NHS England: Wes Streeting instructs officials to push ahead with next stage of axing Leeds-based quango
Wes Streeting has instructed officials to push ahead with the next stage of scrapping NHS England, saying this will slash “unnecessary bureaucracy”.
In March, Sir Keir Starmer announced he was abolishing the “world’s largest quango” - based in Leeds - to bring management of the health service “back into democratic control”.
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.
Speaking today at the NHS Providers conference in Manchester, Mr Streeting will confirm that the Department of Health and Social Care is on track to subsume NHS England within two years.
Around half of the jobs are expected to go, and the Secretary of State will also give health leaders the go ahead to cut 50 per cent of the headcount at integrated care boards (ICBs) across the country.
Mr Streeting will claim that they will now have “a clear and focused purpose as strategic commissioners”.
He is expected to say: “We’re now pushing down on the accelerator and slashing unnecessary bureaucracy, to reinvest the savings in frontline care.
“It won’t happen overnight, but with our investment and modernisation, we will rebuild our NHS so it is there for you when you need it once again.”