Sir Keir Starmer has announced that NHS England will be abolished to free up more money for frontline services and bring management of the health service “back into democratic control”.
In a speech he said: “We’re going to cut bureaucracy across the state. Focus government on the priorities of working people, shift money to the front line.”
He added: “I’m bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms length body – NHS England. That will put the NHS back at the heart of government where it belongs, freeing it to focus on patients, less bureaucracy, with more money for nurses. An NHS refocused on cutting waiting times at your hospital.”
The move comes just days after a mass exodus of people at the top of NHS England, including its chief executive and medical director.
Sir Keir said the body had created a huge amount of “duplication” – at a time the NHS could least afford it.
He told his audience: “Amongst the reasons we’re abolishing it is because of the duplication. So if you can believe it, we’ve got a communications team in NHS England, we’ve got a communications team in the health department of government. We’ve got a strategy team in NHS England, a strategy team in the government department. We’re duplicating things that could be done once. If we strip that out, which is what we’re doing today, that then allows us to free up that money, to put it where it needs to be, which is the front line.”
Under the plans, NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care.
The abolition was welcomed by health secretary Wes Streeting, who said: “This is the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous 2012 reorganisation, which led to the longest waiting times, lowest patient satisfaction, and most expensive NHS in history.
“When money is so tight, we can’t justify such a complex bureaucracy with two organisations doing the same jobs. We need more doers, and fewer checkers, which is why I’m devolving resources and responsibilities to the NHS frontline.”
The prime minister also warned that the abolition of the agency was not the only “tough choice” he would make.
He said: “Tough choices won’t just stop there. In this era, they will keep on coming. Our task is clear, national security, national renewal, driving change forward with a plan for change, focused on the interests of working people, securing our future together.”
But he also defended civil servants saying the problem was not that they had the “wrong mindframe, or anything like that”.
The Labour leader also confirmed plans to cut the cost of compliance with regulation for businesses by 25 per cent.
He said: “Today I’m issuing a new target for our government. We will make sure compliance costs for businesses are cut by a quarter. That’s 25 per cent compliance costs that are going to go – and they will.
“That’s less red tape, more delivery, renewing our country with growth.”
In recent weeks two of the most senior members of NHS England staff have announced that they are standing down.
Last week Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the organisation’s national medical director, said he would go this summer, after more than seven years in the role, just a week after the surprise resignation of NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard.
