On 30 January 2025 NHS England (NHSE) published the 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance. Key priorities include reducing the time people wait for planned care, improving long accident and emergency waiting times and ambulance response times, and improving access to mental health services, particularly for children and young people. In the longer term, the government remains committed to transforming the health service by delivering on its three shifts from hospital to community, sickness to prevention and analogue to digital.

This briefing highlights the key points from the guidance document and includes NHS Providers’ view. It also summarises updates to the financial framework, including the revenue finance and contracting guidance for 2025/26, capital guidance for 2025/26 and NHS Payment Scheme 2025/26.