ODS Implementation of ICB Mergers Phase 1​ - April 2026 (for information only)

To ensure the best arrangements for patients and communities, and to allow further efficiencies to be achieved, following discussions with ministers, NHS England has confirmed several new ICB footprints to come into effect on 1 April 2026. A written ministerial statement has been laid in Parliament outlining further detail.

There will be 6 new ICBs established across England through the abolition of 12 existing ICBs. There will also be a change in the boundary of an existing ICB.

These changes form Phase 1 of ICB mergers/new footprints and will come into effect on 1 April 2026.

The Organisation Data Service (ODS) within NHS England will implement these changes into Organisation Reference Data (ORD) for use within health and care systems.

This presentation provides a summary of changes to ORD that will take effect from 1 April 2026. ODS strongly recommend that ORD users assess the impact of the changes, to enable the completion of any preparatory work needed within their systems and processes, ready for implementation of the changes.

Organisation Reference Data supports an extensive range of use cases, including:

• national reporting
• access control
• financial transactions
• endpoint messaging
• patient referrals

Organisation Reference Data is used universally throughout the health and social care system.

1. NHS England request reconfiguration service from ODS through national programme team.
2. Confirmation of all organisation code and reference data changes, including boundary changes, from NHS regions and ICBs.
3. ODS provide reconfiguration toolkit to impacted organisations.
4. ODS provide reconfiguration guidance and support.
5. Through testing ODS rigorously check the data changes will not impact the systems and services at go-live.
6. ODS assure the maintenance of the health and social care data hierarchy.

ICB actions - from 10 November 2025, ICBs must:

• review ODS reconfiguration toolkit and checklist
• assess impact of data changes (on national and local systems), complete any preparatory work required
• commence and complete system migration activities

ODS reconfiguration guidance will support merging ICBs to ensure key system migration activities are completed. The following are examples. Further details are available within the ODS reconfiguration documents.

Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT): Changes to a DSPT toolkit assessment (or reporting of new incidents) under a closed ODS code should cease. The new ICB should raise a log to create the organisation on the DSPT and check/arrange access.

NHS Smartcards and the Care Identity Service (CIS): Registration authority set up under new ICB code and all smartcards/roles migrated.

NHS.net Connect: Notify NHS.net Connect of proposed organisation change. Liaise with NHS.net Connect team to complete mailbox migrations.

Health and Social Care Network: Notify HSCN for any migration of services from one organisation to another.

Patient administration system (PAS) and other systems and services: All organisations must undertake an internal impact assessment.

12 of the existing ICB codes will be legally closed (but will remain operationally active for a period of approximately 6 months to allow for all system migrations to be completed).

6 new ICB codes will be created. These will be 5 character ‘ANANA’ codes and will have the same code type as the existing ICBs (‘Strategic Partnership’ RO261, with a non-primary of ‘Integrated Care Board’ RO318).

ODS codes for sub-ICB locations (SICBL) will be retained and their naming conventions will remain the same in phase 1. Those that fall under a merging ICB will:

• have the existing geographic relationship (RE5) to an ICB end dated 31 March 2026, and a new geographic relationship to the new ICB code will be created with a start date of 1 April 2026
• be renamed to reflect the new ICB name

SICBL code D4U1Y for Frimley is an exception, it will be legally closed 31 March 2026.

A new SICBL code will be created under NHS Thames Valley ICB for the area transferring over from Frimley.

Geographic boundaries will be published for the 6 new ICBs, and the 1 additional ICB changing its boundary. Any changes to SICBL boundaries will also be published. Note: there will be no changes to NHS regions or their boundaries.

12 of the existing ICB codes will be legally closed 31 March 2026. They will remain operationally active for a period of 6 months* after legal closure to allow for system migrations to be completed.

1 further ICB will not be abolished but its boundary will be changed. It will therefore retain its existing ICB code and current name:

6 new ICB codes will be created. 

