NHS England has opened a consultation testing proposals for two new contracts — for single neighbourhood providers (SNP) and multi-neighbourhood providers (MNP). The aim is to make it easier for local teams to commission neighbourhood health services, and it’s open for responses until 10 September 2026.
This matters for general practice because these are the contract models that could eventually sit around PCNs and neighbourhood working. If your practice is part of a PCN, or your ICB is already talking about neighbourhood-level commissioning, this consultation is the point where the shape of that future contracting gets decided — not after it’s finalised.
NHS England is inviting feedback from a wide range of people: commissioners, general practice, PCNs, trusts and other NHS service providers, as well as local authorities and patient representatives. At this stage, the consultation is about understanding the range of views on the proposed models, rather than testing detailed, final terms. Responses will feed into a further, more detailed consultation on firmer SNP and MNP proposals later this year.
That two-stage approach means this is the easier of the two consultations to influence — general views and concerns at this point are more likely to shape what the firmer proposals look like later, rather than practices having to react to something already largely fixed.
Worth doing before 10 September: read the proposals in full, talk them through with your PCN colleagues or federation, and submit a response — even a short one — covering what would help or hinder neighbourhood commissioning from your practice’s perspective.