Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN): 2022/23 (17 March 2022)

Summary

The last two years have been unprecedented for the NHS. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a unique set of challenges and required innovative new ways of working to provide an effective response.

As part of that response, the NHS adopted special payment arrangements for 2020/21 and 2021/22, removed the requirement for trusts to sign formal contracts and disapplied financial sanctions for failure to achieve national standards. The Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) financial incentive scheme was also suspended for the entire period.

To support the NHS to achieve its recovery priorities, CQUIN is being reintroduced from 2022/23.

This document sets out the requirements for all providers of healthcare services that are commissioned under an NHS Standard Contract (full-length or shorter-form version) and are within the scope of the Aligned Payment and Incentives (API) rules, as set out in the National Tariff and Payment System. These requirements take effect from 1 April 2022.