National bodies have pledged to work ‘closely’ together to identify plans based on misaligned or unrealistic assumptions between providers and commissioners.

NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority will launch a “triangulation” exercise to assure NHS providers’ operational plans for 2015-16 and anticipate against “misaligned” or “unrealistic” planning assumptions.

The proposals, laid out in planning guidance published last month, acknowledge there were failures in the last planning round and that 2015-16 would present an opportunity to learn from those mistakes.

The guidance says: “Learning from the experiences of 2014-15, it is clear that the NHS now needs to ensure the fundamentals are in place of accurate activity and financial planning, to ensure delivery of NHS constitution standards, other key outcome and performance measures, and financial balance.”

It adds: “We therefore expect aligned, realistic activity and financial assumptions between NHS commissioners and providers right across the country.”

The guidance comes after NHS England emphasised that GP referrals and non-elective activity are running at 12 per cent and 9 per cent above planned levels agreed by commissioners and providers respectively.

Monitor also found that only 30 per cent of foundation trusts’ June 2014 strategic plans articulated a “clear path to sustainability”, according to its own annual planning review for the sector.

The guidance document states that the national bodies’ joint approach will aim to ensure that individual operational plans show agreed demand and capacity plans, adherence to local workforce plans and “robust” local relationships.

However, they said they would work together to increase opportunities for mutual assurance of plans across all health and social care “in a way that does not place additional burdens on local organisations”.

From 29 January every trust, FT and clinical commissioning group must submit weekly updates to the national bodies on the status of their contracts to highlight “risks of misalignment” between providers and commissioners.

Separately, the TDA is to develop a “benchmarking tool” to help trusts carry out in-year analysis of key workforce metrics against their counterparts.

The authority’s own guidance for trust boards states that the tool, to be made available by the end of March, will help organisations to compare their in-year performance across a range of workforce, finance, activity and quality metrics with their peers.

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