Mayor Tracy Brabin requests urgent meeting with Health Secretary after abolition of Leeds-based NHS England

He claimed the move would free up money for doctors, nurses and frontline services, and cut red tape to help speed up improvements in the NHS, amid frustrations about the pace of change.

NHS England is a public body delivering services with taxpayers’ money, which was set up to support and oversee NHS trusts and wider organisations to deliver healthcare.

It is headquartered in Leeds, where thousands of staff work in its new office in Wellington Place.

Some of its roles will get subsumed into the Department of Health and Social Care, while others will be scrapped.

This process is expected to take around two years, at a time when the Government is trying to bring down NHS waiting lists.

The future of the staff is less clear. Before the announcement, earlier in the week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting had confirmed that NHS England’s headcount would be cut by 50 per cent.

However, when asked by The Yorkshire Post, the Department for Health and Social Care could not confirm whether the remaining staff will keep their jobs or give clarity on the future of the Leeds base.

Ms Brabin said she has requested an “urgent meeting” with Mr Streeting to ensure the expertise of West Yorkshire does not get “lost in the reforms”.

She said: “I fully understand the government's ambition to reduce bureaucracy and duplication in the NHS, and invest in frontline care.

“Leeds and West Yorkshire have been central to driving digital innovation and technology improvements in healthcare services, and the businesses which have developed here are recognised as global leaders.

“I have written to the Health Secretary to make it clear that this knowledge and expertise cannot be lost in the reforms he is proposing, and have requested an urgent meeting so we can continue to back local businesses.

"I know that this will be a concerning time for a large workforce in our region, and I urge health leaders to provide details of these reforms as soon as they can.”

While the general secretary of Unison, one of the unions which represents NHS England staff, said staff have been left “reeling”.

Christina McAnea commented: “Put simply the health service needs thousands more staff and to be able to hold on to experienced employees.

“At the moment, it’s struggling to do that. Giving staff a decent pay rise would help no end.

“But this announcement will have left NHS England staff reeling.

“Just days ago they learned their numbers were to be slashed by half, now they discover their employer will cease to exist.

“The way the news of the axing has been handled is nothing short of shambolic. It could surely have been managed in a more sympathetic way.

“Thousands of expert staff will be left wondering what their future holds. Wherever possible, their valuable skills must be redeployed and used to the benefit of the reformed NHS and patients.

“Ministers have to reassure employees right across the NHS that there’s a robust plan to rejuvenate a flailing NHS and deliver for working people.”

Alex Sobel, the MP for Leeds Central and Headingley which houses the NHS England, told The Yorkshire Post: “It's crucial to evaluate the impact on patient care, operational efficiency and job security for healthcare workers particularly the thousands based in my constituency.”

He added: “This proposal represents a significant shift in the management of the NHS and its right that elected politicians have direct control of the governance of the NHS.”

The news comes as staff at integrated care boards (ICBs) across Yorkshire were pulled into meetings to discuss jobs cuts.

Yesterday morning, before the announcement NHS England chief financial officer Julian Kelly told the Public Accounts Committee that he had been told on Wednesday that ICBs had to cut their staff by 50 per cent.

Mr Streeting also told the House of Commons that DHSC would cut its staff in half as the merger with NHS England happens over the next two years.

A new leadership team, Sir Jim Mackey and Dr Penny Dash, will oversee this transition, while “reasserting financial discipline and continuing to deliver on the Government’s priority of cutting waiting times,” the department said.

The changes will reverse the 2012 shake-up of the NHS under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, which the Government says created “burdensome” layers of bureaucracy without any clear lines of accountability.

Sir Keir said: “I can’t in all honesty explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy.

“So today I can announce we’re going to cut bureaucracy, focus Government on the priorities of working people, shift money to the front line.

“So I’m bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms-length body NHS England.”