It is vital that local populations have confidence in the boards of the NHS Body and the Health and Care Partnership and transparency in the appointment process for those boards will be a key factor in that. If NHS Bodies and Health and Care Partnerships are to be successful they must not be dominated by the views of the NHS but draw on the experience and expertise in all areas of the health and care sectors as equal partners. We therefore recommend that a duty be placed on ICS boards to ensure that: d) the composition of boards includes representatives with experience and expertise in the views and needs of patients, carers and the social care sector. e) where an ICS’s decision-making affects carers and the social care sector, that the ICS undertake formal consultation with the groups and sectors affected.