These will be 5 character ‘ANANA’ codes and will have the same code type as the existing ICBs (‘Strategic Partnership’ RO261, with a non-primary role of ‘Integrated Care Board’ RO318).

ODS aim to publish the new ICB codes via the ODS API Suite, ODS Data Search and Export and via the NHS Spine on 12 January 2026. Please monitor the ODS News web page for any potential change to this publication date.

1 new SICBL code will be created under the new NHS Thames Valley ICB.

The new code is to be confirmed, therefore the name is also tbc once code allocated.

The ICB boundary changes for 1 April 2026 fall into three categories:

1. 4 of the new ICB boundaries can be formed by a simple merger of existing SICBL boundaries.
2. 2 of the new ICB boundaries can be formed by including additional Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) with existing SICBL boundaries.
3. 1 boundary change only – LSOAs being added to an existing ICB (and SICBL) who will retain their current ICB code.

The following 2 sections summarise these boundary changes.

A full list of LSOAs¹ moving for each ICB area is available within the Change Summary - ICB Mergers April 2026.

A test version of the ONS supplied postcode files (NHS Postcode Directory) that incorporate the boundary changes, will be published on the ODS postcode files web page from 6 March 2026 (based on February 2026 postcode data).

The boundary for 4 of the 6 new ICBs will be formed via the straightforward alignment of existing SICBL boundaries as defined in the table below. There will be no movement of individual LSOAs for these ICBs.

Refer to the Change summary - ICB mergers April 2026 for more detail.

The boundaries for the final 2 new ICBs will be formed by combining existing SICBL boundaries, and the additional specified LSOAs, transferred from the former Frimley ICB.

Refer to the Change summary - ICB mergers April 2026 for more detail.

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB (code QRL) is subject to a boundary change only from 1 April 2026. The existing QRL code will be retained as the ICB is not being abolished. The boundary of QRL (and SICBL code D9Y0V) will expand to include LSOAs transferred from the former Frimley ICB:

The following SICBLs have been confirmed as 'no change', in terms of prescribing cost centres/GP practices they will commission from 1 April 2026:

The abolition of NHS Frimley ICB will result in the commissioning responsibility for 127³ prescribing cost centres/GP practices transferring from the Frimley SICBL code of D4U1Y to the following SICBLs from 1 April 2026:

A full list of GP practice/prescribing cost centre moves for each ICB is available within the Change Summary - ICB Mergers April 2026.

Pharmacy, optical and dental - ICB commissioning relationship updates

Expected volume of commissioning relationship changes on 1 April 2026:

Prescribing cost centres - ‘Operated by’ ICB relationship updates

Expected volume of ‘operated by’ relationship changes on 1 April 2026:

Please refer to the ODS Change Summary for further details and a breakdown by ICB.

Other organisation types that currently (as at October 2025) have a geographic relationship to one of the 12 closing ICBs, that ODS will update from 1 April 2026. The new ICB relationship will be determined by mapping the organisation postcode to the new ICB boundaries:

The following organisation types currently (as at October 2025) have geographic relationships to Frimley SICBL - D4U1Y. As this SICBL code is closing, ODS will update these geographic relationships from 1 April 2026. The new ICB relationship will be determined by mapping the organisation postcode to the new ICB boundaries:

Please refer to the ODS Change Summary for further details.

How to raise questions with ODS regarding the change summary.

Specific questions regarding the April 2026 ICB Mergers and resulting organisation code and reference data changes can be raised with ODS via the following process:

1. Log into NHS National IT Customer Support Portal.
2. Select 'Submit a Case’.
3. From the categorises listed on the left-hand side of the screen, select 'Data Services, Collections & Data sets’.
4. Select the subcategory 'Organisation Data Service (ODS)’.
5. Select the ‘ODS – General Enquiries and Requests’ form.

New portal users will be prompted to create an account.

Please include the following in your email subject line: ICB Mergers April 2026 Change Summary.