2021/22 NHS Standard Contract
2021/22 NHS Standard Contract – final version
The NHS Standard Contract is mandated by NHS England for use by commissioners for all contracts for healthcare services other than primary care, and the Contract (in full-length and shorter-form versions) has now been updated for 2021/22. Please note that:
- There is no requirement for NHS commissioners and trusts to sign contracts for 2021/22 by 1 April 2021. The nationally mandated terms of the NHS Standard Contract for 2021/22 will nonetheless apply, and a contract incorporating those nationally mandated terms will implied as being in place between the parties.
- Where commissioners are commissioning services from non-NHS providers (other than core primary care) from 1 April 2021 onwards, the parties must agree and sign a written contract in the form of the 2021/22 NHS Standard Contract.
- Guidance is provided in section 3 of the NHS Standard Contract technical guidance, the Guidance on finance and contracting arrangements for H1 2021/22, and in the Guidance on finance and contracting arrangements for H2 2021/22.
The final versions of the Contract (republished May 2021) are available here:
A summary of the changes we have made to the Contracts can be found in section 2 of the NHS Standard Contract technical guidance and in the Response to consultation feedback document.
If you have a query on the NHS Standard Contracts, please email nhscb.contractshelp@nhs.net
If you would like to be added to our stakeholder list to receive updates on the NHS Standard Contracts, please email your contact details to england.contractsengagement@nhs.net
eContract
The eContract system has been updated in line with the 2021/22 contracts and is now available.
The eContract system hosts both the full-length and shorter-form contracts and allows tailoring of the contract to reflect the specific services provided, so that only the relevant service conditions and schedules appear. We strongly recommend that commissioners and providers utilise the eContract system.
If you have a query on the eContract system, please email england.econtract@nhs.net
NHS Standard Contract technical guidance
Contract support and other publications
- System collaboration and financial management agreement 2021/22
- Model individual placement agreement
- Alliance agreement toolkit – please register for a FutureNHS account to access this document.
- Data sharing requirements to support development of urgent and emergency care dashboards – guidance for data providers
- Urgent and emergency care analytics model – minimum data requirements
- NHS Standard Contract 2021/22 summary of key changes made in response to consultation feedback
National variations to NHS Standard Contracts
Guidance on the process to effect the mandatory 2021/22 national variation to existing contracts, the terms of which extend beyond 31 March 2021, and the national variation templates are available below:
Varying the 2021/22 NHS Standard Contracts
Guidance on the process to vary contracts and the locally-initiated variation template are available below:
NHS Standard Sub-contract
The NHS Standard Sub-contract for the provision of clinical services 2021/22 (full length and shorter-form versions) are available below:
Model collaborative commissioning agreements
- Model collaborative commissioning agreement (single contract option)
- Model collaborative commissioning agreement (multiple contract option)
Fair deal for staff pensions
Provisions applicable to primary medical services
Proforma contract management forms and change in control notification
Changes to the Contract for 2021/22
Comparison documents showing the changes made from the NHS Standard Contract 2020/21 (published in March 2020) to the NHS Standard Contract 2021/22 (Contract Particulars published in March 2021; Service Conditions and General Conditions republished in May 2021).
Comparison documents showing the changes made from the draft NHS Standard Contract 2021/22 (published for consultation in January 2021) to the NHS Standard Contract 2021/22 (Contract Particulars published in March 2021; Service Conditions and General Conditions republished in May 2021).
Addition to Consultation – January 2021 (now closed)
NHS England and the General Practitioners Committee England have now agreed a position on the way in which a primary care network (PCN) will, in future, be supported by at least one whole time equivalent (WTE) registered mental health practitioner, employed by a secondary care provider but embedded as part of the PCN’s core multi-disciplinary team. We have updated Schedule 2Aiii (Primary and community mental health services) of the full length Particulars accordingly, and they are republished here. This change is likely to be of interest to mental health commissioners and to mental health trusts only. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on Schedule 2Aiii (Primary and community mental health services) by 5 February 2021, by email to england.contractsengagement@nhs.net.
Consultation – January 2021 (now closed)
We have now published, for consultation, the draft 2021/22 NHS Standard Contract (both full length and shorter-form versions). The consultation paper describes the main, material changes we are proposing in the Contracts, and we would welcome comments from stakeholders on our proposals. We also welcome comments on the draft Technical Guidance.
Comments on the draft Contract should be submitted by 5 February 2021 via the NHS England Consultation Hub. Comments may also be submitted by email to england.contractsengagement@nhs.net using the response document.
NHS Standard Contract 2021/22: consultation on proposed new arrangements for paying for low-volume activity flows – November 2020 – now closed
We are consulting on significant changes, to take effect from 1 April 2021, to the arrangements for contracting and paying for low-volume flows of activity between clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts/NHS foundation trusts. The changes affect the full-length Contract only and will largely, but not solely, affect what is known as “non-contract activity”. The consultation paper and other materials are available here. Consultation responses must be submitted by 31 December 2020 via the NHS England Consultation Hub or using the stakeholder response document.
This consultation will be followed by a further consultation on other changes to the NHS Standard Contract for 2021/22.