Groups | Social Partnership Forum

The SPF groups were set up to provide a place for trade unions, employers, arm’s length bodies, and the government to talk in partnership.

The Wider Group is the senior SPF group, under which sits the SPF Strategic Group.

The SPF subgroups report into the Strategic Group and the Strategic Group can commission existing or new subgroups to take forward agreed priority work or projects.

We currently have two operational subgroups working on priority areas for the health and care sector. A third subgroup, the ICS Transition Partnership Group, was a task and finish group and had its last meeting at the end of June 2022.

The graphic below shows the structure of the SPF and how its groups interact.

Promoting partnership working in the NHS

Groups

A diverse group discussion.

Wider Group

The Wider Group is a group managed by the SPF to bring together partners.

Diverse officer workers paying attention during a presentation.

Strategic Group

The Strategic Group consider the impact on, and potential actions for, the workforce of key strategic issues and challenges for health and care.

Subgroups

A group meeting, with tablets, viewed at waist height.

Workforce Issues Group

The Workforce Issues Group is a subgroup of the national SPF.

Post-it notes on a wall.

Violence Reduction Subgroup

The national SPF Violence Reduction Subgroup is involved in work aimed at preventing and reducing violence against NHS staff.

Participants in a breakout group smiling at each other.

ICS Transition Partnership Group

A subgroup to enable partners to get involved in the organisational change arising from the establishment of statutory Integrated Care Systems (ICS).

How we do partnership

Learn more about the history of the SPF and the benefits of partnership working for employers, staff, patients and service users.