Responding to the publication of the Health and Care Bill, Cllr
David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s
Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“Councils broadly support the Bill’s
focus on improving the health and wellbeing of the population and
the duty of bodies to have regard to this in making decisions. We
are strongly in favour of the duty to engage with patients,
carers and representatives and hope and expect that there will be
further guidance to help bring this to
fruition.
“The Bill seeks to remove barriers to
integrating services to improve health outcomes and reduce health
inequalities. The requirement for NHS integrated commissioning
boards and local authorities to establish a health and care
partnership with responsibility for producing an integrated care
strategy is helpful. It is good to see recognition of the
importance of Health and Wellbeing Boards and the health and
wellbeing strategies and joint strategic needs assessment they
produce, to improve the health and wellbeing of their
populations.
“We support the Government’s intention
that the legislation will give local systems the flexibility to
make their own arrangements for joining up services and setting
their own strategies for improving population health. The
Government needs to co-produce regulations and guidance in
partnership with local government and the NHS, to ensure that the
intentions set out in the white paper are realised - for most
services to be commissioned and delivered locally and to build on
existing successful arrangements.
“The repeal of legislation related to
delayed discharges is good news and paves the way for the
continuation of discharge arrangements which have worked well
during the pandemic.
“The provisions for assuring local
authorities’ adult social care functions set out a new role for
the CQC and the Secretary of State in the review and performance
assessment of councils. We are working closely with the CQC, the
department and other partners to ensure the assurance process is
proportionate, includes a clear and continuous role for existing
sector-led improvement work, and takes account of the significant
financial pressures facing adult social
care.
“We have some concerns regarding the
power of the Secretary of State to call in NHS reconfiguration
proposals and strongly contend that the role of local health
overview and scrutiny committees in these matters should not be
undermined.
“While many provisions in the Bill relate
to the practical steps the NHS must take to reorganise
governance, staff and budgets, it is vital that everyone stays
focused on the broader and more challenging ambition for
clinical, political, professional and community leaders to work
together to improve health and wellbeing and reduce health
inequalities, which have widened further during the
pandemic.”
