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The NHS White Paper - key points

Submitted by Admin on July 14, 2010 - 17:45

What does the NHS White Paper have to say about prevention and local partnership working?

Much has been said already about the NHS White Paper launched on 12 July. However, the focus of the reporting has been on the GP commissioning of healthcare services and the abolition of primary care trusts. The White Paper also has important things to say about the preventative agenda and local partnership working.

Here are the key points:

• A new Public Health Service will be created.

• Primary care trust responsibilities for local health improvement will transfer to local authorities.

• Local authorities will employ the Director of Public Health jointly appointed with the Public Health Service.

• The public health budget will be ring-fenced and will be allocated to reflect relative population health need, with a new health premium to promote action to improve population-wide health and reduce health inequalities.

• Local Directors of Public Health will be responsible for these health improvement funds.

• The Secretary of State, through the Public Health Service, will set local authorities national objectives for improving population health outcomes. It will be for local authorities to determine how best to secure these objectives.

• Building on the power of the local authority to promote local wellbeing, the Government will establish new statutory arrangements within local authorities. These will be established as “health and wellbeing boards” or within existing strategic partnerships.

• The health and wellbeing boards will take on the function of joining up the commissioning of local NHS services, social care and health improvement. They will allow local authorities to take a strategic approach, and promote integration across health, social care, children’s services including safeguarding, and the wider local authority agenda.

• The Government will simplify and extend the use of powers that enable joint working between the NHS and local authorities.

• Local authorities’ new functions will see them take on responsibility for:

  • promoting integration and partnership working between the NHS, social care, public health and other local services and strategies
  • leading joint strategic needs assessments and promoting collaboration on local commissioning plans
  • building partnership for service changes and priorities.

The timetable for action is as follows:

December 2010 Public Health White Paper

April 2011 Arrangements to support shadow health and wellbeing partnerships begin to be put in place.

April 2012 New local authority health and wellbeing boards in place. Public Health Service in place, with ring-fenced budget and local health improvement led by Directors of Public Health in local authorities.

2012/13 Strategic health authorities abolished

From April 2013 Primary care trusts abolished

Find out more

For more information, download the NHS White Paper from the Department of Health website 

We will keep you updated through Making the Link as details emerge.

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