The Constitution establishes the principles, statutory duties and governance arrangements of the ICB, and describes the governing principles, rules and procedures to ensure probity and accountability in the day to day running of the ICB, to ensure decisions are taken in an open, collaborative and transparent way and that the interests of patients and the public remain central to the values/aims of the ICB and One Gloucestershire ICS.

The Standing Orders regulate the proceedings of the Board so that the ICB can fulfil its obligations as set out largely in the 2006 Act (as amended).


The Governance Handbook brings together key documents which support the Constitution and best practise governance, providing further detail on how the ICB will operate.  It is a ‘living document’ to be updated regularly as new policies are approved and new structures and processes are implemented.

The link above is the collated Governance Handbook document, with individual component documents below:

Sets out those decisions that are reserved to the ICB Board, and those decisions that have been delegated to ICB Committees, individuals, joint committees, and other statutory organisations.  It also details the source of each reservation and delegation. Read the SoRD.

Presents a diagram view of how the high-level decision-making bodies in our system relate to each other and how accountability is maintained. Read the functions and decisions map.

Ensures that the ICB fulfils its statutory duty to carry out its functions to provide best value for public funding.  The SFIs are part of the ICB’s ‘control environment’ for managing the organisation’s financial affairs, defining the purpose, responsibilities, legal framework and operating environment.  They enable sound administration, lessen the risk of irregularities and support commissioning and delivery of effective, efficient and economical services. Read the Standing Financial Instructions.

The Detailed Scheme of Delegation sets out responsibilities and limits for approval for different types of financial items and transactions. The Detailed Scheme of Delegation can be found here.

Set out the membership, remits, delegated responsibilities and reporting arrangements of each Committee of the ICB Board.  These Committees contribute to the overall delivery of the ICB objectives by providing oversight and assurance to the Board on the adequacy of the range of functions the organisation undertakes:

4a. Audit Committee – provides oversight and assurance to the Board on the adequacy of governance, risk management and internal control processes within the ICB.

4b. Primary Care & Direct Commissioning Committee – manages the delivery of delegated elements of primary care healthcare services to ensure they are of high quality, clinically effective and safe, and within available resources.

4c. People Committee – accountability for achieving the intended results and benefits of the People Strategy and Plans, and for reaching agreed milestones in making One Gloucestershire an increasingly equitable, diverse and inclusive health and care system.

4d. Quality Committee – provides the ICB with assurance that it is delivering its functions in a way that secures continuous improvement in the quality of services, against each of the dimensions of quality set out in the Shared Commitment to Quality and enshrined in the Health and Care Bill.

4e. Remuneration Committee – confirms the ICB Pay Policy including adoption of pay frameworks for all employees including senior managers/directors and Non-Executive Members excluding the Chair.  Takes a strategic role in aligning Pay and Reward Policies across the ICS such that Gloucestershire can attract, recruit and retain the highest calibre senior leaders.

.4f. System Resources Committee – provides oversight and assurance to the Board for matters relating to system resources allocation, performance against strategic plans and financial performance.

4g. Joint Committees– the Joint Commissioning Partnership Board (JCPB) and Joint Commissioning Partnership Executive (JCPE) oversee, monitor and make recommendations on the integrated and joint commissioning of services on behalf of the ICB and Gloucestershire County Council, in equal partnership.

Presents a high-level summary of the roles, responsibilities and remits of the members of the Board, in three broad groups:

  • Non-Executive Directors, and their responsibilities for the Committees they chair and lead.
  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Executive Director
  • Partner Members who contribute to the Integrated Care Board contemporary knowledge, insight, and subject matter expertise of differing parts of the health and care system, drawn from their perspective of leading provider and public health services in Gloucestershire

Read more about the role profiles.

Sets out the ICB’s approach to risk and the management of risk in fulfilment of its strategic objectives to deliver services that are high quality, safe and promote the health and wellbeing of service users, their relatives and carers, staff and other stakeholders. Read our Risk management arrangements.

A list of the providers of primary care medical services in the system, i.e. GP surgeries. Read about eligible providers or primary medical services.

Sets out how the ICB will set and manage the standards expected of our staff in order to ensure that they operate with integrity, openness and honesty and are accountable to the public for the actions that they take on behalf of the ICB. Standard of Business Conduct Policy