Tory peer to head replacement body for Public Health England

PUBLIC HEALTH England (PHE) is set to be scrapped and replaced with a new overarching body to protect against pandemics, the Health Secretary has confirmed.

Matt Hancock launched the new National Institute for Health Protection yesterday, which will respond to health threats including infectious diseases, pandemics and biologic weapons.

But the new organisation, headed up by Tory peer Dido Harding, will replace PHE, which the Government has been accused of using as a “scapegoat” during the pandemic crisis.

It will merge the Covid response work of PHE, NHS Test and Trace and Joint Biosecurity Centre in the “first step towards becoming a single organisation”, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

But the Government has faced criticism over the prospect of breaking up PHE, which was established in 2013 under Conservative health reforms, in the middle of a pandemic.

And commentators have called into question the appointment of former Talk Talk boss Baroness Harding.

Speaking at the Policy Exchange think-tank, Mr Hancock said: “To give ourselves the best chance of beating this virus and spotting and tackling other external health threats now and in the future, we need to bring together the science and the skill into one coherent whole.

“So, today, I am announcing that we are forming a new organisation, the National Institute for Health Protection.

“The National Institute for Health Protection will have a single and relentless mission: protecting people from external threats to this country’s health.

“External threats like biological weapons, pandemics and, of course, infectious diseases of all kinds.”

Mr Hancock said the new institute will play a role across the UK and be dedicated “to the investigation and prevention of infectious diseases and external health threats”.

But leading health think-tank

The King’s Fund said PHE “appears to have been found guilty without a trial.”

Zero deaths were recorded in Yorkshire yesterday in people who had previously tested positive for coronavirus, and the region’s total deaths remains at least 2,911. Nationally, 12 further deaths were reported, bringing the total to 41,381.

The health body holds a wide remit of responsibilities including driving down health inequalities and improving the nation’s health by tackling issues such as obesity and smoking, with these areas expected to be passed to cash-strapped local councils.

PHE boss Duncan Selbie has been ousted as head of the organisation in the reshuffle, with Michael Brodie, currently head of the NHS Business Services Authority, appointed interim chief executive of PHE.

Mr Selbie, who is highly regarded in the public health community, is to become a senior adviser on global and public health to DHSC.

We need to bring together the science and the skill into one coherent whole Health Secretary Matt Hancock.