.
The members of each PSB typically include leaders from the local authority, local health board, fire and rescue authority, Natural Resources Wales, as well as representatives from the voluntary sector, Welsh Government, the police forces, probation services and other organisations that have an interest in the wellbeing for that area. The duties of the PSBs include assessing the state of economic, health, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing in their areas.
Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs)
RPBs were established in April 2016 as part of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. RPBs aim to improve the wellbeing of the population while also improving the delivery of health and care services. There are seven RPBs mirroring local health boards' footprints, which implement joint area plans and pool budgets for the benefit of the local population. The current members of each RPB include representatives from the local health board, local authorities, housing, third and independent sectors and unpaid carers.
What are the partnership arrangements across NHS organisations in Wales?
Over recent years partnerships have been established to support regional working across NHS organisations' boundaries. These include:
- The South-East and South-West Regional Joint Committees: As formal boards, the joint committees provide joint leadership for the regional planning, commissioning, and delivery of services across local health board boundaries.
The South-East Wales Regional Joint Committee brings together Aneurin Bevan, Cardiff and Vale and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Boards. The South-West Regional Joint Committee brings together Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda University Health Boards. The joint committees consider the service challenges, financial challenges and population health needs of each organisation.
- Regional sport partnerships: Sport partnerships have been set up in five regions of Wales, covering North Wales, Mid Wales, West Wales, Gwent and Central South Wales. These partnerships focus on sport and physical activity in their respective regions and provide strategic leadership, planning and decision making.
The sport partnerships aim to:
- help address inequalities in sport
- increase the diversity of strategic partners and service providers within each region
- get opportunities in place for people who are not regularly physically active
- remove barriers for people who need the most help to take part in sport
- meet the high demand from people who are active but want to do more
- share and combine knowledge, resources, skills and learning across each region.
How does working in partnership improve patient experience and population health outcomes?
By understanding and addressing the specific needs of communities, partnerships can help to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for all by considering whole-community issues such as housing, education, employment, environment and transport, tailoring services to meet the needs of patients and communities.
In June 2025, the previous Welsh Government announced that Wales would become the first ‘Marmot nation’, with the aim of tackling health inequalities. This involves public sector bodies working in partnership to adopt public health expert Sir Michael Marmot’s eight principles. These principles aim to eliminate unfair and avoidable differences in health which can be caused by where people live, what kind of job they do and how they are treated in society.
How does regional collaboration improve service delivery?
Working in partnership can lead to better decisions about changes in health and care services and managing overall resources, for example, pooling funds.
Regional planning can enable service delivery improvements by analysing each community area, predicting future trends and insights, then setting meaningful outcomes for populations. For example, a voluntary sector youth programme could work with a school to reduce absences.
How can we boost our framework for regional partnership working?
Despite the positive intension of partnership working, several reviews have been commissioned to consider the partnership landscape in Wales.
These reviews have included:
The Future Generation Commissioner’s Report (2025) also considered the partnership landscape in Wales.
These reviews acknowledged that:
- the partnership landscape in Wales is cluttered
- there is an urgent need for the simplification of governance and accountability arrangements for all bodies involved, particularly for RPBs and PSBs so that they can establish exactly what they will be accountable for, as well as who drives the overall long-term planning
- funding arrangements also tend to be short-term, inconsistent and unclear. Despite policy intentions, joint pooled funding is rare, and this can exacerbate siloed interests and lack of shared ownership
- too many partnership meetings take place with overlapping agendas.
Recommendations from NHS leaders to improve partnership working include:
- Regions should consider adopting Joint Strategic Needs Assessments that can be used as a common unified evidence base for decision making.
- Specific population requirements placed on partnerships should be reviewed to enable greater response to local population need.
- Planning requirements placed on statutory organisations and partnership structures should be better aligned.
- Additional work should be undertaken to consider the principles of One Welsh Public Service to improve public services.
What does success look like for integrated health and care systems?
The first principle in effective partnership is the need for clarity of purpose. Clear and simple national strategy is necessary to provide a rallying point for partnership.
Effective partnership working hinges on shared goals, mutual trust and clear communication. Best practice begins with establishing a common purpose with a clear and understood strategy and intended outcomes. Partners must invest time in building relationships, understanding each other's roles and legal duties, and aligning their values and priorities.
Transparent governance structures, joint decision-making processes, and clearly defined responsibilities help prevent duplication and ensure accountability. Another key element is the coproduction of services with stakeholders, including service users and community groups. This ensures solutions are grounded in lived experience and tailored to local needs of the population.
Summary
Although it is positive that the partnership landscape in Wales has grown, there are now at least 164 formal partnership groups in areas relating to health and care. As evidenced in this explainer, there is a need to simplify partnership structures in Wales if they are to have long-term, effective impact on public services and the wellbeing of the population.
We welcome the Welsh Government's review of Regional Partnership Boards and the work being undertaken to further embed the principles of One Welsh Public Service. Strengthening partnership working arrangements will support the sustainability of the health and care sector in Wales, making it more efficient and enabling the delivery of more integrated, person-centred care across Wales.